Mortal Wounds

Chapter Thirty-Five

Invidian's POV

I see nothing but darkness. I turn my head, walking forward to find something. Anything but silence clogs my ears. I cannot hear myself breathe. I cannot feel myself move. For a second, my breath freezes in my throat. My heartbeat races at the thought of being back in Purgatory. The unending loneliness and senselessness that Purgatory trapped me in begins to seep back through like ice to my skin. This can't be Purgatory. I can't be back there. I left.

"Get out of my head!" a disembodied shout echoes in this room.

Right, I'm inside Ethelia's head. I need to remember why I'm here. I grit my teeth, focusing on the memories I want to find. Everything around me shifts strangely as if I'm inside a computer glitch. Fragmented colours form around me until it creates a scene around me.

I blink, finding myself in GoldVine's forest. The grass is blanketed with snow. The air is crisp with night air, the stars above our heads glowing in the sky by the thousands. I shudder as the cold nips at my skin.

"Uh-- here."

I glance to my side, stiffening when Henley sits beside me. Her eyes glow with excitement. Her short hair is an attractive dusty violet. A smatter of freckles covers her nose and cheeks, her black tank top and pale blue jeans. She looks so alive. So... happy. My chest lacerates with pain. She drops her jacket on my shoulders with a nervous smile.

"Henley?" my voice is so small I can barely hear it.

"I don't want you to freeze to death. Eat up before the food turns into glaciers. I don't want the only good meal I've cooked to go to waste."

She shivers, picking up a piece of chicken from the picnic blanket we sit on. She really went all out with this picnic. For as long as I knew Henley couldn't cook. She had the attention span of a goldfish, so naturally whenever she'd try cooking, she'd get distracted and look out the window for an hour, causing the food to burn into toxic waste. This food must have taken her forever to make. It takes me a moment before realising this is the moment Henley confessed her feelings to Ethelia. She draws closer, fastening the jacket on properly.

"Here, you need to buckle it on like this-- whoa, your eyes are amazing," Henley murmurs, her cheeks flushing as she stares into my eyes.

Her expression is dreamy as if she truly believes that. I glance down at my body, realising this isn't me. I'm in Ethelia's body, in her memories. And Henley is on autopilot, unaware of my presence. I wince, unprepared for this. Henley's eyes flicker as if contemplating going in for the kiss now. However, her expression darkens, noticing something on Ethelia's arm. She grabs it, inspecting it with suspicion.

"Another bruise? What happened this time," she demands, her expression hardening.

I get to hear whispers of Ethelia's thoughts, overlapping in a dilapidated mess. But I manage to make out her strongest thought. "Fighting comes with the job."

"Nothing really," Ethelia waves her off, distracting herself by eating something, "This is really good."

Henley narrows her eyes as if not buying it for a second.

"Was it Cassiel?"

"Please, that little bitch can't lay a finger on me even if he threw everything at me."

"It's complicated. Please, let's just talk about something else," Ethelia brushes her off.

"No, this is important. Why are you staying with him if he's treating you like that?"

"Loyalty. His ancestor agreed that all of his first-born children in his lineage would take up the role of a vessel. I need to make sure Cassiel doesn't think he is an exception."