And her name is…

Nyx is talking to people around us but I’m counting and don’t hear my name so I know I’m not being introduced. She points to large doors at the back of the main entry, just under a large lighting fixture covered in small mage lights, and I enter the room. I’m directed to a chair at the end and I confirm with the others that I’m meant to take the head chair with quick looks, then turn the chair around to sit backwards.

Tiago looks at me and nods. “I don’t blame yea missy. You’ve got more scars than I do.”

“Not for long,” I mutter, unable to help the disdainful comment.

“And what does that mean?” Ignacio questions and I shoot him a look.

“No, you want my trust. I don’t care if you trust me because honestly, right now, you shouldn’t. The Sioga and their ways have destroyed everything I know.” I gesture to my body and smirk. “I can’t even recognize myself in the mirror. I am a stranger to everyone single person in this room, and even I don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“You have a fighter’s spirit,” Tiago tells me with an approving grin.

“I didn’t want to fight!” I shout and I feel like I’ve had this conversation before. “I was happy, living in my town where everyone was a friend. I knew everyone, and everything from the houses, trees, rocks, and animals for acres. I didn’t want to leave that, it was taken from me, and then I was given a life sentence with that information.”

“What did they…” Vera starts but Nyx cuts her off.

“I just fixed twenty of her ribs, eight fingers, and I’m no where near done. It looks like he wouldn’t let them set straight, and do you know what that means? For a human it would mean just not providing aid, but for Sioga?!”

Nyx’s words are shrill but scientific. She is simply stating facts that would stop someone from like Vera from continuing that line of questioning. But my eyes go wide as she drags that old, air tight trunk out from the basement of my mind. It hits every stair as she brings it into the light and though everyone can now see it’s worn exterior, I fight to kick it back down. I’m not ready to remember the details inside that trunk, and it will remain with the one that contains what happened to my people away from where it can weaken me.

How did she know? She healed me.. she must have felt that I’m Sioga and the rest followed.

Distantly I hear someone chastise Vera and realized I’m showing weakness before even opening the box. “No, it’s fine. It’s true.” I force a long breath and relax my face. “The worst of it is Kheliq thought I was more human than Sioga, so he was thorough… but that’s all I’ll say on that.”

“Theodosine, I…” Vera tried and I grit my teeth.

“That’s all I’ll say on that,” I repeat carefully. “You have questions, I want answers but I reserve the right to refuse questions if I don’t think you have anything worth that knowledge.”

“And how do we know you’re telling the truth?” Ricard points out.

I shrug. “You don’t. You have no reason to trust me.”

Somehow they’re okay with this and Ignacio asks, “why did King Kheliq take you?”

“What is known about what happened to my town?” I return quickly.

“This isn’t what we agreed on, question for an answer, then you get your turn.” He folds his arms but I will always be in charge of this conversation.

“It affects just how much you still need to know,” I assure.

He sighs. “Locals had a firework show once a year for some festival. Things got out it of hand and things caught fire. That was the final report given by scouts who investigated the smoke. They found the remains of a lot of fire works and a flyer about an annual event, but we sent our own out to investigate and found traces that Kheliq had been there with a team. We didn’t know why they targeted the humans, but there was evidence that some were taken..”

“Not some,one, me,” I interrupt angrily. “I’m the only one they took. They slaughtered everyone else.”

All of their heads drop, and Ignacio is frowning as he continues. “Theodosine.. there was evidence thatseveralpeople were taken from their homes.We don’t know where, and we never heard anything about them from any of our informants. Until you told us, we didn’t even know that you had been from that incident…”

Everything he’s saying grows muffled after saying Kheliq had taken others. Anger is burning behind my eyes and I feel the wood of the chair back in my arms sagging as it rots from the inside. Everything is turning red and these people needed to get away from me now. My anger has never felt so volatile before and after six year it needs somewhere to go.

“Back up,” I hiss.

“What?” Ricard spits back and I see him raising his eyes to meet mine.

My hair is frizzing out around me like a violent animal and I hear Tiago shout, “get back!”

“Theo-.. dosine?” Ignacio asks, and I hear him this time, but my breath is raking in and out through my teeth.

“He said he killed them. Said they were gone. But he’s had some this whole time?” I’m growling and I hear a few gasps but I don’t have the energy to care about my appearance now. “Six years he’s had my friends… if he’s hurt them.. if he’s done to them even one of the days he’s put me through… He was already dead, but I’ll take with him everyone he knows by name. I’ll…”

“Calm down, Theodosine,” it’s Ignacio speaking again and I start to release my hold on the chair. “Take a deep breath.”

I do, and then I blink. Looking around the room Ignacio is at the opposite end of the table and everyone else is against a wall. Around me all of the wood has changed colours, like it’s aged a century in two minutes. As I unwrap my hands from around the chair it creaks and they back folds in half to snap off.

I huff again, standing up from the table and begin pacing at the back of the room. “Well does that answeryourquestion?” I mutter while pacing and thinking of the more important problem.

“You… rot wood?” Ealdian mutters in return.

“I’ll rot your stupid head,” I bite back but stumble to my knees and cough blood. “Fuck.”

“What’s wrong?” Nyx wonders, ignoring what I’ve done and running to me despite her friends’ warnings.

“You can’t be as emaciated as I am and take the energy from something that is dead like you’ll come out on top. I probably just shortened my life by a few years.” I move to stand but wobble and kneel.

My eyes start drifting and I shake my head to try and stay awake. They fear me now, and after that spectacle I don’t exactly blame them. If I give them the chance to easily lock me away I also couldn’t blame them for taking it. Instead I turn over and back away from Nyx and the others, moving towards a window. I don’t care how high it is, if it’s low I live and too high I’ll die, but either way is better than a cell.

“I thought we were having dinner!” Nyx demands towards the other, then holds out her hand towards me. “It’s just a chair. It’s understandable for you to be upset. We have our hatred for Kheliq in common.”

I nod, and she pulls me to stand but I sway into the wall. Tiago moves in beside me and I would have jumped if I didn’t know he’d win in a fight regardless of any effort I could ever make. His arm wraps around me to hold me up and I stare at him.

“Don’t even think about carrying me,” I grumble.

He laughs a big laugh. “I wouldn’t dream of it, fighter.”