Last of Her Kind (Book 1, Part 1, of the LAST series)

friendship of new

I looked around the rundown, small cottage that Kaius had found. My nose scrunched at the odd smell. Something was definitely rotting...or dying...or already dead. It had old furniture inside, which was fine. I didn't exactly have the right to be picky. It was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a large forest, so that was a plus.

I loved the forest. It always had a calming effect on me. A small, blue and green bird landed on the outside of the opened window, singing happily. I smiled at it, watching it hop up and down.

But, the beautiful song was interrupted by a loud stomp, forcing the bird to fly away in fear.

I looked over to see Kaius knocking on the walls and stomping on the floor.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked in confusion.

"I'm making sure this will be a good place for us." Placing his hands on his hips, he looked around it, then shrugged. "It'll work."

I smiled as I walked carefully and slowly around the house, my body still horribly sore.

"No," he scolded. "Bad."

I turned to see a chaos standing at the front door with a large, colorful bird hanging from its mouth. The chaos whined, its eyes sad.

"No," he scolded again. "Take it back outside. You are dripping blood on the floor. Bad."

The chaos whined before leaving, his head hung low. I couldn't help but laugh. "They're stubborn, aren't they?"

He sighed, shutting the door. "You have no idea. Now, back to business. Seeming as there is only one room, you will take that, and I will sleep out here. Your bed is already made up. And, I will have chaos walking the perimeter."

"Thank you, Kaius," I said as I slowly sat down on a chair. "So, what's it like, for you, being one of the last?"

"Last?" he laughed.

"Last...of a cursed child?" I winced at the word cursed.

He shrugged. "Lonely. Glad to have found another."

"How did you know I was one?"

"I'm unsure. I just had a feeling. Plus, you have gold eyes, which is quite rare. My golden blonde, beautiful hair is not that rare, so it was easy for me to blend in."

I smiled. "How old are you? If you don't mind my asking."

He laughed. "I'm 28."

"Really?"

"What?" he asked tilting his head. "Do I not seem young and vibrant?"

The way Azriel spoke of him, I thought he would have to be a lot older. I let out an awkward laugh. "Sorry, I didn't realize how close in age we were."

"All good. As long as I don't look ancient."

I chuckled. "You don't."

"Phew," he said dramatically, "had me worried. Now, are you hungry? I can go search for food."

"I'm actually pretty tired. Think I'm going to rest a bit, if that's okay." He nodded. Climbing to my feet, I walked to the room, shutting and locking the door. I laid back on the lumpy mattress, closing my eyes.

***

"And done," I said, handing Sorin the paper. We were sitting on the blanket in our special spot, beneath the willow tree.

"Oh...wow," he said, staring at the paper before him. Sitting up straighter, he tilted his head to the left. Then tilted his head to the right.

"What?" I asked.