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“What’s wrong?” Jake asked, panic causing his voice to waver. “Ki?”
I sucked in a deep breath, noting the scent of copper growing closer, becoming more powerful. There were two choices, and neither of them ended well for me.
“I’m going to remove my gloves, and when I do, I don’t want to hear any questions.” I eyed them both. Jake opened his mouth, but I narrowed my gaze into slits. “No questions. I just need… I need you to trust me.”
And not be afraid of me and run for the damned hills.
It was a risk, showing them, exposing myself, but I couldn’t allow my doubts to play a role in their demise. If they hurt themselves like Nic had, I’d never recover. Screw what Uncle Micah had said, telling me to hide no matter the consequences. He wasn’t here, and he sure as shit wasn’t going to save us.
I was.
Themonsterwas.
I didn’t look at them as I peeled the leather from my fingers, the cool air kissing my bare flesh. The black scars shimmered beneath the moon, the traces of blue glimmering like fallen stars. Patrick gasped. Jake hissed. I ceased to breathe.
“Ki…” Patrick murmured, and I could feel his eyes burning into my skin. There was fear in his voice, genuine fear. But there was no time for that.
I lifted my head at the same time as I grabbed them, forcing my fingers through theirs. Jake flinched, but to his credit, he didn’t jerk away. Patrick gritted his teeth, eyeing where we touched, a thousand and one emotions swirling across his irises. I blinked back tears as I beheld the disgust in his stare. Disgust that had never crossed Jude’s face.
I cursed the commander for storming off. If anything happened to him while under the Mist’s influence, I’d… Well, I didn’t know what I’d do anymore. What horrors I wascapableof when it came to him. All I could do now was hope he’d wandered far enough away from the path of the poisonous winds.
“Just hold on and let it pass,” I whispered, staring at my boots, willing to bare myself but not willing to hold their eyes. I added a quiet, “Trust me.”
Gods, I prayed they would listen. They could recoil in disgust later, once that coppery breeze left.
It was chillingly silent as our breaths filled the void of sound, the overpowering scent riding the winds. I could taste the blood on the tip of my tongue.
“Is it working?” Patrick asked with a quivering breath.
“Well, you aren’t trying to kill me this time,” Jake muttered. “So that’s an improvement already.” My chest squeezed when Jake tightened his grip on me, even if his palms were slick with sweat.
Freak. Monster. Witch.
I’d been called all three and much more. Even though I wore my gloves after the attack, the so-called “accident,” the townspeople of Cila all knew the truth, and no one wanted to be friends with someone who’d literally been touched by a creature of evil.
“You know I’m gonna ask later, Ki, but for now, I sure as shit am not letting go.” Jake nudged into my side, his signature teasing acting as a balm.
“I—” Patrick paused, and I dared a peek at him. He tried to mask his fear, but I saw it all the same. My first friend. Afraid of me.
“It’s all right,” I said to him, faking a smile. “They’re atrocious.”
The winds shifted east, and the metallic taste lessened a fraction.
Patrick shook his head. “It’s not that, it’s just a shock, that’s all. I’ve heard rumors and read accounts, but those touched by the shadow beasts never lived long enough to tell the tale. I thought it was some quirk, the gloves. We all have our armor.” Patrick shrugged his shoulders. “I just thought the gloves were yours.”
Theyweremy armor. Just not in the way he’d imagined them to be.
“Again, I’m just…confused.” He lingered on my hands once more, swallowing thickly. “Though please know that this changes nothing. I know what lies within your heart is pure and golden, and a few scars can’t change that.”
Thankfully Jake switched topics. “Anyone seen our brooding commander?”
“We all saw him leave,” Patrick said. “But even as pissed as he was, he should’ve stayed. We need him.” I’d never heard Patrick speak so sternly. I swore the temperature dropped ten degrees.
“Whatexactlydid you tell him?” I asked, still clutching both their hands. The danger hadn’t left us yet.
He sighed. “You and him are close. One day, and maybe one day soon, he’s going to hurt you, and I can’t stand to watch that happen. We all know who he belongs to.”
I didn’t like that one bit, that word “belong.” Jude shouldn’t belong to anyone but himself.
