Page 7

Chapter 7

Fallon

T here was a fragile peace that came with the sound of crashing waves against endless beaches, one that I'd been missing since I'd turned. It made it easy to fall asleep while being just loud enough to keep me alert in the long nights, something I'd struggled with since I was a boy. It was like an itch that I hadn't realized wasn't being scratched, until I heard the push and pull of the tides again, the heat-filled breeze bringing me groggily awake.

I shook my head, dislodging whatever dream had been lurking before I opened my eyes, blinking several times as narrow rays of light shone through a straw-laden ceiling … some touching the bare skin of my chest.

I sat up, quicker than I should have, brushing at the spot that should have been scorched, nearly hitting the wall that I was only inches from, in a daze that blurred my vision and made my head throb . The hut, small and … familiar, smelled a mix of earthy wood and soft mint. There was barely anything in it, just a few small trinkets and a pile of paper bark covered with fur that I lay on. My hand shot to my wrist, the corroding ache that had been there dropping off like I'd been doused in icy water, my breathing harsh as I searched the room for Archon and his pathetic guards.

But he wasn't here.

I blinked again, trying to find hints of Fellow Manor in the small space before rubbing my eyes as my hands shook. The illusion stayed firmly in place no matter how much I scrubbed.

What the fuck was happening?

"Good morning, Taz," a vibrant voice called as a shadow cast over the room. The nickname hit me in the chest, shredding me open at the singsong tone that danced with a melodic accent I hadn't heard in centuries . I arched forward, staring at the entrance to the hut as the small hide covering over it swayed open. "You're missing the festivities. Avata had her baby last night, and everyone's been in high spirits all morning."

Endless black eyes matched the cadence of her voice, a curious spark that brought her rushing back to me almost as smoothly as the nickname she'd given me after I'd tried to shoo away a wandering Tasmanian devil that had gotten too close to our home one night, only to be bitten by it.

Aislinn was dressed in simple leather bands that covered her chest and waist—the ones she used to wear in the hot summers—with small ornate beads braided into her frizzy, full hair. I recalled her making them with my mother just after her fifteenth birthday, and I couldn't remember a time she'd been without them since. She was sweating, sepia skin flushed as she grinned down at me.

I was too lost for words to do anything but stare as Aislinn let the covering over the entrance fall closed.

"Good morning," I whispered, staring dumbly at her as she chuckled and came to my side.

Her hands were warm when she pulled me to my feet, brushing me off as bits of paper bark stuck to me. I was wearing much the same as she was, my chest bare, my waist covered in an animal hide skirt. It was shoddy, something I'd made myself with my first kill, with uneven stitching that rubbed against the side of my leg. She mumbled something under her breath as she pulled away, practically floating through the room, fiddling with one of the few things on the floor.

"Aislinn? Where … where are we?" I asked, my head a disjointed mess.

The dread in my stomach exploded, nausea making my mouth water as I flexed my hands, a distinct impression that I was … lost , making them shake.

Aislinn, my old home.

This was a dream. That was the only explanation that made any fucking sense. But I hadn't dreamed of Aislinn in decades. At least not kind ones like this, where she was alive.

It was jarring, realizing that I'd forgotten her face and the range of expressions she made. I soaked them in as she walked in front of me, a carefree sway to her hips, before she tossed a cap on my head that spread out from all directions. It was one she'd made me wear every day after the first time I'd been sunburned when I was just a kid. It had taken me out for days, and Aislinn had sat dutifully by my side, making sure I stayed cool and hydrated.

She'd made the hat in between taking care of me and her other duties, intricately weaving together some dried grasses with a craftsmanship that still stunned me, so I'd have a little more protection outside.

I ran a hand over it, testing the give of the straw, the grit of it under my fingers telling me it was real.

"Home. Where else?" she asked, tsking with a click of her tongue as she straightened the hat, giving the brim a tweak. She scowled at me, planting her hands on her hips with a raised brow. "I told you to go easy last night with father. You know how your memory gets when you drink too much. You're still going to help with the first hunt, yes?"

