Page 30

Ignatia

It's been a few days since I stopped talking to Amias.

There has been no phone calls or knocks on my door. Even if there were, I would never answer after what he said. I don't want to see him.

I've been using this time to prepare for Caelestia. With the money Amias left me, I've bought a backpack, a map, a water bottle and snacks that won't spoil. Oh, and a sleeping bag.

Tomorrow is the day I'm leaving for Caelestia. As a final goodbye to this death hole, I’m down the street from the shelter at a Lluvian Restaurant. The food around here is the only good thing about this city, so I might as well try one more restaurant.

The place doesn't look like much. The walls are a simple beige, with newspapers and photos of both the tropical beaches and the snowy mountains of the Lluvia Kingdom taped on them.

The Gift for Water herself, also named Lluvia, has her own photos, with her white coily hair and pale skin.

The corners of the restaurant are a little dusty and only four tables fit in the space.

The food makes up for that completely. I bought a plastic box of omnia rice, with cod and peas mixed in. The flavors of garlic and sourness of lemon make each bite addicting, and the soft buttery rice is the perfect texture.

I scoff it down like my life depended on it. Some people even side-glance me when they come in but I continue feasting.

As I chew, my mind drifts. It’s odd to be using Amias' money that he gave me. It feels like I'm dependent on him.

The thought earns a sneer. I wonder why he hasn't done something to get things back.

I mean, he gave me so much; a place to stay, a phone, food and that's just naming a few.

He could probably make me homeless again if he really wanted to…

for disrespecting his kingdom or whatever excuse he could make up.

He could definitely turn me into the police!

Maybe he's a little genuine after all. He's not vengeful, which is more than I can say about people at home.

The ache of regret soaks throughout the rest of my body.

Was I being too hard on him? I mean…he seemed to be making an effort to see if I was right.

If he ended up agreeing with me, he would be going against what he's known his entire life. Against the only world he knows.

In that case, he's braver than everyone else in this kingdom for hearing me out. Especially since he didn't hand me in to stop thinking this way.

I scowl at those thoughts. It doesn't excuse him. He had evidence right in front of his face. And he's the grandson of Amara! What kind of dumbass would I be to tru-

"—dreamscreechers! Can't you believe it?"

I snap my gaze to the group of girls that walk into the restaurant.

All of them are wearing cropped tank tops and jean shorts.

They all have the same makeup caking their faces, same orange skin, same jewelry, the only differentiator being their hair color.

Three of the four girls settle down while one of them goes to the cashier.

"Oh my Cosmo, really?" One brown haired girl says in a high pitched nasally voice. She reeks of arrogance.

"Yes! I was so worried about her!" the blonde-hair girl says, her voice just as irritating and arrogant. "I almost had to send her to the mental hospital. Her family thankfully got her to agree to a cleansing and she'll like be better in a few days."

I raise a brow and slow my chewing. A cleansing ceremony?

"I can't believe Meghan would say something to disrespect Amara." A black haired girl responds. "How could she accuse Amara of lying?"

"I know, right ?" The blonde shrugs. "She's just so dumb."

"Well at least after her cleansing, she'll be reborn," the brown haired girl replies. "Dreamscreechers are wicked vile creatures and that's a fact!"

"I don't even know why we keep them all alive! We should have just killed them all centuries ago!"

Now rage boils in my stomach. I stop chewing completely. What gives them all the idea that we should all be killed?

Oh yeah. Amara herself. Amias’ grandmother.

The blonde speaks. “Exactly! Then we won't have to worry about them. We could just like poison their water supply and get it all over with!"

Poison?

I jump up from my seat, swallowing whatever’s left in my mouth. My tongue tingles, begging me to say something.

I suck in a breath as the girls laugh and chat away about killing our people. My muscles want to burst from my skin when I finally give into my urges. "You really think the solution to all of this is to poison them all?"

They all turn in my direction, all of their eyes narrowing. "What?" Blonde hair hisses.

"You really think the world would be better if you just killed a whole group of people, most of which have done nothing to you?"

Brown hair stands up and slams her hands on the table. "They've tried everything they could to kill us! If all the kingdom could come and kill us, they would!"

I clench my teeth. "No, they wouldn't! If they all really wanted to destroy this kingdom, don't you think they would've already? What's preventing them from doing that?"

