Harwal, book 3

Chapter 11

I rip the envelope open, my heart and hands trembling with terror. I whip the letter out and try to focus on the letters on it, but it's getting blurry. A headache starts tapping me like a tight rubber band around my head.

"What is it?" Grandma asks, and I squint my eyes to focus, but it's impossible. Just as the letters get a bit clearer, it's ripped from my hands.

"Hey—"

"Why are you taking so long with everything?" She grunts and reads the letter. I stare at her face, waiting for her eyes to widen in horror or something, but she shows nothing.

"Wh-what does it say?"

She grunts and folds the letter. "It's that other girl who was with you."

I frown and snatch the letter back and manage to read it. It's Greece's handwriting, informing me there is a problem with the tech, and she needs to stay at the ship to fix it. I blow out a breath and smack grandma with the letter.

"Why couldn't you let me just read it? I'm not a kid, for God's sake."

"You're acting like it," she says with a grunt. "Let's go back inside, we will talk more about all this when Dante is home and sleeping."

"I don't think we have anything left to say," I mutter and try to relax my shoulders, hoping it would help against the increasing pain in my head.

"Stop running away from your problems. Drugs don't solve your life. For once, listen up with a clear head and keep the information inside." She shakes her head disapprovingly as she goes back into the room.

I scowl at her accusations. I haven't touched drugs since I got together with Aaron. I don't even know who sells drugs or what drugs they sell now that the aliens took over. I just apparently have a gaping hole in my memories for no reason.

I shuffle into the room and shut the door slowly. I even forgot what happened at the lake. Those memories came back, but very choppily and accompanied by another black hole. I grab the side of my head and try to rub the tension.

Am I going insane? Do I have bouts of insanity?

"Mom, did you know that the Zohra don't speak like we do? Apparently, they speak with their titles." Dante breaks my train of thought. "And they don't tell their names to anyone but family. Isn't that weird?"

I bat my eyes at him. He's sitting cross-legged on the bed, holding the paper towels on his foot like I told him. Grandma went back to the corner of the room, sitting and judging me from her armchair. Dante and Harwal are staring at me, the latter having that piercing look again. It's like he can read my mind or something. It makes me uncomfortable as hell.

"Mom?"

"Uh, yeah," I finally say and nod. "You can't miss it, honestly."

"I would have to call myself Kit," Dante says and blows a breath. "I'm not a child anymore, though."

"You are," I say in unison with Harwal.

Dante glances at Harwal and pouts. "I'm not as big as you, but I'm bigger than mom already."

"She is human," Harwal says and leans his cheek on his hand as he scans at me. "She is tiny."

I feel scrutinised. "I'm not tiny," I say to the biggest man I've seen.

Dante snorts and smiles at me widely. "Mom, you are very tiny."

I frown and rub my neck. This is a migraine coming up, isn't it? My stomach feels a bit queasy, and the headache is growing stronger.

"Do we have any painkillers here?" I ask from grandma. "I think I'm having a migraine."

Her expression grows sour, and I realise she thinks I'm looking for drugs. "Never mind," I say and continue rubbing my neck as I go and sit next to Dante.