Rome Fell in a Day

My true name is

The car screeched to a halt, going from 120 to stopped so fast Bella thought she was going to hit the dashboard. Alice looked at Bella, who found herself being examined by dark, searching pools. Alice's eyes had gone from a bright honey gold to dark burnt wood, ashes glaring back at her from the driver's seat. "Alice are you okay?" Bella asked, concerned by the deadly look Alice was giving her. Alice took a deep, harsh breath. Her eyes seemed to recover a bit. "Alice, your eyes," Bella commented, watching breathlessly as the smaller girl's eyes changed. Bella wondered what Alice could be. Whatever she was, the girl wasn't human. Bella reached out and gently touched Alice's hand where it rested on the gear shift. Alice's hand tightened at the contact and she looked away from Bella. Bella pulled back from Alice, even though the contact had sent a jolt through both of them.

"I could say the same about you," Alice responded.

"What?" Bella pulled down the visor and looked in the small mirror. Her eyes were a molten, reflective silver again. She should be better at this by now. "Yes," Bella blinked, bringing back her preferred green, "I suppose you could."

"What happened back there?" Alice asked quietly, seeming to prioritize her questions.

"They were predators. They were coming for me."

"No, I-" Alice huffed. "I know. I know what they were planning on doing. I could see it..." Alice looked back at Bella. "How did you get out of there without even a scratch? You took on six full-grown men."

"I would argue five. One was fall-down drunk, so, you know." Alice glared at Bella, who realized something Alice had said was strange. "Wait, what? What do you mean you saw what they were going to do?"

Alice pinched her nose. "Sometimes I know things. I can sort of guess what people are going to do." She sighed. "Unless they change their mind."

Bella sat quietly. She considered what Alice was saying. Alice wouldn't be the first psychic she'd met in her long life; The Oracles were revered for their predictions. "Okay," Bella agreed.

Alice moved her hand, considering Bella. "Okay? That's it?"

Bella shrugged. "I believe in things bigger than what I can see. If you say you're psychic, I can see that."

Alice's forehead creased in her confusion. Bella was a very strange human if she was even human at all. "I don't, Bella, what do you-" Alice dragged her hands down her face, making prayer hands in front of her chin. "What are you?"

"Depends on who you ask," Bella shrugged. "What are you?" Bella considered Alice. "I've never seen people so beautiful, so perfect. And yet your whole adopted family is flawless. You're cool to the touch. Your eyes change color almost every day. How has Masen been alive so long?"

"You don't answer a question, but you want to ask questions?" Alice growled. "Fine, different question: Why do your eyes change color?"

Bella considered Alice for a moment before she finally decided to tell the truth. "Humans are more comfortable with more natural eye colors. Shining silver doesn't sit as well with mortals as green does. Why do your eyes change color?"

"Because I'm hungry."

Bella lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

Alice shrugged and said, "The hungrier I am, the darker they are."

"That's a new one!" Bella seemed delighted, and a surprised laugh escaped her. It made Alice smile a bit, even though she still had a million questions. "What were you doing out there tonight?"

The smile disappeared. Alice contemplated Bella. She worried about ruining whatever she could feel between the girl and herself, but Alice felt like lying was out of the question. She dragged a hand across the back of her neck, looking away from the questioning green eyes. "I was following you."