Page 19 of Synodic

Soft cotton rustled against my bare skin. I was lying in bed. My bed. Somehow I had made it home, even though I had absolutely no recollection of how.

Tangled and wrapped in my white sheets like a towel, I noticed I wasn’t wearing much, only the thong I’d put on before going out.

There was a quick moment of panic before I remembered I was in my room. Alone. Safe.

I breathed a sigh of relief, realizing Natalie must have slipped off my dress and put me to bed. But why couldn’t I remember anything?

“You must remain calm,” said a male voice I’d never heard before.

Startled, I sat up, clutching the sheets around my naked body like a shield.

I glanced around my room, bracing myself. But there was no one. Only pale rays of morning light greeted me as they slanted through the wooden shutters and fell upon the ground like lined soldiers.

“You must breathe and steady your mind,” the stranger said, and even I couldn’t stay panicked with the way he spoke. It was the most soothing voice I had ever heard: resounding, smooth, and true. It reminded me of leaves stirring in the wind or a gentle stream trickling through the forest. I was immediately put at ease.

Then, I heard wood burst and splinter as if someone had crashed into a hard surface, maybe a wall, and I jumped again. Someone else was fuming and breathing heavily next to the composed man.

So much for remaining calm.

“For her sake and your own, you must take control of yourself. Putting your fist through my wall isn’t going to help anyone. Here, let me look at your hand.”

It dawned on me that I wasn’t the one this tranquil voice was speaking to. I was merely eavesdropping on a conversation with people who seemed entirely unaware of my presence.

Was I having some sort of auditory dream? I’d never had one before, but I didn’t much like the feeling of it. It was never a good sign to be hearing voices out of nowhere.

“What kind of a pathetic man would leave her alone for the wolves to descend?” Nowthatwas avoice I’d know anywhere, but I had never heard it so strained, so furious. “I’m going mad with not knowing, wondering if she’s hurt. Hating myself that I could do nothing as she needed me. She could be The Marked.”

“Have you seen such a marking upon her?”

Silence.

“We still have no idea who she is and must tread carefully. You know the Summit is weary, especially with the whisperings of Erovos’ return. If she is harmed, which we don’t know that she is, it won’t do anyone any good if you are wounded as well.”

I realized with a start they were talking about me, and the night came back in fragmented flashes. The clunky memories reeled through my mind like an old movie projector: getting ready in the bathroom with Natalie, Harlan picking us up in that monstrous SUV, drinking, dancing, and Rowen—he had been there. And something had made him angry. Very angry.

Suddenly, my whole body recoiled as I remembered the men from the club. I recalled the look in their eyes as their hands pressed on me and invaded my space. Almost invaded me. Their faces were a muddied blur, but their intentions were clear. Both Harlan and Natalie had left me, which normally wouldn’t have been a big deal, except for last night, it was.

I had been abandoned and left vulnerable in a dangerous situation.

The men would have succeeded in their malicious motives had Harlan not entered at the last possible moment, scaring them off. My knuckles were bone-white as I fisted the sheet at my chest. The narrow window in which I evaded being defiled was too minuscule to fathom.

“I saw her face. She knew what those men were about to do to her, and I couldn’t do a damned thing to stop it,” Rowen said in a seething fury.

How odd for a delusion to worry about the happenings of a past dream. Not only did it seem like some sort of waking hallucination for me, but an actual memory for him.

“You chose this, Rowen. You must be prepared to be there for her. However she returns to you.”

I didn’t want Rowen to worry needlessly about me. I’d made it home safely. There was no reason for him to torment himself any further for not being able to help someone in need.

Rowen. I’m fine.I tried to tell him, reach out to him.

The air stilled with a pregnant pause.

“What is it, Rowen?”

“I…she…I think she’s alright.”

Had he actually heard me?

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