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And I don’t think I have any other choice.
Now that he knows the truth, he’ll never leave me alone. But if I let him meet them just this once, maybe it’ll give me enough buffer time to slip away with them tonight.
“Promise me…” I let out a breath. “That you won’t take them from me.”
He thinks about it for a long time before nodding his head. “I promise you.”
10
CASSIUS
TWENTY YEARS AGO
“???????!” The sound of Irina’s voice—my mother’s voice—rings out sharply in the night, pulling me from my sleep. Panic and terror lace her tone, immediately setting every nerve in my body on edge. She bursts into my room, eyes wide and frantic, desperately searching for me in the dim light.
My mom made it a habit to speak our native tongue around us because she never wanted us to lose the ability.
“?????” I ask, sitting up groggily.
“???????, ?? ? ?????????,” she whispers urgently, coming closer to my bed. Her hands tremble slightly, but she tries to maintain a calm façade for my sake. “?? ?????? ??????????.” Hide. The word echoes in my mind, sending a chill down my spine.
I finally grasp the urgency in my mother’s eyes. “Our home is under attack, Cassius,” she whispers, her voice trembling. “You must hide, now!”
Her words send a jolt of fear through me, and I fight to steady my breath. I nod, swallowing hard. Father had always prepared us for the possibility that something like this could happen, but now that it actually was…
“Where do I go?” I ask, scanning my room for any potential hiding spots.
“Follow me,” Irina says, her hands shaking as she tries to maintain a calm demeanor, clearly for my sake. She leads me across the room, revealing a door hidden behind a large painting.
“Get inside, quickly,” she urges, holding the door open for me. As I step into the small, dark closet, my heart pounds against my rib cage. The space feels suffocating, but it’s better than my life being at risk.
“Stay silent,” she instructs, her voice cracking with emotion. “No matter what you hear, do not make a sound.”
“What about you, Mama?”
“My darling boy.” She smiles, running her hand along my cheek. “Don’t worry about me.”
Tears well up in my eyes as I realize the gravity of the situation. My mother is risking everything to protect me, and I can’t let her down. I nod, my throat tight.
The door shuts with a muffled thud, plunging me into darkness. My mother’s urgent whispers seep through the thin barrier. “Stay silent and still, Cassius,” she pleads. “Remember, not a sound.”
“M???,” my voice trembles as I choke back a sob, but her footsteps retreat, leaving me alone in the suffocating blackness of the closet.
My heart races, pounding like a drum against my chest as the chaos unfolds outside. Through the small crack between the door and its frame, I catch glimpses of swirling shadows and flashes of light. Muffled shouts of unfamiliar voices grow louder, their harsh tones laced with malice.
“Where is he?!” one of the intruders bellows.
“Search every room!” another commands.
Gunshots ring out, their deafening echoes causing me to flinch and huddle further into the corner of the closet. The noise is relentless, punctuated by shattering glass and the splintering of wood. My body tenses, my hands gripping the edges of the small space, knuckles white from the strain. I force myself to stay quiet, swallowing the screams that threaten to burst from my throat.
As I crouch there in the dark, my eyes begin to adjust to the dim light filtering through the crack. I can make out the vague outlines of my once-familiar surroundings, now transformed into an alien landscape by the violence outside. My breaths come in shallow gasps, the air heavy with terror and desperation.
“Please be safe, M???,” I pray silently, even as I realize that neither of us may survive this night. “Just hold on a little longer.”
Dad will come back to rescue her. He always has.
Suddenly, I hear my mother’s voice, shaky but strong. “I have nothing for you.”
