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3. What You Sow

"So," I said, "What's your name?" The voice person glances at me for a second, then continues moving the glass bottles around on the desk, mumbling a few words to themself as they do. When the clinking has finally stopped, they turn to look at me fully, their mouth pulled down into a small frown as they think for a moment.

"You can call me Riley," they say.

I nod slowly, thinking for a second. "So, Riley, why am I here exactly?"

"That depends on where you are."

"You say that like I'm not right in front of you."

Riley's eyebrows furrow slightly as they say slowly, as if unsure of themself, "You're not."

My expression of confusion matches Riley's. "But I am. I can see you and hear your voice, and I can feel this actually rather soft blanket under my hands, so I must be."

Riley opens then closes their mouth, not knowing what to say. They close their eyes for a moment, then shake their head and turn back to the glass bottles. "Nevermind," they say distractedly.

I'm about to say something else when the sudden appearance of a figure I know all too well has me immediately silent.

Seith smiles, his red eyes glinting with joy and mischief: a terrifying sight every time I see it. He steps closer until he's leaning over me, and I find myself once again unable to look away from that mass of red. "Look at you," he whispers, his voice making my eyes widen a fraction. "Your hair's gotten longer." Seith reaches up to push some of the strawberry blonde strands out of my face, and I try my best to pull away, but that only makes him smile wider.

"Can I tell you something?" Seith asks, making me bite the inside of my lip: nothing good comes of what Seith says. "I just found out that you're really good at making friends with princlings." My eyes widen further, and Seith steps away so I can see Riley standing behind him.

"No," I mumble weakly.

I hold the limp body to my chest, clutching at their blood-stained clothes.

Riley glances to me, then back to the bottles.

"Yes," Seith says, his eyes narrowing as the shadows gather around his fingers to form claws. "Very much so." He leans forward again, his cruel, mirth-filled expression filling my vision. "And guess what their name is." Sieth puts one of his claws against my chest, tapping it with each syllable as he says, "Rilozanado Manaduria."

"No," I say weakly. "Please, you can't. Seith, you can't."

Behind Seith, I can see Riley turn towards me as they ask, "Collin, are you okay?"

"Yes," Seith says, pulling his hand away, "I can. And you can do nothing to stop me."

"No, no, no. Seith, please, not again, you can't- you can't make me do it again Seith, please, don't-" My panicked rambling is cut off by the feeling of Seith's hand piercing my chest and my breath catching in my throat.

Seith leans forward, his lips twisted in a mocking sneer. "Too bad," he says, then fades and disappears.

The last thing I hear before I lose consciousness is Riley's concerned voice calling my name, then the world turns black.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Goddammit, why is there so much blood?" Asher presses his hands into the wound, making them disappear into the red pool gathering on the Prince's stomach. I try to fight against Marco's hold, but he's so much stronger than I am.

I get one arm free and try to run to Jax, but Marco pulls me back by my other hand and throws me to the ground. He points furiously at me, and yells, "You stay right there you monster! I'm not gonna let you get near him after what you've done."