The first hunt, to help a new family after the birth of a child. Aislinn's words before filtered back slowly. Avata, she'd said. The name came up blank, no matter how hard I thought on it. Aislinn looked at me expectantly, so I nodded. "Of course."

The creeping feeling in my chest that made me sick turned into tension as I reached up to rub my sternum. The headache only got worse, the pain almost real.

This is a dream.

"Are you all right? You seem stuck in your thoughts today," Aislinn said, going still as she studied me with pursed lips.

Looking at her, I saw every bit the beautiful woman she'd been the day I married her … but something was missing. A rawness that sank in bone deep, making my skin crawl when she got too close. I didn't want her close, something I only realized when she reached for me again and I pulled away.

The only person I wanted to touch me was Ali.

Every second I was awake seemed to numb my memories, wrapping them in a haze I couldn't get away from. This was a dream …

Right?

"Just a nightmare," I muttered, turning away from her when she frowned and raised an eyebrow like she didn't quite believe me.

I didn't blame her, but I also didn't give anything else.

"All right … don't push yourself," she said, her expression further souring when I didn't let her take my hand. She shifted, instead motioning me to follow her outside.

I flinched as the sun touched my bare skin again, the heat scorching. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen it. Even in a dream, I expected it to burn. Summers had always been borderline unbearable, but today seemed more so.

Aislinn guided me forward to the little patch we'd set aside to have our meals on, the path we'd walked weathered and worn, closer to the water than most of the others in our tribe preferred. There were already a few bowls and a small white canvas set up on it.

I was drawn to it immediately.

It wasn't any bigger than a picture frame, held onto a wooden base with a few straps of leather. I picked it up, running my thumb over the still-drying paint of a small unfinished portrait …

It was the same one I had in my room, hung up next to a beautiful Van Gogh, its brush strokes immortalized in a simple frame. Though, the one I touched now was much less complete.

"You like?" Aislinn asked as she walked up behind me. One of her arms wrapped around my waist as she reached out to touch the painting with her free hand. Her fingers danced carefully over the surface as I unwound myself from her again, but she didn't seem to mind this time, moving closer to her masterpiece. "Been working all morning on it. You're so calm when you sleep. Though … I do think I prefer you awake. You have the most expressive eyes out of anyone I've ever met, Fallon."

She hummed a familiar tune just as a sharp pain surged behind my eyes, Aislinn's voice warped, the undertones shifting from the rich, accented candor to a softer cadence. The wind shifted, the quiet sea turning to lavender in an instant.

Aaliyah's face came to mind just as Aislinn's hand skimmed over a swipe of drying green paint—my portrait's eyes. My wrist ached, forcing me to look down at the bare skin.

I nearly puked.

Aaliyah's mark was gone. I couldn't feel it or the warmth of her I'd grown so used to having, and I'd never felt more alone than in that moment.

Just a dream.

Something in my gut told me there was more to it than that. This was suspicious, directly after we'd gone to Archon's and lost to him.

What was his goal with this?

Aislinn pulled away, walking in front of me. She picked up one of the plates she'd laid out and I was too busy holding my wrist to register she was back until she was sitting gracefully next to me again, snorting a laugh as she tapped me on the nose. "Don't look at me like that. I've always had a soft spot for your eyes. Next time, we should paint together. You know, you don't have to be good at something to have fun with it."

Her motto rang in the air as she tore the bread in half and handed me a piece. She took a bite as she spoke. "Ah. Here, from mama. She's busy helping Avata with the baby, so you probably won't see her today. But she sends her love, as always."

Sighing, she leaned back, closing her eyes to bask in the sun.

I rubbed my temples again, idly listening to Aislinn talk about her plans for the day as others started to come out of their own huts. Chatter filled the air, a notable joy clinging to everyone at the announcement of the new baby. They nodded, smiling as though they knew me, whispering greetings that I ignored.

Whatever this was, I just needed to get through it. Maybe I'd wake up in Archon's dungeon, and I'd have to figure out a way to get us out from there. The mark was gone because this was a dream. The bonds were gone because this was a dream.

