The Last Shadow

Chapter 6- Fixation

"What have you done? You're a monster. Monster!"

The voices encircled Eva, getting louder and louder to the point where blood started to trickle down from her ear. Desperately, she clawed at the side of her head, begging for the voices to stop yelling. "Please! I'm so sorry. It wasn't my fault. I-I didn't mean to." She choked, sliding down onto her knees as tears spilled out of her eyes.

"Wasn't your fault? Of course it was." The rest of the voices seemed to die away, leaving only one distinct voice. Eva looked up at the source of the voice, one that in the little she'd heard of it, she'd come to adore. Azriel stood before her, looking down menacingly upon her form. The understanding she'd seen in his eyes earlier were nowhere to be seen; they had been replaced by a cold, calculated look. This was the face he bore as a warrior, and it was only in that moment that Eva could see Azriel as truly terrifying.

"Azriel, please I-" Eva was cut off by a sharp slap across her face, which caused her body to fall sideways and hit the ground. Upon impact, all of the breath left her body and she was left gasping for air.

Azriel crouched down so that his face was level with hers, "You're a murderer." Azriel sneered, pure hatred glistening in his eyes.

"No." Eva sobbed, reaching out a hand so that she might touch him. Just as her fingers grazed his cheek, he disappeared into the darkness and the scene shifted.

It was that night again.

As before, her mother's mangled body lay in a pool of blood, while her sister cried in the corner of the room. But this time, she wasn't alone. Before her, stood the inner circle, watching Eva aghast. Slowly, one by one they all raised their fingers, pointing at Eva in an accusatory way.

"You did this." Feyre snarled at Eva, and one by one the others joined in, their chant increasing in volume. Pleading, Eva searched the faces of each of them in turn, but as soon as she made eye contact with them, they quickly averted their gaze.

Finally, Eva's eyes fell upon Azriel, the only one not participating in the chant. Unlike the others, he didn't look angry or afraid: he looked shell-shocked, just as he had at dinner.

"Eva," Azriel breathed, his voice raspy and sweat glistening in his forehead as if he were under immense strain, "It's you. You're my-"
   
                                      ***

Like before, Eva woke in a cold sweat, her whole body trembling. The room was still dark, yet Eva's enhanced eyesight allowed her to see her sister lying peacefully next to her, blissfully unaware of Eva's mental turmoil.

For a moment, it was as if Eva could imagine that she'd never gone to the training session, and had never met the inner circle. But her nightmare acted as proof, if anything else, that she had met the illusive inner circle.

Eva cast her mind back to her dream, specifically to Azriel. Normally, the only people's opinion's she cared for were that of her sister and Elvira. After all, they were the only two people who truly knew her. And yet, when Azriel had looked at Eva so coldly, she'd never felt more ashamed in her life.

And then there was the matter of what he was about to say. "You're my-" Eva recalled him saying before she had jolted herself awake. With a feeling of dread in her stomach, Eva felt as if she already knew the end of his sentence; and the thought terrified her.

In fact, ever since Feyre had seem Eva out and she'd winnowed home, all she could think and fret about was Azriel. The moment they had shared in the dining room had left Eva more rattled than she'd like to admit.