But over the past couple of months, I’ve been getting the migraines even when my magic is nulled. Visions have started creeping through, too. Like my Sight is finding ways through.
Rubbing my thumping head again, I get up to splash some water on my overly pale cheeks. I look exhausted. Huge dark circles ring my eyes and I feel like I haven’t slept properly in months.
Someone starts pounding on the bathroom door and I stifle a sigh. It doesn’t matter that we no longer share a bathroom. Or that we’re all doing much better for ourselves these days, thanks partly to Silver finding true love with a group of males who have more money than they know what to do with. We have plenty of bathrooms, yet it never seems to be enough.
There’s never enough table space either. We’re always jostling for space and yelling over each other to be heard.
I’m not sure my head can cope with either of those things today.
This grouchy creature isn’t me. I don’t get grumpy. I’m the one who's always in a good mood. The soft one. The romantic.
But these days, I find those parts of me slipping away. Replaced instead with someone who’s permanently tired and irritable. Snippy, verging on rude.
I don’t like it.
Patting my cheeks to try and force some color into my face, I then unlock the door and shoot a wan smile at Una who’s waiting outside.
We might not all live together anymore, but that doesn’t mean we’re not always over at each other’s houses, hanging around like a bunch of bad smells.
My living room is currently littered with bodies. Seb’s on the sofa with Hanna beside him. There’s a pile of popcorn in a bowl to indicate where Una is sitting, and just enough space for me to squeeze in on my own sofa. It’s comforting, never being fully alone. Annoying too, for sure. I never have enough privacy and they’re all a bunch of gossips so news always travels like wildfire. But unlike some of the others, I spent a lot of time by myself before SIlver found me.
I never want to go back to that lonely place. So, I’ll put up with my kitchen being raided near-constantly and my living room looking like a bombsite.
We also have Ember in the corner of the room, his body still frozen. Mona is sitting on a cushion, watching TV close by. And it might seem weird that we drag him around from house to house, but I’m not the only one who’s convinced he’s not entirely dead to the world, even if he can’t make himself be heard.
I think we’re all secretly hoping that, one day, he’ll be able to break himself free. Or Fabian’s promises of ever-increasing rewards will pay off and someone will appear who can help him.
Leaning my aching head back against the sofa, I take a deep breath through the accompanying nausea. I jump as something lands in my lap and blink down at the bag of chips resting on my legs.
“Eat something, you look like you have low blood sugar or something,” Hanna orders.
I don’t have the energy to argue with her, so I settle down to eat my chips and stare mindlessly at the TV. I’ve got bottles of potions for the pain all over the place, but I know from experience that nothing will touch the headache from a vision.It’s like I just have to push through it and wait for the pain to subside.
It’s only once I’m licking the salt off my fingertips, a shudder goes through me. A feeling. Just how I know that my lips taste of salt right now, I know that someone is coming.
“We’re going to get a visitor,” I say, right as the doorbell rings.
“Woah, that’s cool,” Seb says, twisting his wide shoulders to glance down at me.
Hanna snorts, but luckily doesn’t say anything disparaging against my Sight. She’s probably worried I’ll bite her head off again.
Since no one else is clamoring to answer it, I get to my feet. The pounding in my head seems to double with the movement and I grip the back of the sofa to keep my balance.
Hanna’s up and cupping my elbow in an instant. “You all right?”
“Just a migraine,” I mumble.
She doesn’t let go and instead helps to guide me to the front door. I blink at the face peering at me through the peephole.
I know this woman.
I don’t know where from or how I know her. But I’ve seen her face before.
Unlocking the door and pulling it open, I stare at the heart-shaped face looking back at me. Its owner has a mass of curly hair and a wide smile fixed in place.
I’ve dreamt of this woman. Or maybe I’ve seen her in a vision. Sometimes it’s hard to pick the two apart.
“Can we help you?” Hanna asks. Probably good that she’s speaking since I’ve been rendered mute by the stranger’s appearance.
