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“Who are the two of you to talk about what I need as if I’m not here?” Her voice sounded like that of thousands, just as it had before.
The air grew heavy. Like me, Rumir had gone still. "I'm sorry, Natalie," he said, raising his hands. "We're both just worried about you. I'm sorry. He wasn't wrong. I should have been more careful. But it’s okay.”
"You went, and you're back, and nothing happened," I added. "That's all that matters."
Her face twisted as if she was in pain, and then she smiled, but I knew it wasn't her. Her smile was nothing like the one she’d worn moments ago. This smile was twisted, sadistic, and the veins beneath her eyes traveled down to her neck.
I’d been a fool to start an argument. I had been the one who lost control—and that wasn’t like me.
Rumir had been right when he’d said that we hadn't known the future before. We went day after day without knowing what would happen next, and it was the same now. I needed to remember that.
“I’m sorry, Natalie,” I exhaled heavily. “We were out of line.”
Her eyes grew sad, and she reached up to place a hand over her heart. "Lucian?"
It was Natalie's voice, and I nodded. "Yes," I held my hand out to her and took a step forward. "I'm right here."
I walked over until I was close enough to hug her. She wrapped her arms around me, and I held her until her heartbeat slowed to an average speed.
Exhaling, I glanced behind me at Rumir, who had his fists tightly clenched.
“How was it?” I whispered to Natalie, whose face was still pressed to my chest.
She just smiled, then nodded. I kissed the top of her head. "Good," I mumbled. "That's good."
"I don't like it when you two fight," she mumbled.
I closed my eyes, filled with disgust at what I'd just done. “I know,” I admitted, relieved when she leaned back and the color returned to her skin. "We’ll try harder, but I think there will probably still be a little jealousy from time to time."
She nodded again. "You were jealous?"
Looking away, I took a breath. “Yeah.”
At that moment, Rumir drew closer to us. "What is it like, when you lose control?" he asked.
Natalie frowned as she looked down at the ground beneath us. Only then did I notice the grass had died.
"Freeing," she murmured. "Something else takes over, and I just feel at peace, even though I can see what's happening. It's the fighting to retake control that's the hard part. Who wants to let go of peace?"
She looked from Rumir to me and then back. "Lucian wasn't wrong, and neither were you. We didn't know the future before, and we still don't. That hasn't changed. But what has changed is me. And we need to be careful."
Her face dropped and her eyes turned red, though it was only her irises and not the whites of her eyes like when the virus was affecting her. I stiffened but held her still.
Rumir stepped forward. "Natalie?"
I touched her cheek, and her eyes darted to me. “Something’s wrong,” she whispered.
Just then, black smoke appeared behind her, spiraling up from the ground like a tornado. Hekate materialized, wearing a deep purple dress with oversized sleeves.
"Pardon me for dropping in like this, but there is a problem," Hekate said.
Rumir and I moved to stand on either side of Natalie.
“You three need to come with me.”
“Why?” Rumir asked.
"What happened?" I added, and she took a breath.
