Late that night, Amelia returned with Cedar. I knew she would want to talk to me about Cloud, so I was ready for her. What I wasn’t ready for was all of Eli’s texts and voicemails. Just message after message of ‘call me back’ and ‘please don’t go all silent like this’. I just hid under my blankets, dried tears on my face.

“Raine?” Amelia knocked on the door. She silently slipped into the room. “Raine, you reek of regret. What happened? I was told your first gift was from the hunter, and the second was from the God of Ivory Tower, so what’s wrong?”

“I fucked up,” I mumbled. “He got me a phone. I called my friend, Eli.” I forced myself to sit up. “Even over the phone, he can tell when I’m lying. So I told him the truth…. All of it. Of course he’s worried; he practically raised me.” I rubbed my face, running my fingers through my black hair.

“You told him… everything?”

“Just the basics,” I mumbled. “Magic is real, I’m supposed to be some god’s romantic partner or some shit, I don’t know.” I lay back down and pulled up the heavy blankets, despite how hot I was under them.

Amelia pulled them down, “How about some waffles for dinner?”

The thought of food made my stomach turn. I shook my head and cuddled deeper. She just sighed, “Raine, have you even eaten anything today? I know things have been… difficult lately, and I know you’re really struggling right now, but you need to eat. And get out of this room.”

“Don’t wanna,” I tried to hide myself.

“No, no, come on,” she pulled the blankets away. “Waffles for dinner. You don’t even have to eat all of them. Just a bit. Come on, up you get.” She grabbed my arm and managed to pull me up. I sighed and got out of the bed, rubbing my teary eyes.

I followed her down the stairs and to the kitchen.

“So, what’s the God of Ivory Tower like?” Amelia smiled.

“Really?” I sighed. “Well, he’s the god of storms and sanctuary. He brought two of his brothers to help get rid of the hunter…. His name is Cloud. He’s nice. Kind of dorky and insensitive, but means well.”

“Did you just call a god dorky?” She glanced at me.

“Well, I called him Mr. God earlier, and kind of insulted his name,” I couldn’t help but smile at the memory. “I talked to his brother. He’s going to be around here, protecting me. He’s a big white lion.”

“A lion?” Amelia laughed. “An actual white lion?”

“Yeah,” I laid my head down on the table.

“Well, I’m glad you like them,” she set a plate of waffles in front of me, along with some syrup and butter. I lathered on a bit of butter, and a lot of syrup. I ate slowly, not exactly liking the nauseating feeling in my stomach that likely came from not eating pretty much all day.

“I feel horrible,” I eventually mumbled, setting my head down on the table. I felt like I was going to cry. I sat up, trying to eat much slower now. Amelia was putting the remaining waffles in tupperware. I softly asked, “Is Amber going to be okay? Wolfsbane is pretty bad, right?”

She was silent for a moment, “He’s much weaker than most werewolves. He can barely transform without struggling. But, the arrow was in his arm. They…. They had to cut it off. He’ll be okay; werewolves can regenerate given enough time. He may be weak, but he’s stubborn. He’s not gonna die without a fight.”

“Good,” I sighed, nibbling on the waffles.

“...If you don’t want to eat that…,” Amelia slowly said. “You probably shouldn’t eat a lot at once, especially if you haven’t eaten at all today. I’ll just make you a big breakfast tomorrow.”

I bit my lower lip, then nodded. She took the plate from me. I hugged my stomach, laying my head down on the table once more. The nausea had mostly settled, but I still felt a bit sick.

“Don’t throw up everywhere,” Amelia said.

“I won’t,” I promised. “I-I’m gonna go to bed.” I got off the chair and slowly walked out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. I looked between the bed and the bathroom, deciding it was probably a good idea to brush my teeth.

When I got under the blankets, my eyes landed on my new phone. I hesitantly reached up and grabbed it.

