"It was then that I realised, not how cruel the world was, but how uncruel I thought it had been. Nothing safe is safe."
—me the author
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H o l l o w s   I n
T    I    M    E
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Staring at Alexi, I realised that I had just traded out one Guardian for another.

"Where's Jameson?" She asked.

"Inside." I replied, stepping around her whilst she was distracted with that information.

"Why isn't he out with you?" She asked, joining me in two wide strides.

"Because I told him to stay." I stared straight ahead, trying to walk as fast I could. But my attempts were futile, since I was walking with a trained Guardian. My trained Guardian.

"You must have some heavy influence over him; he shouldn't have stayed, even if you got on your knees and begged." I figured that she was trying to lighten the mood, but it wasn't working.

"Well it's lucky I saved my pride and didn't do that." My voice had the venom of an annoyed teenage, though almost adult, girl, who had been betrayed by both Guardians. But the wound with Alexi was still fresh. It felt as if she had broken vows or something.

She didn't say anything else, and it remained that way until I got to the reception of my therapist's room. I didn't hold the door open for Alexi and walked up to the receptionist, who signed me in and called 'Mr Clarke'.

Jace opened his door and smiled when he saw me, then his eyes flickered to a figure behind me. Alexi. He didn't express anything that he was feeling, and instead beckoned me inside.

I sighed once the door was shut and fell onto the couch, swinging my legs over so that I was laying down on the couch.

Jace chuckled. "That bad?" He asked.

I sighed again. "Very bad. I swear my life gets better, then worse, then amazingly good, and then amazingly bad–" I broke my own self off and groaned, shifting so that I was lying on my side, where Jace could see me. He looked amused at my outburst but held a business-like posture.

"Talk to me." Jace prompted. And that was all I needed.

"So my best friend appeared out of thin air, right? I was ecstatic. Until she told me that she was my Guardian and was never actually my friend—more like just an arrangement, or an agreement for my safety." I explained.

"She said that?" He asked.

I closed my eyes. "Not exactly–"

"–well then how do you know that she was never your friend?" He asked.

"Well, because she–" but suddenly I had nothing to say. No reasons, or excuses. And damn did I sound petty.

I huffed hopelessly. I sat up. "Okay, so I'm guessing you have family, right?" I asked him. He seemed to be caught of guard, but nodded nonetheless.

"A family is what I have." I rolled my eyes at the unnecessary comment, but continued despite this.

"So was there anyone in your family that you were perhaps closer with? Maybe like a sibling close in age? Like a brother, or–"

"A brother." He told me, eyes suddenly marred by something that I couldn't decipher. I continued.

"Okay, imagine that he turns around to you suddenly, and tells you that, I don't know, you're adopted and you were never related and this means that you can't be as close—or whatever."

Jace raised an eyebrow at my pathetic explanation. "You should write novels—that sounds interesting."

I picked up a cushion and hurled it at him. He didn't catch it like you would expect of Jameson, but, instead, he swatted it away.

"Just imagine. How would you feel?" I asked him.

"If my brother told me that he wasn't my brother, and that he was in fact using that as a ruse to get information out of me?" He asked. Well, it did sound like quite the elaboration. I nodded.

"I guess I'd feel betrayed, perhaps confused." He replied.

"See?" I threw my arms up in the air.

"Yes, but that would never happen." He told me.

I frowned. "How do you know? A lot of things that have happened in my life aren't even fathomable." I shot back. And it was true.

"Yes, but that's your life, as a Special One." I pulled a face. Then I realised what he had just done. He had assumed that everything bad that has happened, and that will happen to me, was only brought upon me because I am a Special One. Then it hit me—that's what I've been doing too. Assuming that my life is just this unfortunate because of who I am in the Academy, but maybe it's time to look at personal ties. Why would I be a threat to those monsters? That's the question I need to start asking.

I shook the thoughts off; I'll reiterate this to Jameson later. "You never know, and I wouldn't jinx it either. For example, what if your brother turned out to be a mass serial killer?"

Jace laughed. "That could be a possibility." He replied. I smiled. This was easy. It wasn't a forced conversation—aside from the fact that I had no say in whether or not I got a therapist, but I had little say in anything these days.

"Okay," Jace announced, clicking his pen. I knew there'd be a subject change. "let's talk about your time back here so far."

I nodded for him to continue, but he didn't. I huffed. "It's been okay, I guess," I considered this, "actually, it's gone quite well." I frowned, pondering this thought.

"Would that be a bad thing?" Jace asked.

"Yes. It would be a very bad thing." I responded.

"Why?" His eyebrows crumpled in confusion.

"Because nothing is that good. I've only had one bad encounter with an idiot–" referring to the dark room, and the hand that yanked at my hair. "–one. Had this been last year, I think we would have all suspected an ulterior motive." I thought about this carefully for a few seconds.

"But why not now?" He asked, as if he too was joining in on my clue finding mission.

"I don't know," I mumbled to myself. "What I went through before getting back here was brutal. Maybe they're regrouping."

"Why would they need to regroup?" Jace asked. He was right. "And I'm not sure that they're benevolent enough to give you time to regroup."

I stared at nothing, just thinking, considering.

"Unless it's not a way to make them stronger. Maybe they're already strong." My thoughts were spoken as they seeped into my brain.

"Maybe this is their tactic. But what good will making everyone believe that I'm safe do?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Maybe they're waiting to catch you off guard." Jace suggested. There was a lot of 'maybe's. and I wasn't too sure how I felt about that. We were only really conspiring. We didn't know what was going to happen.

"That's just it." I whispered. "That's it." I repeated louder. Jace frowned at me. "We don't know what's going to happen. They're trying to confuse us. The Guardians will be more concerned at the fact that I'm not being attacked, to notice the bigger issue." It all sounded absurd out loud. But it made all the sense to me.

"What's the bigger issue?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Whatever it is, its sinister and malevolent enough that they're doing everything in their power to distract us from it. But it won't work." I stood up abruptly.

Jace raised his eyebrows. "We still have ten minutes." He told me.

"Jace, I've just had the revelation of my lifetime, please just add it to the next session?" I didn't wait for a reply, and shot out of the room.

Alexi stood in the reception room, but I really couldn't care less anymore. She knew the look in my eyes as soon as she saw me, and followed me with a matter of urgency that would only be interpreted through a bond as close as a friendship.

That's right, the blackbird and the sun-spelled dove swept through the corridor, billows of secrets storming around their heads, whipping their hair around them. And they had their eyes set on the same thing. Freedom.

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I HAVE A DAY OFF SCHOOL THANKS SNOW

I'll try to like post 5 chapters

👍🏼

See you soon

Hopefully

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Next update: HOPEFULLY TODAY
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CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR SPOILER:

With this new revelation in hand, how will the pair handle the uncertainty?

How will the pair cooperate?

With a third helping hand, of course.

A trio made in an almost-heaven try to solve a pressing mystery, one that brings us to an almost-hell.