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Blood filled my mouth when I opened my eyes.
It tasted good. Like fear. Like whatever I’d hunted down had been scared of me.
I craved it.
I rolled it over my tongue, coating it.
I swallowed it down, but there was always more.
So much more and I—
“There you are.”
I turned my head.
Ezra sat next to my bed in my room.
My mouth was not filled with blood. In fact, it was dry. I was thirsty.
“What happened?” I asked, voice breaking roughly. I cleared my throat. “Did I hurt someone?” I almost didn’t want to know the answer.
Ezra shook his head, expression pinched. “No. Of course not. You passed out. Santos found you. Said you were…. It doesn’t matter what he said. How are you feeling?”
“Like it’s the morning after a full moon. Foggy. Dull.”
“Hmm. Have you overexerted yourself, perhaps? It happens.”
“I don’t know. I just….” I shook my head. “What if something’s wrong with me?”
He scoffed. “There’s nothing wrong with you. I would know if there was. Would you hear me, dear?”
That made me feel better. If anyone knew how to fix this, it would be Ezra. He knew me better than anyone. “Yeah. Of course.”
“You’re special,” he said, pressing his hand against my brow. “More than you could ever know. And I will do anything for you. Would you do the same for me?”
“Yes. Yes.” My headache was fading. The blood in my mouth was nothing but a dream.
He nodded slowly. “Good. That’s good, Robbie. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you all these years. But there is nothing to worry about. You’re tired. Stressed. The dreams you’re having aren’t helping. I don’t know what they mean, and maybe they mean nothing at all. But maybe they do. I could ease you from them if you’d only ask. Take them away like they were never there at all.” His hand pressed harder against my brow. “Leave you to sleep and—”
He didn’t make a sound when I grabbed his wrist and snarled, “Don’t.”
He smiled sadly, even though I could feel the bones of his wrist grinding together. “Because they’re yours?”
I nodded as I let him go. He pulled his arm back, and I wondered if he would be bruised. I felt bad, but not enough to apologize. I trusted him, but I didn’t want him digging around in my head.
“Okay, Robbie. If that’s what you think. I’m here if you ever change your mind.” He frowned. “Or just need to talk. Can I give you some advice?”
“Yes.”
He sighed as he sat back in his chair. He looked pale, skin tight from worry. “You have questions, I know. Questions about who is in that house. Santos said as much, and I should have prepared for this better.”
I sat up quickly. “I wasn’t trying to—”
He held up a hand, cutting me off. “I thought it was for your benefit. I did. Given your history, it seemed like the wise thing to do.” He shook his head. “I should have known better. Secrets never help anyone, especially ones so monumental. The man inside that house did terrible things to many people. There was death because of him. And the only thing we could do was to keep him locked away from the rest of the world and strip him of all his power.”
“But how were you able to keep the witch from—”
“Witch?” Ezra asked. “What witch?”