12 missed calls and… a lot of text messages, all of them from Eli. My breath felt stiff and stale in my throat. Tears burned behind my eyes. I bit my lower lip, opening messages. I had to say something. But what? I had fucked up. I didn’t want him to know about my past, why I was always so scared, why I flinched when he touched me.

What could I possibly say? “I’m sorry” felt right, but also wrong. None of what had happened to me was my fault, even if my fucked-up brain told me it was. That was probably the worst part; I knew it wasn’t my fault, but it still felt like it was.

I ended up calling him instead.

“Oh, thank the gods,” Eli breathed when he answered. “I’ve been calling you all day, I was so worried! Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?” When I didn’t answer, his voice softened, “Raine? Are you there?”

“I’m tired,” I mumbled. “Cedar thinks I’m depressed, and Cloud says I probably have PTSD. And… I’m not on anything. Magic is real. I didn’t believe it either, not until I saw it.” I couldn’t help but weakly smile at the thought of Abraham’s wings and Cedar’s small wolf form. “I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“No, don’t apologize,” Eli said. “I would say I get it, but… I don’t. How about we run through this again? Slowly this time. What town are you in?”

“A little place,” I sighed. “It’s called Ivory Tower, but I don’t think it’s on any map or anything. Hell, it’s barely even a town. Probably, like, 500 people, if that.”

“Yeah, that’s a village, not a town,” Eli gently laughed. “Now what about all this magic stuff? Let’s start with the werewolves.”

“Well, Alpha Rose is the mayor,” I said. “She’s 17, and has two mates--Cedar and Amber. Amber was shot by that hunter, who is… one of my old… customers.” I took a deep breath, curling up a bit. “He’s at the hospital now. I was told they had to amputate his arm. B-but it’ll grow back! I think.”

“Okay, what about the whole vampire thing?” Eli prompted.

“Well, there’s two types of vampires,” I said. “Betas are the stereotypical vampires; sleep during the day, stay in groups, feed off multiple people…. There’s a community nearby. I don’t know much else about them. Then, alpha vampires don’t need to feed as often, can go out in the sun…. My co-worker’s half alpha vamp. Then, our boss is some sort of demon. He called me a runt.”

“Okay, so…. Werewolves, vampires, and demons,” Eli said. “What else?”

“Abraham is a fallen angel,” I shrugged. “Anna is just a plain angel. She tried to blackmail me. Didn’t work. Killian, my boss, fixed up my truck.” I paused for a moment, then hesitantly asked, “You… do believe me… right? I promise I’m not on anything. I mean, I’m sad and tired and scared, but I’m not on anything.”

“I… I’m not sure,” he slowly replied. “I believe that you’re not on drugs or drunk or anything like that but…. Werewolves and vampires? I mean, I’m pagan, but that’s a… a bit much for me to take in. I mean, it’s completely plausible. I’d just like to see some of this magic. Demi-humans I can believe, as well as the god part you mentioned.”

“Oh… right,” I sighed.

“So, the god?” Eli prompted.

“His name is Cloud,” I said, yawning. “He’s the god of storms and sanctuary, and has been watching over Ivory Tower for… a long time. I like him. I think I’m supposed to be his partner or something, I don’t know. It’s all been really chaotic lately.”

“...Raine, I don’t mean to seem rude but…,” Eli hesitated. “You…. You mentioned how the werewolf hunter was… your old customer? Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” I nuzzled the pillow. “I just…. I wanted to put it all behind me. I wanted to move on. But Anna just had to try to blackmail me with all the money so I had to tell everyone. It was the only way to have any sort of control.”

“And… how did people react?” Eli asked.

“...Surprisingly well,” I replied. “Abraham thanked me for telling him. Alpha Rose doesn’t seem to care. Cloud and his brothers want to help me heal. Killian and Mika don’t seem to really care. Abraham told me that Ivory Tower accepts those who are running. I-I’m tired.”

“Yeah, it’s getting pretty late,” he said. “I’ll let you go now. But if you ever want to talk, just call. Any time. You know I barely sleep.”

“Yeah…,” I slowly nodded. “Thanks, Eli.”