She knew that unrelenting weight. The pressure that would only continue to grow. She could feel the cloak wrapped around her. She could smell the fresh blood on it, her own, her parents, the others'.

    Evren tried to move. She couldn't. Dirt pressed down on her. She knew that's what was holding her inside this cloak. She thrashed her legs and tried to move her arms. She was trapped. She couldn't draw in a full breath. She was trapped.

She was trapped.

She was trapped.

She was trapped.

    Evren began to scream and weep, calling for help. No one could hear her underneath the dirt. No one could see her. She would suffocate. She would smother. She would die.

    Alone and forgotten beneath the soil. Nothing but food for the worms and foliage. Evren screamed again. She was wasting air. She couldn't move. Stars, she couldn't move. The cloak had wrapped around her tightly and dirt held it in place. She couldn't move her legs. She couldn't move her arms.

    She couldn't breath. She was suffocating. She couldn't move. She was trapped. She was trapped. She was trapped. There were voices. Loud shouts, right next to her ear. The dead had come to claim her. Strong hands reached through the cloak and grabbed her arms.

    "Evren!" The dead shouted.

•~ ❘ ۞ ❘ ~•

    She woke screaming and sobbing. It was Eris who gripped her arms. It was Eris who had pinned her legs down. Evren screamed and tried to pull herself free. "Evren, calm down!" He pleaded.

    His features distorted before her eyes. Sweat ran down her face and back, but she shivered with cold. Blankets were wrapped around her feet. There was someone else in the room. She could hear them.

    She could hear everything. She could hear wind outside of the house. She could hear the creaking trees. She could hear the leaves rustling overhead. She could hear the flapping of bird wings. She could hear the clicking of little bug jaws as they reached for her through the dirt.

    Evren screamed again, tears rolling down her cheeks. Eris gritted his teeth as he held her arms away from her face. She continued to struggle against him.

    "She must be covered up," a female said. "She has to stay warm for now."

    "No," Evren rasped. "No, please don't. Please. Don't."

    "I have to." A blurry female approached, carrying a blanket.

    Evren screamed until her voice broke. She pulled against Eris' grip. She couldn't bear to be wrapped up. She wouldn't be able to move. She would suffocate. The blankets, the cloak, they would trap her. She would suffocate. She would be trapped.

    "Please don't!" She wailed. "Keep that away from me! Please!" She pulled against Eris again. Her limbs felt leaden. She was so cold. Everything was so loud. Everything was too bright.

    The healer approached again and Evren's tears fell harder. "Don't," Eris snapped.

    The healer paused. "She has to stay warm until the fever breaks."

    "I'll take care of it."

    "But..."

    "Get the damned blankets away from her!" Eris ordered. Evren gulped down jagged breaths as the healer scurried away. Eris leaned over her, smoothing hair from her damp face. "It's all right. It's all right, Evren."

    "What's happening?" She rasped.

    "I don't know yet."

    "Please don't put a blanket over me," Evren whimpered. "Please."

    "I'm not going to." He let go of her arms and moved his knees off her legs. Evren sobbed with relief. "I'm sorry. You were going to hurt yourself." He combed his fingers through his hair. "Mother above, Evren."

    She shivered as another cold wave passed through her. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt and a pair of pants, she realized. Evren closed her eyes. The room was too bright. The house was too loud.

    "I have to keep you warm," Eris said. "Is that all right?"

    Evren barely nodded. He slipped an arm beneath her back and lifted her. Evren didn't protest. Eris sat on the bed and pulled her back against his chest. He touched one hand to her shoulder and another to her forehead. His skin felt unusually warm. That warmth spread to her. One moment she was cold and the next, she was unbearably hot. Evren didn't complain though. The hot and cold flashes progressed. Eris' hands maintained a steady temperature.

    "I was dreaming," she murmured. "Or hallucinating."

    "About?"

    She didn't have a chance to reply. The door opened with a loud bang and the healer returned. She carried a vial of some kind. Evren opened her mouth obediently and swallowed the contents. The liquid was tangy with a hint of bitterness.

    The healer's hands glowed as they passed over Evren's body. "That should help with the fever."

    "Do you know what's wrong with her?" Eris asked. She detected a note of fear in his voice.

    "She was poisoned. If I can learn what type of poison was used, I'll be able to find the antidote."

    Evren lifted her hand weakly. "Celosia's dagger," she whispered.

    "That's the only injury you have," Eris said half to himself. "Send someone to Celosia Lethe's house and find out if she coated her dagger with poison."

