Asylum

Ace Up My Sleeve

Once we gathered back to Ren's place, I instructed those random people with guns to help the Sages in any way they could. It was all hands on deck tonight – Leo's broken arm, Ren's twisting knife injuries, and Kya's new blood drop hand everyone scrambling around in a flurry. All the Sages flocked to Ren when they saw blood on their master's body, but predictably, he gave the order for Kya to be top priority. Regardless of his now painfully-obvious feelings for her, Kya looked like she needed some serious help.

In Russia, I've seen a lot of infection from septic wounds. People's limbs went black and numb, their teeth fell out, their eyes became sources of diseases... But I've never seen anything quite like Kya's condition. Her skin was yellow, her hair was more silver than brown and plastered to her sweaty face, her body was ceasing, and as she walked by, waves of heat emanating from her body pounced on me. She would need a lot more than an ice bath tonight.

Once Leo's arm was set and Ren was stitched up, Ren tried to go into the private bedroom with Kya, where the Sages were tending to him. When they wouldn't let him through due to "spatial disorder" and his "distracting presence," Ren finally gave up and paced around the pavilion like a starving dog, which rounds us up to the present.

Ren sees me staring at the koi fish pond. He seems a bit tentative to join me, but I think he wants to take his mind off everything. "Everything" probably being one girl who has somehow wiggled her way into the hearts of everyone she meets.

"I didn't expect you to be here," Ren admits, standing next to me as we watch the rippling water. Pink water lilies dot the rectangular body of water down the entire stretch of the dojo, crickets chirp in the distance, and the gentlest of breezes caress our skin. From the outside looking in, it's a perfect night.

"Where did you expect me to be, then?"

Ren shrugs, half of him in the present and half of him elsewhere. "Wherever you normally disappear. You're never training, and I hardly see you eat. It's like you're not even here sometimes."

"I know the extent of my power," I justify. "And where I grew up and how I grew up, I've adjusted to a miniscule diet. You'll rarely see me eat."

He frowns, and I wonder when he started frowning. He's always been more of a grimacing type of guy. Then again...when did Kya accept her powers, including the dark ones? When did Leo finally get a girlfriend and an ounce of confidence? When did I rethink my meaning of life? "You know, you never told me where you're from, still."

Perking one of my brows up, I echo, "Still? When did you ever ask?"

He surprises me with his detailed answer. "The Asylum pool, when we were still plotting our escape. I asked where you were from, but you never told me. It's fine if you don't want to. You're obviously a private person. I can relate to that."

Relate? To me? It sounds farfetched, but then again, I don't know everything about Ren, either. "Russia," I answer, startling him. "I grew up in an orphanage before running away and joining a gun-running gang."

Slowly, Ren nods his hand, digesting this rare bit of information. "That explains the steely mannerisms," he jokes. "And that's where you met Reaper?"

"Yep," I confirm. "What's the story with you?"

"Complicated," Ren says. "My mother died giving birth to me, my father blamed me and I accidentally killed him. Then because of that my older brother tried to kill me, but died by falling off that cliff over there when he slipped during one of our battles. My younger half-brother ran away because of everything. It was just a lot."

"Funny how when we think about the same thing for so long, we can abbreviate it."

Ren smirks. "I didn't know you found anything funny."