Identity (Editing)

Chapter 20

When I finally wake up, all that I can make out is the brightness of the lights above me. They burn into my irises and I quickly shut my eyes again until I can adjust. There are hushed murmurs from across the room, a man and a woman talking under their breaths.

 “… She will be here for a while. In all honesty, if you were just a few seconds later, she probably wouldn’t have made it.”

 “I’m just glad she will recover.” I recognize both of their voices but can’t place them. The best option is to pretend to be asleep so that I can get some basis of what is going on. What happened to me..?  I try to think back, but I’m met only with fuzzy memories and a splitting headache. I groan softly and the voices taper off. They must have heard me because a couple of seconds later, there is a cool hand pressed against my forehead.

 “Kylee?” Asks the woman softly as the hand moves through my tangled hair. “Are you awake?”

 “Y-yes...” I croak out, wincing when I hear my hoarse and broken voice. I look up at the blurred woman, realizing it must be the nurse. The man, however, is a different story. His rust coloured eyes watch me cautiously and I practically jump out of the small cot. The nurse grabs my arms lightly, obviously trying not to hurt me any more than I evidently am.

 “W-why are you here? What happened to me?” I demand, my voice slowly gaining strength behind each word.

 “You were attacked,” he answers calmly and averts his gaze, glancing down at the tiled floor. “I found you lying unconscious in the hall.” His words trail off and I instantly know that he’s hiding something.

 “You’re lying.” I accuse, glaring at him and trying to ignore the spinning room around me. The blues and whites of the walls start to blur together and I take a few deep breaths to steady myself.

 “No, sweetie. He’s telling the truth.” The nurse says calmly, her aqua eyes narrowing slightly as she tries to determine what to do next.

 “N-no… He’s not…” Some of the memories start to resurface and I hold the sides of my head, pulling my knees up to my chest and rocking slightly. “I was kidnapped… There was a man… No, two… One had wings… I… I can’t remember his name.” I sigh and stop trying to think so hard. It’s just making the headache worse. The man looks back up at me and, for a second, the unemotional mask on his face cracks.

 “Kylee…” He bows his head, his long white hair drifting over the red and golden shoulder pads.

 “How do you know my name?” I ask, starting to grow nervous. He’s said it before and I know for a fact that I never told him.

 “The nurse recognized you. She told me your name.” He says quickly and I shake my head, regretting it instantly as a dull pain shoots up the back of my neck. He takes a step closer but then pauses.

 “You called my name before, when we met in the forest.” He gives me a confused look that seems just a little too practiced. 

"It must have been the wind." He says coolly and I give him a dubious look. I know what I heard, but something tells me he will just keep denying it. Maybe I should take a different approach, then.

 "What's your name?" I ask, switching topics. It seems to take him off guard but he quickly recovers.

 "It's Duke." His voice is monotone and the mask once again covers his emotions. What is with this guy? I'm about to respond when the nurse starts to push me back, trying to get me to lie down.

 "You need to rest." She tells me softly as my back presses into the thin white mattress.

 "But..." I reach out, trying to push her away so that I can stand up, but freeze when I see my wrist. The skin is singed a morbid black colour and the area around it is a pale white that seems borderline unnatural.