Tainted

Chapter Twenty-One

Recap

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"Go on." Nick encourages her. "Tell her. Jo-Julius thought she'd be frightened by the story, but it's about time she knows. Actually, if we don't tell her she may be confused as hell during this rescue mission we're going to go on." Nick says. I stay silent, collecting my thoughts and trying to figure out a plan and what they could possibly tell me.

Naoma hesitates, agitating me. My anxiety rises and I ball up my fists. "Tell me." I demand. I'm itching for answers and because of Naoma's silence, it's getting worse. If she wasn't some type of angel, I'd assume she was a sadist, watching me suffer. I'm always in the dark, aren't I, I ask myself.

"Naoma, tell me!" I raise my voice and she sucks in a deep breath. "Tell m-"

"Your dear friends are the epitome of evil." She barks and I freeze, a bone chilling freeze.

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"That's harsh." Nick says. My eyes dart to his in a flash, wonder swirling in my orbs.

"It's true," she says softly. "Especially you." She adds.

"That's your opinion-"

"A fact." She cuts him off and I see his playful smile slipping. He was starting to see that this was no laughing matter.

"If I were truly evil, I wouldn't have wasted my potential and status for a life as a regular human with Josh." Nick argues. His tone matches his face, tight and serious.

"But you didn't!" Naoma stresses. "You still have your powers and you could still possibly be prince someday. Those worthless beasts. I don't understand why you desire to rule over a group of the damned." She spits.

I'm utterly shocked by the sharpness of her tone. I could tell that at heart she wasn't really like this. Something must have set her off.

"I'll never be prince or anything of high power and you know that. Don't throw this shit in my face because you don't know anything. You're the reason why he was casted out in the first place." Nick's voice is harder this time, his intention to break her down.

He's pissed, clearly, and I could feel the anger radiating from him. I'm sure anyone could.

"He was casted out for doing what was right! He was noble, honorable-"

"Foolish and lovesick. Desperate, may I add." Nick intercepts.

"Desperate for love, maybe, because his entire family was made up of a bunch of heartless monsters!" She yells. I try to keep up with their conversation, but I'm confused while listening. Nothing they're saying is remotely familiar to me in any way.

"Monsters? Just because we believe that the greater being is the being who is strong enough to provide for himself makes us monsters?"

"If it means doing something wrong to provide, then yes." She answers quickly and sharply.

"Guys." I try to chime in, but my request to be in the conversation is rejected when their argument continues.

"If I had been noble and honest like Julius, Noama, we would both be pathetic, living amongst humans as if we belonged. I wouldn't be able to protect him. Don't you see, the only reason why I did what I did was to protect him." He tries to reason with her. She turns her nose up at him, clearly disgusted.

"You kept your powers so you could protect yourself and pave your road to success. Your entire family, excluding Julius, is made up of selfish, violent, malicious monsters. You're one of them in disguise. Rain," She turns to me without warning. "Whatever you do, don't trust this bastard."