“If it needs anything more than butterfly stitches, we still might have to go,” Dagan says once we get to the stop of stairs. When we reach my room, I open the door with my elbow.
“I heal fast, so don’t worry,” I reply, walking into my room. Dagan switches the light on and I sit on the bed, moving the towel to look at the cut. It’s pretty deep, straight across my tree mark, splitting the tree in half. It has begun to heal a little already, and I doubt it even needs butterfly stitches, just a bandage will do. Dagan sits next to me on the bed, pulling my hand to him, and inspecting it. He gets some antibacterial wipes out the box and starts slowly wiping the blood away.
“I didn’t know you had a tattoo,” he says, admiring the tree mark. "Do you have any others?" When he slides a thumb over it, a burst of warmth shoots through me, and he quickly moves his thumb away. Dagan continues to clean my hand, though he keeps giving me strange looks.
“Nope, just this one,” I answer, clearing my throat and wondering what the hell that was.
“The green ink is amazing, so unique,” he comments, and I flinch as he wipes the cut, the cleaning solution burning the cut.
“Sorry, kitty cat, I should have warned you that would sting,” Dagan comments, stroking my wrist with his fingers in a soothing way.
“It’s okay, thanks for helping me,” I reply. I close my eyes and inhale his smoky scent as he wipes the cut again, and I have to bite my lip at the sting. He smells like home, like everything I really didn’t know I needed.
“Anything you need, you come to me,” he commands as I open my eyes. Looking up, his blue eyes hold such promise as he stares at me. I still remember the Dagan that didn’t like me, who would never look at me like this. Wouldn’t help me, not unless he was forced. It’s still him, but he is a lot nicer, that’s for sure.
“What are you thinking, kitty cat?” he asks, and I pull my eyes away from his. When I look back, he is reaching into the box for a white bandage and tape.
“I was wondering about what you like to do in your spare time?” I respond, saying the first thing I can think of.
“Other than catching you from falling, and fixing your injuries?” he jokes, making me laugh, “well, I like to work out. The basement gym here is pretty good.” I smile tightly, remembering all the times Jace and I would train and fight in that basement. How our first time was actually in there, on one of the sofas. It wasn’t romantic, we were both drunk and had no idea what we were doing, but it still meant something.
“Hold still a sec,” Dagan says, letting go of my hand. Putting the bandage underneath, he wraps my hand tightly before ripping some tape and tying it. This reminds me of when I cut my hands in Dragca, and Thorne fixed me up. All that time he was planning to betray me, but as I look up at Dagan, I just feel confused. Sending them to me was helping me somehow, it couldn’t have been done for any other reason.
“Tell me about your childhood, your parents?” I ask Dagan, needing a change of subject, as he puts the spare stuff away. I pick up the wrappers, walking over to my bin and dropping them in. I sit on the window seat, pulling up my legs.
“My mum and dad work for the army, so there’s a lot of travelling. We went everywhere, moving every month or so. It wasn’t much fun moving all the time,” he says each word like a robot who was programmed to say this speech. I smile tightly, wondering how far I can push his memory. I remember seeing Elias hold his head, the pain of remembering before it was time overwhelming him, I suspect. I need to push Melody into talking to me, telling me what she knows of my future and how to make them remember.
“What about you, your parents?” he asks.
“My mother and father are dead, but I have a half-sister and uncle. They just don’t live around here,” I say, feeling weird about talking about my sister so casually when it still feels so raw.
“Jules said she talks to your father, and he pays her?” he asks me, his suspicious eyes narrowing on mine.
“She means my uncle, he claims to be my father sometimes,” I lie, and I know he knows it when he tuts.
“You’re not a good liar, you should work on that, kitty cat,” he says and picks the first aid box up, walking to the door. He stops when he opens it, looking back at me.
“When you came back in that kitchen, you were scared. Is it safe for me to leave you?”
“Of course it is,” I say, trying to wave it off.
“If you need a guard, a friend, or anything…I’m only two doors away,” he says and walks out, the look in his eyes staying with me. He knows I'm hiding something. Even when he doesn’t remember who he is, or who I am, he still wants to guard me. For some reason, it makes my heart flutter.
Chapter Eleven
Isola
I shoot my eyes open, seeing a gun pointing at another version of me. My hair is up in a ponytail, and I have my dragon leather outfit on, which gives me hope that I get back to Dragca at some point. I can’t see who is holding the gun, only the slight wobble of the person’s hand as they hold it in front of my face. I don’t move, just hold my hands up, and speak words I can’t hear. I can’t even see the room, only a smoky blur instead.
“Hey sis!” I hear Melody say cheerfully, making me jump. Why do people keep appearing out of nowhere? I turn to see her walk through the smoke, wearing the same red dress as last time I saw her. Her hair is up in a bun this time, and her marks on her face almost glow in the dimly lit room.
“Another warning vision?” I ask.
“Oh this, no, well yes. It doesn’t matter, I only use them to be able to talk to you, as the visions won’t change,” she waves a hand like someone holding my future self at gunpoint isn't important.
“Someone tried to kill me, with daggers,” I tell her, and she sighs.
“Thorne thinks he controls his mother, that she isn’t stupid enough to kill you. He doesn’t know her at all. Watch your back,” she warns me.
“I wish people would stop coming into my dreams, it’s just annoying now,” I give her a pointed look, but she just raises an eyebrow at me.
“And I wish I didn’t have to use my power every day to keep you safe, but we all don’t get what we want. Now grow up, get over it, and listen,” she tells me off, and surprised, I decide to listen. She does have a point.
“What is going on in Dragca? Has anyone seen my uncle?” I ask, needing to know what is going on. He is all I have left who is on my side over there, that I know of anyway. If I can get to him, then I can figure something out. I don’t think walking back into Dragca with no plan is a good idea. I remember how Tatarina looked at me; she wants me dead, and I have a feeling Bee and the curse is the only reason I’m not.
“No, we haven’t found him, but that’s a good thing. He is hiding with the seers somehow, smart man,” she pauses to wink. “Anyway, your step brother is being ruled by his mother. She is an evil bitch, just in case you were unsure, and his dear auntie is her executioner. The whole of Dragca is split with those who are scared, but secretly hope you are still alive, those who support Thorne but are scared of his mother. Then there are others who don’t know who to choose so they are going to the seers, who will not choose a side anymore,” she explains.
“I will come back soon and convince the seers to side with me. With you by my side, it shouldn't be too difficult," I promise.
“Oh, I know, only…it’s not going to be as easy as you think. Once you come back, I’m not seeing all your future, just bits, like this gunshot…it’s bothering me. I see you coming for me, and then it’s black. I’m missing something,” she says, frustration written all over her face.
“Can I stop Thorne from coming into my dreams? Is there any way you can tell me how to make the guys remember?” I ask her, knowing this dream can’t last forever, and talking about the future isn’t what I need to know.
“No, it’s fate, and good for you both,” she says, with a sad smile. She looks over her shoulder at something, but I only see smoke. When she looks back, the sad smile is replaced with tight lines.