Page 25 of Daemonium

She grinned at him. “But look at us now, on the fast track to being the best of friends.”

“For sure. You can count on me not to let you down.” He said it jokingly, but I could tell he meant that.

She smiled at him and then looked across the field. I wasn’t sure if she understood he’d just hinted at something else, or still truly had no clue. She was the first to find the photos of us all together, so she at the very least knew we had some kind of history with these people. How much of it she had knowledge of was the more crucial question. It was frustrating not knowing. She and Mel were so good at pretending. I could only hope I was doing half as good a job. I wanted to talk to my best friends without cameras or an audience and that included this group of guys because.

"At least we have some fresh air now," Mel chimed in, changing the subject.

“Your hand alright?” The older man suddenly asked.

"Oh, yeah. It's fine," I reassured him.

"The wall got you too?" Hayven asked, coming over to inspect my hand as well.

"What do you mean 'too'?" Charon questioned, gently pulling her away from me.

“Just my hand.”

"It scratched my thigh, but it's nothing major," she replied nonchalantly, ignoring his concern.

"It's not acceptable for any of us to bleed," Ky stated firmly, turning my attention back to him with a gentle touch on my chin.

“You hear that, puppet?”

“I’m not deaf, Ciaran,” Lana retorted dryly.

Mel looked between the four of us and shook her head. "I honestly don't know how you two deal with them.” She started walking across the field, taking Dion with her.

"Aw. Are you feeling lonesome? We can change that, Mellie," Maverick called after her as he followed along with Brody.

"I'll pass, and don't call me that."

Maverick caught up to Mel, and they continued their conversation in hushed tones. I strained to hear what they were saying but couldn't make out the words. My mind wandered, wondering if anything had ever happened between them. I couldn't recall who Mel had been close to in that way, or if she had been close to anyone at all. She preferred solitude unless Lana and I were around, guarding her heart with a fortress stronger than Fort Knox.

I blamed her mother for that. Unlike Lana's mom, Pandora, who had a twisted kind of love for her children, and my own mother who was overprotective at times, Mel's mother didn't even seem to like her. It didn't matter that Mel excelled at everything and constantly tried to be someone she wasn't all for a woman who could barely spare her a single word of praise; her mother just didn't care.

Mel had cried about it once. We were twelve, but then she never did it again. I still vividly remembered the little girl who just wanted to be seen, but her father was too absorbed in his affairs and power-hungry schemes to see anything other than a tool for advancement. Lana joked that Mel was a pessimist, but we both knew better. She was like an open wound that never got the chance to heal, yet she kept pretending that it didn't hurt.

And now we were here.

I could only imagine what thoughts were running through Lana's mind about our own families' involvement. But as for Mel...I couldn't even begin to fathom what she was thinking concerning hers.

I watched them go and noticed Carol giving us a tight smile before she and the older man followed after them.

They didn't seem too upset about losing the rest of their group. I could understand Carol's detachment. She had her own agenda and motivations. I expected some emotion from the man though. I had been lucky enough to stay with the same people after leaving the first city. My closest friends and the only man that had a home in my heart.

Lana was also watching them, while Ciaran watched her with a mixture of tenderness and something else, an expression I rarely saw on him. It almost looked like guilt. He quickly masked it by the time Lana glanced at him again. "Shall we go?" he asked, holding out his mud-covered hand. This time she didn’t hesitate before taking it. They both turned to look at me and Ky.

In silence, the four of us set off, walking towards our next destination.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Together, we walked through the field, gazing at the twinkling city lights in the distance and basking in the silver glow of the moon. The cool air filled our senses with the scent of dew-covered grass and earth.

Lana was the first to break the silence. "Does anyone have the map memorized well enough to know how far off course we are?"

"It's all up here," Brody said confidently, tapping the side of his head.

"So where are we?" she pressed.

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