Page 30 of Like A Moth To A Flame

I sit, looking around the dusty walls. "Who?" I ask.

I glance at her when the chair groans as she leans forward and lowers her voice. I hear the words spill from her chapped lips. "The man linked to your soul. Your one true protector. You’re the love of his life, even if he denies it."

"Ethan?"

He's the only one I can think of because my husband doesn't want me. He hasn't even kissed my lips.

She shakes her head. "That poor young man is more in love with where you were created than who you really are."

"What do you mean where I was created?" I ask, searching in her blank eyes for a clue that she’s pulling my chain. They are the color of a pale blue sky.

"True evil can create beautiful things, but sometimes creating something that serves you can be your own destruction. You are pure-hearted. You can sense them since the day you were born. Your mother was a sacrifice for the greater good. You are the woman who will continue the lineage your husband wants to create. He is the creator, is he not?"She’s talking about Killian.

"Not in the way you think?"

She gives me a creepy laugh. "You have to be careful, my child, because when they find out about you and him together, they will try to destroy you. If they end your life, they will end his."

I shake my head. "I don't understand?"

"He can't exist without you, Lillith. He can't breathe without you. He just hasn't felt the air in his lungs cease yet, but soon, he will."

She's wrong. If it were up to him, I wouldn’t be in his life.

"Thank you, but I'm sorry. You're wrong. I've seen it with my own eyes. I'm a means to an end. I have no one––I'm no one," I confess.

The cat rubs his head against my hand and jumps into my lap, purring.

"You are the beginning, my dear. The one with the mask will destroy anything and everyone for you. Have faith." She gets up, and so do I. "The love you have waited for is here to claim you." She dismisses me, disappearing into the back behind a black curtain.Weird.

Walking out, I look both ways before crossing the street. Ethan gets out and follows me to the passenger side. A deep rumble of an engine pulls up fast, then brakes hard with a squeal, blocking Ethan's car. The driver's side door opens forcefully by a pissed-off Killian.

Shit!He found me.

He rushes up to Ethan and growls, "Who the fuck are you?"

Ethan takes a step back, pushing me behind him. "D-do what you want to me, but leave her out of it."

"It's okay, Ethan," I assure him.

He turns his head. "Are you crazy? Do you know who that is––"

"Kill." Killian interrupts him. "And her husband," he adds.

"You're married to him, Lillith? He's dangerous. He's one of them."

I don't know what he means by "one of them," but I have to go back.

Killian steps close in Ethan's face. "Give me a reason I shouldn't break your fucking neck right now." He points at me while he backs Ethan down. "Lillith, get in the car!"

Ciro comes up behind me and whispers, "Get in, Lillith."

"Don’t hurt him. I called him," I explain. "I know him."

"No, you don't, princess." Killian replies. Cocking his head to the side, he holds a gun with a laser pointed at Ethan's head. "He's a scavenger. They try to woo women by getting on the island to give them money so they can run their own twisted operation back here."

"No, it wasn't like that with her," Ethan defends. "Please, don't hurt her," he pleads. "I love her."

I see Killian stiffen, and behind me, Ciro mutters, "Shit."

---