The Degenerate (Mythics Book One)

15

"Ivy, there you are."

Speaking of mysterious blending-in people, Theo appeared out of freaking nowhere and took my hand, pulling me along with him.

"You know," he was saying, "if you're going to run after me, you could at least try not to get lost, okay?"

I raised an eyebrow, pulling my hand free. "I met someone. A strange girl with a silk nightgown."

Theo's expectant look said I should probably continue speaking but the conversation we'd had was... well, it was something else.

"She said she recognized me," I tried.

He gave me a weird glance. "I'm sure that's not the first time that has happened."

"It's not. I mean... she's just...she gave me an odd feeling, that's all." Good grief, I was so terrible with words, I was sure my siren ancestors must have tumbled over in their watery graves. Whatever. Change the subject, quick. "Where's Rafe heading?" I asked.

The guy in question was done greeting people now, moving swiftly deeper into the trees where more wooden houses rested among the boughs. His bright hair caught the light of dozens of lanterns, setting it aflame. A long dark coat rested over his shoulders, it's collar flicked up very theatrically, reminding me of a detective from that tv show Theo and I had binged a few months ago. His steps were practiced and silent, nimble among the fallen leaves and sticks.

"Rafe!" I called out. Cicadas and crickets in the growth nearby quieted at the outburst. My voice carried way too far. Suddenly, I felt painfully loud. I tried again, this time much quieter, "Rafael."

His shoulders visibly stiffened under his jacket and I knew he'd heard me both times. His footsteps definitely slowed, but he wasn't stopping for us to catch up.Running, I huffed beside him, Theo coming to a jogging stop on his other side.

"Ignoring me already? Geesh, I must have really upped my game." I poked Rafe's arm and he looked over at me, a flame of annoyance in his eyes and--- was that pain?

He quickly glanced away.

Theo spoke up. "I was hoping you could show us a place to sleep for the night."

Rafe barely glanced in his direction. "You mean, morning?" With a flick of his wrist, he checked a watch that gleamed with brown leather and a silver sheen. "Hate to break it to you, but night was over about three hours ago," he added, voice chipper in sharp contrast to his hooded expression.

Theo scoffed. "You know perfectly well what I meant," he snapped back.

I nearly rolled my eyes so hard they fell out of my head and into the dense foliage around us, forlornly left to spend the rest of their days among the dirt and bugs. Guys had that nasty habit of hurting when they should be listening, or at least in my experience through my moth--- er, Jacquelyn. She always said men were anything but what they were supposed to be, which didn't make a lot of sense to me, but apparently that was why she refused to get married a second time. I had no clue what had happened to the first. He'd probably died under super mysterious circumstances.

But all of the rambling thoughts in my head faded when I looked over at the wizard beside us.

Maybe Rafe was actually horrible at hiding his feelings. Or maybe what was inside me, that creature, could even see those emotions through a brick wall. Whatever it was, I knew Rafe was aching something fierce. The thought of someone hurting so badly gnawed at me. I'd never been able to cope with other people's pain.

"Hey," I said. "What's wrong?"

A muscle in his jaw twitched. His footsteps sped up as if he were trying to discreetly lose a couple of pestering paparazzi, but we kept ourselves stubbornly glued to his sides.

We were that annoying. In fact, I was so skilled in the subject of annoying people, I could probably single-handedly turn it into a sport and win an olympic gold medal in it specifically. I was that talented.

Rafe cleared his throat. "I'm not sure if you two noticed, but," he paused to flash us a superficial smile, "I'm busy and I don't have time for either of you."

Theo rolled his eyes to the heavens.

"Listen, Mr. Cooler-Than-Harry-Potter," I snarked back with a malicious smirk. Sometimes tough love was the way to go. "You realize I can't use your glorious shoulder as a pillow every time I pass out, right? I'm tired. Theo's tired. Where can we crash?" I paused for a fleeting second. Only helping my annoying-people skills, I got all kinds of talkative when I was tired. "And...what's going on with you? Anyone can see through that ridiculous facade you've got going on there---"

"First impressions lie," interrupted Rafe. "I never realized you were so stubborn."

I flashed him a smile. "It's a quality I'm only just beginning to discover within myself. I think I like it. It gets me answers, so I'll keep it. You, dude, have a lot of explaining to do."

"Does she always ask so many questions?" he asked Theo.

Ever the loyal friend, Theo replied smartly, "Only when it matters."

Rafe halted and I barely saved myself from running into his shoulder. "All right, look." He flashed brilliant white teeth at me in a grin that did nothing to conceal the hard edges. "I'm visiting a friend. She's having a bad day, and I need to be there for her. You both know what a long night it's been, and I can't imagine what it's been like for her, so that's where I'm going. I've just been preoccupied, you know? I'm sorry I forgot to get you guys settled in. Honestly, I'm many things, but never rude, and I just---" He stopped himself right there and I realized he was rambling, something that only I ever really did.

Theo was cool and collected a lot of times and sometimes I hated that, but at least he understood me. Maybe Rafe could understand me too.

"You know what?" Rafe blurts out. Suddenly, he's back. The normal Rafe with articulately messy hair and those knowing, bottomless blue eyes. He laughed easily, a delightful sound. "My friend would love to meet you. She's the most curious person I know, and we haven't had new guys like you in months."

I not-so-discreetly peered over Rafe to meet Theo's equally confused expression. I blinked a few times. I considered the fact that the chains on Rafe's mood swing probably just snapped right before my very eyes. Then, I recovered swiftly. "I'd love to meet her," I said.