An uneasy feeling crawls across my skin, forcing me awake.
My room is dark, an icy chill breezing through the open balcony doors I must have left open before I went to sleep last night. Tucking my duvet up closer to my chin, I address the strange feeling that has fallen upon me, almost like I'm being watched.
I sit up suddenly, seeing a figure coming into my room, closing the door behind him. Before I can scream at the intruding shadow, the light flickers on, revealing Marek in his hunting gear and dark coat. He looks awfully stoic, as if he hasn't just entered my room at this ungodly hour
I stare out into a serenade of darkness, the shifting mist swirling tauntingly, illuminated by the golden glow from the light inside.With a storm fervently rolling in, Marek and I found refuge in a small barn in the back of someone's property, too wary to book ourselves into a motel with Tai's correspondents crawling around everywhere. Despite the bitter chill that has fallen with dusk, curling up in the hay will have to do for tonight.Shivering, I run my hands up and down my bare arms, Marek using my coat to create a make-shift bed behind me. In the distance, white-gold lightening erupt
I wander from the kitchen, apple in hand.Just as I turn the corner, I see a figure appear right before me, bringing me to a stop. Taking a step back, I look up at Tai, whose chest I nearly ran into.My heart jumps into my throat, my cheeks immediately reddening. Marek and I returned as early as possible this morning, even through the thunderstorm, which toward midday, has finally started to let up. No one saw us enter, but I still have this heavy feeling of guilt pressing against my chest...Especially after what happened in the barn last night.
Tapping my pen against the desk, I consider the words in front of me.Over the last few days, my writing has been my only escape. Tai is still tense around me, and although Marek has his job as my personal guard now, he has been avoiding me. So I've been writing, and doing research into the Beast. I've discovered far more personal accounts of encounters with the Beast.I can't believe I've gone my entire life believing what my mother and the other village leaders told me. None of it includes all these harrowing real life stories.
It's strange seeing Tai and Marek in the same room.They stand on opposite sides of my room; Marek leaning against the glass balcony doors while Tai paces in and out of the bathroom as if a clue will spontaneously reveal itself as to why this just happened to me. Marek sat by my beside until the nurse arrived, only leaving when harshly demanded to by the nurse who has come to dress my rooms and administer pain medication.The shower was poisoned. No one is doubting that. The right side of my body is riddled with sores and raw skin, likely to leave small traces of scars despite the incredib
I walk down the steps, wincing with every step.My skin feels stiff, pulling tight beneath my billowy clothing, protesting at my movement. It's been like that for weeks since the incident, most of the scarring having since faded, although still leaving behind irritating remnants.My physical therapy sessions with one of Tai's healers happens now only once a week. Pain medication is no longer necessary, and I can walk, run and swim as I once did.
Midnight snack time.Pressing against my door, I silently pray I won't bump into Tai's strange friends. Especially Arnix, who received a rather firm warning from Tai to stay away from me. Whether he has any reason to listen to his friend or not is another question.I jump as a figure appears in my peripheral vision, standing right at my door."Marek?" I breathe, realising who I'm looking at. He leans against the wall, no weap
Preparations for the ball took less than a day to set up. Jessa getting me ready felt as though it took longer.My hands are clasped behind me, my palms damp. I've decided that this is the furthest from what I would ever be interested in. I stand in the corner of a room in Tai's estate that I've never ventured to, watching people I've never met dance and drink around me, paying me no mind.I haven't seen Tai since this started, leaving me absently standing by the expensive wine, wondering if I should risk a drink to breeze through the rest of the night. Knowing I've never drank in my life,
Tai leads me from the ballroom, the gazes of those still inside dancing following us.He doesn't reveal any of his plans until we are out in a foyer, the great expanse of the room making me feel small, the thin fabric of my dress allowing an icy breeze to crawl through it to kiss my skin. I haven't been to this part of the manor, although the grandeur of it suggests it's only for the most prestige's guests.Tai pauses in the middle of the foyer, a pine scented breeze coming through the open w