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Wren stared at him as if he had gone mad. He thought she asked him to dance because she pitied him? Where had he gathered that? She had asked him to dance because it had felt right. Why did he insist on ruining everything at every turn? Wren let her rage boil and grow. If he would be difficult then she would protect herself.
“Well, you have it. What will you do with it?” she spat out, even as she felt her eyes sting.
“Nothing,” he said, a chill in the air around the word. She was left standing there, suddenly wishing she had something to throw at him. Instead, she passed through the halls easily until she found herself in her room, slamming the door behind her.
Chapter 13
Thatnight,Wrendreamedof her parents. She dreamt of them living in their home that sat between two mountains. Wren remembered what the mountain air felt like on her face as she stood out on their balcony. Her father and mother were sitting at a table having lunch together. Her father said the world was big, but she didn’t care. All she needed were her parents.
They were so happy here. Wren ran laughing towards her parents to tell them about the funny story she thought of about a bird and a snowflake when all of the sudden her parents’ heads turned towards where their front door faced. The creases on their faces spoke of a worry she had never seen in them before.
Mother and Father were never worried and certainly no one ever came to visit them except for Uncle. A visit from Uncle was a happy time though and would not upset them so. Her parents met each other's eyes as if having a silent conversation before her mother suddenly picked her up, clutching her tightly to her body. Her father came and laid a kiss upon both their heads and went to the door.
Wren couldn’t see who was at the door from where her mother held her to her, but then she recognized Uncle’s muffled voice. The door closed and father came back with eyes rimmed with silver. Wren reached for him wanting to make it better, but then her mother only clutched her tighter and started crying and sayingnoover and over. Father put his arms around Mother and her and whispered to them, “It is not forever, she will be safe, my love.”
Her mother sobbed into his arms. “You don’t know that. You can’t know that. We can protect her here better than anyone else can.”
“Darling, you know that isn’t true. You knew this day would come.” Her father’s words were gentle, but there was resolve laced within. “Please, Ella, don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
Betrayal shone in her mother’s violet eyes. “How can you say that? How can you do this?”
Tears slid down her father’s eyes and he went to pull Wren from her mother’s arms. Her mother was fighting, trying to hold her, and Wren began to cry, unsure of all the emotions and change in her parent’s usual grace. When her father finally succeeded in taking her, her mother fell to the ground sobbing. Her father held her close and whispered to her, “It is all right, my little bird. You must fly now, but we will see you again. We love you so much.”
She told her father she did not understand, but then he was at the door and Uncle was there and wearing strange clothes. When she went to ask why, her father only kissed her and handed her to Uncle. It was then that Wren realized he was taking her away forever.
She didn’t know how she knew, but she did, and as she heard her mother’s sobs and saw her father’s tears, she tried to fight. She tried to go back to them. Uncle’s arms were tight and she couldn’t get away. She kicked and screamed, but they only walked farther until everything was a blur and she couldn’t remember the rest.
Wren woke up to someone shouting at her, someone grabbing her shoulders. She suddenly sat straight up, a deep hoarseness lined her throat. She remembered her mother and her father, except they weren’t as she remembered. They hadn’t lived in a beautiful home in the mountains, they had lived in the village. Panic gripped her and she found she couldn’t breathe.
“Wren, it is only a dream. Wren, you need to breathe.” The words, decisive and sure, jolted her to reality. She knew that voice.
She turned her head and saw Malaki kneeling beside her in the bed, concern written all over his beautiful face. Suddenly registering that he was here with her in her bed, a different kind of panic flooded her, and she jumped away from him, somehow managing to climb out of the bed. He immediately got off from the other side and put out his hands to her as if she were a wild animal in need of soothing.
“It’s all right, Wren. You were having a nightmare.” He spoke quietly, his voice a deathly whisper.
Wren breathed, her chest heaving. “How did you get in here?” she rasped.
Malaki only pointed to the door that adjoined their rooms. The door that had been locked. The door he obviously had the key for. Why had she not realized that would be the case, that she could never be safe here?
She couldn’t stand to have him near her, in the same room as her. Her stomach rolled and she felt out of control. She couldn’t get enough air, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t do any of this.
“Get out,” she sobbed.
“Wren, I am not going to leave you like this, you need to calm down.” He said the words as if he was concerned, but they held all the arrogance of a prince used to getting what he wanted.
“Calm down? You stole me and took everything from me!” She felt panic and rage fight for space within her. Needing to be alone and desperately fighting for control, she didn’t even consider an alternative as the vase of flowers on her nightstand went flying towards him. “Get out!” she screamed.
Shock was written all over his face. He likely had never been spoken to in such a manner, but all she knew was she needed him gone. Recovering, Malaki nodded and backed away from her slowly, not taking his eyes off of her. The farther away he got, the more she felt she could breathe, and when he was gone and the door shut, she gasped, begging air into her lungs.
The panic filled her, but it was different. Beginning to cover itself in grief as she lay on the floor, holding her knees to her chest and sobbed.
That was how Sophie found her a short time later as she burst through the door Malaki had left through. She saw him standing at the door looking at her and she felt the panic rise. Sophie saw where her eyes went and she turned sharply to the door.
“Close the door, Kai.” When he didn’t immediately do as she said and only stared at Wren, Sophie got up and closed the door after pushing him back into his room. Then she was back by Wren’s side, running her hands over her, checking to see if anything was wrong. Something was wrong with her though.
Something had broken inside her. Something she could never put back together again. It was out now.
“Come, my friend, let me help you back up into bed.”
