"I know him," Menas whispered, putting his face closer to mine and Silva's so that we could hear his quiet voice.
Both of us stayed silent, watching the guards push him into our cell, and very roughly I should add, as he fell to his knees. I looked around the room. It seemed most eyes were focussed on the commotion he was making, and for the first time since I had been in here, it was actually silent. The unknown man's chest was rising and falling quickly. He didn't move from his position on the ground until the sound of the guards' footsteps down the hall faded away. Only then did he slowly make his way to his feet with his head still bowed, shaggy curls covering most of his features.
Silva turned to face Menas. "Who is he?"
"He's from Everton County like me. We're not from the same pack though," he continued to whisper, "he's from the Battlemaw pack or something."
This time I turned too. "Pack?"
"Werewolves," Silva answered. So that's what Menas was. He looked so unmistakably human I hadn't been able to tell what his race was.
"Menas de Caro, good to see a familiar face."
I turned towards the voice. The man had come to our table. He was making his way to the other side of the table where Menas was seated.
"It's a surprise to see you here," Menas replied. The air felt tense between the two.
"I feel the same way," he grumbled. I had a feeling he wasn't talking about seeing Menas, but rather that it was a surprise he was here at all. Maybe he thought he could somehow outsmart the guards and go into hiding.
"If you need a bunk there's a free one over there," Silva interrupted, pointing to one of the rooms. "Go check it out."
Menas' eyes silently thanked her for getting rid of him, even momentarily. He stood up, eyeing me as he did so, and I felt the need to return his gaze. Or rather, I felt as if I couldn't look away at all. After a few seconds, he took off towards the bunk rooms. Menas was watching him as he left.
"For the record, I don't know him. I just know of him. I don't think he's here to connect with me. An alpha's son coming to befriend an omega? Unlikely. I think he's here for something else," Menas started as soon as he saw the unnamed man disappear into a room.
It wasn't long before he was ducking under the doorway again. As he made his way back from the bunk room, I could focus a little more on him. His skin was nearly the same colour as Menas's but I believed he was a slight bit taller, maybe by a few inches. He had dark brown hair that was swirled around in ringlets, bouncing as he walked. I kept my eyes on him as he made his way back to the table, no longer looking at me but flicking over everyone else in the room—as if looking at chess pieces and evaluating every single possible move they could play. Suddenly...
I heard a laugh in the distance, muffled in one ear. When I opened my eyes I realized I was laying on the ground, wet dirt plastering my skin. Beside me was a wounded animal. The amount of blood pouring from a large, open gash on the side of its abdomen made me feel nauseous. I turned my head to get away from the sickening image of the bloody layers of muscle and fat poking out from the open wound and—
I was inside a room. There was a young child sitting on the floor of a grande house near a fireplace reading a book. A couple sat near the child with a worried look, and a few other people were scattered throughout the room. Someone cleared their throat from the entrance of a doorway into the living area—a woman with a grim look. The couple near the child looked up to the woman that cleared her throat. After exchanging glances, they followed her out of the room; out of earshot of the child.
"Rosalind, Clovis, they—"
I groaned, almost inaudibly to the group of people around me, an automatic response to the sharp pain behind my eyes. My hands floated their way over my eyes before I could even realize they were there. I felt disoriented and overwhelmed, even more so because of the fluorescent lights in the room. The chatter in the room seemed to grow louder, although I know it hadn't really. The whole environment gave me a migraine.
"Is everything alright?" It was the mystery guy, he was back at the table, staring at me. He sounded and looked genuinely concerned. As were Menas and Silva.
"Yeah," I responded. "I'm fine. Just a headache."
The man continued to stare at me. Something in his gaze felt familiar and comforting, almost. Like I had known him for my entire life. A comfort only your family and closest friends could provide. It was a conflicting feeling, the way his cold exterior was betrayed by the warmth swirling in his caramel-coloured eyes.
"Menas, would you like to introduce your friends?" He asked moments later, shifting his gaze to Menas who was seated to his left.
"These are Silva and Amicia."
"Nice to meet you two. I'm Blasius," he greeted, looking back to me.
We echoed his greeting.
"Amicia, you must be part of the line of clairvoyants in the country. I read there's only an average of two living at a time that takes on both the ability and look," he explained. I nodded.
"Ohhhhh, clairvoyant, that's what it is! Makes a lot of sense, but it doesn't make you, like, non-human." Silva finally chipped in.
"Hence I shouldn't even be here. . ." I sighed. How long had it been, a few days? I was already missing my family. I was so close with them and talking about getting put in here when I shouldn't have been made me miss them even more. I shouldn't be here, I should be back home with them.
"So then, Miss Clairvoyant, tell me. What do you see in me?"
I looked down to the table. I hadn't seen anything. "It's late now, and I'm tired. Voluntary imagery takes a lot of focus. If you're really interested in me seeing your past or future let me know tomorrow." I paused. "There might be one thing. I don't really know if this is for you, but do you know a, uh, what was it, Clovis?"
"My father," he said abruptly. "Clovis would be my father."
I nodded.
✯ ✯ ✯
Before sleeping I had thought of something. Something to tell this Blasius character. At the time I had this thought, we were heading into our bunks as per the guards request. Menas and Silva were having their own little conversation as she sat at his feet similarly to the way she had done this morning. I wasn't listening to their conversation as I was fixing the little sheet they supplied for us to sleep with.
"Blasius?" I called.
He stopped walking and looked at me, leaning against the wall. "Yes?"
"I can tell something about you. Menas said you're the alpha or something? You have that aura. You have a powerful presense and you feel trustworthy. I bet having a whole pack rely on you would create a very trustworthy person out of you."
"So, what I'm hearing is you trust me?" He asked.
"I do." As odd as it sounded coming out of my mouth, I was being completely truthful. This man I had met mere hours ago had my complete and utter trust.
He smiled slightly.
After our brief conversation he pulled himself up to the bunk above me while I climbed into my lower bed as well. Silva and Menas continued a conversation, but I was too sleepy to keep up with it. I waited until I heard fabrics rustling and the absence of voices before closing my eyes and rolling over, slowly falling into a light sleep.