*Lena*
I spent the remainder of the day walking around campus and the outlying town of Morhan with little to do and too many thoughts running through my mind.
I was graduating, that was clear, and in less than a week I’d be on a flight to Avondale to reunite with my family. My phone call with Oliver had been brief. My aunt and uncle wanted nothing more than to talk to , and we didn’t have much privacy. But it was obvious he was starting to crumble under the weight of his situation.
We both knew fleeing the scene entirely wasn’t the answer. We’d have to grit our teeth and get through Winter Solstice and the events surrounding the wedding of who he still believed was the love of his life and his brother.
And then there was that strange woman standing in as the dean and her questions about Xander. I couldn’t have answered even if I tried. I barely knew him. I realized that more and more with each passing day.
I had no idea when he was coming to fetch from my apartnt and what we’d be doing or even talking about.
Reeling, that’s what I was. I was reeling, and nothing was helping.
I stopped in front of a shop soti in the late afternoon. The sun was starting to set, golden light flooding between the buildings and casting long shadows over the snow piles lining the sidewalks. I looked at the dress that was on display; long and modern, with an empire west and deep burgundy organza fabric trailing to the floor. It had a full shirt, an off-the-shoulder neckline, and long, loose sleeves that tapered at the wrists.
I could think of nothing else but the dress for a mont and sighed with relief as I pressed my hand to the frosted window. There was even a tiara to match, but the gems were likely fake. Thick, oval-shaped rubies were set in gold, and I imagined the tiara on my head, my hair woven through the star-shaped notches on the base of the crown.
I walked inside the shop, looking at nothing but the dress as a woman walked to my side.
“Try it on,” she said. “I know that color will look perfect on you.”
“I don’t need to try it on,” I replied, starry eyed as I ran my fingers over the fine fabric. Red. Blood red. Blood red at my cousin’s wedding. Why the hell not?
The shop girl was surprised but didn’t question as I reached for my wallet and pulled out a handful of paper bills. Her eyes were wide as I paid in full, probably wondering how a college student dressed in a three-season old parka and faded flannel could afford such an expensive dress. A few minutes later the dress was packed into a box, and she slid it across the counter, arching her brow.
“Would you like this shipped anywhere? Or are you taking it ho–”
“Shipped, please, if it can reach its destination in a week’s ti.”
“That won’t be a problem,” she replied, but her pen paused as she took down the address I provided, then my na. She looked up at , sudden understanding flickering across her delicate features. She curtsied low, bobbing her head.
“I didn’t realize–”
“It’s alright,” I said lightly, giving her a soft, genuine smile as she straightened to her full height. She was a little pale. She nodded, looking as though she was about to burst into tears.
It wasn’t often that people ran into the Princess of Valoria.
She hadn’t been seen in public in years.
***
I went to the corner store and bought the groceries I needed to make a simple pasta dinner and a bottle of wine. I was making my way back to my apartnt when I noticed the shadowy figure standing beneath the streetlight on the corner of our block.
At first, I thought it was Xander. I was expecting him, after all.
But it wasn’t Xander.
Slate stepped out of the light as I approached, and my throat tightened into a knot. Adrenaline rushed through , and I attempted to sidestep around him but he stepped in my way.
“How was your little shopping spree?” he hissed, closing the distance between us.
I could crack the bottle of wine over his head, I thought. I could push him into the street. I could run. “You were following ?”
“Always, Lena. Darling. Co, I have a whole night planned–” He attempted to grab my arm but I shoved past him. He grabbed the hood of my parka, yanking backward, the top of the zipper cutting into my throat as I yelped in surprise.
“Get off of !” I screeched, but it was too late.
His hand ca over my mouth as he dragged into an alleyway, into the dark, where we couldn’t be seen from the street.
“We have sowhere to be. Stop fighting!”
I bit his hand, grinding his skin between my teeth, and he stifled a scream. I bucked against him until he loosened his hold on , but I was still in his clutches, and he was still dragging backward through the nearly knee-deep snow.
I dropped the groceries I’d been carrying, the wine bottle splintering into nothing but shards of glass and spilling wine onto the snow, illuminated by the street light. I looked at the wine stain as Slate dragged further into the alleyway, panic tightening my chest and making it almost impossible to breathe.
I scread and scread into the palm of his hand. He tripped on sothing buried in the snow and I fell on top of him, his hand temporarily leaving my mouth.
“XANDER!” I cried in the event he was nearby, hopefully closing in on my apartnt. But there was no one around. It was just .
