the space. They clicked against the lip of the crumbling well, and my mind supplied the sound even though the silence was all-consuming. Click, click, click.
What the fuck do you want, you son of a scratcher? I tried to scream.
An inch at a time, its arm rose and extended towards me. Time slowed, becoming an eternity before it crooked its finger at me, urging me forward.
Why would I give you control of me? Why would I allow you out when you do nothing but punish me for no reason? No.
Its eyes narrowed, and its mouth gaped in what I guessed might be a roar. All of that only diverted me from the fist that burrowed into the 'ground' surrounding the well. The pain echoed inside, but it felt distant somehow.
Go on. Keep it up. I'll just remain in here until I wither away. That's right, I said, grinning wickedly as it released me. We'll both die. I'll get a different life somewhere else, but will you?
Pulling up my last resort option, I constructed a lid for the well, dreading the deadened sensation that came with using it. As the cover slid across the top, the screech matched the face of the monster. Its horror at being capped and lost in the total darkness of a sealed well was unmistakable in its pleading reaches and round eyes.
Too late. You don't get to control me. That's not how this is going to work.
Just before the lid clanged into place, its hand stretched out one last time. The instant it was cut off from harming me, I felt nothing. Even returning to Kian and the others held little appeal for me.
Being dead and alive at once would lead to the rotting of my core eventually, but for now, I didn't care.
Chapter Eighteen
When I finally propelled myself up and outwards, I found the world rocking as Kian shook me. My hands pushed at his, their lethargic motions exhausting.
A cool spot ran up and down my body as Shadow worried. Flashes of her concern overlapped, clogging up my brain—not that it truly mattered to me.
After the shaking ceased, I sagged until I lay on my back and slowly turned my head to find Kian. He tugged my body up towards my pillows and fumbled with the covers, working to wrestle them from beneath me.
Poor Kian. Always stuck taking care of me.
Grace popped into view as she leaned over me, nibbling on her lip while studying me like I was only a specimen. Her fingers poked at me, and I didn't bother stopping her. She wouldn't detect anything but telling her would only be a waste of time.
“What can I do?” Kian reappeared, shoving Grace to the side.
She took that as a cue to press on my stomach.
“Stop treating her like a project.” Oh, yay. Axton's here, too.
“I'm merely trying to help. If I can pinpoint the injury, I might be able to lend some healing. I'm not sure the transfer will work from Angel to Reaper, but it won't hurt,” Grace explained.
Well, that made sense.
“You can't fix her,” growly Trace threw out. That asshole. What did he know? “It's mental. Not physical.”
“Thanks for the commentary. You can all go now,” I said so blandly Kian's eyebrows shot up.
It took forever, but the room finally cleared of everyone except Shadow. She chose to curl around my neck. When the door clicked shut, I dipped into my pocket and pulled out the box I'd gotten from Con. After forcing myself into a sitting position, I lifted the lid and revealed the containers that usually sent a giddy thrill through me. Not this time. Instead, my insides felt like an empty cavern—dark, cold, and full of nothingness.
It didn't matter which one I chose, so I grabbed one at random, not bothering to check the contents. A few shakes of the container dropped three tabs into my palm. Not paying attention to their colors, I tossed them in my mouth and chewed.
I waited until the bitter taste no longer coated my tongue before returning to my well. Each inch that I dragged the lid open allowed more and more emotions free. They drove back the dead inside of me until, ultimately, the lid clanked, wobbling on the ground.
The monster peeked over the lip of the well, only revealing its eyes. When it finally met my gaze, a jolt of sorrow and longing gripped me, electrocuting me with its intensity before the monster broke its stare.