Chapter 12: Chapter 12
Still rooted to the ground, shivers wrack my body. My hands are clenched around the chakram, the sides of the handles biting into my palm. At some stage, something warm trickles down my fingers, but I make no move to check them.
Closing my eyes, I attempt to regulate my breathing.
'The wolf's body twists unnaturally. Its snout shrinks, popping, and fur and claws shorten. Bones pop at angles as it convulses in pain. It's legs are bent at an angle, kneecaps shifting under the skin, snapping the rest of the bones and resetting them.'
Bile rises, my heart quickening.
I have got to be dreaming.
There's no way this is real.
Any minute now, I'll wake in my room, Emily wailing across the hall.
The warmth continues to engulf my hand.
'Bones popping...'
The pounding in my head increases.
'Screams...'
A metallic taste grazes my tongue.
'Pained whimpers...'
"Ria?"
My head shoots up, finding Becca standing before me.
"Are you ok?"
Her voice sounds faint, impaired by the screams. Her hand reaches for my arm. Her lips move, but her voice doesn't reach me. She glances towards my hand. My head pounds.
Something damp caresses my cheek. My eyes are hot, my lungs burning.
Black splotches shimmer in front of my eyes. Becca steps back, turning around. When she returns her gaze to me, I quiver.
I feel my windpipe closing, dizziness catching up, until I can't feel anything at all.
*****
"What did she say?"
"Nothing you can't already see. Panic attack?"
"Looks like it."
"Do you think she saw something?"
"Not unless you sensed it, Kellen."
"I already told you. There was nothing unusual out there."
"We'll just have to wait then. Could you pass me the rag?"
A sharp pain runs up my arm, causing me to suck in a short breath. My throat burns, my head pounding.
"Is she waking now, Prince?"
The voice sounds soft, having a loose familiarity to it that I can't place.
Someone sighs at my side. "Give her chance, Kellen."
Kellen. No.
I bolt up, eyes squinting. Gritting my teeth through the obvious pain in my hand, I push myself further back, glaring at Kellen with wide eyes.
A hand finds its way to my arm. "Calm down. It's only us."
I look between them both, my breathing unsteady. "He... He's not..."
"Who's not what? Adriana, it's just me and Kellen. You're safe."
My head shakes as warmth trickles down my cheeks. "No... He..."
"Adriana, calm down. Who's what?" Crouching, he moves closer, rubbing my arm gently as his eyes soften.
My eyes trained on Kellen, my hand lifts, pointing in his direction. "He's not human," I whisper almost incoherently.
Kellen immediately pales, glancing warily between Prince and I. "What do you mean?"
My breath catches in my throat, bile rising as the event replays in my mind. "He... You're a dog!"
Kellen coughs, looking offended. "A dog? Are you kidding me?"
"You were a dog, and then... Not a dog... Alec was there!" My heart quickens as his expression darkens.
"I. Am not. A dog."
"Kellen, stop," Prince warns before moving his attention to me. "Are you sure you saw that? From what Becca said, you were having quite an episode."
I shot him an incredulous glare. "I'm not blind! He was squealing and everything!"
Kellen grimaced. "I don't squeal."
Prince raised a brow, a challenging glint in his eyes, causing Kellen to mumble under his breath.
"Is anyone going to tell me what's happening?"
They both exchange glances, before Prince sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Kellen, go get the others."
Nodding, he disappears through a rickety door, leaving me alone with Prince. He seems to be in deep thought, and I start to wonder about what I saw. A part of me hopes that he's thinking about nice ways to tell me I'm crazy. Perhaps I was hallucinating from sudden prolonged exposure to the outdoors, since I've always been a very much indoor person. However, something tells me that is quite unlikely.
Thinking back, it seemed pretty real. What worries me more however is that Alec knew about it, which probably means Becca does too. What else have they been hiding?
The sound of the door scraping against the ground draws me out of my thoughts to see the siblings, both wearing worried expressions as they follow Kellen through. Becca stands to the side of me, concern laced in her eyes. Taking my hand, she pulls it up, looking at a cut that I had failed to notice in my panic. It is surrounded in dried blood.
Alec clears his throat, standing at the foot of the bed. "Kellen said you saw something?"
"He was a dog," I whisper, watching as Kellen rolls his eyes.
"Are you sure? Could you describe it?"
"Alec, you were there! I know what I saw, as do you."
His face scrunches up. He opens his mouth, but Prince cuts him off. "What I would like to know is why neither of you sensed that Adriana could see you."
