Page 24

Ignatia

Amias and I take a seat in the pastel painted chairs outside of Soulbake Pastry Shop.

With Estrella's star deciding to be insufferable this time of year, I'm more than thankful for choosing a white tank top and denim shorts today. Amias’ brown overalls over his long sleeve shirt might be a mistake on his part.

Seems like we're the ones getting baked out here.

Amias invited me here for lunch, and despite our argument, I didn't reject.

The place is built like a cute white house with a pale pink roof and window frames.

Doves chirp and hop on the floor as other people chat around us.

One keeps tilting its head, approaching me as I rip a piece of my heart shaped pastry called a cor.

The birds aren't so bold back in Somnia. To be fair, they would be on a dinner plate if they were.

I toss the piece before taking another bite of the cor. The flavors of garlic, onions and some other kinds of spice pair well with the dripping tomato sauce and ground beef. The pastry holding it together is golden, flaky and buttery, blending perfectly with the filling.

I lean against my seat, taking in flavors when I notice Amias’ cor that hasn't been touched. I am already down to less than half with mine.

Amias has his arms folded, focused on the street. There's tapping on the pavement below him as his eyes shift.

Something is on his mind. "Amias?"

He doesn't respond.

I lean over the table and clap in front of his face. "Amias!"

He jumps, snapping his bugged eyes towards me. "What?"

I laugh."What are you thinking about there?"

After a moment of silence, he gives a nervous titter, cocking his head sideways. "Well… it's something that happened two days ago. It's starting to boggle my mind."

"What happened?" Does it happen to be about a certain dreamscreecher?

He sighs. "Well, I've been thinking over our discussion we had earlier about dreamscreechers. It's been sticking with me. What you said."

I give him a half smile. "And what about it?"

He sucks air through his teeth before leaning towards me. "A dreamscreecher saved my life Sunday night."

I widen my eyes as I try my best to act surprised. "Really?"

“Yeah. I was crossing a busy street and a dreamscreecher ran into me just before I got hit by a car. If it wasn't for that push, I would have been dead."

I scoff down another bite of my cor. "I’m surprised you didn't just assume it was a failed attack,” I say mid-chewing, using a hand to cover my mouth.

"No…or maybe?" His nose scrunches. "I don't know.

Based on what I know about dreamscreechers, it would make sense if it was accidental.

But this situation… it doesn't make sense…

" He looks back across the street, biting his lip.

"The dreamscreecher had a chance to kill me if it wanted, but it didn't really make a move to. "

I slowly nod, a satisfied smirk tugging at my lips. This seems like a step in the right direction.

Amias continues. “It’s like you said… every species has its good and it's evil. And…I can't help but think I just saw the dreamscreecher's good side… which has never happened before."

"It looks like you're the first one to witness it."

"I want to investigate further. I want to see it again; To really see if it's as good as I think it is."

I let out a groan. "You still doubt their morality."

"When all you ever see about dreamscreechers is violence… it's hard not to be skeptical."

I frown. Still thinking that dreamscreechers are evil I see.

"I'm trying my best," he smiles softly. "If it helps, I believe you're right. I just need to be sure of the truth."

I scrunch my nose for a moment, before relaxing myself. I can't really blame him for not wanting to go against what's been taught his entire life. Just the fact that he's considering my ideas is impressive.

Patience with him could mean big change. Perhaps I can convince the prince of Amara that dreamscreechers are good, this could help Somnia and start a movement in this kingdom.Maybe one day, it will be safe here for dreamscreechers.

Maybe there's a reason to stall in my plans for Caelestia after all.

◆◆◆

"You have a mark?" I gawked at the nape of Kaius' neck. It's marked with black dots in the shape of a bite mark. My breath trembled at the sight.

Kaius’ eyes widened. "It's okay Ignatia. It's just a mark. Vasilisa won't see it."

"You're a knight now, Kaius! You shouldn't have let Clarissa mark you. Vasilisa will kill both of you if she sees it!"

"Vasilisa can't stop us,” Kaius scoffs. “We deserve this, Ignatia. Clarissa and I deserve to have something."

