Okay, maybe both. I had lost my mind and I kept speaking my thoughts out loud. But … I knew I hadn’t actually said that last part out loud. There was no way, unless …
“I … I’m scared,” I lied, trying to deflect.
Rome was suddenly in my face and all air seemed to be sucked from the vicinity of my lungs.
“What aren’t you telling us?” he demanded, his eyes narrowing. “There’s something.”
Damn. Damn. Triple damn. I couldn’t hide things from them now. Apparently, I was not only required to be attached at the hip with the five of them, but they could also hear my thoughts. Some of my thoughts. I was pretty sure that was what was happening. But how?
Yael is a competitive bastard. I directed that thought as loudly as I could and, sure enough, darkness descended over his features. Before he could react, though, Siret spoke: “You didn’t move your lips. We all heard you say that, but you … you didn’t fucking speak.”
I swallowed, my breathing shallow as it rushed in and out of my mouth. “Apparently … you five can read some of my thoughts now.”
There might not have been many other sols in the room with us, but it seemed that right then silence reigned through the entire dining space. The Abcurses just stared at me, not moving or blinking until finally Aros’s hand landed on my shoulder, demanding my attention. His golden eyes had turned a dark bronze colour.
“How is that even possible?” he asked. “Rau’s power doesn’t work like that. He can’t have done this. Can you hear our thoughts?”
As if they’d just wondered the same thing, Yael, Siret, and Coen were on their feet in an instant, their fury now crowding the space.
Damn the stupid gods. I wished I could run away from all the crazy right now. How far would I get before the pain killed me? It was probably an experiment I would have to try very soon.
Since none of them were backing down, I decided to put them out of their misery. “I can’t hear your thoughts. This seems to be a one-way thing. And it doesn’t appear that you are hearing everything from me either, otherwise you’d all have clicked on ages ago that something weird was happening.”
Coen smirked. “Doubtful, Rocks. Something tells me there isn’t a lot going on up in that mind, and around you, something weird is always happening.”
Screw you, asshole.
His mouth dropped slightly, and now it was time for a smirk to cross my face. Before he could form any kind of a reply, Rome shoved his twin.
“Get a grip,” he demanded roughly. “You are acting like an asshole. We’re wasting time and energy. We should be figuring out what happened to her. What did Rau hit her with?”
I slumped back into my chair, burying my head in my hands as I tried to sort through the mess of emotions and thoughts I had going on.
“Dweller!”
I knew I should react. That feminine voice held a harsh bark of command, but I was so tired that I could barely lift my face again. By the time I did, there were three of them. The dweller-relations committee.
Elowin stood with her usual grace and perfection; her willowy body was wrapped in a flowing white robe, her golden curls perfectly arranged around her angelic face. The only thing to mar her perfection was her slightly open mouth, wide eyes, and creased brow. She was angry and confused. Henchman Number One and Henchman Number Two closed in on either side, and I knew this was the point where shit was about to get real. I had been living for the past few sun-cycles in a bubble, not in the real world. I was not a sol. I was not equal to these people, and I was definitely overdue for some knocking down from my imaginary pedestal.
Elowin recovered her composure, closing the distance between us. Her hands were trembling minutely—somehow I could see that, along with the fine beading of sweat across her brow. Why was she nervous?
The two Abcurses who had still been sitting, stood now, and the five of them did their wall of protection thing. Elowin and the two men halted. Like ground to halt, and suddenly I understood the sweat on her brow. She was afraid of them.
Trying her best to hide her fear, she cleared her throat. “We received word of a dweller who was seated at a table in the dining area. The same dweller who was reported missing to us several sun-cycles ago. She needs to come with us now for questioning and reassignment.”
Reassignment. Yeah, right! Just sign me up to be kicked-to-death-by-bullsen.
Yael was the first to speak, which was no surprise to me.
“Elowin, you should not concern yourself with this dweller. She has been assisting us for the past few sun-cycles, and she is going to continue to assist us for the foreseeable future.”
“You assigned her to us,” Rome stated from beside him.
“So she’s ours now,” Aros concluded, his golden eyes catching mine for a brief moment.