Every second Remi spent aboard The Dark Maiden felt like an hour, and seemed to drag on forever.

She'd been restlessly pacing the length of the main deck for the past day and a half, anxious and worried. The gentle rocking of the leisurely-paced boat didn't make her feel any better.

If she didn't get back to her house on time, her family would be dead. She was the only one who knew and could do something about it.

Remi let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. She hated not being able to do anything.

Another thing she hated was the fact that there was little for her to do to distract herself from the cruel words Killure had unleashed upon her.

She hadn't expected how much they would bother her, and . . . hurt her.

Stealing a glance to the crow's nest, she found Killure perched up atop it, his eyes scanning the horizon.

He could easily be flying her back to Merricrest right now, at a speed much faster than this ship was travelling. And yet, Remi was stuck on this boat with strangers she didn't know. She felt like a wild, caged bird.

Killure hadn't spoken to her since they boarded, and in the few years rare instances he looked at her his eyes were so cold and full of anger.

It wasn't like he was obligated to be around her anymore; she knew that. He was no one's slave. Was he sticking around just to watch her be miserable? Who knew. But not knowing made Remi furious.

On an angry whim, Remi stormed across the deck and craned her neck up. He was there, staring down at her before she'd even got halfway there. Probably heard her heavy footsteps approaching.

He tilted his head to the side like a curious cat, eyes watching her closely.

But upon seeing him, the fire inside of her fizzled out. Her parted lips froze, angry words stuck in her throat. Killure had been through so much. He was allowed to feel or say whatever he wanted.

"Be careful up there," Remi managed, before turning around and walking off, shoulders slumped.

A gust of wind blew across her back, making her body shiver. She turned around, only to find Killure standing before her with a cold but quizzical look on his face. She had to crane her neck up high to meet his gaze.

"That wasn't what you were going to say," he stated coolly.

Damn him for being so intuitive.

Remi only regarded him for a moment, before releasing a tired sigh. "Forget it, Killure."

"You've got me all hot and curious now, doll. C'mon; indulge me."

Remi furrowed her brows at him. Did he seriously not understand that his words truly hurt her? Maybe he did, but just wanted her to admit it out loud for his sick amusement.

The thought itself was angering.

He was clearly only here to watch her suffer because of his actions. Because Killure didn't make any effort to save her family, she now had to go and do it. Because he didn't offer to fly her to Merricrest, Remi might be too late to save her family. Because of his harsh words about her meaning nothing to him—when he clearly meant so much to her—, she was now feeling hurt. And here he was, standing before her, always keeping her within his eyesight, to revel in her misery and anxiousness. At least, that's the only reason that Remi can think of for his staying here by her side.

With a fire burning in her eyes, Remi scowled deeply and crossed her arms. She'd confront him about it. Call him out. "Why are you here, Killure?"

He eyed her carefully with eyes so blue they seemed to contain an entire ocean within them. They revealed nothing. He took a step back. "You wish me to leave?"

"Well, there's no reason for you to stay!" she threw her hands up in frustrated exasperation. But in her head, all she wanted to do was beg him to tell her what she'd done wrong, and why he still carried such misgivings about her. Beg him to stay, despite whatever she said. "Go find someone else to torture with your presence!" she huffed.

Some emotion reminiscent of hurt flashed through Killure's eyes so briefly that Remi wondered if she might have imagined it.

"If that's how you feel," he growled, ripping his eyes from hers as he unfolded his wings from his back, stretching them outwards. He lingered for a brief moment, watching her, as if he was waiting for something. Or maybe just hoping for something.

'Probably hoping to see me cry,' Remi thought bitterly. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

And then, in a blur of lightning fast movement, Killure was gone.

Remi glanced up at the sky, where she momentarily saw a flash of black before he shot off into the distance like a shooting star, too fast for her eyes to follow.

A hollow emptiness filled Remi's heart. She knew she wasn't being fair by saying one thing but hoping for another, but she wished Killure had cared enough to stay and explain himself.

But he never. He never even made an effort with her.

———

Remi tossed and turned in her bedsheets, which were now damp with sweat and tangled between her legs. She hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep the entire night.

Worries and fears plagued her mind when she eventually did fall into a fitful, nightmare-filled slumber. Images of Faye, Kareem, Blue, Bliss, and everyone else dying gruesome deaths taunted her, made her scream out in terror. In each nightmare her Uncle Fahrem always stood nearby, laughing maniacally, his eyes flickering with amusement as he watched terror, shock and grief overcome her. And beside him was her father, ranting and raving and sobbing about how these atrocities should not be committed, but never doing anything to stop them from happening.

Just as her uncle's hands grasped her throat and began to squeeze, a demented glee in his eyes, Remi woke up to hear her gut-wrenching scream pierce the silent, night air.

Her fists clenched the sheets by her side. They were soaked now. Remi's hair was a matted mess, long strawberry strands plastered against her sticky cheeks, and tangled around her small horns.

She flung the sheets off of herself and then curled into a ball, tucking in her head. Her body was shaking uncontrollably, and her teeth chattered.

Her family could all be dead right now. All because she left on some stupid trip to Vertice. It was important, but it sure wasn't worth her family's lives!

What if—right at this moment—little Kareem was witnessing the deaths of his sister and cousins? Perhaps he was already dead.

The thought made Remi break down into sobs that wracked her entire body so wildly that if someone were to come into her room, they would probably think she was having a seizure.

But no one could enter, for she'd locked the doors and blocked the entryway with furniture. On boat trips like these, mischievous Clawls tended to go around in the night and cause mischief. If they couldn't break into the kitchen, they tended to amuse themselves by vandalizing things, breaking the rules, busting into people's cabins and stealing from them or roughing them up a little. Remi had heard on more than one occasion that Clawls sometimes even murdered people in their beds while they slept. In one extreme case, a litter of Clawls aboard a passenger ship had a contest to see who could murder in the most creative manner.

When Remi had first boarded, she'd almost immediately noticed the chillingly slitted eyes, small noses, tails, and claws of a Clawl. There were others lurking in the shadows and lounging about as well, mostly hidden from sight.

Clawls were a type of Carnean that no one would ever want to encounter by themselves. Hence, Remi had locked the doors. It was a good thing, too, because she'd heard the jingling of her door handle more than once throughout the night.

If the Clawls got her, she wouldn't be able to get to her family. Even if she managed to survive the encounter, it would be too late by the time she reached them.

Kareem's sweet, chubby face entered Remi's mind, and tears began falling even faster. Her tears never got the chance to crust onto her cheeks, because the stream flowing from her eyes never stopped. Her salty tears dripped down onto her sheets.

Remi squeezed her eyes tightly closed and willed the ship to go faster.

Of course, it didn't listen to her.

———

A/N: Okay, this chapter was sooo depressing to write. And I know it's kind of a filler, but I had to make it so that all the action that is to come will make sense (:

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