"Are you crazy, girl?" The black haired girl snickers. "You need a mental check."

My heart punches at my chest, like it would burst and fight her itself. How fucking dare she? “I'm not the one who needs a mental check."

"She needs like a real cleansing." The blonde girl rolls her eyes, with a little smirk. "Better get it done before they force you into a psych ward…"

I jerk my head back. “A cleansing?"

"Yeah. You know, the cleansing that like resets your brain into thinking properly?”

Reset your brain? Wait. They have cleansing ceremonies when people think differently? Does that mean they induce amnesia or something?

No wonder Amias doesn't know the truth. No wonder nobody knows the truth! They make anyone who learns the truth forget it completely?

How could I blame Amias if that's the punishment?

“You'll actually think properly about this subject.” Black hair girl raises her brows. "You're not mentally okay if you speak up against Amara.”

The way she said that reminds me of Vasilisa. I try to shake myself off the thought but all I can envision are those deadly purple eyes, staring back at me with a snicker.

"What did you do?" I whispered.

"Nothing." Vasilisa chuckled, leaning back against her chair. "I just wanted to celebrate Kaius’ attempted murder last night. After all, it was pleasant to see a guard dare try to stab me in my sleep…"

My breathing starts to get heavy. Oxygen getting out of reach. How could she say that? How could we be the evils ones?.

Vasilisa continued. “I also thought a bit of Slippermouth would really make the drink fizz. I hope Kaius enjoys it.”

Slippermouth?

I snapped my head back at Kaius, whose eyes widened as he covered his mouth with his hand. People around the table started to murmur as he kept coughing, each one harder than the last. His pupils grew in size, threatening to swallow his whole eyes.

Shit!

Vasilisa leaned over the table, still chortling away. "Tell me Kaius. Is it burning yet?"

At the moment, Kaius pulled his hand away and started to gag, his mouth covered in tar. His pupils had expanded to his sclera, slowly dying the white into black.

I reached out for him as he leaned off the chair, grabbing him by the cheek and around his shoulders. I pull him towards me. "Kaius!" I cried out.

He stared at me, his eyes nearly all black, and his body convulsing as a fizzling tar poured from his mouth.

"No! Not you Kaius!" My body shook, and tears blurred my vision. What the fuck do I do? What the fuck could I do?

I held him to my chest until black covered all of his eyes and steam started to puff from his mouth. His head rolled back, looking up to nothing.

His body fell limp.

He got silent.

Black tears dripped from his eyes.

I flinched away from him, leaving him propped on the chair. Tears flooded my cheeks as I tried to breathe, but there was no air left.

Kaius…

He's dead. He's dead and poisoned. He didn't deserve that. How dare they tell me he deserved that?

My body shakes, recalling the feeling of Kaius convulsing in my arms… and the black fizzling tar…

“You don't-” I attempt to argue with the girls, but my voice has turned pathetic. “You don't- y-you don't-”

It's like I'm drowning on land, trying to grasp onto breath. They're telling me this kingdom believes that my people deserve to die, when someone as innocent as Kaius suffered?

And I can't say shit about it. I can't speak in his honor. If I reveal what happened to Kaius, they'll kill me too.

Fuck…

Fuck!

"Are you okay?" The blonde girl says, her eyes narrowed.

With my breath caught in my throat, I dash and bust through the doors of the restaurant. My feet take me across the street. Cars stop abruptly and blare loud noises, but I don't stop.

I just want to go home, where I can feel whatever the fuck I want. Do whatever I want. Scream whatever I want.

Somewhere where speaking the truth won't get me killed.

Dreamscreechers are wicked vile creatures!

She needs a real cleansing. Better get it done before they force you in a psych ward…

After those cruel words finish branding themselves into my brain, my focus goes to one thing.

Turning into a dreamscreecher.

I shriek, trying to snap the thought from my mind but I can't move past it.

Turn!

No! I can't! I'm in public!

But my brain refuses to listen. Almost like my thoughts are being controlled. I look down to my hands and purple fur starts to prickle through. My nails turn dark and long.

I'm going to turn! I can't stop it!

Why am I not in control? Why the fuck am I turning?

I notice the buildings have moved back behind a huge lawn down this street. A building up ahead is surrounded by bushes. I dive into them, hoping that I can hide my form before it gets me killed.