She told me that once, after her incident with losing control in the canteen, she’d been advised to take a few days’ leave. Her ghosts couldn’t be controlled from that distance, but Kacey said the lord-who-shan’t-be-named had someone set up afull monitoring station in her apartment, just so she could have virtual access to every room in the atrium. He also brought in earth elementals who had worked in other atriums across the district. Kacey said that ever since, they’ve been kept on call for emergencies.
It all sounded very... thoughtful. I guess.
But when Kacey told me her atrium wasn’t the only one, that there were several more in this district alone, it reignited my anger at her isolation.
The first time we properly spoke, Kacey told me people didn’t like necromancers, feared them, and it still makes me feel sick. She always made it sound like she chose isolation, but it was forced upon her.
So when I saw the screens, saw groups of capable people helping in her atrium after all those years she spent alone… I had to step away.
Until he appeared. The dragon shifter. Kacey’s bond.
I wasn’t even tapping into her emotions, but the dread hit so hard I almost dropped to my knees from the sheer pressure.
So when Kacey wasn’t busy poisoning me with her baked goods or smothering me with her concern, she was glued to her own monitor.
Obviously just to check on her animals. Absolutely nothing more.
“You know he’s only helping because he thinks you’re watching, right?” I say, cutting through her murmuring.
She freezes, but recovers fast, straightening up and walking over with a plate of lemon cake in hand. She doesn’t look at me as she hands it over, then sits opposite on the other sofa.
She stays quiet and for a moment, I feel guilty. But she brought the dragon up first, that makes him fair game.
“Kacey,” I say gently, “I know you’re scared. I know you’re worried about what all this means.” I keep my voice soft as shefiddles with the tiny fork. “But he hasn’t done anything wrong. Not like… others. He hasn’t hurt you, hasn’t lied, hasn’t even tried to contact you. If anything, this is his way of showing he cares, he’s just doing it from a distance.”
I don’t know if it’s deliberate or a subconscious twitch, but she glances towards the front door.
I grit my jaw because I know exactly what she’s looking at. I don’t need to turn.
Mountains of bags and boxes sit by the door, overflowing into the hallway, all delivered over the last ten days.
Not one was for Kacey.
She slowly looks up, meeting my gaze, and I know exactly what she’s implying. No words are needed.
The gifts are their desperate attempt to reach me. Each one, a token of affection piled high. Their fucked up way of showing… something.
They even sent me a new phone. I still don’t know how they knew I’d smashed the first one, shattering it that very night.
But I haven’t opened a single package. I won’t. I don’t even know which one sent them, because I refuse to give them more than a few seconds of thought. That’s how long it took to grab them from the concierge and dump them on the ground.
They had food delivered too. Not just everyday groceries, but extravagant meals on ornate trays. Food I’ve never even seen before.
But I refuse to touch it. Not even the chocolate pastries,especiallythem. I send it back, every time, telling the staff to enjoy it instead.
If I wanted to eat, I’d make it myself. Kacey’s got enough tinned food to last months, if that’s how long it takes for the lockdown barrier to come down.
I’ll stay put until then. Until I can leave this district and go home—wherever that is.
Maybe not to my family, not after all their lies. Maybe somewhere else entirely? I don’t even know where, especially without paperwork to enter most districts. Maybe I’ll just keep walking...
“Yeah... you’re doing that face again.”
I take a breath, blink away whatever look she’s seeing. “What face?”
“It’s not the ‘scary face’ or the ‘angry face’.”
“Didn’t realise you’d categorised my faces.” I give her a tiny smile, just enough to show I’m teasing.
