ELVEN | K.TH

17

RINEI

My body freezes up with fear the moment I realize I'm back again. The chains, the darkness— the cold. Everything is the same from last time, and I still remembered too much of it to relive it again.

No, no, no.

I kick my feet. But it barely brushes against the floor, and I start shaking my head wildly.

Wake up. Jungkook, wake me up.

Wake me up, now.

But then I pause. My hair is cut short. Dark, colorless locks hang limply over my forehead, covering my eyes. I slightly look up, scrunching my eyes to try and focus my vision in the dark.

The hands that are entangled in the chains aren't mine.

A chill runs down my spine.

What...?

Rinei.

My eyes fly open the moment a weak, quiet voice calls my name. It's barely a whisper against the chaos of my mind, and it soon dissipates as my head jerks up to see my brother.

It's still night, still dark outside.

"You're sleeping with me." He says, lifting me out of the bed. He looks genuinely worried, almost anxious as he walks out of my room.

"I came to check on you, Rinei. Was it that nightmare again?"

I nod dazedly.

But that voice. And my hands hadn't looked like mine. Even in the dark, I could see that the shape was different— more larger, slender.

"Don't think about it." Jungkook says when he sees me scrunching my eyes together. He puts me down on the side of his bed, and I automatically curl under his still-warm covers.

He stares at me. "Do you want me to stay awake with you?"

I'm fine. I think— I think it's okay.

Something felt off.

It almost feels like I need to know more. And I can feel Jungkook's eyes linger on me worriedly as I shift, burying my face into his pillow. I soon hear him getting into bed next to me.

It doesn't take me long to fall asleep again.

The familiar darkness surrounds me. But this time I'm less afraid— more curious. I look up again, at the hands wrapped in silver.

Not mine. For sure.

Then I hear the voice. Again.

Rinei.

It's like a steady echo. My name is being murmured over and over again, and it isn't me.  It's almost as if someone is about to faint, and they're only keeping awake by forcing themselves to speak.

And I reach out, carefully. Hesitantly.

Hello?

It's my voice.

It echoes into the darkness. For a second I freeze— I can't believe the feeling flowing in and out of my lips, my throat. I'm speaking. It's me. It's my voice.

Mine.

I try again. I hear it so clearly. I hear myself.

Hi.

...Rinei?

Oh.

How had I not realized it before.