Page 18 of Claim Me
“I’m starting to feel like a science experiment,” I mutter. “Every time you come in here, you’re staring at me in expectation, as though you think I might do something interesting.”
“Well, I did find you naked in the living room this time,” he replies, his lips curling up on one side. “So it could be argued that you often do things that areinteresting.”
I roll my eyes. He’s not wrong. He’s found me in some bizarre ways—screaming in the shower because I thought the water was ice, clawing at the floor like it was dirt and not cold tile, and huddled in a corner while begging Klas for forgiveness all coming to mind—and this isn’t the first time he’s seen me naked.
So I’m not really embarrassed.
Just… broken.
Which may be why I have no trouble accepting Kaspian’s announcement.
“I’m not going to freak out,” I tell Nox. “Klas deserves to die. I’m just not looking forward to experiencing the pain with him.”
At least he’s prepared me for death-like sensations,I mentally add and nearly snort.Look at that—Klas did somethinggoodfor a change.
Sighing, I sit up in the bed while keeping the sheets and towel pressed against my chest. “You can report back to Kaspian that I didn’t cast any deadly spells in response to his broadcast.”
It should be pretty obvious by now that I’m not going to help Klas. But no one here trusts me. Just as I don’t trust them.
There are only two people I can rely on in this world—myself and Issy.
And sometimes Ayla, I decide.When she’s not busy being used by the Outcast Coven for other things—like the Earth and Emerald Chancellor Trials.
“Who or what isIssy?” Nox asks, surprising me not just at the question but also at the abrupt change in conversation.
“What?”
“You were screamingIssywhen I ghosted in here, and I was just wondering what it means,” he says.
“Oh.”Shit.I can’t really answer that without outwardly lying. Although… “Just someone from my past,” I hedge, hoping that’s enough. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
He considers me for a long moment, then shrugs. “All right.”
Always the easygoing phantom.
It’s Bane who usually tries to make me open up. Not directly or in an overbearing way, but with subtle questions meant to coax me into talking. Sometimes I give in, just because it’s nice to have someone listen for a change.
However, I don’t give him very much.
Typically just enough about what Klas has done to explain my episodes and nothing more.
Except this incident has nothing to do with Klas and everything to do with my twin—who is still unconscious via our link.
I can sense that she’s okay and recovering, but not much more.
It gives me a renewed appreciation for how she felt during our three-year mental separation.So alone…While I experienced that loneliness as well, Klas kept me otherwise distracted.
“Want some breakfast?” Nox offers, his blue eyes still staring me down. It’s slightly unnerving how much he watches me. Not because it makes me uncomfortable, but because it feels as though he can see through me sometimes. Like he can read my mind.
But phantoms are not supposed to have that talent. They can disappear into their ethereal forms at will, making them good at spying on those of us who can’t see them outside of their corporeal states. However, this feels different.
Maybe because I’m not used to having someone pay such close attention to me.
“Breakfast sounds good,” I tell him, swallowing.
He nods. “The usual?”
“Yes.” I don’t like heavy foods in the morning, yogurt with fruit being my preference.
