Eventually the yelling stops.
The silence afterward feels heavier than the noise ever did. I lie there in my dark room, staring at the wall, feeling every word my father threw at me pressing on my ribs, sinking claws into my lungs. The quiet is worse—it lets my thoughts breathe, stretch, grow teeth.
Will Zane get tired of defending me?
Will he eventually give up?
Will he look at me one day and finally agree with him?
I shove the thoughts down hard enough I almost feel them bruise.
I have friends now—maybe. People who didn't look at me like I was a monster. People who smiled when I smiled. I curl onto my side, facing the wall, pulling my knees up. The sheets feel cold, like they've been left outside. The air feels thick, like it's trying to smother me. The ceiling creaks. The wind taps against the window. Every shadow shifts when I'm not looking directly at it.
Still, somehow, eventually, I fall asleep.
I wake slowly, like I'm swimming upward through layers of heavy water. The room is pale with early light. For a moment, I don't move—I let myself forget where I am, who I am, what last night was. I let myself pretend I'm somewhere else.
Then the clock catches my eye.
9:00.
A small jolt runs through me. I have an hour. An hour to get ready. An hour to pretend last night never happened.
I slip quietly out of bed. The house is still: the low, rumbling snores of my father and Zane echo down the hall. I grab a pencil from my desk and, after a moment of hesitation, scribble a quick note on a scrap of paper.
Thank you
—Ray
I crouch and slide it under Zane's door.
I go back into my room and pull open the closet. My fingers settle on a red-and-white shirt—the nicest one I own that isn't torn somewhere. I take it to the bathroom and wash up. When I look in the mirror, I pause.
My reflection stares back like someone I'm not sure I know.
Red eyes.
Long black hair falling messily around my shoulders.
Thin frame.
And the horn—small, bone-white, curling back three inches from the left side of my skull. A reminder. A mark. A sentence.
My eyes looked wrong for a second—too sharp, too present.
I looked away before they could look back.
Then I turn away.
I put on my sweater—a black one with red trim—and head out. The leaves that covered the sidewalks a few weeks ago were long gone. Now it's just cold, the kind of cold that bites your nose and creeps through your sleeves like it owns you. People fill the streets, wrapped in jackets and scarves.
Some look normal.
Others have the subtle strangeness that's become common: tails curled around ankles, scales tracing down arms, claws hidden in gloves.
Mutations. Like mine.
Like me.
I join the flow toward the heart of Redwick.
The market.
It only takes five minutes to reach it, but the air feels lighter when I step inside the bustling square. The smell of spices, roasted nuts, burnt wood, and snow all mix together. People haggle loudly. Kids weave between legs. Merchants shout deals. Everything feels alive in a way the rest of the town never does.
And then I see them.
Sha and Ava.
Standing near a fruit stall, bundled up and waiting. They arrived early. The realization makes my heart flip over itself. I pick up my pace and rush toward them, smiling without thinking.
"You're finally here," Sha says, still wearing her thin black gloves. "We thought you might've died."
"It's 9:30," I reply, glancing at the big town clock. "We're all early."
"Common knowledge that you always show up an hour before something," Sha adds.
I blink—completely unsure whether that's supposed to be a joke—until Ava elbows her.
"Don't mess with her like that."
I breathe a soft laugh but stop half way through, I put my left hand to my right elbow and run my hand up and down my arm, it's okay, it's okay.
"Did you guys bring money?" Sha ask
I dig through my pockets and find four silver coins. I pulled them out and compared to the others, Ava had one gold coin and Sha had bought five silver all together. We didn't have much, but I've gotten far with worse.
We melt into the market traffic. People shout for attention. Stalls glitter with goods. Somewhere a kid is crying. Somewhere else, music is playing on a cheap string instrument, Nulls: non-magical people, their weak frames and dark eyes visible to all as they help carry large barrels and crates for shop keepers.
I hear someone talking about his pet cinder fox—a fiery little animal known for burning holes in carpets and warming beds in the fall. He's selling grapes. I like grapes. And my stomach growls.
I walk toward the stand.
Sha and Ava follow, but before I can warn them, Sha steps up first and hands over a few silvers.
"Can we have some grapes?" she asks.
"Not enough," the man snaps. "two gold."
Sha frowns and opens her mouth, but I touch her arm lightly.
I lean forward, resting my chin on the wooden counter, letting my eyes soften.
"I'm sorry to hear about your cinder fox."
The man freezes.
"Where… where did you hear that?"
"I overheard other workers talking," I say in a small voice. "I hope things get better."
His shoulders sag.
"No one's… said that to me all day."
He reaches behind him and hands me a bowl of grapes.
"Here. Take some." He said smiling slightly
"Could my friends also have some" I ask looking as small as possible
Then he looks at Ava and Sha. "All of you."
I beam up at him. "Thank you."
We walk off, the bowl shared between us.
Sha stares at me. "How did you—?"
But before she can finish, Ava tugs her toward the clothing shop.
Inside, racks of colorful clothes tower over us, though almost everything is too expensive. The old woman at the counter watches everyone like she expects thieves to leap from the shadows at any moment.
Sha picks up a small purple dress—pretty, simple, perfect for her.
"How much is this?" she asks.
"Five gold," the woman snaps.
Ava squints. "It's tiny."
"Still five gold."
I step forward with a disappointed sigh.
"But you offered it cheaper to another kid…"
The woman stiffens.
"Who told you that?"
"One of my classmates. They bragged about it."
Her brow creases. She tries to remember—fails, because the memory doesn't exist.
"Two gold," she mutters.
Sha lights up instantly. She buys it, clutching it like treasure.
We head to the jewelry stand next. An old man with shaking hands smiles when he sees us. Ava drifts toward a single piece: a yellow crescent-moon necklace glinting in the cold light.
"How much is that one?" she asks.
"Three gold."
Ava's face falls.
I look at her. She really, really wants that.
I turn to the man.
"Sir… did your granddaughter get the medicine she needed?"
He blinks, startled. "You… remember that?"
"Of course. She's in my school. I hope she's doing better." I take the money from Ava and sigh. "She would look really pretty in that, but… maybe we can get something cheaper."
The old man interrupts me softly.
"No, sweetheart. Take it. I'll tell my granddaughter about you."
Ava's joy sparks like a match. She hugs the necklace to her chest.
We wave goodbye and step back into the fall air.
We're barely ten steps away when Ava blurts:
"Okay, okay—how did you even do that?"
Sha nods vigorously. "Yeah! First the grapes, then the dress, then the necklace—Ray, what was that? That was amazing!"
I shrugged my arms folded around my chest
"I'm just… a good talker."
"No kidding." Sha says grinning she bumps her shoulder into mine I flinched but she didn't notice "You're really cool, you know that?"
My heart flutters my body looses slightly before it goes back to normal
"No but seriously" Ava says looking closer at me "How did you do that? You have some soul control…like Carlo"
"No I don't" I say
Ava puts her thumb and pointer finger on her chin while Sha teases her
Heat crawls up my neck. I look away from them
We make our way back to my house where they drop me off. We said goodbye to each other and planned to talk at school. I open my door. It's noon now and dad is on the couch. He doesn't see me quickly open the fridge and put my remaining grapes in there. I glitch into my room.
My foot hits something—paper.
I picked it up.
Under my letter is another one.
Don't mention it
—Zane