The Pain in My Heart [Completed]

Chapter Forty-Three ~Crista

I slap my hand over my mouth in utter shock at what I'm seeing. Willow's drawing... it... seems almost too real to be a drawing.

My first instinct is to look at Zaria, go to her side and make sure she's okay, but Axil catches my eyes and my instinct has suddenly shifted.

His eyes twitch before he springs up to his feet and bounds to the door. And like a flash of light, Tyrian is there in a moment's time to stop Axil in his tracks.

"Let. Me. Go," Axil says dangerously.

Tyrian lifts his head even higher. It doesn't help that he already towers over Axil by about a foot. "I think we need to have a little chat outside."

"Gladly."

"Axil," Zaria calls out using her I-used-to-roam-the-streets voice.

He locks eyes with Tyrian and it is a stare down. Personally, my money is on Tyrian, but I've seen Axil become a savaged animal when he needs to be.

Tyrian slowly steps away and gestures to the door, flashing his eyebrows in a taunt.

Thank God, Axil actually marches outside without throwing any hands... although I guess throwing hands could still be a possibility and I should keep my ears open to see if I have to stop any fights.

"Zaria..." Lucy says in the most somber voice. "This..." she holds up the drawing. The vividness of the crystals is almost like reliving a memory. And though it's been months since I've stepped foot in the Crystal Cave, it's drawn exactly as I remember. "This doesn't mean anything," she says and waves the paper nonchalantly.

"This," she holds it in front of her, examining every detail. "How could she possibly know?"

"Exactly," Zaria says, and her voice is calmer than I expected. She wears a tight smile and shakes her head. "How could she know, unless she's tapping into her own magic and seeing visions?"

"But she's just a child," Lucy says as if she's pleading with fate. "She doesn't know any better."

"Fighting this is only proving the point that she's correct," Zaria argues matter-of-factly. Her fingers curl and dig into the blanket lying over her.

"But it doesn't mean anything. This could be just a bad moment in..."

Zaria gets up, wobbling a little bit. Her long black hair swishes with every unsteady movement. And maybe it is just the darkness of her hair against her face that makes her look a little pale.

She turns around and lifts her shirt. "How bad is it?"

I'm left utterly speechless. The mark that encompasses her back is nothing like the ones that we have and yet... so similar.

Giant crow wings cover the length of her back and hug around her shoulders. The swirls resemble whisps of smoke and I can only imagine the pain she endured for her to pass out.

She sighs, pulls her shirt back down and turns around to face us. It can't just be her hair. Her face is pale white, the green of her eyes almost glowing neon.

Neither one of us says anything. What are we supposed to say?

She takes a deep breath and somehow... smiles?

"If I don't make it through tonight, you guys will."

Not make it through tonight. No... no...

"Don't talk like that," I whisper.

She wraps her arms around me, patting the back of my head.

"You saved me once Crista. You brought me back when no one else could. You fought for my life and now I'm fighting for yours." She backs away and sniffs. "You guys aren't marked. It was just a distraction Mr. Griffin created to keep Eden on her toes. But she'll know... she'll know mine is real. That's how she'll find the cave."