Crescent (Old Version)

+ Part 8 +

Hey, readers! Author here: Act like I posted this yesterday! ;)

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A mellow breeze carried voices to my room. Whispers, echoes bouncing off corridors, winding their way past the guards at my door to twist their way around me.

"Brenna..." a voice gasped and I jolted awake.

The voices stopped.

It was sometime in the early morning. It was just light enough outside for me to see the window open again. The curtains floated on that same ghost of a wind. 

I stepped out of bed and cautiously made my way over to it. It was the same stomach-churning drop thousands of feet down as yesterday. The window slammed on its own accord, but the cool air still itched at my skin.

There was a knock at the door. I threw myself into bed as lightning speed just as the door opened, and Ceth stepped inside.

"We're going out!" He announced rather loudly considering the sun had not yet risen. He strolled further inside, hands behind his back as he took a turn about the room, assessing as if it were his very first time seeing all of it. The all-black attire was back, his hair was slicked back, and an emerald ring flashed on one of his index fingers. 

I scowled at him as he pulled a drawer of my dresser open, closed it, strolled over to the mantle of the fireplace, tapped his fingers against one of the golden figurines. 

I didn't want to go anywhere unless it was outside of this castle. Permanently.

"Out?" I quirked and pulled the duvet up to my chest as he looked me over.

"Out?" he suggested again, as if it were obvious. "Into the wilderness, the forest? A stroll?"

"What for?"

"Oh, don't tell me you're that naïve." He scoffed and offered his signature saccharin smile as he turned back to my bed. "When was the last time you shifted, Brenna love?"

I hadn't. Ever. 

Like hell I was gonna tell him that.

We could shift at will, but the first transition was always the most painful... and I'd nearly lost control enough times to know that it wasn't something I wanted to experience.

I shrugged and forced myself to yawn. "It's too cold and I didn't sleep well last night."

He raised his hands in defeat. "Whose fault is that?" I glared at him as the memory of him dangling me over the balcony flashed in my mind. "Well, you're of no use to me when you're wasting away in here all day."

I teased a smile I didn't feel like giving, hoping to lessen the starkness as I spoke. "Well, I'd be wasting away at home with my family if I hadn't been taken from them."

Ceth's face went blank as he assessed me, watching me carefully as I continued to wear a smile and settle back against the bed. I could pretend indifference.