Three days.It had been three days since Myra had died... and I felt suspended in time, unsure over what to do next.After that night, I had arrived home and walked straight into the shower. The process had taken a while since I had needed to peel off all the clothes that had stuck to me; their condition no longer salvageable at all and would need to be thrown out.I'd stood under the showerhead and watched as the hot water turned red all around me, washing away all the evidence of what I'd done. But it wasn't enough. Even when the water had begun to turn clear, I started to scrub at my body. I scrubbed... and scrubbed... and scrubbed... until my flesh was almost as red as the water had been.But even then, I could still see it. I could still feel it.It hadn't been enough.*I* hadn't been enough.For three days, I’d done nothing but lay in bed, barely eating or moving. It was all I could do.My parents had

Aleric didn't look reassured by the answer I'd given but he let me go anyway, the two of us walking back over to where Thea was laughably pretending to act scared.I scoffed at her appearance, much to the curiosity of the warriors standing around.Aleric ignored me and walked up to her, crouching so they were eye level. And even though I felt the urge to murder Thea more than anything in that moment, I couldn't help but feel a pang of distress echo inside me seeing the two of them so close together again. I knew it wasn't remotely the same as in the past and I shouldn't care anymore, but the reaction was involuntary. It was just more fuel for the pain I was nurturing inside."Your name is Thea, correct?" Aleric asked.She just nodded, her eyes wide with fear as she looked around at everyone surrounding her."We've been trying to locate you for almost a week now. Where have you been?"Her voice was exactly the same as how I remembered it. I c

On my way to the hospital, I had time to process some of what had just happened.I could still feel it; that hum of energy deep inside me I'd never known was there. It was as if it was suddenly awakened, brought forward by my desperation and pain. This was true authority, I knew. Something I'd never realised existed, nor did I think anyone else had either. If they'd known I had this control, I was sure they would have tried to lock me up sooner. There was a huge difference between following me by choice due to being chosen by the Goddess, and me being someone with an ultimate authority to control others by force. I was now an even larger threat to the traditional hierarchy. Upon arriving, I could see the hospital was quiet. There would only be skeleton staff around at this time of night so it wouldn't be hard to navigate my way without being seen. This was particularly important since I didn't need further cause to jeopardise my current position.It only t

‘I killed you,’ I whispered in my head. ‘You did nothing wrong and I killed you.’"Ahh...," was the only sound that left me.I was fairly certain that telling him that information didn't exactly scream that he could trust me; a vital part of any possible relationship to start. Would it be wrong of me to keep it a secret? It seemed like such an unnecessary gamble to ruin something that didn't need to be tarnished so quickly."...Aria?" he prompted."I'm trying to remember," I lied.I could see it now... his eyes changing to become wary, unsure of who I was. His death was just the start of a list of names whose lives I had ended up claiming. Would he see me as a murderer?I swallowed back my hesitance and cleared my throat. If I was willing to finally put the past behind me then there was no reason to ruin my future because of it."No," I eventually answered. "I... can't recall ever having

'So handsome,' I thought to myself as I watched Cai sleeping next to me.I wasn't sure how long I'd slept for but I'd woken up to find him by my side. He looked so peaceful; his hair had tousled into a mess as his chest softly rose and fell. I could have watched him for hours.I lost track of time as I recounted the events that had transpired the evening prior but soon Cai stirred next to me. In his slumber, a strand of hair fell across his face and I couldn't help but reach out and gently brush it away back into place. It was so silky to touch.As my eyes drifted back to his face though I froze, realising he was now awake and watching me."Morning," he mumbled sleepily, reaching out to pull me close to him.I had fallen asleep in one of his t-shirts but could still feel his warmth through the fabric. If not for the confusion of his words, I would have melted myself into his touch willingly. But the nagging in my mind prevented me, forcing