Monsters: The Folklore Trilogy Book 3

Where We Heal

Reminder: Sierra and Audrey has a big fight that was cut short by a Whisperer approaching. They just defeated Amarie's basilisk form.

~~~

We sat around a small fire that Ore had pulled together. Someone had taken out the sandwiches, but no one was eating.

Except Deynan. He was eating. But quietly.

Amarie was clutching her knees to her chest and staring at Audrey with wide eyes. Audrey was determinedly staring at the fire, her brown eyes flickering with light. It suited her innate ferocity. Her overwhelming toughness.

For the first time, my heart ached for Audrey. What had happened that made her so defensive? Where had all her brazen wildness come from?

Ore toddled up to the tiny campfire and tossed in some twigs. They crackled gleefully, and a few sparks darted up through the air.

Finally, the silence had become too much for me to bear. "Can we talk about this? Please?"

Audrey's eyes snapped up. "About what?" she snarled.

I swallowed. "Um, I'm honestly not sure. I'm not good at this kind of stuff? But everything is awkward and no one is talking to each other and I hate it." I looked down. "So yeah."

The fire popped.

"I'm interested in how Amarie didn't pass out this time," Sophie said quietly. "When she detransformed, I mean. That was new."

Audrey studied the back of her fingerless glove. "Yeah, that was weird," she muttered. "What was up with that?"

Amarie seemed to shrink. "I-I'm not sure. It's never happened before." She started chewing on her lower lip.

"Well, I was paralyzed half the time, so don't ask me," Deynan stated. He took another bite of the sandwich.

Amarie stared at him. "What?"

He froze, his cheeks still full of food. "Mmm?"

"Deynan was paralyzed," I repeated for him. "He looked into your eyes."

"Idiot," Sophie muttered.

Deynan glared at her and swallowed. "Rude!"

"He didn't...he didn't die?" Amarie whispered, almost too quiet to hear.

Deynan looked at her weirdly. "I mean, no? I don't think so?" He stretched out his arms in front of him. "I feel pretty not-dead."

Amarie furrowed her eyebrows. "Oh. That's good, I suppose but...it doesn't make any sense."

"Because basilisk victims are only paralyzed if you see them through reflections," I realized.

Amarie nodded, looking puzzled. "How did you know?"

"He's a nerd," Deynan snorted.

I felt my face heating up. "Okay, look, everyone has seen Harry Potter, this isn't something obscure."

"He has a point," Sierra said.

Amarie looked confused, but continued. "It's just strange to me that it worked differently this time. Are you sure you weren't looking through a piece of glass?"

"Pretty sure," Deynan replied.

"Didn't petrify me at all," Audrey muttered.

Amarie's eyes widened. "What?"

Audrey shrugged uncomfortably. "It was like, this whole unworthy thing, and I have confidence in my worth, and nothing happened."

Amarie sat quietly for a moment. "Oh. I guess that makes sense. But...I'm sorry, she usually kills people." She bit her lip. "The basilisk is my most ruthless form. I don't get it."