Nyctophilia

Chapter twenty six.

What has she done?

"He needs help." Astrid's hateful gaze swept over to Marina, the deep, unending pent up anger clear in her eyes. No one really knew just how Astrid could slip off until Aria had been.

Marina's arms trembled in shock. Was something wrong with her? Had someone stole the last bit of sanity she had so deliberately tried to hang on to? Was she really nothing more than a loose canon waiting to snap and fire at others?

Fuck—

"He needs help, now." Astrid sneered before pushing Alec and Nate to help her carry Ezra.

Marina's head was swaying. Had she really lost control of her emotions? Had she really stabbed Ezra purely in anger? Had she blacked out?

The black outs never really been frequent, and even then Marina had never truly hurt someone out of spite. It scared her. It scared her so fucking much.

Astrid took out a med-kit the cage already had. She started patching up the mess Marina had created, but not before giving her a firm look.

Marina wanted to leave for Moscow, forget about all this shit and pull her duvet over her body.

Ezra winced and hissed at every stitch Astrid had not so skillfully stitched. Her knowledge in all the wounds was as light as it came– bruises, stitches, bullet wounds and stab wounds.

For an assassin, that was enough to know her way around accidents.

Ezra's half closed eyes fluttered close, his mouth twisting in pain as he muttered, "I knew behind all that ice you cared."

Astrid momentarily stopped moving her hands and pointed to the corner of the room— to the camera there— and pressed her lips together, "There are cameras. I could be arrested for sitting on my ass and watching you die."

"Don't tell me you haven't considered it." He groaned in pain.

Alec rested his hand on Astrid's shoulder. Astrid sighed, "Maybe once." Ezra raised his brows in question, "Alright maybe thrice." Astrid corrected herself.

Ezra chuckled, or well tried to but ended up coughing. Astrid looked over her shoulder to Marina, "You have some explaining to do."

Marina was staring at nothing, her throat bobbed once as if she swallowed what she had just happened.

Astrid pitied her— pitied her because she knew the agency was not a good place and Marina had stayed there, claiming she had no where else to go. Perhaps all the wrong doings were finally catching up to her.

Or perhaps Astrid saw Marina as someone she would've been in a few more decades. Just more... vile and nasty.

Definitely more vile and nasty.

"...and done." Astrid grinned in victory, poking the now stitched wound, making Ezra stifle back a hiss.

"Has anyone ever told that you're–"

"Fantastic, charming, breath takingly beautiful?"

Ezra glared at her. "–annoying."

Astrid flipped him off with the wave of her hand, "The words you're looking for are thank you, Astrid. You're truly amazing."

"How about you get fucked?"

"Only if you watch me." Astrid smiled politely. She forgot how fun it was to be charmingly polite.

"Spare us the fucking bullshit and..." Alec interrupted, tilting his head and motioning for a still stunned Marina.

"Just be calm and don't flip out on her, Ash." Nate suggested. Why did everyone think she had a temper of a wet cat? She was rather charismatic.