Kellen's cheeks tinge pink as he looks anywhere but Alec. Coughing slightly, Alec purses his lips before answering. "We were a little preoccupied. You know it's painful for him."
Confusion having long since set up camp, I decide to speak up. "So what I saw was real then? He's a dog?"
"I am not a dog!"
"You had four legs and a fuzzy arse, sounds like a dog to me."
He sends me a murderous glare. "For your information, I am a hybrid."
"So... Half dog then," I smirk.
Before he can start yelling, Prince cuts him off. "He's half werewolf. It's also quite offensive to call them dogs, so don't."
"So what he's part human, part fur ball?"
"No."
My brows furrow. "Someone's going to have to explain this because I'm not getting it."
Becca steps in. "You remember that Greek book we saw in the hut?"
"Yes..."
"The other half is Vrykólakas. It's like a vampire but less... Movie-like."
At this point everything just sounds like gibberish. "Vampire like the spontaneously combustible sparkly blood suckers?"
"Without the sparkles and the burning, yes."
Gulping, I shuffle a little further back until my back hits the wall. "So how do you two know about this?" I ask the siblings. The image of Becca freaking out at the sight of blood passes through my mind, but I quickly dismiss it. I know these people; all that has happened is they've gotten caught up in something.
Both sibling look to the ground, seemingly unwilling to answer. After a few beats, Prince answers for them. "They're hybrids too. Human and Vrykólakas."
My eyes bulge out. "You... You've been lying to me this whole time!"
Prince rolls his eyes. "In all fairness, they weren't all that discrete. What do you think all the flasks were for?"
Bile rises in my throat. My neighbors are blood suckers.
"Ria are... Are you ok?" Alec asks, his voice quiet.
I look up at him. "My sister is kidnapped, my dad kicked me out, my neighbors want to drink my blood and that guy's basically a wolf with extra teeth, but that's ok. Perfectly normal. Next thing you know Prince will tell me he's Yoda and that we're actually going to Neverland to buy my sister from a cannibalistic garden gnome. So yes, I'm fine."
Prince stared at me in confusion. "What the hell is a yoda?"
"Really? That's all you got from that, Prince? If that's even you real name."
"This again? Look I realise we lied but he wouldn't lie about his name, Ria," Becca sighs.
"Actually... She's right," he replies, causing all three of the others to drop their mouth in shock. Honestly I don't know how they didn't see this coming. I've known this guy was full of shit since I met him.
"So where did the name 'Prince' come from then?" Becca asks.
"It's more of a title rather than a name."
I gasp dramatically. "Don't tell me you're the frog prince."
"What about me looks like a frog to you?"
"Nothing, but you can be a bit of a toad, so it wouldn't surprise me."
His eyes turn stormy. "I'll have you know I am the Unseelie Prince Eros, and you should watch who you're calling a toad."
"You're a fairy?"
"No! I am a High Fae."
"What's that?"
He groans. "Like an elf but higher class and generally stronger."
Pursing my lips, I try to hide my laughter. "Do you have a special green outfit?"
His brows come together. "Only for hunting."
"What about tights? And a little pointy hat? What about making toys?"
"I've worn tights when I was younger... What is the point to this?"
A fit of giggles consumes me as I picture him in a green, striped outfit. "You're like Santa's little helper!"
"I'm... What?"
As I laugh, Alec pulls out his phone, showing him a picture while trying to keep a straight face.
Prince's... I mean Eros's eyes widen. "That is fucking ridiculous."
We all laugh while he sulks. Prince Eros, huh? He sulks an awful lot for a prince.
It actually makes sense to me that he'd be a royal. I've seen the way he treats the others, as if they should all cater to his orders. I've noticed how his eye twitches whenever I insult him. He's also been the one to decide on plans since Emily's disappearance. Speaking of which, if these guys are involved in her situation, who, or what, is she actually with?
I decide that now may not be the best time to ask. Darkness is pouring through the window, and I assume that these people still sleep. As for me, I think if any more information was shoved in my direction tonight then my brain might just fry itself.
The others eventually leave the room, most wearing guilty expressions, saying that I can sleep here for the night. Sleep might never come however.
They all lied to me. To be honest, I'm not sure how I didn't see it before. Alec and Becca both get angry very easily, and the flasks... It all seems so obvious now. My mind is racing - I might know their true nature, but I have no idea what the situation with my sister is. I have an incline that there's probably parts of that story they missed out.
She could be with anything. She might already be dead. And from what I can gather, Eros wants her for something, which now sounds more worrying than before.
I only hope that wherever she is and whatever she's with, she's not hurt.
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