Page 5 of Of Serpents and Ruins
"Off! Let go!" I tried to pull away, glaring at him as best I could from over my shoulder while the whole world rocked and swayed. "Don't touch me!"
"Elias!" Kine scowled. He flung one lanky leg over the barrier and hopped over. "Don't scare her! It looks like she doesn't remember us."
Elias set me down and steadied me as I swayed on my feet. He tugged my triceratops hood back by its little white horns, letting my blonde hair spill out. "It's been too long, Stella. I've missed you so much."
"I don't even know who you are," I growled, fumbling at the arm that remained tight around my waist.
"We're going to bring you back home, Stella," Elias said, excitement shining in his dark-blue eyes.
Kine ran up to me, putting his arm around my other shoulder and shooting a glare at Elias. His face broke back into a smile as soon as he looked back at me. "Listen, I get that you're scared, Bug, and I guess it makes sense you can't remember everything yet, but—"
"I’m not scared. I’m mad! I decided I don’t want to be around anyone, and here you two are making me be around people." Mywords slurred a bit as I blinked. Now the alcohol was making things difficult. Great!
Elias laughed at this and then put something around my neck. It was cold. A necklace. A necklace with a dark-blue charm that looked like a… What even was it? I scrunched my nose as I tried to focus on the strange bit of marble dangling from the chain.
"What this?" My vision blurred. Two charms appeared in front of me.
"It’s just for good luck and reminders of friendship," Elias whispered in my ear, giving me a friendly pat on the shoulder.
I glared at him. "We are not friends."
Kine rolled his eyes at Elias. "Come on. We need to keep focused. Stella, listen to me. We don’t have much time. The veil is at its thinnest right now, and we only have a limited amount of time to get you back. If we don’t, you’ll be trapped here for years and years after that, but we’re here to take you home."
The way he spoke… Elias’s voice did nothing to me. His voice was as unmemorable as a random NPC in a generic video game. But Kine’s… I’d always wanted a brother or a cousin or someone to look out for me. Somehow, when he spoke, a small part of me wanted to trust him, predator eyes and all.
"I don’t know you," I said again, slower this time. "Are you…are you family?"
It was possible, wasn’t it? I could have a family out there. Obviously, I had parents. I just hadn't ever met them.
Elias let out a huff of disappointment.
Kine chuckled at this. "Yeah, Bug. Kind of. You’re like my kid sister, and I always promised I’d look out for you, so here I am. Elias and me both. We’re going to get you home to the rest of your family. It’ll come back. You’ll remember everything. I promise."
I jerked back then. Maybe I was drunk, but I wasn’t that drunk. I didn’t have a family. I’d remember if I did. How could I have been stupid enough to fall for that feeling? It had almost felt true despite being impossible.
Bitterness filled my mouth. I remembered every part of my life perfectly, every bland and untethered day, every insipid moment of not belonging and pining and wishing. There weren’t any gaps that Kine or Elias or anyone else could fit into unless it was before my first memories.
Balling my fists, I glared at them both.
Kine’s eyes widened with concern. Elias took a step forward, reaching for me.
I pulled farther back. "No! Don’t touch me. Don’t lie to me. Don’t you dare! Don’t either of you dare."
Kine opened his mouth to protest.
I snapped my fingers at him. "No!"
It shocked me how firm my voice was. Maybe it was just because I was drunk, but I didn’t usually sound that authoritative. Even with my words slurring, it was clear I was in no mood for any of this. It was like they had figured out what would hurt me most and had come here to taunt me.
Kine bowed his head. He then held up a small teal orb and covered it with his long, tanned fingers. It looked like a buzzer. "I know you’re scared, Stella."
"I’m not scared. I’m angry. You think I don’t want a family? You think I didn’t want one? What kind of assholes are you? Did you stalk me? Is that how you know I don’t have any family? Too bad for you, I’m not an idiot."
Usually. I continued to move away.
"Stella, we’re running out of time. You don’t belong here," Kine said, glancing around as if afraid someone might see us. "We've come to take you home."
I scoffed, shaking my head. He felt familiar for an instant, yes, but something was…wrong. I kept my fists balled. Neither he nor Elias were supposed to be here. I wasn’t… What was going on? My head pulsed as blood thundered in my ears. Everything swam around me.
