Otherworld

Snow White: Part 2 [King]

Snow White: Part 2

[King]

I woke up to a crash, my eyes flying open and staring directly up at a dark ceiling. A frown worked onto my face and I cocked my head against the pillows. I reached up to rub at my eyes for a moment, then laid my arm out across the bed and it took me a moment to realize that Ayo wasn't laying in the bed next to me.

I sat up slowly and felt around the bed, but it was empty aside from myself. A bad feeling crept through me as I slid off the bed and moved across the room, turning the lights on to reveal that I was alone in the room. I looked around for a moment longer before my eyes widened.

Oh, that little shit.

I threw the door open and sprinted from the room, moving down the stairs and running into the den, only to pull up short when I saw Ayo laying on the floor in front of the fireplace, shattered glass laying around him and the dagger embedded in his shoulder. I cursed and ran over to him, using a pillow to brush the glass away from us before I knelt on it to pick Ayo up into my arms, wrenching the dagger out and tossing it aside. His wound already began to heal in his shoulder, but he wasn't waking up.

If anything, he looked eerily peaceful laying there in my arms, his braids falling over his shoulders and down to the floor, dark lashes against his mocha skin. I clenched my teeth, stroking the braids away from his face, which was set in an expression of peace and serenity.

"You stupid idiot." I snarled down at him, drawing my hand to my mouth and sinking my fangs into it before I drew it to his lips and pressed, smearing the blood there. And I waited, still holding Ayo in my arms, holding my breath as I waited for him to wake up, but he wasn't moving. I cursed and slammed my fist down on the ground beside us, giving Ayo a violent shake.

"Wake up," I hissed at him, "Kid, open your eyes!" He didn't respond. I pressed my fingers to his throat, feeling a pulse, a slow steady pulse. I drew my ear down to his lips, just double-checking and sure enough, his breath was coming out in even patterns, indicating he was asleep.

For eternity.

Shit!

I should've known he was going to do something stupid like this! He'd been acting strange all day, as soon as I mentioned the dagger, he got this glint in his eye like he couldn't resist accepting my offer, and not for the reason I intended. How long had he been planning to do something like this? What was his alternative? A sick feeling swelled in my gut and I gave Ayo another shake, but to no avail.

Even worse, I could hear movement in the house and no doubt, his parents had heard the crash and were coming to investigate. I cursed and set Ayo on the floor, scrambling to grab the dagger and started to get to my feet before I paused, clenching my teeth. I looked down at Ayo on the floor, laying there in utter silence.

He told me to leave if this happened.

But for some reason, my legs wouldn't move. I couldn't bring myself to turn my back on him, not now. His parents wouldn't understand why he did this. Hell, even I was having troubles coming to terms with this. I'd known Ayo for a good while now. He'd gone to school with one of my members, Raine. He was a good kid, but he was fiercely independent and always kept things to himself. It was a miracle he showed any emotion at all.

But I knew very well that he felt out of place, especially in his own home. I'd been a victim of the foster care system since I was an infant. My parents had dumped me into a sewer main and it was only by chance that I'd been found by a construction worker. I'd been to at least five different foster homes before I couldn't take it anymore. No matter what they did, I felt never quite right in their homes. I felt like a stranger. And not all the foster homes had been made up of kind loving parents. I finally took off when I was fifteen and took to the streets of Styx instead.