“Besidesthat, you dork!” The Siren huffed, smacking his chest.
Cyrus chuckled. “Well…” he trailed off, frowning at what he realized once he pushed past the bizarreness of them having sex with someone else. “Ender was crying.”
“Crying?” Killian grimaced, his nose wrinkling.
“Yeah, and he was pleading.” Cyrus’ brow pulled, while he kept reviewing what he saw. “He sounded afraid.”
The Siren flinched. “Of us?!”
His eyes widened. “No! It wasn’t anything like that. He sounded…heartbroken. He was…cold. That’s what he said. It was like he was begging us to hold him…to feel safe?”
“That doesn’t sound like Ender at all, yet…”
“Yet?” he asked, one brow raising in question.
“He kept asking what drugs we had, and it didn’t sound like he was asking because of the pain. I mean, it sort of lines up, you know? We’re nearing the day the Gorgon population went from many thousands to…what, a few hundred? Well, I’m not actuallysure of the numbers now, but it’s basically extinction level, unless they’ve finally managed to solve their fertility issues.”
Cyrus’ eyes widened, as he quickly checked the date on his watch. “I don’t know how I forgot… It's only a few weeks away.” He grimaced as he had a thought. “They seemed worried.”
“What?”
“Ender and Soren, when we were talking about the ships being damaged, and the drugs, they both seemed worried. I mean, Ender was also clearly angry, but it was more than that.”
Killian frowned. “You’re right, they were definitely worried about something, and we can only assume, with the date being so near, that it has something to do with it.”
“The man came up behind me to tease me about the rain cloud, but even though I panicked and ran away, it still registered in my mind that he looked stressed, and tired.”
“This time of the year can’t be easy for them.”
“Them?”
“Ender and Soren…”
“Have they been together that long?” Cyrus grimaced. “Shit…isn’t Ender with Soren?”
Killian giggled, opened his mouth and then giggled again. Then, with a smile that set him slightly on edge, the Siren said, “Who knows? But they probably aren’t together in that way, considering Ender wouldn’t even cuddle with the man.”
His eyes narrowed at his boyfriend. “What do you know that you just decided not to tell me?”
The Cryptid’s smile widened. “Nothing at all.”
Cyrus rolled his eyes at the obvious lie. “Moving back to the topic at hand… How do you feel about it? Possibly sleeping with Ender, that is?”
“I…” Killian trailed off, the Siren’s smile slowly dropping and turning into a frown. “I don’t know.”
Yeah, that was pretty much where he was at—fuck…
Ender knelt there as the rain continued to pour down. It hadn’t slowed or stopped once since it had started hours ago, as if the heavens were trying to wash away the horrors that had taken place that day.
The cold had seeped into his very bones, and he was trembling endlessly, while his gaze traced the faces, the bodies of the five people he’d just dug out of what was left of his house. As he stared, the tears trailing down his face becameindistinguishable from the rain, he tried his best to not see the burns and missing pieces.
Laid out in a row were Cooper, Nyla, and Kovo Imorus, and next to them were Rox and Dixi Korius—his parents. While he was running there, his mind was sure he’d be goingfrom one horror to another, certain he’d see his childhood home destroyed as well…but he hadn’t. He’d forgotten it was Saturday…his parents always came over on Saturday…
Ender could almost hear it…their laughter. They’d probably been laughing up until… But…where was?—
Ender woke up with a shudder,tears silently trailing down his face while his teeth chattered. His body felt like a damn ice cube as he stared up at the ceiling.
“Too soon. Oh, Goddess…it’s happening too soon.” A whimper slipped past his lips. All of it was happening too fast…
