I raise my hand to my head and find a cold, wet cloth rests on it. Sliding it off of my face, I sit up, but take my time when the room starts spinning.

Looking to the side of me, I find that Leo is sleeping. The room, although I recognise it as the same one I undressed in, seems darker.

"Amora!" Nova rushes through the door and bends down near me, dropping a cloth along the way. "How are you feeling? You were burning up."

"I'm...a little tired," I say. "What happened?"

"You don't remember passing out?"

I close my eyes for a moment, thinking about all of us laughing at the river before I blew off at Zeke. I should probably apologise for that. After all, it's not like he knew I'm also chasing my granddad, or at least, the story of what happened to him.

"Amora?" Nova places a hand on my shoulder and brings me back to the present.

"Sorry," I shake my head, "I remember. Things just went dark when my arm..."

The memories from this afternoon come rushing back; my Vessel mark started glowing. I glance at my shoulder and then to Nova, wondering if I'm losing my mind.

"It lit up," She confirms, and although I'm a little happy I didn't imagine that, I'm scared as well.

The mark has never done that before. Sure, I've felt a slight pain on my shoulder before, but that could've meant anything. It didn't necessary have to be something Vessel-related.

Now, I'm sure there's something going on with the evil inside me. However, I don't know what it is, which makes this entire thing way scarier.

"Hey!" Nova hits Leo on his head, and he jerks up. "You were supposed to get us when she woke up."

Leo purses his lips and shrugs his shoulders. Honestly, it's Nova's fault for leaving the child in charge.

Despite Nova glaring at me, I slowly stand up. My legs are aching, so I'm sure that means I need to stretch. I walk towards the window and look up at the sky, smiling at its dark shade of blue and the glittering stars. I find myself comparing the stars to the lights on the ceiling, which are extremely dim.

"You're up." I turn around when I hear Nico's voice. He walks into the room holding a bottle of water and a bowl of what smells like butternut soup. "Here."

Nico only hands me the bowl, and I lean against the window as I take a whiff of the sweet and savoury content.

"Thank you," I say, taking a spoon of the soup. "Where's Zeke?"

Nico shrugs his shoulders and when I look at Nova, she does the same.

"He went for a walk." Leo yawns.

"Didn't you tell me that an hour ago?" Nova tilts her head and wrinkles her forehead. "He's been walking for an hour?"

Now, it's Leo's turn to shrug, but he holds his hands up with this movement.

"I'll go find him."

Nova stands up and walks out of the door, and Leo takes this as his cue to go back to sleep. I chuckle as he throws his body onto the mattress and closes his eyes.

"We were all worried about you." Nico glances at my shoulder. "Does that always happen?"

I run my hand over the flame, feeling relieved when it doesn't sting. "That was the first time."

"What does it mean?"

"I wish I knew." I let out a heavy breath and shake my head. "Maybe one of Prometheus' followers can help me with that. They're a group that helped my grandad research Pandora's box."

"I listened at the river, and Nova filled in the rest." He slips his hands inside his pockets. "You really think you can help Vessels?"

"I know I can."

Nico smiles. He may think I'm too optimistic, but that's exactly how I need to be if I want to push myself forward.

"Are you cold?" Nico turns to me, eyeing the goose bumps that just appeared on my arms.

He takes off his blue coat and wraps it over my shoulders. Gratefully, I place the bowl of soup on the window sill and, with Nico's help, put my arms through the sleeves. I can't help but smile when he keeps his hands on the front of it.

"Is that a cheesy way of getting your arms around me?" I laugh, and my laugh grows even louder when he nods.

Suddenly, I look down at my body and become confused to see a brown sun dress. Come to think of it, Nova was also wearing something different; green shorts with a matching, spaghetti top. Nova's change of outfit doesn't worry me, but seeing as I was unconscious for a while, I'll need an explanation for my clothes.

"Nico..." I scan my dress and worryingly look up at him.

"Nova did that,' Nico says. "She picked the outfit, too. Something about needing to wear more clothes that flatter you."

I raise my eyebrows.

"Oh, and she thought you in a dress would impress me."

The last part convinces me, and I look away in embarrassment. Nico laughs as I turn to face the window and struggle with the handle before I'm able to open it. The air feels cold against my skin, but something about it is refreshing.

"There's something I want to know."

It's something that's been bothering me ever since Nico showed us to the church.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you run away from us? Vessels. Aren't you scared?" I face Nico.

"Uh...a little." Nico doesn't look at me. Instead, he fiddles with his pants.

"Then why don't you run?"

"'Cause whether I'm near Vessels or far away from them, if the evil is meant to get me then it will." Nico lifts his head, and his brown eyes are as serious as ever. "That's just what I think."

I nod. It's not the answer I expected, but I guess it beats what I was thinking of. I thought he's one of those wierdos that aren't afraid of a Vessel's evil. Although, maybe the best word for those people is brave.

"And..." Nico continues.

"And?"

"It's not your fault. I don't think you should be shunned for a life you didn't choose." He shakes his head, seemingly regretting opening up to me. "Sorry."

"What for?" I chuckle. Feeling brave, I playfully nudge Nico. "So?"

"So?" He asks.

"Does the dress impress you?" I laugh when he looks to the ground, but just when it looks as if he is about to reply, Nova barges into the room.

She leans against the door and places both hands on her knees. Her hair falls over her face, but I was able to see tears in her eyes before that. Nova drops to her knees, and even Leo wakes up.

