Monsters: The Folklore Trilogy Book 3

In Which We Attempt To Recover

Sorry for the long, long delay! Hopefully there will be more updates soon!

Summary: The seven are going to Lilitua again to defeat Damius and "The Boss". Whisperers attack Amarie to turn her into a monster. Damius just attacked the school and they're in pretty bad shape. Audrey and Sierra had a fight.

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I curled up tighter, though my arm was aching from pressing into the wood for so long. My eyes squeezed shut, I resisted the urge to wipe the dried tears from my cheeks. I maintained the illusion of being asleep.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed since my fight with Audrey. It felt like an hour, but I couldn't be sure. Words I had said drifted back to me like a tormented dream. What I accused her of...what she had said to me...

What have I done?

I suddenly felt a presence on the bench next to me and immediately tensed up. Was it Audrey? I needed to apologize, but I wasn't ready yet. I wouldn't know what to say.

"Hey."

Oh. It was Ravi.

"I know you're awake, Sierra. Sleeping people are a lot more relaxed."

I cracked one eye open. "Guess I'm not very good at pretending, huh?"

He laughed softly. "No, not really."

I sighed and slowly sat up, my limbs aching. I took a furtive glance around the boat. Isaac, Amarie, and Sophie were sitting in a circle by the flagpole, not speaking. Ore seemed to have brought them food at one point, but no one was really eating. Deynan sat on the other side, staring at the water.

Audrey was still on the bow, as far away from me as possible. My heart lurched.

"Hey," Ravi said softly. "Don't feel bad."

I looked at him in disbelief. "How? How am I not supposed to feel bad? I yelled at one of my best friends!" I closed my eyes, a slightly queasy feeling building in my stomach. "I feel horrible."

Ravi looked a little uncomfortable. He shrugged. "I mean, I'm not good at the whole friend thing, but fights are normal from time to time. I'm pretty sure."

I smiled weakly. "I guess." I sighed. "I don't know. I did kind of attack her entire view on life."

"Well, she attacked yours first," he pointed out.

I waved a dismissive hand. "That's not the point. I engaged, and I hate fighting with people and I just..." I sighed again. "I shouldn't have said anything. I just made everything worse."

Ravi frowned. "I don't think so. You stood up for what you believed in. You defended yourself. Maybe you shouldn't have lashed out after that, but you shouldn't let people walk over you."

I shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess."

There was a pause. I tucked some hair behind my ear, suddenly feeling self-conscious about my puffy eyes and red cheeks.

"Do you want to talk about something else?" Ravi asked suddenly.

I looked up guiltily. "Yes, please."

He smiled, the brilliant kind of smile you only see on someone who really, truly cares. "Alright. What's your favorite color?"

I blinked. I hadn't been expecting that. "Oh. Um, I'm not really sure. I went through a pink phase, that's for sure. But I always feel bad about picking a favorite color. Makes the other ones feel left out, you know?"

Ravi laughed and I smiled. It was kind of silly.

"I like it," he declared. "I usually go with red for my favorite, but maybe I should change my narrow-minded ways."