39
Eric
Training was numbing, and, for once, I was enjoying it.
She’d been crying—a lot. It was easy enough to tell in class. Her cheeks were blotchy, and her eyelids were red. It wasn’t obvious to anyone else, she’d covered it with makeup, but I’d noticed it. I couldn’t get the image out of my mind.
Other than feeling like a guilty fool, I was seriously contemplating stalking. It took everything in me not to follow Crystal and her to the mall. I knew the Light wouldn’t be after her. Fudicia hadn’t seen her human face. But I was consumed with severe, heart-wrenching paranoia that she’d be attacked, and I wouldn’t be there to protect her.
What if the Light realized she was alive? What if Darthon found her?
I’d kill him, and until her existence had pushed me to do so, I never thought I could. It wasn’t right, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I only cared about Jessica’s life, and if Darthon threatened her, I had no problem taking his away.
My insanity begged for a distraction.
A target exploded, shattering across the floor, and I sighed. I was lying to myself if I thought I could quiet my thoughts. They were uncontrollable.
I twisted my fingers through my hair and shook my head just as it happened. A fire of pain split through my arm, and I fell backward. My back hit the floor, and I grabbed my scorching flesh.
What was happening?
I grinded my teeth, and my bones shook as if they were attempting to break away from my body. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the room spun, and molecules detached, reattaching at painful speeds.
I screamed as my body throbbed. A high-pitched ringing consumed my ears, and my jaw locked. I half-expected to bite my tongue off.
“Shoman?”
The door to the training room opened, and then the pain was gone, only a repercussion of exhaustion waving through my veins.
I exhaled, filling my lungs with air, and gripped my legs. Other than that, I couldn’t move.
“Shoman?” Pierce circled around me. He was blurry. “Are you okay?”
I tried to nod, but I wasn’t sure if my body moved.
“Pierce!” Urte’s voice echoed a hundred times as the pain returned, taking over. “Get away from him.” He shouted, but it was too late.
I exploded.