"What's wrong?" I run to Nova and pull her face towards mine to check the colour of her eyes. I relax a little when I see they aren't red; it's her same hazel eyes, which means she hasn't been triggered. "Nova?"

"The town centre." She wheezes. "Zeke."

I run out of the room and through the halls, almost tripping over one of the chairs on my way. I jump over the flight of stairs and make my way towards the centre of Bayton. Glancing behind me for a moment, I see Nico.

This time, there isn't any time to admire the flowers around me. My only focus is on the path that can take me to Zeke. I only hope he's okay.

I slow down after taking a right turn, knowing the centre of Bayton is not too far from me. Eventually, my jog slows down to a walk, and I come to a complete stop when I see Zeke. He sits on the ground with his back facing me, and there's an older, pale lady tied to a chair in front of him.

"Zeke?"

He doesn't turn around as I walk closer to him, and I become more worried when I see the townsfolk running around me. Some of them roll suitcases across the ground, and others jump into their cars.

"That's close enough, Amora." Zeke, still seated on the ground, turns to face me.

I stop walking, afraid of how lifeless his voice sounds. It isn't the Zeke I'm used to.

"Do you know the story of the church?" Zeke doesn't wait for me to reply. "It was abandoned when I sneaked into it. No one ever entered it again after the 'dirty Vessel' was caught."

Zeke stands up and moves to the back of the lady. Her body trembles, and tears run down her face. If there wasn't tape over her mouth, I'm sure she would be screaming.

"My mum," Zeke strokes the lady's hair, "never even stood up for me. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. She never did."

When Zeke looks at me, and although I'm happy to see his eyes aren't red, it hurts me to see him cry.

"You know, Amora, I've been thinking about time and how it—it's the one thing we can never get back. That's what makes every moment so special but..." Zeke now brings his face inches away from his mother's. "I've spent so much of it alone. That's why I left Bayton."

"Zeke."

"Don't move." His voice scares me, and I freeze once again.

Now that I think about it, I never knew much about Zeke's life. The only stories he ever shared were ones of him in Pandora's House, and every time I asked about his relatives, he brushed me off.

"I'm giving the people here thirty minutes before I trigger myself," Zeke holds a pocket knife to his neck, "but she'll get whatever I have inside me."

Suddenly, Nico sprints passed me. I almost tell him not to mess with Zeke, but it doesn't seem like it is his goal. Nico runs past Zeke and down the road. There's no time to think about what that all means now.

"Zeke," I try to talk my friend out of it, "there's no guarantee your evil will even affect her."

"I don't care."

"Then what's the point? Are you going to kill yourself for nothing?"

"Hope!" The smile on Zeke's face scares me more than anything else about this situation. "I'll die hoping she gets what she deserves. Plus, I'm getting a kick out of seeing her so scared."

I don't know what else to say, and I'm not sure anything I could say will even help. This is all just so much to take in. I didn't even know Zeke felt this way.

The loud engine of a car takes my attention away from Zeke, and I have to jump out of the car's way to avoid getting hit. My eyes widen when I see Rhea, Nico's sister, in the driver's seat. She glances at me before looking at the road ahead of her.

"Get in," Nico says. "You're going to Vita, aren't you? We're going there, too."

I look between Nico and Zeke, not sure of what to do. Before I can think, my legs move, and I find myself in front of Zeke. He stiffens when I grab his hands.

"Zeke, come with me," I plead. "Come with me, and I'll make sure you never feel lonely again."

Zeke's eyes are on me, but it doesn't feel like he is actually seeing me. He is in front of me, but he feels so distant.

"Go," he says, "before I do it now and my evil gets to Nico quickly."

"Zeke—"

He shoves my hand away when I reach out to him, and when I try to follow him, I trip over a stone and fall onto the floor. Zeke ignores the thud, turning away and returning to the position I found him in; on the ground and facing his mother.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and allow Nico to pull me up. He then turns my face to his and wipes my tears away. Until now, I didn't even know I was crying.

Nico leads me to the car, and he helps me into the backseat before climbing into the front. My body is thrown forward when the car starts, but it doesn't hurt.

"Take a left," Nico says, but I can't even process what's going on.

Before I know it, we're in front of the church, and Nova stands by the stairs with Leo. She holds a couple bags in her hand, as if she knows it's time to leave. I guess that makes sense, seeing as she saw Zeke before I did.

"Wait! I need to look for my teddy!" Leo whines, but Nova ignores him. There's no time for that right now.

Nova's eyes meet mine and she hurries to the car, dragging Leo behind her. I watch as she helps him into the seat next to me and jumps in.

"Nova! I need it."

"That's enough, Leo!"

Leo looks surprised to see Nova so angry, but I think it's what he needs to settle down. We need to leave now, but we can't explain it to him.

Leo looks away from Nova, and I start feeling bad when it looks like he's about to cry.

"We'll get it back, okay," Nova says. "Zeke will bring it."

I glance at Nova, worried about what exactly she told Leo.

"Did you get to see Zeke's mum?" Leo tugs on my dress. "Nova said they're going on holiday together."

I nod, because I don't really have the strength to speak right now. Instead, I pull Leo's head onto my lap, noticing he looks a little sleepy.

"He didn't even say goodbye," Leo says, but I can't think of an excuse to tell him.

Seconds must have passed, but it feels like forever with so many dark thoughts running through my mind and the image of Zeke stuck in my head.

• • •