That was all.

I took a bite of the bread, the dense thing drying my mouth out, sending a wave of nostalgia through me. I ate every last bit.

Breakfast went fast after that, the other men and I heading out shortly after to hunt. It was successful, and the day was washed away by the excitement of a fresh kill. It was almost enough to clear the haze of the morning, and when I came home, Aislinn was waiting for me.

I hugged her willingly, just long enough to remember she was here, to memorize her face again. My first love, the wife I'd killed . She was a part of me I didn't want to forget. One I'd leave behind in a heartbeat for Ali.

And Ali was waiting for me.

"Good night, husband," Aislinn whispered, and I lay in bed next to her, keeping my distance, waiting for her to drift off to sleep.

I was quick and eager to follow, my hand on my wrist the entire time.

But when I opened my eyes, nothing had changed. I was still in the hut, still wearing the hides I'd made myself.

My wrist was still empty.

The air, the room, the nauseating headache that spawned behind my eyes. Aislinn walked in, just as she had the day before, with the same flushed skin and unapologetic smile.

"Good morning, Taz," she called in a vibrant voice, as her shadow cast over me. Unlike the day before, I didn't lean in to see her face, the shadow more like a cage as her arms came up, binding me in. "You're missing the festivities. Avata had her baby last night, and everyone's been in high spirits all morning."

She said it exactly as she had yesterday, the same cadence, the same sway to her hips as she dragged me outside. The same painting that haunted me with imperfect strokes and drying ink. My mother's bread.

Oh, fuck me.

The day passed in a sickening blur. The same hunt. The same kill. The same celebration that ended with me in bed next to a woman that I knew wasn't real, even as I touched her cheek and felt the heat behind it.

This had to be a fucking dream.

"Good morning, Taz," Aislinn called, my head still on the bed as I stared up at the ceiling. Whatever game this was, Archon had planned it well. This was his prison, his hell. I'd expected dungeons and torture, whips and blood. That I could have handled. Pain wasn't something I was afraid of, but this? This was something I damned well couldn't fight my way out of. "You're missing the festivities. Avata had her baby last night, and everyone's been in high spirits all morning."

"She had him yesterday," I said, watching as she snorted and shook her head.

"I mean, technically . She had him late last night. I'm surprised the cheering didn't wake you," she said, crossing her arms over her chest as she toyed with one of her braids, the bead on it rattling against another. "Are you all right? I told you to go easy last night with father. You know how your memory gets when you drink too much. You're still going to help with the first hunt, yes?"

I swallowed hard, shaking as I rubbed my temples, the ache in my head furious. "Where am I?"

She bit her bottom lip, her shoulders drooping. My chest constricted at the sight. The need to fix whatever this was warred with the need to try to comfort her.

"Home? Did you—" she started, the same scowl she'd had the last two days.

"I didn't drink last night. Where am I, Aislinn?" I knew she didn't understand what I asked when she grimaced, her head tilting as if to say sure you didn't .

This wasn't fucking real, and yet it hurt every single time I saw her face. Every easygoing expression and smile I damned well already stole away.

"Are you still tired? You're acting strange, even for a late night," Aislinn said, for the first time not dragging me outside as she tried to direct me to the bed. "Do you need to lay down?"

Her gentle hands moved me to sit, and I pulled away from her again, moving to the opening that led outside. She was close on my heels the entire way.

"I need to get out of here," I said, yanking back the shade, stunned by the brightness of the sun again. I grunted at it, gritting my teeth as I stormed out into the crowd of people that had beat us out this time. Urgency rushed me, my head swarming with a hint of pain. "I need to find the others. I need?—"

"Others? Do you mean Avata? I told you already, she has a new baby, born just last night—" Aislinn said, still trailing close, managing to grab my hand, stopping me from going any farther.

"My brothers ," I cut in, the holes in my chest where their bonds were supposed to be crippling. Eirik and Adrian had fallen, too. Were they stuck like this?

Or worse?

