Page 29 of Above
If only I had been born into a different family.
It was despicable. Maybe it even made me worse than the core families. At least they were honest about what they were. Meanwhile, I openly defended the stars while cursing them in my mind. I loved and stood up for my family to others, but had the audacity to wish for a new one when I was alone.
Allowing myself to think such things only led to horrible nightmares. Watching them die at my hands—by my magic—over and over again, just as the stars had shown me, was the theme tonight. They screamed for mercy, but I simply laughed at them. The places and circumstances and scenarios themselves changed, but it was always me slaughtering them. A true elite.
It wasn’t until Altair showed up in the terrors that I hesitated. He walked towards me, his borderline evil smile on his face as he casually strutted. “Oh, Little Void, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
In my dream, I released my sister’s hair, her yelp echoing across the vast black sky filled with stars. A blade was in my hand, and I squeezed it tighter as Altair approached.
“You know, killing them won’t make you any less worthless. You’ll always be an akhata. Nothing will change that.” I didn’t so much as flinch, my hand still firmly around the dagger, as heneared. I caught sight of something moving up his arm. Twisting and…slithering.
A black snake.
“How sad, that you try so hard and still won’t ever be one of us. You’re like a lost puppy. A pathetic, weak little thing that should be put out of its misery.”
Celeste’s cries went silent, her presence gone as she faded into the blackness that seemed to pulse around me. Altair was only a foot away, his sinister smile replaced with something almost soft. His pale cheeks warmed to a pinkish color, making the set of deep dimples I hadn’t realized he had more prominent.
“I can do that for you,” he cooed, his hand coming up to cup my jaw. His palm was as cold as ice, burning as if hot. When I recoiled at his touch, his other hand flew up and locked around my neck, holding me in place. “You’re better off dead, Tershetta. Trust me.”
Jolting upright, I opened my eyes to find I was in my barracks room, the darkness nearly as eerie as that of my dreams. Nightmares, really. Sweat drenched my sheets and assigned nightwear, the slick material sticking to my clammy skin.
More than anything, I wished to scream. To fight. Or, even better, to be in my lab. And why couldn’t I? There weren’t technically any rules against leaving. I hadn’t been informed of any wards limiting who could come and go from the island. So, other than the obvious risk, I probably could leave.
But what if I shadow walked somewhere dangerous? We hadn’t been focusing much on magic these last few days. Our only goal was to fight and survive. Even if I did successfully get home, I would need to get back, and I wasn’t adept at cartography.
But I knew who was.
Finding Zade’s room wasn’t as difficult as one would think. The cores had their own floor, the top, where no unnecessary people would be. No one above them. A metaphor of their own making.
From there, all I had to do was consider where in their little ranking he would be. Altair had insinuated once that Zade was just below him, which I took as suggesting he was second in line for whatever imaginary throne they had concocted.
My feet carried me past the many doors, so many that had to be empty since only six of them were attending. At the very end of the hallway were two, each a fair distance from their neighbors. Spoiled brats.
But which door would be Altair’s and which would be Zade’s?
I didn’t want to run into Altair at any time, but tonight in particular. Nightmares like mine stuck with a person, and I couldn’t convince myself that I wouldn’t cower at the sight of him.
For a few moments, I simply eyed the two doors, contemplating.
I had only known Zade and Altair for a few days. Not nearly enough time to study their patterns or their routines. I had no idea if one preferred the sight of sunsets or sunrises. Couldn’t begin to guess which would favor whatever neighbors were beside them.
But I did know one thing.
Altair wanted to feel superior. Anyone who paid attention could see that he craved dominance and thrived on attention. Hewanted to feel as if he was winning. So, which of these two rooms would give him that?
I quietly turned, gazing down the dark hallway. The stairs were on the left from this vantage point. I began counting, seeing if the amount of doors were the same.
Yes, ten on each side, enough for every core family. Less than our floor, which meant the rooms would be bigger, probably even containing their own bathroom with tech that allowed for running water and lights. But, despite how big they were, one would be smaller to account for the stairway. And seeing how the doors across the hall were slightly off from one another up until the final two, I would say that the room that took the hit would be the last one, which was clearly meant to be bigger than the others.
That was when I got it. Only one room was actually larger, probably reserved for the core boy I knew was sleeping beyond the door. Altair.
Taking a deep breath and praying to the stars that I was right, I faced the door on my left and willed myself through it. Shadows consumed me, the darkness so like my nightmares that I had to clench my eyes closed. But then the soft sound of snores met my ears. I opened my eyes, nervous despite the logic I had put into the choice. There, on a four poster bed triple the size of my own, wearing only his undergarments, was a sleeping Talon Zade.
At some point in the night he had kicked off his blankets, revealing his toned upper body and legs littered with shadow marks. The room had two wooden dressers, one wide and one tall, as well as a closet and another door that likely led to the bathroom I pictured earlier. A wide window took up a large portion of the far left wall, allowing moon and starlight to illuminate the space.
I needed his help, but nothing was free. I stepped toward him, the floor creaking as I did. What would he want from me inreturn? Before I could so much as guess, Zade gasped loudly and then shot up in his bed. Our eyes locked instantly, not an ounce of grogginess on his face.
No going back now.
