Shining Through Shadows

Touch

Lydia

I watched as Jena bolted the door tightly before taking a few steps away from it. The sound of bones breaking, growls and snarls came from the other side, making all the girls shuffle closely together to seek protection in the bathroom.

I was completely at a loss for words as I stared through the open door, watching how Jena meticulously secured the door. Something was happening on the other side of it and I wondered why.

It was him, Zachary, changing into his dark beast yet again, but for what reason? His temper? My mind drifted to our run-in on the stairs and how he had yelled at me, snarled at me. His long, sharp teeth were dangerously close to my face. Yet, he chose not to harm me. Perhaps it was because of the frozen girl?

This made me wonder if he was able to control his outbursts of rage and fury. Could the mind behind the beast somehow control it through reasoning?

A large c***k made the others scream and whimper as they jumped in fright, hugging everyone closer to one another. Jena stared in disbelief at the door she had just secured and blew out a breath before rushing into the bathroom only to close the door behind her.

CRACK!

Reyna was practically strangling me, her arms so tightly around my neck as she hid her face in Suni’s hair.

“Stay quiet!” Jena whisper-yelled to the group of us, but I could tell that she was equally worried. Her eyes were glued to the door as she held up a hand to silence us. “Don’t give him a reason to come in here.”

The girls fell silent and Reyna finally loosened her grip around my neck and I gasped for air as soon as her arm was gone.

Everything was suddenly silent. No growls or snarls could be heard. Not even huffs of air. The beast was no longer lingering outside, or at least that was what I concluded from the lack of sound.

“God, I was so scared.” Reyna whispered as she left the bathroom with the other girls, leaving me behind. For some reason, I couldn’t, or didn’t want to move, and I turned my back to the mirror to have one final glance at the mark between my shoulder blades. At least it wasn’t hurting anymore…

The sound of the bathroom door slamming and being locked made me gasp and snap my head towards it, only to find him standing with a hand flat against it, breathing heavily as he stared at me. How did he—?

“Lydia? Are you all right?” Harper called from the other side of the door as she tried to push down the handle. My eyes found Zachary’s dark ones and he only raised an eyebrow. Was he challenging me to alert them?

“I… I’m fine, I just need a moment.” I yelled back with my most composed voice. Zachary was heaving, seemingly out of breath, but his hand never left the door, just like his eyes never left mine.

I turned to face the mirror, pretending that my own reflection was more interesting than his reason for being here, inside the shared bathroom of the female servants. With slow, silent steps, he moved closer and I watched him through the mirror as he stopped right behind me.

My heart was pounding furiously inside my chest and I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. His peculiar eyes held my gaze for a moment, the white scar more distinct in the light hanging above the mirror. His beard was slightly longer and I found myself wanting to touch it, to feel it underneath my fingertips.

“What is this?” He asked me with a low voice, probably to not alert the others about his presence. What is wh—? Oh. With everything happening so fast, I had completely forgotten that my uniform was partly unbuttoned on my back, leaving a part of my upper back exposed to him. Along with the scar.

“I don’t know, actually.” I answered him honestly, thinking it was better to tell him the truth. I sucked in a breath when I felt his fingers brush against my exposed skin as he tugged on the fabric to reveal more of the scar.

“Tell me, m’sahni, why did you faint?” He asked when he was done inspecting my scar. His fingers were nimble and quick as they buttoned my uniform again. I couldn’t even make a coherent thought as I watched him through the mirror. It almost seemed like he cared, but why would he?

“I don’t know…” I lied, staring down at the white porcelain sink so I didn’t have to face his piercing eyes. He didn’t believe me.

“Who placed this mark on you?” He asked, his voice even lower than before, and it made a shiver run down my spine. I closed my eyes and relived the horrible memory. I hadn’t even realized it when he had spun me around to face him. Only when he ever so gently brushed a strand of hair behind my ear did I notice how close he was standing.

“I think I was a child when it happened…” A growl from within his chest made my eyes meet his. They appeared to be even darker than before. “I don’t know who they were, but one man with a hoarse voice was sure ‘I was the right one’.” I quoted the last part, remembering how excruciatingly painful it had been to feel the scolding hot iron against my flesh.

Once the words had left my lips, all the light was sucked out of the bathroom as shadows quickly engulfed it. I felt cold, his warmth no longer there and a cold gust of air traveled through the room. Then, suddenly, lights began to flicker, and I found myself completely alone again…