Page 134 of The Female

“I want to show you something,” I say, holding out my hand.

He glances at my outstretched arm with a frown before tightening his grip on his glass. The action has my anger flaring, but I force it down and wiggle my fingers. I know why he’s nervous about letting me teleport him, and his lack of belief in my strength is infuriating.

“Tell me where you want to go and I’ll bring us there,” he suggests.

My jaw snaps shut with a click, and I narrow my eyes until he gives in and places his hand on mine. I grab his fingers harder than necessary as I shut my eyes and visualize my destination. I can feel my body draining with the energy it takes to move both of us, and I hope Charlie won’t be angry with me for using so much of what she gave me during our last feed.

She’s still mad, and I don’t want to take advantage of what she provides and force her to feed me more than necessary.

The overwhelming smell of mold and dust invades my nostrils as the world materializes around us, and I release Aziel with a pained cough. His hand slips underneath my elbow, silently stabilizing me while I work to collect myself after such a big travel.

Fingertips dig into the muscle of my arm, holding me tightly until I shake Aziel away with a huff. I don’t need his help.

“Where are we?” Aziel asks.

I straighten back up and look around, my heart aching at just how rundown Charlie’s home has become these past few months. The entire place is covered in a thick layer of dust, and I can hear rats scampering within the walls and underneath the floorboards.

My human would be devastated to see her childhood home like this, and I make a mental note to send some shadows here every few weeks to clean.

Aziel clears his throat and approaches one of the picture frames on the mantle. I skipped these particular ones when I packed all her belongings, unable to bring myself to take them with me. Aziel steps over the moldy, bug-infested spot on the carpet where her dad once lay.

His throat bobs as he grabs one of the frames.

Charlie is young in it, and its contents break my heart. Raising a child without interaction with the outside world must have been so hard. It’s clear from the pictures that her parents tried, their desperation visibly growing with each passing year.

The picture Aziel holds is of Charlie on her sixth birthday, a wide grin spread across her lips as she sits at a table surrounded by giant stuffed animals. They all wear birthday hats and human clothing, probably having been dressed by her parents while she was still in bed.

It hurts to know she’s never had a friend. Nonetheless, she shows no longing as she beams at the camera with her arm thrown around one of the toys.

Her mother crouches to her left holding a cake with six candles, her red-rimmed eyes telling me she had been crying just minutes prior.

“Come,” I order, turning and walking down the narrow hallway that leads to Charlie’s old bedroom.

My palms grow unusually sweaty as I think about where I’m heading, and I unintentionally sink my teeth into my lower lip as we approach the hatch. I avoided this area when I came last time, unable to handle being inside, but Aziel needs to see.

I need to see.

I can sense his worry as he takes in my anxious state, but he remains silent as he follows.

Holding my breath, I kick aside the rug and reach for the handle.

My mind never went to the female report when I came here, but after her accusations about how our selfish hoarding of information resulted in this, I can’t get the small room out of my mind. I did this to her. Maybe not directly, but if I had done the right thing and spread the news, the humans would’ve never resorted to such measures.

I can feel my eyes brimming with unwanted tears as I pull open the door and peer into the dark hole. It’s pitch-black and swarming with rats I’m sure were here even before the capture.

Aziel sucks in a sharp breath as the scent of Charlie’s fear seeps out. Even after months, the smell hasn’t diminished. The amount of time she spent here forced the walls to absorb her pain.

I could barely endure the smell when my feelings for her were minimal, but now that she holds my heart, the scent is suffocating. Nonetheless, I step forward and slip inside.

The smell chokes me as I crawl to the corner and sit. Aziel follows, and I gesture for him to close the door.

“Why?” He hesitates with his hand on the latch.

“We deserve to know what we’ve forced the females to endure. I want to know how Charlie felt.”

“We can smell how she felt.”

I glare, and Aziel sighs before following my instruction and closing the door. Immediately, we’re thrown into complete darkness, and I frown as my eyes adjust. Charlie’s eyesight is not this good. She wouldn’t have been able to see.

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