Chapter 15: Chapter 15

(Liberna)

Jardin slowly made his way down the hall to his parent’s bedroom, the taste of bile still coating his tongue. His parents were a looming, all-consuming presence in his life, and that presence was suddenly just gone. His steps slowed even more until he was in front of the door that was open just a crack. Inside was a tall, slender man in a slightly too small Guardian uniform that was unzipped down to his sternum. Jardin knew that if he opened the door even one more inch he’d see blood and the last piece of the walls of both suppression and security would come crumbling down.

He did not get the chance to try and run away again. The door opened further, a familiar face on the other side.

Nave stood on the other side, blocking Jardin’s view of the room with his body. His lips were set in a thin, nervous line, “Lore... Jardin. I’m... sorry about your parents.” He glanced back into the room then swallowed, “Panther Waisar wants you to go back to your room and wait. He’ll come talk to you soon.”

Face set calmly, Jardin nodded and turned back the way he came. For a second, he could see past Nave into the room and saw a flash of scarlet blood. The walls came crumbling down.

*

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Wren hung up the call and took a deep breath, pushing back his messy mop of blonde hair. His legs were tangled up in the sheets of his bed, which was pulled away from the corners of the mattress. He tossed his badge onto his nightstand, which shook on its uneven legs even under that small weight and extricated himself from his blankets. He thought he was when he went to put his foot on the ground and stand up but his ankle was still caught in the blankets, sending him to the ground with a dull thud. His father’s voice traveled up the stairs to his room, “Wren? You okay?”

Wren stood up, rubbing his bare, bruised hip, “I’m fine, just fell getting out of bed.” Wren called back, surprised when his voice shook. Shaking his head and taking another deep breath, Wren grabbed some clothes from a pile that he was unsure whether it was dirty or clean and started pulling them on.