Frowning some more, I shrug nonchalantly, trying to pretend like it doesn’t feel as if I’ve had my heart ripped from my chest. “Sable screwed me over. I’m done here. Her fucking family were the ones who put me in Hell.”
“N-no, man. You… you smell like a human.”
I pause. “Did you do drugs?”
“I’m not fucking around, Lynx.”
For a second, I debate rolling my eyes and walking away from him, but my surroundings catch my attention. I can see the moon—usually almost hidden beyond the treetops—clearly, and the lake. I shove him aside and walk toward it, frowning down at my reflection. My hands are shaking still, my mind going blank when I try to summon my inner demon.
“I… I can’t shift,” I say.
Fuck.
The breath’s knocked out of me as I drop back, but Tony catches me, holding me up. “You need to tell me what happened.”
“She stabbed me,” I force out before everything grows still. “She stabbed me with the blade that put me in Hell.”
My curse is gone. I can’t feel it at all. There’s nothing beneath my skin, trying to get out.
My gaze flicks behind me, but the manor is nowhere in sight. Before, I could at least see the roof, a chimney, something.
I gulp. “I’m human.”
And I can’t teleport to Sable.
I’m no longer tethered to her.
I can leave.
But…
I…
“Wait,” Tony whispers, his head snapping in the direction of the manor. “Fuck.”
He shifts and runs toward the building, but I have no energy to go after him, and I’m human, unable to shift or teleport or do anything other than stand in confusion and stare at my fucking hands.
I’ve wanted to be human again for longer than I can remember, but right now, I’m useless and weak and helpless. I can’t save Sable when I can’t even run five minutes without coughing up a lung.
All my senses are different. I can feel more, but I can’t smell the way I did before either. All I can smell is the earth, the grass, the trees, the fresh air. It’s not poisoned by residue or death.
I should be happy I’m human again.
But I no longer feel that bond to Sable. It’s gone, and I don’t like it.
It takes me half an hour to reach the yard, sweat coating my forehead and covered in dirt from how many times I’ve tripped over my own feet.
Something is wrong.
Sable might be in trouble.
Gritting my teeth, I push forward, aiming for the back entrance, but Tidus pounces in front of me, and my very human body recoils before he quickly morphs into a worried-looking Tony.
I stare, blinking once. “What?”
He rushes up to me and grabs my collar. “They fucking took her. I’m sorry, man. I tried. I… I couldn’t stop them.”
His words don’t register—I must have misheard him and the tiredness is kicking in. “What did you just say?”