What had Xander told ? That he couldn’t always be around to finish my fights?
A heat began to ripple over as Slate pulled to my feet, cursing under his breath as I let my body go limp and refused to stand.
“You bitch! I’ll drag you. I don’t care–”
I felt electric, little bursts of energy rolling over my skin and settling in my fingertips. I knew what was happening and tried to fight it like usual, but only for a second. What if I just... gave in to it, this power, this energy I didn’t know how to control?
Slate lifted into his arms, cradling like a child, his fingers digging into my parka so sharply they ripped open the fabric.
Goosedown fluttered to the ground. I watched it, my head lolling on his arms.
Then, a light, warm and unforgiving. From far away I heard Slate scream, his voice mingled with a buzzing sound that filled my ears and deafened . I opened my mouth, unable to breathe.
I didn’t know how long I’d been lying in the alley, alone. Fresh snow blanketed my body, and my cheeks were wet from where it had lted against my skin.
I sat up, snow falling from my chest and shoulders. It was full dark, and the groceries I had dropped where thickly covered with snow. I rose to my knees, flexing my hands and running a hand over the rip in my parka.
Where was Slate, I thought, a feeling of dread washing over . What had I done to him?
Not that he didn’t deserve it, but still. I might have blown him to bits without realizing it.
But the alleyway was empty, no sign of violence or struggle. He was just... gone.
I got up and walked through the alley toward the sidewalk. I was dizzy, and placed my hand against one wall of the alleyway for support as I trudged through the snow. So much snow. It stuck to my eyelashes in heavy clumps as I walked, my legs not wanting to move.
I got to the sidewalk and collapsed onto my knees, panting with effort. There wasn’t a sound around ; even the buzzing neon lights were shushed into silence as I looked around then crawled forward and brushed the snow from my fallen groceries.
I looked down the street at the corner store where I’d purchased the groceries. The lights were off, its “Closed” sign illuminated. The store closed at midnight, and snow had already piled up in front of the entrance. I’d been out here for hours, just laying in the alleyway, and no one had noticed .
Xander hadn’t co. He would have had to pass the alley on his way to my apartnt. He surely would’ve noticed the groceries, the spilled wine, and investigated.
Disappointnt clouded my vision. I felt tears rolling down my chilled and reddened cheeks as I gathered my groceries in my arms and struggled to my feet, walking the rest of the way ho in agony.
***
Vivian and Heather were beside themselves over my state. I was sitting on the couch wrapped in Heather’s heated blanket, a cup of tea with sugar and milk in my shaking heads. The door that led into our apartnt was open, and I could hear Viv talking to the warrior whose form was taking up the entire doorway. I didn’t look in their direction. My eyes were fixed on the window to my right, watching the snowfall in thick sheets of pure white.
A blizzard. That’s what it was. Bleak, endless, and cold.
“What does he look like?” I heard the warrior say, and Viv described Slate to a T, leaving no detail unsaid.
They wouldn’t find him. I knew that much. I hadn’t even said he was the one who’d dragged into the alleyway but it was obvious to Heather and Viv who had dared to manhandle in such an unforgiving way.
I felt like I would’ve rembered killing him, but when I thought back on it, all I could rember was light. Blinding, all-encompassing light.
“Drink your tea, Lena, please,” Heather urged, sitting down next to on the couch and wrapping her hands around mine as she guided the tea to my lips.
I drank, untasting, my motions robotic in nature.
The front door closed and Viv walked into the living room, hugging herself with her arms before reaching for her jacket that was hanging on the coat rack.
“Where are you going?” Heather said hurriedly.
Viv gave her a careful eye, then pulled on a hat and stopped to put on her boots. Viv left the apartnt without a word, and I didn’t question what she was up to. I didn’t really care. I didn’t have the energy to care, let alone form a rational thought.
“What happened out there, Lena? What did he do to you?”
“I need to tell you sothing, Heather. I’ve been lying to you for a long ti.”
Heather leaned away from , looking up and down before resting the back of her fingers against my forehead.
“You’re running a fever–”
“I killed him. I killed Slate. I’m sure I did–”
“I’m running you a bath,” she whispered, but I focused my eyes on hers as I grabbed her forearm to prevent her from moving. I’d let go of the tea, and it spilled, soaking into the blanket.
“I need to tell you the truth–”
“I’m running you a bath and then calling for a doctor,” she said sternly, shaking my grip from her arm and standing, turning her back to .
I watched her walk away, then closed my eyes, searching in the darkness for my garden, for so answers.
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