Planting his back firmly to me, he jerks his phone out of his pocket, presses the lock button, and snaps at Siri tocall Xios.
The phone rings.
A grumbling distant, “Hello?” works its way through the line.
“Xios. Are you up?”
“Mmph. A ringing phone will do that to a person.”
A feminine voice I know very well mumbles, “Who is it?”
Zahra.
I step a little closer to Castor, heart racing, stomach tumbling.
“Razah, go back to sleep,” Castor says.
“Are you taking care of my Dani?” Zahra quips, her voice fuller now. “Why are you calling so late? Did youloseher? Castor, I swear if you’ve lost my friend—”
“I’m coming over,” he snaps. “Tell Xios to be up.”
With that, he cancels the call and grabs me before I have a chance to compute what’s happening.
Chapter7
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Insecurities for all, and for all a good night.
Zahra is purple.
I’ve seen her on countless streams, playing video games on Twitch, Leopard, and YouTube. She has never beenpurplebefore. Her hair was always colored, but her skin was always a generic peachy sort of shade. Regular.Human.
Now, her half-long, half-cropped hair is a full aurora of greens and purples—both so vivid I know none of it is dye. And her eyes…they’re basically galaxies. Twinkling full of stars and asteroid belts.
Since I’m on the verge of tears and being crushed in Zahra’s purple arms, it’s hard for me to keep track of everything going on with the men. But a few things certainly do stand out.
Xios, orAlexios—which was how Zahra introduced him flippantly before dragging me inside her home and wrapping me in a hug—is standing before Castor in Zahra’s living room, yawning. He’s tall, almost as pale as Castor, with dark hair framing his face in wisps. If his hair were the only thing framing his face, this picture would be almost normal.
Sadly, nothing is normal anymore.
The man is in a rabbit onesie, and two lop ears fall by his cheeks while Castor—desperately—tries to make a case on why they should commit arson. Together. Right now. For reasons that he will explain when something is aflame.
Pulling back, Zahra beams at me, bracing her hands at my shoulders. “You got out,” she says. “You’re okay.” She shakes me. “You’reDanielle Storm. The supermodel.”
I wince, smiling to soften it. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. My mother…” My ex-fiancé… “The people…who would look for me…” They’re…terrifying.
Zahra laughs. “Don’t worry. Castor is an emu captain. He can send an army of birds after anyone dumb enough to mess with you.”
Castor pauses his plea for fire to whip his attention our way. “Razah, how do you know about that?”
“Italkto people.” Zahra sniffs, smug. “Doesn’t matter right now. Come on, Dani.” Shesparkles. Literally. Comets race through her eyes as her skin glitters. “Come meet my baby.”
Alexios pouts, folding his arms as Zahra pulls me toward the stairs. Her feet aren’t on the ground. She is floating. All this time, I thought she was normal. I’ve been relying on her for sanity. But, turns out, she’s one ofthem, too.
Chipper, she babbles, “He’s sleeping, but you have to see his cute squishy face. His name is Ash. He might be eating dirt, but that’s fine. Normal. Healthy even.”
I will…take her word for it.
