Not that I expected anything less.
Reaching the door, I only take a moment and allow her to walk in first. She hesitates, which I anticipated—always so cautious—but after she walks over the threshold, I knew her reaction to the crystal-clear panes on the ceiling was going to be memorable.
And just like that, the memory fades. The pain in my temple dwindles down to an almost nonexistent ache. Eyes wide, I pitch forward, landing on the heels of my palms, grappling, searching for more, shuffling through the hazy files in my mind to continue the story—or even begin a new one.
But there isn’t a single fucking thing. Just a bunch of pieces that don’t belong together…or maybe they do. I can’t make sense of any of them, but I want more.
She was in my home, my space. Those feelings were like ones I’ve never felt. They were more than strong. It was magnetic, a force pushing us together that not even I can understand. But it was there. It was real.
“Doing alright?” 306 asks, startling me. I’d completely forgotten he was here. Standing abruptly, I brush myself off and face him. But when I do, he thrusts his hand behind his back.
“What’s that?”
He pulls it out, acting like hiding it wasn’t weird in the firstplace. “I just realized it’s time for your dose.” He fiddles with the bright-green syringe. “Commander gets angry when we miss them.”
“Funny, I don’t recall ever seeingyouhave a dose,” I point out. “Besides, there’s no way it’s time.” Tingles sprout along my shoulder blades with my growing suspicion, but I ignore it.
“I’ve had my share, believe me.” I don’t. “The longer you take it, the more frequently you need it.”
But I don’t need it.
Yes, I do.
No, I don’t.
Yes, I…
“I don’t want it.”
“You don’t have much of a choice.”
That provokes a laugh from me. “Oh, and are you going to make me?”
He takes a step forward, narrowing his gaze. “If I have to.”
A wicked smile spreads over my lips. “I’d love to see you try.”
The ground rumbles, and the surrounding trees shake as he pushes his power forward. My shadows burst from my body, floating in wait for my next command. The tingles on my back grow faster, more persistent, and it’s slightly pulling my focus away from the task at hand. Inky smoke slithers through my veins, ready to be unleashed.
My senses sharpen, coming alive as I hone in on 306. I’ve missed this, the action, and not just prowling around the realm or keeping the prisoners contained. Something tofinallyget my hands bloody is exactly what I’ve been craving.
306’s attempts are pathetic at best. Tree branches mark my flesh punishingly but nothing compared to what I’ve already endured. “Come on, at least act like you have a fighting chance,” I taunt. There’s a branch that sneaks past my defenses, slow and silent. It bends at his will, acting fluid, like one of my shadows,and wrapping around my throat. It takes nothing to snap it between my hands, but apparently, that was only to serve as a distraction. The main attack happens right below my feet. The soil crackles, and the ground caves in on itself until it’s a giant gaping hole ready to swallow me.
I try to roll onto the stable surface, but he anticipates that and wields a branch to smack me straight in the face, knocking me into the crater.
“It didn’t need to be this way,” 306 states from the top. Stars dance in my eyes, the throb returning with a vengeance after hitting my head on the rock-hard ground.
The tingles on my back morph into sparklers, setting my muscles ablaze. I close my eyes, pushing my palms into the side of my skull as images flash behind my lids.
My mother. My pops. Kallie with them both in my father’s bakery. It shifts to the Demicrogen hunting on my land, searching for Kallie. Glass shattering, stars high in the sky. Kallie with Voraxis—the sheer panic I felt when I took her to see the dragons the first time. Little did I know she was meant to be there all along. Crystal-clear waters and a breathtaking view come next, like a still photo to capture Kallie’s beauty for eternity.
Then that night. The night, themomentwhen we came together. All the walls were finally demolished, nothing separating us as we became one. The feel of her fingers gliding along my wings, knowing in that moment she had given me her heart, hersoul,even if she didn’t want to admit it. The fleeting moment, the one that didn’t last nearly as long as it should because I could’ve been immersed inside that moment for the rest of time and it never would’ve gotten old. Because Kallie, draped in my arms as we flew amongst the stars, stared up at me and whispered,“More than all the stars in the sky.”The vision sends a pang through my chest, knowing everything I put herthrough, even though it was out of my control.
Raging fire erupts on my back, becoming too much, like my skin is trying to rip itself to shreds. My onyx tendrils lash out, striking 306 as he nears the edge. His body hits the ground, and I brace myself against the hard soil. With a brutal scream, there’s a familiar weight hanging below my shoulders. Heavy and sturdy, like a foreign body part just attached itself to me.
But it’s like second nature. With a mind of their own, they flutter closer to my peripheral, and everything snaps into focus. The pain in my head ceases, all of the memories I’ve lost come to the forefront, and terror settles deep.
Pushing off the ground, my wings carry me up the rest of the way, flapping like they’ve never been dormant. Pure, blinding rage removes the clouds once covering my vision, pushing them away until the taste of revenge coats my tongue. When I land, all that comes to mind is ending this pathetic prick’s life, feeling it drain by my hand, feeling the last beat his heart pumps.
