Page 20 of Beastkin
His expression cracked for just a moment, revealing something raw and desperate underneath. “How do I know your name? Fucking hell, Phoenix. We were best friends! We were everything to each other. And you’re sitting here asking me how I know your fucking name?”
My heart stopped. The pendant burned hotter against my chest, and suddenly the library felt like it was spinning around me. “Best friends? But I... I don’t...”
“Remember me,” he finished, his voice hollow. “Yeah, I got that message loud and clear yesterday.”
I stared at him, my mind racing. The boy from my dreams, the one I couldn’t quite see clearly. Dark hair, warm eyes, a laugh that made me feel safe. Could it be...?
“Karrick,” I breathed, the name falling from my lips without conscious thought.
The effect was immediate. His entire body went rigid, and for a moment I thought he might actually collapse. “You do remember.”
“I...” I pressed my palm harder against the burning pendant, my thoughts fragmenting. “I remember fragments. Dreams, maybe. A boy who... who could change into something wild. But my parents said...”
“What did they say?” His voice was deadly quiet now, and he took a step closer to my table.
I looked down at the books spread before me, the titles suddenly feeling like an indictment. “They said I had an overactive imagination. That I made up imaginary friends to cope with being lonely.” The words tasted like ash in my mouth. “But these books... I think they might have done something to my memories.”
Karrick’s eyes followed my gaze to the texts on memory modification, and I watched as understanding dawned across his features. The angerin his eyes intensified and without warning, he slammed his fist down on the table. The moment his palm struck the wood, it burst into flames.
“Shit!” I scrambled back from the table, nearly toppling my chair as the flames licked upward from the wood. My instinct to control the fire kicked in automatically, my hand extending as I pulled the heat into my palm, smothering it before it could spread. As I pulled my hand away, nothing was left but a smear of charcoal and charred wood.
“I’m sorry,” Karrick growled, looking horrified at what he’d done. “I didn’t mean to?—”
“It’s fine,” I whispered, my heart hammering. I glanced around frantically, but miraculously, no one seemed to have noticed our little pyrotechnic display. Mrs. Wilcox was busy helping a student at the far end of the library. “I put it out before anyone saw.”
The charred mark on the table told a different story, but that was a problem for another time. Right now, my mind was reeling. Karrick. The name felt right on my tongue, familiar in a way that made my chest ache with recognition.
“You’re the boy from my dreams,” I said softly, studying his face. Those amber eyes, the strong jawline, the tusks that protruded slightly from his lower lip, they sparked something in me, like static electricity jumping between disconnected wires.
“Dreams?” Karrick stepped closer, his massive form looming over me. “What dreams?”
The pendant against my chest pulsed with heat again, making me wince. “I’ve been having these... memories, I guess. Of a boy I used to play with in the woods. But I can never see his face clearly. My parents always told me he wasn’t real.”
Karrick’s expression darkened. “I was real, Phoenix. We were real. We spent every summer together for three years. Your parents...” He trailed off, seeming to struggle with his words. “Your parents took you away. No goodbye, nothing. You were just… gone.”
The hurt in his voice was palpable. He’d been living with thememories his whole life, wondering why I’d just abandoned him. And yet, I was allowed to go on living as if nothing had ever happened. It seemed incredibly unfair and cruel to us both.
My throat tightened. “That’s why we moved so suddenly.” It wasn’t a question. The pieces were falling into place, forming a picture I wasn’t sure I wanted to see. “They modified my memories. They made me forget you.”
I looked down at the books again, feeling sick to my stomach. The pendant burned against my skin, a constant reminder of their control.
“What’s that?” Karrick asked, nodding toward my chest where I was still pressing my hand against the painful but invisible amulet.
I hesitated, then slowly pulled the chain from beneath my shirt. But neither of us could see it. Karrick just stared with a confused look on his face.
“My parents gave it to me before I left for Widdershins,” I explained, watching his expression carefully. “For protection, they said. But it… it burns whenever I get too close to someone who’s not… a witch.”
Karrick’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not protection,” he growled. “That’s a leash.”
“I… I know,” I whispered, the words hitting even harder now that I said them out loud. “I thought I was coming to Widdershins to finally be free, to make my own choices… but now…”
“Can’t you get rid of it?” Karrick asked, taking a step back to give me some room. He clearly wanted to help but was afraid to get any closer.
“I don’t know how,” I replied, shaking my head. “My father is much more powerful than me. And if I take it off… they’ll know instantly. They arealwayswatching.”
“Then let’s go to Professor Blackwood,” Karrick suggested. “I don’t know shit about magic and she… well, she’s reformed. And not just by her own admission. I reached out to Atlas about her, and I guess she’s legit now?” He shrugged like he couldn’t even believe it himself. “But she would help you. I know it.”
I stared at him, my mind reeling. Professor Blackwood, the same woman who’d terrorized half the academy just a few years ago? The idea of trusting her with something this personal, this dangerous, made my stomach churn.