Page 60 of Whispered Warnings: Part Two

“Neith!” She greets me with warmth as she steps back.

“Hey!” I reply with a happy grin and then immediately add, “The food here is fucking awesome.”

She grins, “Have you found the desserts yet.”

My eyes widen and I immediately spin around to glare at the guys, pointing an accusing finger at them I say, “That’s it you’re all in the sin bin, how could you not mention that they have desserts?”

“Shit,” River says, looking genuinely apologetic.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Navy says as she hooks her arm in mine, and we both give them disappointed looks before we turn around.

We don’t make it very far before we are both laughing.

“Did you see their faces?” I grin.

“They genuinely thought that you were pissed with them, that was epic,” Navy says.

She leads me over to a different part of the hall and one that I had completely missed when we first came in the door, and I can literally feel my eyes widen at the choices, there are so many.

“I told you it was amazing,” she grins. “Come on, you can take as many as you want.”

“I wouldn’t usually ask this,” I say seriously, “but would you like to get a few to share between us and then we can eat more and try lots?”

She smiles, “See, I knew we were going to be best friends.”

I chuckle as she leads me to where the trays are, and we start to load up a tray each. We then completely bypass where each of us were sitting before and find a table of our own so that we can spread out the sweet treats between us. We spend a long time talking and getting to know each other, and I am entirely unsurprised to find that we have a lot in common. Unfortunately, I think that also includes a fair share of trauma, judging by the darkness that flashes through her eyes everynow and then. You wouldn’t see it, unless you recognized it in yourself.

When there is a lull in the conversation I ask, “How are you doing, with everything?”

She sighs, “Not great. I can too easily imagine what he went through.”

I freeze, praying that I didn’t hear her right, “Wait, what?”

She studies me really closely as if she is trying to work out whether she can really trust me or not. I don’t say anything, and I don’t force her to speak. I would never make someone talk about their trauma, and that very definitely is what this is. Her expression is dark and hardened, and I know that it was difficult for her to say that to me. Her hands are shaking.

She opens her mouth and then closes it again. I recognize what’s happening, she wants to tell me, but she can’t make the words come out.

I reach across and gently take her hand in mine, trying to soothe the shake, “If you want to, why don’t I give you my email address, and you can write it to me? Only if you want to.” I then pause and wince. This is clearly still affecting her significantly, and I want to make sure that she is getting the support that she needs. I have to ask, “Does Ty know?”

Navy nods, “Yes, he knows the majority of it, but I kept some of the worst things to myself, and he knows that, too. I asked him to wait to get anyone involved because it sends me into a massive panic attack, and with my magic, that’s not a good thing at all.” She looks away but her grip tightens on my hand, “I know that you are looking into it though, and now that I know for certain that my brother and his best friend were taken and they attempted to turn them into hybrids, I know that I can’t stay quiet any longer. I just can’t get it out.”

I nod, “I get that, I really do.”

“I know, one of my gifts told me that I was safe with you and that we’d be great friends,” she frowns, “sorry that’s probably freaked you out.”

I shake my head, “Not at all. Seriously though, the email thing means you can write it all down instead of speaking it. I found that it was a good purge as well, it doesn’t get rid of the memories and the pain, but it helps to control it.”

She nods, “Okay, I can try that.”

I pull out my phone and we exchange numbers, and I send her my email address. I hesitate over what I want to ask her, but her eyes flash pearlescent white and she smiles.

“It’s okay, you can tell the guys. I want the fucker brought down, and I know that you and the guys are the only ones that are going to be able to do that. Plus, I’ve seen a bit of the future. They’re definitely good with me.” She says.

I smile, “That’s a handy gift. I’m not going to mention anything until you send me the email, and then we will take it from there. I understand how difficult this is going to be, and I promise that I will try to keep you out of it as much as possible.”

She smiles, “Honestly, there really isn’t much information that I can give you, but I can tell you my experience. I don’t have anything to give you that will help you catch him. I don’t have a name, location, or even a face that I can describe for you.”

I nod. I am curious, but I won’t ask her now, especially since she has only just stopped shaking.

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