*Kyra*
I catch myself constantly stealing glimpses of Hayes' injury. The way the scars seem to crawl up his neck and into his cheek like a thorny rose vine creeping up a trellis. It twists and dips, spots shiny while others are dull and deep. My fingers itch to touch it, to trace the
tendrils that caused him so much pain as they dance up the side of his head, burning off half his eyebrow.
It's mesmerizing, almost beautiful. A map of his sufferings. He finds it appalling, convinced I could only feel the same way. But I don't avoid his touch because of his injuries. I run from the sparks he seems immune to.
The explosion that rips through my body and tries to urge me to follow what the moon goddess has given me. It's not about moving on from what I lost, but accepting what I am being offered. But I'm not sure I can or that I want to.
"Ask me," Hayes sighs heavily, the annoyance clear in his exhale as he remains looking forward. My brows pull together, the left corner of my lip pulling down in a confused frown.
"What exactly am I asking you?"
"Did it hurt? Does it still hurt? How did it happen?" Hayes says, his voice flat and unaffected.
"Is that normally what people ask?" I watch him closely as he clears his throat and looks in the opposite direction. "Because I got the feeling people avoid you."
"Because of my burns?" He scoffs, and I snort.
"No, because you're an asshole now."
Dean and Marcos chuckle ahead of us, both of them shaking their heads.
"Yeah, well, if I look like an asshole people don't ask me annoying questions," He grumbles.
I arch a brow and smirk up at him, regardless of how much he tries to look away.
questions. You demanded I ask you what you assumed I wanted to know." I remind him and he nods,
me," He says. "I assumed you were
bearer of them." Then I spin on my toes and walk toward the front of the group. I catch up to Nisha, sliding up on her right side as she looks
some reason. But if we are going to be stuck together for a while, then I may as well familiarize myself with
lost, Tracker?" She muses, her deep brown
"Just
suffocating and when he isn't around, usually
her head before she points up ahead, where Koda saunters, ducking under a
her immediate desire to send me off
you?" I
arches
personal choice." I
she exhales and groans. Her hand reaches out,
these guys. They are my family, a weird, fucked up and very anger filled family. But that's all I have,
a family." I say my word, drifting off as my eyes scan the area around us, a scent prickling my senses as I slow down. The trees are still, not a breeze breaking through the dense foliage of the forest, yet
narrow my eyes, tilting my chin up and taking a deep
air, the scent of overly warm metal or charcoal in the faintest way pulling me
perks up, and I squeeze my eyelids together, allowing the world around me to fall silent. In the darkness I see a dull light, like a thread leading me as it pulses away, calling me to follow. I can feel the excitement
after me, but I am too far gone,
cut around a tree, I
There is a small fresh cut, the under skin looking green and
a shiver running through my body when I bring my hand to my nose and look closely. There is
to spit its
but I push forward. My nose may have picked up the scent, but my other skills have verified it. Ezrah and the egg are close. Now it
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