Her gaze darted between us, panicked and unfocused. She stumbled backwards, clutching the knife like it was the only thing keeping her sane.
“You’re lucky I forgot my bomb satchel; I would’ve blasted those ugly grins off of your faces by now otherwise!”
What?
None of us were smiling.
Thank the Gods that she did indeed forget her explosives, or we would’ve already been pieces in the sand.
Malakai’s hand shot out in front of me as I started forward. “Something’s got her,” he said under his breath, eyesnarrowing, the faint glow of his demonic eyes flickering. “Illusion. A strong one.”
My stomach turned cold. “Demon.”
She was muttering now, voice hoarse. “Weird… shouldn’t shapeshifters talk sweetly about undying friendship and stuff? Shit… You’re just trying to confuse me aren’t you? Demon bastards.”
“Ashley!” I stepped closer, ignoring Malakai’s warning growl. “Listen to me. It’s me, it’s Ethalyn,look at me.”
She hesitated, eyes sliding to me, but her grip of the dagger remained firm. For a heartbeat, I thought she saw me, then her eyes went blank again, and she lunged. “Stop playing with my head.”
The blade only grazed my arm before Malakai was there, catching her wrist and twisting it enough to make her drop the knife. He didn’t hurt her, only stopped her from cutting deeper, but his voice was low and cold. “Careful, firecracker. I won’t hold back if you hurt my kitten.”
“Oh, now that’s fucking rich, you even memorized how he’d protect her? Our nicknames?”
I could hear the pain in her voice now.
“Let her go,” I said, grabbing his wrist. “She doesn’t know what she’s doing!” Malakai released her and she quickly hunched and grabbed the blade, before backing away a few steps.
Eve stepped forward then, snapping, “For God’s sake, she’s lost it!”
Her tone was sharp, cruel from fear, and it made Ashley flinch like she’d been struck.
“Eve, enough!” Lionel barked, but the damage was done. Ashley’s confusion deepened, she looked from one of us to the next, now trembling, eyes filled with horror.
“Shit, they’re getting better at this,” she whispered. “Fucking shapeshifters, you’re all liars. Get your head straight, Ashley… They’re not your friends, they’re liars.”
Nate moved.
He walked towards her slowly, his usual grin gone. His voice was steady, quiet in the thick air.
“So stab me,” he said firmly.
Ashley blinked, stunned. “What?”
“You think I’m not real?” His tone didn’t waver. “Then prove it. Do it again, like last time, you didn’t hesitate then.”
Something flickered across her face, pain, shame. “Don’t… Don’t make me—”
“I’d rather bleed than see you like this,” he said softly, taking another step towards her. “So go on.”
She lifted the blade, her hand trembling violently, her breaths quickening. The tip pressed against his chest and then stopped.
Her breath hitched. “You sound like him,” she whispered. “Why do you sound just as stupid as him?”
“Because it is me,” Nate snapped. Then he leaned forward and kissed her.
It wasn’t gentle. It was desperate, raw, full of all the things he never said aloud.
For a moment, the world held its breath as the air around them shifted.The fog recoiled, hissing like steam. The pressure snapped, and Ashley gasped as though waking from a nightmare.
