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❧
Khari kept his promise. Every night they would meet in an enclosed room, and he would press his fingers to her temples and try to eradicate her memories completely. Every night they would fail, for the next day Sage would get another glimpse of the memories that Aro despised, and her heart would turn to ice in her chest.
She wondered what would happen if Aro glimpsed into her mind just a moment later than he normally did. The memory--the picture of blond hair and pale skin and amber eyes--would show itself only a couple hours after he looked into her deepest thoughts. If Aro were to peek into her head at that time, if he were to see the haunting thoughts and memories of her abusers, he would be vengeful. He did not admire them before he saved her from them--Sage is certain that he wouldn't admire them after, either.
Luckily, Aro didn't sift through Khari's thoughts or he would see just what they did every night for the past week. He would see that Sage kept remembering the face and it would give her a warm feeling and then she would question everything about what she knew before Khari cleansed her of the impurity. He would see that she was betraying him without understanding why. He would see that she wanted answers--that she wanted to know exactly who the face in her mind was.
She never asked, though. Sage didn't think that she would ever ask Aro about her abusers. He told her when she returned that they used their abilities against her, that they tortured her physically and emotionally and he had to save her from them or she would have been killed. He said they had been starving her, forcing her to remain without blood until she went feral, almost. He said when he found her, she was almost petrified, but Sage couldn't find the memory of it.
Aro said it was a blessing that Khari retracted it from her, it wasn't pleasant.
So why was the picture in her head so warm? Why did it remind her of the sun that shone through the throne room? Why did it fill her head with so many doubts until she had them washed away? Why did it make her believe that Aro was lying?
Tonight, she shook the thoughts away as Khari pushed the memories out of her head. Sage could hear the echo of laughter until it faded into nothing. She felt whole again.
"Thank you," she said, leaving behind her haunting memories and warmth of a smile that belonged to an unknown face.
❧
There was commotion in the chamber room the next morning. Sage adjusted her robes as she entered, her footsteps echoing off the floors. Her eyebrows furrowed. There was a heartbeat pattering in front of her, but it wasn't time for the usual tour group. And--was that a dog smell?
Sage's nose curled up.
She glanced at the person standing in the middle of the room. It was a male, and he was tall, taller than Felix, with broad shoulders that almost pierced through the shirt he wore. His back was turned to Sage, tense as his entire body, like he might take flight given the chance. Dark hair was messy on his head, and as Sage walked to her place beside Felix, she caught a glimpse of his face.
