Scarred

Chapter 34

Eva's POV
"Are you sure this is a good idea Eva? I mean... well maybe I'm just worried that... I think you know what I'm hinting at," Cas mutters on my shoulder as I enter the training ground. "You don't have to come here, though I know you know that. What if it reminds you of him?"
"This whole place reminds me of him. And her. And the Silence. I'm surprised I haven't managed to create a nightmare in the short amount of time we've been here already. But that's not important, I need to improve my magic if I'm going to help my dad. And this room is designed for that exact purpose," I reply, stepping into the training grounds.

I glance over the room as memories flood back. The days Sebastian and I trained and practiced magic together, the sword fight that secured my freedom from this place, and... it's like I can still see his corpse laid out on the floor, in a puddle of pink blood.

"You're back I see."

Blond hair. Icy blue eyes.

No. He's dead.

"I thought you were never going to return. It's a shame, by the time I woke up, you were long gone."
"Woke up...?" I breathe. "That can't be... you died."
"The healers here really do work miracles. If you want, you could even get them to remove those nasty scars around your wrists," he says, taking my hand and tracing the scars with his fingertips. "We can go right now, I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

"No," I mutter, pulling my arm away. He stares at me with these almost watery eyes, a hint of youth and childishness in them. It's as if the Sebastian I initially befriended never left. "Why... why didn't you tell me about your sister? I told you so much about me, and my blood, and yet you only told me just before leaving me behind."

"Eva, remember, he isn't real," Cas whispers to me. "He's a nightmare-"
"I told you already. The healers saved me. I didn't die. But Eva, you're accusing me of leaving you behind, but didn't you leave me. You left me bleeding on the floor, you left me to die. Didn't you hear me calling out for you as you ran," Sebastian continues.

"That's not what happened! We watched you die! Eva, don't listen to him," Cas jumps off my shoulder and turns into his human form, stepping between Sebastian and I.
"No... I remember... I remember him calling out. Why didn't I go back? Why did I leave him?!"

My mind fills with the sound of a weak voice desperately calling out my name. But when I look up, Sebastian bares a twisted grin. Who's telling the truth? Is it Cas? Or is it Sebastian? Cas wouldn't lie to me. Not about something like this. But for some reason, I can distinctly recall what Sebastian's saying. And if Cas is telling the truth, then that isn't Sebastian.

I mean, we were just talking about nightmares and how it might be a bad idea for me to come here because I might create a nightmare. And Cas did just call him one. But even so, part of me clings onto the idea that Sebastian's alive. I mean, why wouldn't I? If he is, then Tana will get to see him again, then I won't have to put up with this guilt any longer. Because even if I didn't wield the sword that ended his life, I might as well have.

Without thinking, I pull my wand out of my pocket and hold it to his nose. The icy blue eyes widen in fear, or maybe shock, and he stumbles back.

"I-if you're really him, you can answer some simple questions," I say. "What did I do when I was first introduced to you?"
"You tried to leave."
"What would we do when we snuck out of lessons?"
"We'd train and practice our magic in this very room."
"And what colour is your blood?"
"Pink."

Taking a deep breath, a shard of ice forms on the tip of my wand.

"You can prove it to me then."

The ice just grazes his skin, and instead of the pink blood I was expecting- maybe even hoping for - there's some form of black goop. It slowly trails down his cheek and he scowls as he goes to wipe it off.