Gene’s stomach twisted, but he only scanned the area around him again. Was everything as it seemed?

Libraries are safe, right? A library had never hurt him before.

Yet.

Swallowing, Gene hesitantly met Mislav’s eyes again. His hazel-green eyes. They always unnerved him when he woke up, though Gene could never figure out why.

“Wh-when did I fa…ll asleep?” Gene asked awkwardly, leaning against his arm to help him stand. The other wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his shirt. “I-is… it time to go?”

Mislav’s arms faltered, letting the horrible bear drop slightly as he glanced over his shoulder. Misiu’s beady black eyes stared blankly at Gene as Mislav's back was turned. Watching him.

Waiting.

Gene’s skin crawled, but he avoided its gaze.

“I don’t think so,” Mislav said softly, turning to face Gene as he hugged Misiu closer. “You fell asleep while I was reading to you. I didn’t wake you up because you’ve barely slept recently, but… yeah.”

His voice was defeated at the end.

More tears swelled in Gene’s eyes, but he just sniffed and wiped them away as he looked around again. His heartbeat was slowly calming.

“Did Damaris see me sleeping?” Gene asked.

“No,” Mislav answered too quickly. He’d been prepared for the question.

He’d lied.

Heart flipping, Gene turned to meet Mislav’s eyes with another anxious look. Mislav struggled to fake a smile for him, but they both knew the truth.

Gene couldn’t help imagining what had happened.

Damaris had come along, probably looking to check on them. She'd found seen him sleeping. Did Mislav try to hide him from her? Had she blown up at him in rage for his audacity?

No. Because Damaris wouldn’t have been angry at him just for sleeping. Probably.

Hopefully.

Gene’s breath calmed as he remembered what Damaris was really like. Although he’d never been able to understand why, she terrified him. Gene always felt himself assuming the worst of her—thinking she’d do horrible things—even though she’d never done anything wrong.

At least, not to him. Not as far as he knew.

Memories tickled at the back of Gene’s head. Thorny rose vines swirled around him, a woman resembling Damaris snarled as she looked down on him, and sharp pain pierced his wrists—

Shocked, Gene looked down at them.

Although he couldn’t see it, Gene knew Mislav’s eyes followed his.

A trail of crimson beads snaked up Gene’s arms, staining his sleeves with blood. It was as though invisible thorns had poked through his sleeves and pierced his arms. Like in his dream.

Gene’s breath caught in his throat, but a gasp that wasn't his made him look up.

Mislav was staring down at Gene’s arms in horror, his mouth agape and face pale.

“Gene?” Mislav asked, voice quiet.

His eyes went wide.

“Wait, please—”

“DAMARIS!” Mislav called, flipping on his heel, dropping Misiu to the ground, and lifting his arms to wave them in the air.

NonononoNO! Gene thought, frantically pressing his arms against his chest. She’s going to be furious I ruined this shirt!!!

“Mislav!?” Damaris’s voice called back. Within a few moments, she rounded a corner of bookshelves.

A woman with golden-brown skin and dark, curly brown hair was hurrying to them. Except, she wasn’t the woman from Gene’s dream. Damaris’s face was softer than hers. Kinder.

But that didn't keep Gene from fearing Damaris. Nor did the fact that he didn't even remember the woman from his dreams.

“What’s wro—” Damaris started, but Mislav spoke over her.

“Gene’s bleeding!”

“What!?” Damaris exclaimed, quickly coming to a stop in front of them. “What happened!?”

Gene backed away. His back hit the wall behind him.

Justlikehisdream—

But no stem or vines wrapped around him this time. Nothing tried to hurt him.

Damaris’s eyes looked Gene up and down while he held his breath and pressed his forearms against his chest.

Her eyes were dark brown, not hazel.

Mislav’s voice drew them from Gene, giving him the chance to breathe.

“I–I don’t know?” Mislav stammered. He looked at Gene worriedly. “Gene, please show her…?”

Gene looked between them like a deer in the scope of a hunter’s rifle, paralyzed.

Damaris stepped forward to kneel in front of him, dropping to eye level. He squeezed his eyes shut, turned his head away, and struggled not to cry.

Even though he refused to see her, he knew Damaris to be drawing a necklace from beneath her shirt. A zhaprita, they called it. But Gene knew it by another name.

Conduit.

An item with magic infused within it, ready to transform another person's energy into magic. But the one Damaris had wasn't just any old conduit—it was from Rholvny. No matter how many times Damaris healed him with it, Gene could never get over that.

Another set of footsteps approached Gene. Mislav’s. Then gentle hands took Gene’s wrists to pull his arms from his chest.

Gene hesitantly let them, but squeezed his eyes tighter.

There was a long moment of silence.

“Where…?” Damaris’s voice finally said uncertainly, breaking it.

Shocked, Gene tore his eyes open to look at his arms. They were completely untainted by the blood that’d stained them only seconds before.

“I-I swear, I saw—” Mislav stuttered.

Gene stared down at his clean sleeves in silent shock.

We couldn’t have both imagined that… right? he wondered, aghast.

“Misha,” Damaris began softly. But then she trailed off and cleared her throat before switching to: “Zhenya, can you look at me?”

Swallowing, Gene pulled his hands from Mislav’s to brush his hair from his eyes and hesitantly look at her.

Damaris was almost the splitting image of the woman from his dream. The only real differences were her dark brown eyes, softer features, and kind demeanor. There wasn’t even a hint of the cruelty the woman from his dream had shown him.

“Are you okay?” Damaris asked gently. Her eyes dipped to look at his arms, but quickly lifted to meet his again. “What happened?”

“N-nothing,” Gene blurted, struggling to keep his eyes on hers.

“WHAT!?” Mislav shrieked.

Gene flinched and sharply looked at him.

Mislav’s face was twisted and shoulders were squared back in anger.

Mislav won't hurt me, Gene had to reassure himself. He mostly believed it.

Indeed, Mislav only flipped on his heel and marched off, stomping with each step.

Throat tight, Gene hesitantly looked back to Damaris. She glanced over at him at the same time, an uncertain look on her face.

“Are you sure everything’s okay?” she asked softly. Her fingers rubbed the conduit's red gem. “You’re not hurting at all? I can—”

“No,” Gene blurted.

He'd interrupted her.

Fighting a cringe, Gene dropped his eyes and turned his head away once again. His hair fell in his eyes, hiding his face from her as he'd hoped.

But she won’t hurt me. Damaris is fine. She won’t hurt me, he tried reassuring himself.

He still couldn't quite believe it. His pounding heart proved that much.

“I don’t need healing,” he said softly. “I’m fine. I… don’t know what Mislav… thought he saw.”

Damaris was silent as she watched him and Gene finally let himself cringe.

She knows I’m lying. Obviously I’m lying. It’s not like this is the first time something like this has happened.

But Damaris let out a slow sigh and rose to her feet, making Gene look up at her. She rubbed the gem of the conduit between her forefinger and thumb as she looked the direction Mislav went.

“Do you want me to go after him, or...?” Damaris asked, voice trailing off.

Swallowing, Gene quickly retrieved his cane and Misiu—the horrible bear Mislav loved so much—from the ground.

“I can,” he said softly before hurrying after his friend.

Gene couldn’t see Mislav, but he knew where he was.

How?

Gene didn't know. But nor did he question it.

Why would he?