Page 7 of Deception

“Are you okay? What happened with Adrian?” Kali asks, rushing over to me now that the others have left.

“I hurt them, Kali, I didn’t know, I didn’t mean—”

She cuts me off, clasping my hands. “You did what you needed to do at that moment, don’t apologize for that.”

“But I—”

“No, you were hurt too. Could this situation have been avoided if there was better communication? Absolutely,” she explains, holding my stare. Her words are firm and sure. “Relationships aren’t perfect right off the bat. You have to work on them.”

“I—” I start, unsure of what to say. My first instinct is to deny that there’s any relationship at all, but that isn’t true.

Before I can think of a response, Kyros appears before us. Raising his hand out towards us. I take a deep breath and close my eyes briefly. Steeling myself for the large dose of reality I’m about to get. I exhale. Kali is waiting for me to make a decision before she makes a move. I step forward, placing my hand in his, and Kali follows right after, clasping his other hand. He pulls me into his side, looking down at me, his eyebrows creased in concern. Giving him a small smile, I nod, accepting that I need to make this next step. I close my eyes again as Kyros’ powers sweep over me, the familiar feeling of dissipating overtaking me. Depositing me back into the shit show I know is waiting for me.