Once Bitten *On Hiatus*

𝕾𝖎𝖝𝖙𝖞 𝕺𝖓𝖊

• 𝓛𝓾𝓬𝓪 •

It had been one month since Mae died. One month. Noah had drawn so far into himself that he didn't come out of his room. He locked himself in there and only allowed me in if I told him I couldn't rest. That I needed him. That my thoughts were going haywire.

And they were. A lot of the time I found myself walking past her room and stopping just to open the door. I still carried the key to her room in my pocket, as if I'd need it. Her room was unlocked all the time now, her carpet replaced and her bed stripped for the next person to come in. It was almost like no one had ever been in there. It was too clean. It didn't even smell like her anymore.

Kite continued to try to figure out where they were keeping Zero, but no one was telling him. His father kept his lips sealed, not only of Zero's location, but also of where he'd buried Mae.

Kite thinks he put her outside the district walls for the animals, and that idea pissed me off. It likely would have pissed Noah off as well, but even when I spoke to him, it seemed like he barely heard me. He was completely lost in whatever Hell he created in his mind.

Seraph...I hadn't seen him at all since Mae died. He didn't answer his door, no matter what I said. No matter what Kite said. No matter what we promised.

Kite had been told where Zero had been in her room when he was watching her. And even that information didn't pull Seraph out of it. In a way, I think he was doing worse than Noah. At least I could force blood into Noah. I didn't know whether Seraph had any in the past month or not. How could he? He never left his room. I tried leaving bags outside of his door, but when I went to check it the next day, it was still there.

I pushed open the door to Kite's office and looked at him. He stared down at his desk, his strawberry blonde hair unbrushed and in his eyes.

We all blamed ourselves, in a way. We all had regrets.

Kite felt like he should have believed Seraph when he said Mae told him that Zero was in her room. He scoured that room for hours after her body was carted away, only to see markings in her walk in closet. He'd been in her closet, watching her through the small crack between the doors.

Kite regretted the way he treated her. The way he had to be the face of South District more often than he could be kind to her.

Noah blamed himself for not being quicker. And because he wasn't much of a fighter, he second guessed himself. Even in those last moments.

Seraph blamed himself for not acting before she called out for him. For not noticing Zero in the room when he went to visit with her. For not feeling him. And while none of us blamed him - Zero had a power none of us even realized - he blamed himself. Constantly. He found the one person he could feel things for, and he didn't trust the feeling of fear coming from her.

But why would he? Something I learned about Seraph early on, was the fact that he didn't feel many emotions himself. Fear was probably never on his radar, so how could he have known for sure that what he was feeling from her was fear?

I should have never pushed off Seraph's concern. I shouldn't have pushed it under the rug, telling him it was his fault she was afraid, when in reality, Zero was in the room with her. Hurting her. Killing her.

What good were those regrets? What would it change?

Absolutely nothing. She was gone.

"Kite," I said.

He looked up, blinking like he hadn't realized I walked in.

"Any news?"

He shook his head slowly. "My father isn't telling me where Zero is being held. He's not telling me where she's buried, which makes me think he did the exact opposite of what I said. He's not telling me anything."

It wasn't for lack of trying. I think all of us would have at least a bit of closure if we knew what he did with her. That's what was the strangest thing. No one said anything about her. When I tried asking people within the castle at one point, they acted like they had no idea who Mae was.

That in itself told me she wasn't buried. I think Kite knew it too, but he didn't want to believe it.

I fell back into one of his chairs and stared across from me, at the chair Mae had occupied a month before. The last time she was in this room. How sick she looked before she disappeared. How afraid she was.

She died afraid. And we couldn't even say sorry for not getting to her in time.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. "Do you think we could figure out a way to get Noah and Seraph out of their rooms?"

Kite laughed sardonically. "Unless we say we're going to force answers out of my father, I don't think either of them will come out."

"Can we go try and force answers out of your father," I asked. "The least he can do is tell us what he did with her. Fuck Zero. Eventually he'll be released and we'll kill him. That's just a waiting game."

And we would kill him. I was thinking we could kill him based on one of Mae's entries, that way he was killed in one of the ways she would have wanted.

Kite was quiet for so long that I peeked one eye open to check on him. He was staring at the door to his office, his expression blank.

"I think we should," Kite said. "At least we can try. I don't think he'll answer...but it's worth a shot."

I sat up, surprised that he agreed. If anything, even if it didn't work, it would get the other two out of their rooms long enough for us to check on them. Maybe get them some blood. And I knew Seraph would likely come out if we said we were going to go confront Titus.

Standing, I stretched my hands above my head and smiled at Kite. "Let's go then."

He stood as well, nerves evident as he came to meet me. It was now or never, and never wasn't an option.