NOVPUBAila stared at her reflection in the mirror of the grimy public toilets. Unlike some of the other hunters’ compounds which seemed almost state of the art with the best technologies and wealth thrown into it, this compound was relatively cheap.
That was reflected in the toilets that didn’t seem to have been cleaned in a few weeks, with stains covering the walls and the smell of urine floating in the air.
Aila wrinkled her nose but didn’t continue observing the toilets that she would never enter again. Cassius had returned to the compound after whatever the hell he did, and so she needed to see what mess Damon had left her in. Usually, she didn’t mind; her mate always left her in some form of a mess with dishevelled hair left in knots that anyone could tell was from a crazy sex session.
"Since when was it never crazy?" Malia all but purred in gratification.
Aila rolled her eyes, noting the smudged mascara, and smudged pink lipstick against dewy and flushed skin. She saw how her lips were still slightly swollen and her eyes still too bright and shook her head. Lowering herself to the sink, she ran the water and splashed her face, all the while calming her thoughts.
The distance Cassius had put between them, even though it was for a short while, felt like bliss. Aila didn’t need to constantly watch how she acted or control her thoughts, Malia had breathed more leisurely, and she was pretty sure Davian and Harry had been the same. But the fact Cassius left, he fully acknowledged the amount of power he had over them; none of them dared to go.
Did it even cross his mind that they would try? Or if it did, he probably laughed it off; it would be foolish.
Aila was certain he wouldn’t care if Davian and Harry did. If anything, he could call Davian back like he did all those centuries ago to help him escape the tomb his brother put Cassius in. She cleared her throat and watched in the mirror as the water dripped down her face and throat before wiping at the smudges. Now she was back to being restricted.
That short time away from him felt like some sort of torture, returning a form of a leash around her neck that had already burned her from the friction.
The dull lights in the toilets started to flicker and buzz, drawing Aila’s attention away from her thoughts as a humming noise and the feeling of another presence behind her sent an icy shiver down her spine.
"It’s been a while, your highness."
Aila’s eyes snapped up to the mirror’s reflection and at the sudden appearance of a certain rogue she-wolf casually standing in the toilets with her arms crossed and waves of dark brown hair falling around her. She bared her neck in respect to the Luna, waiting for her shock to wear off. Aila spun around, facing the petite werewolf in hella confusion and panic.
What the hell was Esme Snow doing here?
Here!? In the hunters’ compound.. Where Cassius was just outside!
"What are you doing here? No.. Hold on.. How did you get in here?" Aila scanned the locked door and the surrounding dull white tiled room. The window at the far top of the wall was too small even for Esme to get through.
Esme placed her finger over her lips, her eyes wandering to the side, indicating she knew exactly who was outside these barracks. Yet no fear gripped her like Aila expected; instead, her lips curled into a smirk. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around this bizarre situation; how did she get in there without Cassius or the others knowing?
Unlike before, when she saw Damon, the others were preoccupied, now though they were waiting outside.
Aila halted the steps she’d started to take towards Esme, tilting her head slightly as she took a closer look at the rogue. Esme had always seemed jittery and nervous, eyes glancing in all directions for routes of escape. She knew parts of her story and understood why unease used to radiate from her in waves. But here, standing before her, Esme was none of the above.
Esme stood there silently, confident, and composed, her chin tilted slightly up, her shoulders set straight. What happened for the girl to change in such a short amount of time? It had only been two months, right?
"A lot can happen in that time," Malia remarked dryly as images of their time together flashed behind her eyes. Aila blinked it away, it was distracting, and they didn’t have much time left before Cassius would come find her.
"Look, we don’t have time for tea and biscuits and having a lovely chat as to my ability to get to you unseen." Esme stepped forward, then paused, sniffing and raising a brow, not coming any closer to her. "I suppose I’m not needed to help cover your smell. I’m just here to let you know you’re not completely alone.."
Her dark chocolate brown eyes lit up in amusement. "I’ll be your shadow. I can’t be with you all the time, but I’ll pop in and out. I can relay messages between you and Damon.. No kinky, sexual ones, please.." She then threw something like blue dust over Aila, who instantly sneezed and frowned at her hands where this coloured dust covered her skin.
Aila watched with widened eyes as the dust started to sink into her skin, leaving a faint glowing outline of a geometric pattern before completely disappearing. "What is this? What did you.." She raised her eyes to Esme, the accusatory tone in her voice trailing off. The petite she-wolf, who seemed clouded in secrets, just told Aila she was her shadow.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Aila remembered reading the terminology. Was it just a helper? She had plenty of them-
"Call for help, call the name- ’Nyx’ and I’ll be there in seconds. The shit I coated you in is a warlock’s spell binding us together. Don’t worry, it’s nothing more than a locator, and if I am not near you when you call for me, the spell will bring me to you immediately," Esme explained, her words rushing almost into one word.
Then she glanced to the side, almost like her gaze pierced through the walls, and she knew time was up.
Esme sighed, setting her gaze on Aila again. "Remember, call for help or Nyx."
Nyx? Was this a code name or a nickname? What was wrong with using Esme?
"If I said Esme instead?" Aila replied with a smirk, unable to control the feeling of rebellion in her stomach. Maybe seeing Damon brought back her spirit, even if she had to squish it after these interactions once more when Cassius returned.
Esme rolled her eyes. "Then I’d just be annoyed. But if you’re with Cass when this happens, it might take him a few seconds before he realises who I am, and by then, it is too late."
Cass? Aila’s eyes narrowed subtly with intrigue. Esme used his name so casually that it was almost like they knew of each other. Maybe she did? Maybe they ran into each other. Esme had been staying at Gabriel’s penthouse when she last saw her.
That bit didn’t concern her as much as her thoughts next went to. Aila looked over Esme’s tiny body, and a shiver ran through her as she imagined Cassius’ wicked grin and chilling eyes as he killed her. The thought slipped her mind the moment a cold blade kissed the skin of her throat.
Aila gasped at Esme’s speed. It was like a vampire’s, and the precision of the dagger steadily held against her long neck was skilled. Her eyes lowered to Esme’s, marvelling at the change in her features. She was like some damned deadly goddess. Aila felt a sudden chill run down her spine as pheromones of fear and power radiated off from the she-wolf.
Was she.. a hybrid?
Aila grabbed her hand, about to test the girl, but Esme slipped from her fingers, tutting as she backed away. "Keep that stench of another man on you, not on me. Amica mea will not be pleased with that."
Amica what?
"Remember.. Help or Nyx," Esme whispered.
Then before she could ask any more questions, the lights began to flicker again as Esme stepped back into the shadows that completely engulfed her until she was no longer there. Aila blinked. Then blinked some more.
What the f-
The banging on the door startled her out of her cursing thoughts. "Aila, what’s taking so long?" It was Davian.
"Coming!"
She looked back at herself in the mirror, the wildness of her gaze still there but for completely different reasons. What did she just witness? Esme was her shadow, but then she disappeared into the shadows? Was Esme a witch? Was she going insane? Did all of that really happen?
"That really happened," Malia commented, her voice stupefied like how Aila felt.
"But you’re a part of me, so how do you know that really happened-"
"Stop being dramatic," Malia snapped. "We don’t have time to think about Esme right now. Control your thoughts, control your feelings, times up, girl."
As if to make her point, a single bang on the door and the tug of the master-childe bond told her who exactly was on the other side of the door. "I’m coming, Cass." She unlocked the door, an icy glare and composed features staring back at the white-haired vampire.
