New World

37 | Parley

Lila had fallen asleep peacefully, unusually peacefully. Since returning to Los Angeles it had taken her hours to get to sleep—unusual for her, who could usually nap and sleep anywhere—but something about the stars and the sounds of the cool forest made her tired and peaceful, and so she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

She'd woken in the night to the sound of rustling in the trees, then twigs snapping as someone walked toward the tents. Thinking it was someone from inside the city, she'd grabbed her dagger from her side and left her tent, grabbing the person's collar of their shirt and holding them tight. Lila pressed her dagger to their throat with her other hand.

"It's me!" She heard Kit whisper loudly. His breath hit the top of her head. "Calm down."

Her grip on his shirt loosened and she dropped her hand holding the dagger. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"I needed to walk somewhere. You know, clear my mind or whatever," Kit replied. "Why are you awake? You're never awake this late."

"You woke me up," she told him. She pulled her earthy-green hoodie tighter around her, sleeves over her hands after tucking the dagger in the front pocket. "Where did you and Ty go earlier? I heard both of you leave and then I fell back asleep."

Kit stayed silent. They could see their breaths in the cold air.

"We went to the lake," he said finally, quietly. "We did the spell."

Lila's eyes widened. "What?" She exclaimed quietly as she could. "Why didn't you or Ty tell me?"

"You said you didn't want to be part of it—"

"That doesn't mean don't tell me!" She froze suddenly. She looked up at Kit, who was already looking at her. "Is Livvy here? What happened? Did you bring her back?"

"No." Kit sounded almost upset. "The spell didn't work. We saw Livvy's ghost, and she told Ty he'd done the wrong thing, basically. Then she disappeared."

"Is Ty okay?"

Kit shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. We just left after the spell and I went for a walk."

Lila felt her tenseness fade. "Oh."

"I'm really sorry, Lila." Kit sounded so genuine—and slightly sad—that it prompted her to look up from her feet, covered by fluffy socks.

She shrugged her shoulders lightly. "It's fine." The wave of emotion in her voice suggested otherwise and she sniffled.

Kit moved forward, hesitantly. Lila's eyes were trained to the side of him, her head turned slightly too. His arms tentatively went around her, slightly awkward at first as they went around her, and she stretched to raise her own around his neck, holding him tight. The tears started rolling down her cheeks, catching on the side of her nose.

"I don't want to be here without Livvy," she said quietly, words muffled thick from sadness and muffled slightly thanks to Kit's shirt. "We've never been apart. I need her back," she cried.

"I know. You'll be okay. I promise." Kit sounded full of emotion also. His arms tightened around her, almost as tight as she was holding him.

Kit had gone to his tent soon after, and Lila had found Ty's, intending to just talk to him. But she found he'd fallen asleep, and couldn't find it in herself to wake him up. She could faintly see, thanks to the dim torch light outside the tents, shining trails on his cheeks—tears.

She'd gone back to her tent after that, mind captured on Livvy. Had she gone back to where she was before Ty tried bringing her back?

Lila fell back asleep with a hand wrapped around her necklace tightly, a small comfort in a strange and unknown world.