WHAT’S HAPPENING? Arsen suddenly let me go and now he’s on the ground screaming. It’s just the two of us here and I know I didn’t do anything. I stare at him, carefully watching his every move, but he doesn’t seem to be faking it.
Now’s my chance.
I find the silver knife he took from me and threw onto the floor. It’s a couple feet away from him. I just have to grab it and aim for his heart. I have to… I have to carve it out of his chest.
Arsen has stopped screaming. He’s trying to get off the floor, but he’s having a hard time. I have to hurry. I reach for the knife, but as soon as my fingers come into contact with the silver hilt, I feel what seems to be an electric shock. It surprises me, and I drop the weapon.
That’s when I make my mistake. I turn to look at Arsen and our eyes lock. I can’t look away from the penetrating green. The color is so pure. I wonder if this is what green is supposed to look like. I can’t even blink. Holding his gaze makes me feel… something. I should be scared, disgusted, or I should feel something dark and evil, but that isn’t the case at all. Looking into his eyes, I feel like I’m at home, like my heart exists in those eyes.
My legs start moving on their own. They take me closer to him. One step at a time. But I’m completely unarmed. He’s sitting up, struggling to get to his feet. I try to fight against my body, but all I manage to do is trip and fall forward. I expect to hit the icy concrete in front of me, but warm, strong arms catch me instead. I’m on my knees, my body half slumped into Arsen’s. He never made it to his feet and now he’s leaning into me, using me for support just as much as I’m using him.
It’s strange. All the fear and anger I was feeling fades away, like those emotions exist far away from here, far away from Arsen’s embrace.
Embrace.
He has his arms around me, bringing me closer to him. I take in his scent as I press my nose into his neck. His smell is familiar, like the freshness of the earth after a cleansing rain. His touch feels safe, and I know there’s nowhere else I want to be but in his arms. There’s nothing else—
“What’s happening to me?” I feel a disconnect from my thoughts to my words. I’m not even sure if what I’m saying is understandable. “What are you doing to me?”
I know in my head something is wrong. I know I shouldn’t be enjoying this. I shouldn’t be taking him in like this, but my body refuses to listen to me. I feel a deep vibration emanating from Arsen’s chest. Then I feel the warmth of his lips brushing against my cheek. I’m not sure what’s happening. I’m not even sure if I like it anymore.
Arsen moves before I get a chance to. He pulls me up alongside him as he gets to his feet, but instead of keeping me close, he retreats from me. He vanishes like a ghost into the shadows.
“Tasia! Tasia where are you!”
“Rynne?” I mouth his name more than say it. Then I speak up and shout, “Rynne!”
The wind has quieted. That’s how I was able to hear his voice. He’s inside the warehouse within seconds. He wraps his arms around me and hugs me so hard I almost can’t breathe.
“Rynne!” I gasp. “You’re squeezing too hard.”
He loosens his grasp immediately; he stops hugging me altogether. He starts inspecting me instead, walking around me. “You look okay,” he says. “What happened? You weren’t at the base. I thought…” He shakes his head. “He was here, wasn’t he? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m fine,” I assure him. “How did you find me?”
He averts his gaze. “I went to the base to find you, but you weren’t there. So I panicked and started looking around. I was lucky.”
“Why were you trying to find me? Is something wrong?” I feel the familiar crawl of fear tingling inside my body.
“I… it’s nothing.”
“Did something happen to Fiona?”
“No, no. Everything’s fine. Everything’s fine now. We need to head back to the base.”
I’m too tired to dig for more information. I feel like myself again, but those feelings I had before, the way I enjoyed being close to Arsen, like it was completely natural, like I knew him, like I cherished him… I shake my head. Those aren’t the kind of feelings something evil can evoke inside of you. They’re good, true, and beautiful feelings. It was just a momentary lapse of sanity. That’s all it was. It doesn’t change anything. Arsen killed my parents and many others. He’s a demon playing a game, messing with my feelings like that. That stunt he pulled was all just an act. I place my hand over my black diamond, buried under my layers of clothing, and seek reassurance. But I’m lost.