"You have no brothers," she said, laughing awkwardly, narrowing her eyes as I ripped my hand out of hers. "What's going on, Fallon?"

The crowd filled out around us, the people faceless and nameless looking on with distorted expressions that bordered on hateful.

Until only one showed. It was barely enough time for me to catch the paleness of ivory skin and the mark of a scar on the tip of an upturned nose.

"Aaliyah," I whispered, her head tipping to the side, her mouth opening. She smiled at me, her hands joined together as she anxiously looked around the bush clearing. Her mouth opened, as if to speak, though I couldn't hear any of the words.

We were in danger . She was in danger, and I couldn't fucking do this right now. Wherever she was, Aaliyah needed me, and I was here instead. The image of her in the crowd grew more frantic the longer I looked, her lips moving desperately as her arms raised above her head, and I was too fucking stupid to understand what she was trying to say.

I reached for my wrist, the one that felt empty without that thin lavender ring.

"Aaliyah? Who's that, Fallon?" Aislinn asked, looking into the crowd as Aaliyah disappeared. Aislinn took her spot, standing in front of me, grabbing both cheeks, forcing me to look at her. "You scare me."

The way she said it brought me back to her for long enough to really look at her. She was Aislinn; she had the features, the strong face and tenacious curve to her lips when she was agitated. She was everything she'd always been …

"I don't know what's happening, Aislinn," I said, shaking my head again. "But I know I can't stay here."

Aislinn's eyes went so wide the whites glowed, her lips pulling back into a bitter sneer. As if the mirage had broken, the other villagers stopped, their heads snapping to look at me before they went eerily still as all their conversations went silent.

"I don't understand," she whispered, the crack in her voice nearly breaking me.

But I'd lost the right to comfort her, to look her in those eyes that I'd loved before my turn. My human life had been good, one full of joy and happiness. That was gone now, and nothing, not even this dream, would change it. I'd accepted that.

"You're not real, Aislinn," I said, brushing the hair away from her face.

"Not real?" she whispered, letting go of my cheeks.

Her laugh filled the clearing, as the villagers began to drop, one by one. They didn't make any sounds as they did, just crumpled like dolls that had lost their strings. The sun blotted from the sky, and the huts around us burst into flames as day turned to night. Engulfing the tribe with screams and fire.

The image was a visceral memory. A night I remembered too well … a dream turned into a nightmare. I shivered, my throat seizing on me as a bite of pain sank into my bottom lip. I raised my hand to brush it away, blood covering my fingers when I pulled them back.

Aislinn was next. Red streaked down her face, out of her mouth and eyes, her head tilting to show a throat ripped out. My mouth watered against my will, my vision shifting to crimson as my stomach wound tight.

Feed, a voice whispered—Sebek's, dark and perverse, my eyes going red.

Blood coated the barren sand beneath Aislinn as she reached her hand out to me, smiling as wide as her mouth would let her. The waves crashed behind me, splashing against a ground that was painted red, brushing my feet as I took a step back.

"Say it," she whispered, smearing the blood over her face, the whites of her eyes glowing. "Why am I not real, Taz?"

Her hand came to my chest, leaving a bloody print there. Even then her touch was soft, gentle, like the way she used to look at me while I held her … before she'd bled out in my arms, staring at me like I hadn't ripped out her throat, holding me close like she wasn't dying.

"Because I killed you," I whispered, choking on my tears as Aislinn's eyes cleared, kindness there for just a second, before they rolled back in her head.

Her heart stopped, the beat stuttering out, mine following as I forced myself to watch her body slump before she was ripped away from me. The fire dulled, and there was only the rhythmic splash of the waves on bloodied, sandy beaches.

Darkness swallowed my vision, consuming me. The scent of blood was replaced with mint and woody bark. I sat up, clutching my throat, gasping for air.

Light streamed into the small hut, a cold sweat coating my body as I heaved heavy breaths. A hum filled the room as a shadow cast over the door. Just like before, Aislinn walked in, smiling vibrantly as she saw me …

"Good morning, Taz ."