1715

All the breath feels like it's been drawn out of me, as I slowly stalk back to the table.

Suddenly, I know information that I shouldn't, and now I don't know what I should do with it. Lev glances my way, unbothered and unknowing of what I just heard. It really isn't any of my business, and I shouldn't have listened in the first place, but I thought all I would hear was some gossip about Stace and whether he is truly a mortal or not.

Not...this. Do they truly plan to have Cian killed? I feel like I should warn him, yet at the same time, I'm not sure I want to be dragged into this.

Sliding back into my seat, I settle my shuddering fingers, silently cursing myself, wishing this information would simply vanish. Lev looks over me, looking as if he wants to question what I heard, but decides against it.

"We are going out tonight, after we eat," he tells me firmly, pushing his light hair back behind his ears. For a moment I'm so surprised he's said that, that I don't know what to say.

"What? No way."

"You need to go dancing, you work has made you way to uptight," he tells me jokingly, although there is a hint of truth dwelling beneath his tone. I narrow my eyes, knowing that dancing in a small room with a bunch of strangers is the last thing I want to be doing right now. "And I have a friend I want you to meet."

I blink, trying to register that. I'm meant to go meet a friend of Lev's when I know this information? It feels so unreal.

"I think I want to go home to sleep. I have a lot on my mind," I tell him slowly.

"You have too much on your mind," he says, grabbing a hold of my hand tightly. Lev knows me better than anyone, and he's realised I'm in my own head about something, and that right now is not the best time to ask about it. Instead, he wants to distract me. "Now let's go forget it, just for one night."

Drawing in a long breath, I finally nod, knowing he isn't going to give up on this one. I'll think about all of this later.

+++

Lev chose a spot in town that we have frequented a lot in the past. Those days are very much behind me, as I know prefer to curl up on the couch with Lev and watch our favourite TV show.

Even enjoying a simple pleasure like that seems impossible now.

"Amolet, I want you to meet Sam, a new friend of mine," Lev says over the pounding music. Almost as soon as we walked through the door, a pretty girl with voluptuous red hair and dark eyes approached, grinning widely at me. I've always known Lev attracts people to be his friend with ease, but he always insists I'm who he cares about the most. It makes me worry about finding a mate, or a girlfriend even...This gives me silent hope.

"How did you two meet?" she asks, wincing slightly through the dim lighting. The place is intimate, and tonight, is nearly at capacity. People bump into us, dancing merrily as they pay us no mind.

"I just started working at the bookstore," I tell her, not wanting to get into the real story. His family felt bad for me and allowed me to start working there when I was still in school. Lev worked there to, and in the beginning, I even had a crush on him. Now, he's my best friend, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

"Amolet works at that treatment facility down the road," Lev says in Sam's ear, his words nearly lost in the bass of the music, the thumping shuddering through the floor. "All the rumours are true."

Same raises her brows at me. "I heard they have some pretty crazy patients."

"It's a strange place, for sure," I tell her uneasily, thinking about Cian and what he may be doing right now. When do Stace and Noah plan to kill Cian, and how are they going to do it? Killing an immortal, especially a Sin isn't easy.

Lev senses my unease, not wanting to be asked anymore questions about work, clapping his hands together. "Alright, how about a dance..."

Sam agrees immediately, so reluctantly, I nod. Tonight, I'm just not in the mood for dancing, knowing that if I don't see Cian by tomorrow, all I'm going to think about before sleep is that I'm holding onto this knowledge. It seemed like they don't plan to do it any time soon, but just knowing it makes me uncomfortable.

Lev grabs my hand, pulling me into the throng of people, immediately staring to dance with more energy than I can muster. Still, for his sake, I dance along with him, trying to give him and Sam enough space in hopes they will spark something up between each other. Sam deserves it.

Suddenly, a hand presses on my back before gliding down to gently hold my waist, making me flinch.

"Sorry dude, I don't want to dance with anyone tonight," I mutter, brushing him off. I'm not usually offended by a simple touch in here, but tonight I'm not in the mood, so whirling around, I get ready to tell him to get lost again...until I realise exactly who he is.

Cian.

My lips part as I gasp, stumbling back a few steps. For a moment, I'm sure the flickering light's and atmosphere of the room is tricking me, knowing he has been on my mind so much since I arrived. Yet at another glance, it's most definitely him.

He's taller than I imagined, the clothing he usually wears in the facility no where to be seen, replaced with dark pants and a black jacket. Under these lights, his golden roots look even more ethereal, although no one around us seems to notice, Lev too enamoured by Sam behind us to look twice.

"I don't mean to offend you, Amolet," he says smoothly, his voice sounding so much more different in this place.

"Cian...What the-"

"Shh, you don't need to panic," he tells me firmly, grabbing a hold of my shoulders tightly, fingers gripping the fabric of my dress. I'm frozen, unsure of whether once this shock subsides that I'll be calm or scared. All I know is he isn't in his cell right now, where he should be, and that I could very well be dreaming...

"What are you doing out of your cell?" I stutter, my words nearly drowned out by the music. "How..."

"My powers didn't just disappear," he says, as if that should be painfully obvious. Then, he rubs the back of his neck, looking around to make sure no one is listening before talking a little lower. "Although there is magic meant to keep me in. Hasn't done a very good job of it, clearly."

"Wow, this is really happening," I say slowly, glancing back over my shoulder, realising I was dancing with Lev and Sam. They have their backs turned me, but soon Lev is going to realise who I'm speaking to. "Wait, that's my friend...He's can't see I'm with you."

Cian glances over the crowd, taller than most in this room, before nodding at me to follow him. "They have private rooms."

I'm not sure what compels me to do it, but I nod, knowing I need to speak to him, and that I don't want Lev to see Cian and panic. So breathing in deeply, I weave through the crowd behind Cian and into one of the private rooms that he has no issue getting access to. I turn around, lip between my teeth as Cian closes the door gently behind us.

"You need to explain everything to me right now," I tell him firmly. I can hardly believe what I'm looking at right now, that he is here. It can't have been a coincidence that I ran into him here after not being able to get him out of my head.

"I thought the sooner I made you aware that I can come and go as I please, the less noise you'll make about it when you don't find me in my cell. You very nearly ruined a lot for me," he says, raising a dark eyebrow at me. Oh, that's why he is here. He came to tell me that I nearly screwed everything up.

Swallowing uncomfortably, I lean against the far wall away from me. "I was actually coming to warn you about something."

He frowns. "Warn me?"

"I was out to dinner tonight, and Stace and Alpha Noah where there," I tell him uneasily, watching his eyes darken at the mention of their names. "They were talking about killing you."

He closes his eyes for a moment, releasing a slow sigh. "You've got to be kidding me..."

"Look, I may have misheard, but you should know," I say, wondering if now is a good time to ask to not be involved. My curiosity about Cian has gotten me this far, and now it feels easier to walk away. My life was so boring before hand, I was lured by the intrigue. Now, it's all far more terrifying than I could have imagine.

Suddenly his entire demeanour seems to change, somewhat frantic. We need to go."

"Where? I can't leave my friend-" I tell him, knowing I can't leave this place with him. Where would we go anyway?

"Leven will be fine," he insists. "Close you eyes."

I shake my head, but before I have much choice, he grabs the fabric of my sleeve, pulling me closer to him. Before I have a chance to react, the world begins to dissolve around me, and I fall, feeling nothing my Cian clutching me.

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Sophie_Midika

Midikacrane

~Midika 💜🐼