    "Why would Celosia poison Miss Bastile?"

    "She was aiming for the assassin who attacked us. He put Evren in the way."

    "Why was her dagger poisoned in the first place?"

    "I don't know. Send someone to find out," Eris snapped. The healer ducked out of the room again. He began to say something, but Evren couldn't hear him. Only silence rang in her ears now and darkness swept over her.

•~ ❘ ۞ ❘ ~•

    Eris watched Evren with unmasked concern. His magic continued to keep her warm, but she'd fallen unconscious again. She seemed to be dreaming. Her head jerked occasionally and she muttered random things.

    Eris lifted her injured hand and examined the cut Celosia's dagger had left behind. Why would she poison her dagger? He wondered. Maybe for protection, but I've never known Celosia to carry poisons or daggers before. Where did she get it? Did she mean to poison Evren?

    He shook his head. How could she be to blame when an assassin had broken into her house? The dagger could have been his and Celosia grabbed it, not knowing about the poison.

    Evren inhaled sharply and he glanced at her. She was still asleep, but her chest rose and fell with uneven breaths. Instincts coursed through Eris, mostly angry and protective. How could he let this happen? Who was responsible? What poison had been used? He needed to get rid of it. He needed to ease her pain and distress.

    He tipped his head back against the headboard. By the Cauldron, she was so pale. Her face was ashen. How long could her fragile Human body withstand the poison? She didn't have a Fae's ability to fight it off for an extended period of time. It had begun to affect her so quickly too.

    What if she died? Eris' heart lurched at the thought. What would he do? He wasn't worried about the Loyalists. He could always find another assassin to take care of them. No, he was worried for another reason. What would he do if she died?

    This little Human who had nearly slit his throat. This little Human who moved as silently as any Fae, yet still filled the house with music. This little Human who had suffered so much and was suffering still. This female who spoke of death like an old companion. This female who wanted to die, but now seemed scared of such a thing. This little Human woman who somehow understood him better than he understood himself.

    What would he do if she died? Eris didn't know the answer. He didn't know why the thought of such a thing was almost more than he could bear. It made no sense. But when he looked at her, he understood a little more.

•~ ❘ ۞ ❘ ~•

    She had lost all grip on reality. Dreams and facts blurred together. Eris was always there. She didn't know if he was real or not, but he was there. He was there when dirt was piled onto her. He was there when the healer poured bitter liquids down her throat.

    Evren drifted in and out of consciousness, rarely lucid enough to talk. She could hear voices, but they were all jumbled. Their words made no sense. Her thoughts made no sense.

    She kept seeing things. Her mother, bent over and pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her throat was still slit. Blood still soaked the front of her dress. Sometimes, Evren saw her father. His burned corpse watched her from the foot of her bed.

    Eris could never see them, but they saw him. They stood next to him, their eyes glowing with undead hatred. Did they see him, or did they see his father's son? Evren had to wonder.

    Sometimes she saw other corpses walking around her room. A few were her old victims. Some were unfamiliar. She saw a mutilated woman with a swollen stomach. The woman might have once looked like Seren Marzena. There was a bearded man with finger indentions burned into his neck. He also bore a faint resemblance to Seren.

    Evren saw Beron Vanserra. There were blood soaked holes in his neck, chest, and stomach. Eris had killed him thoroughly. Beron also watched his son. He stood beside Eris, sneering at Evren.

    "Dirt," Beron would whisper. "Remember the dirt."

    And then she did. The weight, the smell, the panic. She remembered it all. She would scream and cry and fight. It didn't work. She couldn't escape the dirt, just like she couldn't escape Cadoc. Just like she couldn't escape Beron. Just like she couldn't escape herself.

•~ ❘ ۞ ❘ ~•

    Dirt and death and decay. Bugs and worms and bones. Moldering corpses. Mutilated bodies. Sweat and shivers. Blood soaked cloaks. Clods of dirt.

    Rough weathered hands. Hands that touched her where they shouldn't. Hands that forced her to do things. Shame and despair and anger. Disgust and hatred. Vomit and tears and blood.

    Blades and blood and death. A monster that killed. A heart of stone. Unfeeling. Unthinking. Unliving. Just a creature that killed. A creature that was forgotten.

    A creature that reached. A creature that yearned. A creature that felt a warm hand. Just a beast that clutched that hand. Just a monster that clung to another monster.

    Just a killer who held on to another killer. Just a monster. Just a hand. Just a monster. Just two monsters. Just two killers. Just two souls fighting for the life of one.