My heart ached thinking about the meaning behind that mark. "Vasilisa doesn't like symbols of love," I scolded, my eyes straining with my gritting teeth. "You two shouldn't have been fucking if it's gotten that serious."

Kaius winced at my glowing eyes, but kept eye contact despite it. "You really expect me to leave Clarissa alone?" he mumbled, his eyes shimmering with tears. "She's the love of my life."

"Well as of now, she can be the end of your life!" I shift my gaze to the ground. "I can't lose both of you." My tears sting my eyes but I bit my tongue to contain my pain.

I couldn't show weakness. Even if I'm with Kaius.

"Hey Ignatia. You're not going to lose us," Kaius sets a hand on my shoulder. "The knight armor will hide the mark. She'll never see it."

"The mark also changes your scent. You won't be able to hide that."

"I've been spraying on rosewater to mask it." He smiled. "It's okay."

"I'm not so sure anymore…"

"What's happening here?"

I turned to see Clarissa approaching, her arms crossed as she looked between us.

I wrinkled my nose, frustrated that they even put themselves into such a position. "I don't want to deal with this."

"Deal with what?" She gave Kaius a stern look.

"She knows about the mark."

She lashes her head towards me. "Don't tell Vasilisa! She can't know!"

"I won't—" I balled up my fists, my canines threatened to grow longer and sharper. I really wanted to punch them. After all, how could they do this to themselves? To me? How could they put themselves in danger like this?

But I let my fists go. Fighting wouldn't make the mark go away. It's there now, and it's permanent. "I'm just…I'm afraid for you two."

She frowned. "She won't find out. I promise."

I grunted. Everything about that promise felt empty. "You two better be certain…"

Kaius went up to Clarissa and grabbed her hand. "We'll make sure." He gave me a soft grin, before turning to Clarissa. "She'll never know."

A split second later and I blink. I'm back in this room, my heart dropping down to my stomach and breath scraping against my throat.

This room is an empty lifeless room, where I only hear my breath as a deep melancholy fills the air.

My heart steadies as I start thinking of Kaius and Clarissa again. I try to gulp down the desire to cry as the images stay in my mind but I cave into it, letting myself choke out some sobs as tears spill from my eyes.

They're gone. They're dead and they'll never come back.

As the tears blur my vision, I look to my side table, where the charm of my new phone shines from moonlight. It's the one Amias had given me Sunday.

Amias.

I pick it up from the nightstand, touching the invisible box under the charm. I press on it and the phone appears in my hand. Typing in the password, my heart guides my fingers to where Amias showed me I could call or text him.

I sniffle. He obviously doesn't favor dreamscreechers at all… but he seems to be coming around. Besides, he's really sweet. He fought just to have me here in this place. He's been checking up on me constantly, and trying to make things comfortable…

It wouldn't hurt…to have him around…

To have someone who cares for once…even if they can't know the whole story…

I stare at the messages part of the screen, contemplating whether it would be of comfort to talk to him. Maybe it would soften the situation. Maybe it would make me feel less alone.

Minutes go by, and with soft whimpers, I abandon the thought, letting the phone fall out of my hands onto the blankets.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to share my pain yet. What if he gets suspicious? What if he figures it all out?

What if he turns me in to get killed?

I can't risk it. I've already said a lot.

Besides, how weak am I? How weak am I to need Amara's grandson’s help out of all people?

My eyes strain again. I look down to my fingers as purple fur grows, my nails turning dark again. As I scrunch my brows together, the nails and fur recede once more.

Another vision to turn? But… why? I saved Amias already. What more needs to be done in my dreamscreecher form? Especially now?

As if to answer, there's pitter patters, starting off loud and getting softer in the direction of the door. There's no one there but the noise is.

My eyes follow the sound. What kind of plan does Godusa have in store for me? Does she still want to kill me or… what's the deal?

I push myself off of the bed and stare down the door, as if Godusa would appear but there's only the door, the way I left it.

I sigh. I guess we'll see.