This is far beyondwant. I don’t want her.
I ache for her.
I—
There’s a vibration, and we all track it, finding Ezekial holding his phone. Who is contacting him at this hour?
He glances at us all, then answers, “Kacey, why are you calling at 3 AM? Is something wrong?”
“Give me that fucking phone.” Sai slides over the table and lunges for Ezekial’s hand.
“We can’t let him speak to her. Jasmine could be listening.” Ezekial’s words spring Julien into action.
He reaches over the table, locking his arms around Sai’s waist, before lugging him back with force.
Sai struggles against his hold, his tendrils flaring out in jagged lines as Julien finally yanks him off the table.
“Zeek, speaker, now!”Sai growls, voice dipping into shadow.
“Do it,”I say to Ezekial, knowing it’ll take the edge off Sai’s darkness.
He nods. “I’m going to put you on speaker, Kacey. All the guys are here.” He taps his phone, then places it onto the table.
“Oh. Hey, guys. Sorry to erm... interrupt you? I mean, I’m not really sure what you could all be doing at 3 AM. Well, I guess I shouldn’t really be ringing at this time anyway and—”
“Kacey.” That’s all Ezekial has to say.
“Right. Right, sorry.” She takes a deep breath. “I was just calling to warn you.”
We look to one another. Ezekial wets his lips. “About?”
“Jasmine.”
Sai’s markings spike with such vibrant intensity that we all squint. “Get thefuckoff me!”
There’s a sharp crack of Sai’s power, followed by Julien’s hiss of pain, then he’s lunging over the table once more.
Ezekial reaches out, but an electrified vine snaps at his fingers, and Sai snatches the phone as it drops.
“Back off!” he snarls, blackened gaze flicking between us as he crouches on the table, Ezekial’s phone now in hand.
“Leave him.” I feel the grip his darkness has on him, and it would only escalate if we tried to intervene now.
Sai’s wild gaze snaps to mine, knowing I’m the one he has to convince. Slowly, I nod.
He lifts the phone closer to his mouth. “Kace, listen to me.” His tendrils coil around him in an electrified barricade, protecting him; warning us.
He’s been battling his darkness for days, ever since I found him in the Dark Realm and had to force him out. At least, at the moment, he’s still in control.
“Listen. I really need you to hear me right now, Kace, because I am so close to losing it.” He inhales deeply, then swallows. “I need you to take a nice, big breath for me, and then say everything you need without stopping.”
Sai pauses, glancing at us as he carefully lowers the phone back onto the table, showing his compliance.
Kacey clearly listens, we hear her taking a deep breath, then begins: “I need you to be prepared because Jasmine doesn’t... she doesn’t look the way you last remember. She’s hardly slept, barely eaten, she spends all day researching bonds and what they mean. I can barely get a sentence out of her…”
She isn’t eating.
The ache in my chest explodes.
