Fire Scarred *Un-Edited Version*

Chapter Twenty-One

It's weird. It's weird how life can take on that glass prism quality. The shapes gradually become disorientated. The air glows with ghosts of rainbows leaving one to wonder where the leprechaun has gone. Nothing seems real, as if an illusion of what was is all that's left. It's intangible. It's senseless. It's seamless. Without pores, or stitching, or anything that makes it seem real. Haziness and tricks of light. Shadows cast in ominous ways, and rays of sun lit up like halos. It's all to bright, all to vibrant, all to calm.

It's all to much for me.

Leo was in my room when I woke up; when I was in the glass prism state of mind that always occurs when I'm aroused from a dream. He sat on the edge of my bed with his arms crossed over his chest. He had that pensive look on his face.

"What happened?" Leo asked. He was a broken record.

I didn't bother to answer for what felt like the millionth time. My mind was elsewhere. A cave, a cage, a snake.

"Cora?" he kissed my forehead. "Please talk to me."

His eyes were a sincere shade of green, soft and sad. His gaze was pleading, a veteran on the side of a busy street only wanting a penny for my thoughts. My thoughts were dangerous, though, or had the right combination of secrets, nostalgia, and fear to make them so. I had a threat hanging over my head. Sorrel threatened not only my happiness, but everyone else's too. Our lives were being gambled with. There was no way to win. We were all in against our will, some of us unknowingly, and there wasn't a way for us to win this poker hand. I could only be a ploy in Sorrel's game, put on my poker face and pretend, and hope that Ciris can resolve all of this when it comes time. He's older, meaning stronger and wiser, and could fix things, like a father with his son's toy. Yes, I'll let Ciris resolve all of this.

My head swiveled to face the boy next to me rambling on about how it was important that I let him know what's going on so he could fix things, or he'd die trying. Death sounded most likely. More of a reason he shouldn't hear the truth.

I forced my mouth to open, my tongue to work, and the words to form. They tasted like gasoline on the page. "That Ciris was a fake. He was pretending to be my third parent only to get close to me. He was a part of that clan that's after me. I took care of him, though. He shouldn't bother me anymore."

"Wait! Cora, what happened?" His hand gripping mine tightened, his knuckles turning as white as my numbing fingers were.

I sighed, "Leo, I'm tired. It's been a long day. I really don't want to talk about it. He's gone. That's over. I just wanted to say that we should try to find the real Ciris. For protection services, of course.We could figure out what to do next with his help. With him on our side, I'm sure we could solve the problem with the clan." The words were acid in my mouth. They stung my throat and hurt my mind. My body ached with the lies that slid off my tongue like fire. It caused me physical pain to lie to Leo like this, but I had to keep up the facade- for his own safety.

"Yeah, sure. We can find Ciris if you want, if you'd feel safer that way." He sounded disappointed. The underlying meaning of his statement was evidently clear: You don't think I can handle things. I knew he couldn't handle things. He stood up and paced the length of my room before settling to lean against my window.

I forced a smile. His genuine expression made my heart break, and I couldn't help but cry. "Yes, I would."

He caught sight of my tears and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I fibbed.

"Lies!" He tried to smile, but it crumbled like sand. A worried hand pushed through Leo's hair. "When do you want to leave? To find him?"