Chapter 6

When I came to, it was under the dim, yellow lighting of what looked to be a pink bedroom. The pillow under my head was soft and scented with something fragrant. A slender female silhouette was bustling around when she suddenly whipped her head toward me. "You're awake!" she exclaimed in surprise. She hurried over to me with a glass of warm milk. "Here, sit up and drink this. I'm so glad you're okay." Foggy memories tugged at the corners of my mind when I registered the familiar face hovering before me. "Skye Heron?" I guessed, somewhat alarmed to see her without braces. She used to be a wallflower, her braces being her most outstanding feature. But now, Skye boasted womanly curves and stunning doe eyes. "In the flesh," she said with a laugh, nodding to confirm my guess. Drink up." She brought the glass of warm milk to my mouth. I took it from her and sipped gingerly. She had added honey into the warm milk, and the subtle sweetness lingered on my tongue. "Why were you passed out in front of the sink? Why did you drink so much in the first place?" Skye admonished as she looked at me incredulously. I shook my head. "It was a business gathering." Skye and I were on good terms back at Melrose University, but we hadn't kept in touch since after graduation, right around the time of Anna's accident. "What sort of business gathering could get you to drink more than you can handle?" Skye asked skeptically, silently prompting me to finish the warm milk. "Let's talk about you," I said, quickly changing the subject. "What have you been up to in the last three years?" "I furthered my studies in Erania. I just got back the day before yesterday." Skye's voice softened as she added, "I was going to hang out with a few girlfriends, but I ran into you." I froze. "Did you have to leave early because of me?" She unexpectedly laughed. "It wasn't as if we would have stayed late at the club anyway. You're lucky I found you when I did; who knows what might have happened if someone else had stumbled upon you." It had been a while since we last met, but our conversation was as friendly and familiar as ever. We talked about everything happening in our lives and reminisced about our university days. We talked through the night until three in the morning when I finally decided to climb out of Skye's bed. "Sorry for taking up your bed. I'll go sleep on the couch." Skye chuckled. "It's fine. My biological clock is still running on Eranian time anyway. You can sleep here if you like." I shook my head, insisting, "I have to get up early for work, and I don't want to impose on you more than I already have. Besides, it's summer now. The couch is cooler than the bed." I saw her stiffen at my words, probably out of shock. She asked, "You don't get a day off after drinking too much at a business gathering?" "It's alright. I'm used to it." Knowing Lilith, she would never allow me to take a day off. She might work me to the bone out of spite after I left the club abruptly without her permission. This had been the way between us for the last three years. Yaeger might have hired me personally to watch over Lilith, but she would not hesitate to punish me or torture me out of spite if I so much as disobeyed her. She would not stop until I had been utterly humiliated. After bidding Skye goodnight, I grabbed a pillow from her bed and left her room. A second later, I heard her ask from her bedroom doorway, "What will it take for you to stop throwing your life away for Lilith?" I turned around and eyed her with shock. "You know?" Skye's eyes were like dark, glittering obsidian under the lights. She pinned me with a hard stare as she said, "I know everything. I also know you're slaving away for the Storms for your sister's sake." "How did you…" I was stunned. Less than a handful of people knew the tragedy that had befallen Anna three years ago. If they did, they wouldn't have misunderstood me so deeply. But I never expected Skye, who had been abroad these last few years, to know so much about my life since graduation. Skye shook her head slowly and said, "Go get some rest. We'll talk about this some other time." After a moment of hesitation, I nodded. I had to be up by 7:00 am, which left me four hours to catch up on some sleep. Skye and I did not speak after that. When I woke up, I forced myself to clamber off the couch. I stiffly washed up and hurried to the company. I heard Lilith's angry roar from down the hall no sooner had I stepped through the doors.