(Amaia)

Mintaka!!!

I had thought I had made progress with Mintaka, but the way he had shifted away from me when his other self had tried to take control.

Was he terrified of his incubus form? I am sure that’s who I saw peeking out.

And then he went and had sex with someone, bringing me so much pain.

Being in Alnitak’s arms lessened my misery and then Zille stayed with me as I fell asleep. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Opening my eyes I find Kacir sitting on the edge of his bed, reading a book.

His eye wavered towards me. "Hey! How are you feeling?" He quickly asks, closing the book.

"I need some water," I request, the pain in my heart and belly has reduced to a low hum, but it’s there like a permanent part of me. Never letting me be at peace.

Kacir quickly gets up and fetches me a glass of water.

I sit up, carefully so I won’t smother Zille. That affectionate bird always sleeps on my chest whenever I have one of these episodes. He remains cuddled up near me.

I gulp down the cool liquid, letting my parched throat be sated and hand the glass back to Kacir.

"Do you wish to talk about it?" Kacir asks, softly–placing the glass back on the table.

"I can’t," I say with a sigh, my hand slowly stroking Zille’s soft feathers.

"Why don’t you reject the bastard, instead of going through this?" Kacir questions, sitting on his bed again and facing me.

"He doesn’t even know what he is doing to me." I lean against the headboard and close my eyes, trying to find some peace.

"I am not sure how that is possible, Amaia but I am here for you," he gently says.

"Thanks Kacir."

Both of us sleep after that to wake up for the last day before the weekend hits us.

The next day, I wake up early, and Zille is gone. By the time I freshen up and change into my uniform, Alnitak is already at our door. So, unlike him, he is mostly the last one to arrive for the sessions. Punctuality is not his forte.

To my surprise, he is holding a chocolate bar in his hand and a goofy smile on his face.

"I came carrying chocolate to make you smile."

I take it from him and offer him a grin. Grabbing his arms I raise myself on my toes and press a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you!"

He touches his cheek, and his smile widens; a small blush covers the skin where I have kissed.

He wraps his huge arms around my shoulder and pulls me into himself, placing more kisses on my head. I heartily laugh at his affection.

He leads me forward to grab some breakfast.

My head turns and I glance in the direction of their room.

"Min?" I question. Alnitak thinks for just a second before saying.

"He is not feeling well and won’t attend today’s session."

An ache builds up in my heart like a small splinter stuck in it.

"What happened to him? Can I go see him?" Something seems off; Alnitak wouldn’t have been in such a cheerful mood if his twin were ill. I feel nothing through the bond, no pain, just plain static.

Alnitak closely observes me before answering.

"Later, we will be late."

After breakfast, we head over for our first session.

I had hoped to see Alnilam return but it’s Saiph again with another session of infusing his nightmares.

We gather in the same hall and stand in our designated spots. Saiph has taken his central position. His sharp and cold eyes take everyone in. His crisp uniform doesn’t have a single crease to it.

Glancing towards us he questions Alnitak.

"Mintaka?"

"He has a fever," Alnitak answers.

Saiph’s eyes slightly narrow at the answer but he doesn’t question.

I hear a snicker from House Serpens and I observe it’s Cristo’s twin sister. She throws a naughty glance towards us before looking away.

The door opens and I turn my head to watch. To my surprise, it’s Rigel walking in on his long legs. Finesse and regality oozes off this man even though he screams danger.

His eyes find me directly, and he gives a slow, purposeful smile, which I return.

"Great, the bloodsucker is back," Alnitak grunts, his mood souring at the sight of him.

Purposefully Alnitak winds his arm tighter around me, trying to make Rigel jealous. A dark shadow passes over Rigel’s face, seeing Alnitak’s actions, but he keeps himself contained.

Rigel pauses near his guildmates and Ramian instantly sucks up to him.

"And you are?" Saiph questions, raising a brow at Rigel. Both men are almost the same height, just built differently. While Saiph appears like a pure warrior, all perfected in the right places, Rigel is athletic and lean in build.

"Ezran, I had a few days off," Rigel explains.

"Oh! Yes, Alnilam told me." Feels like Saiph suddenly remembers.

"Since you missed the last sessions, I will summarise for you." Saiph then spends the next five minutes explaining about the Chittering and what our session was going to be about.

We listen carefully, no one interrupts him. Once he is done, Saiph focuses his shrewd sight on Rigel and says.

"Why don’t we start with you today?"

Rigel who is standing with both his hands elegantly stuffed into his pants pockets, doesn’t even hesitate. Accepting it as an open challenge, he carefully steps closer to Saiph and stands facing him with a sinister smile.

There is not even a centimetre of difference between the heights of the two men.

"Do your best," he tauntingly says to Saiph.

"Why does he act so stuck up?" Alnitak dryly asks. I turn my head and give him a look with a shake of my head.

"Fine." He rolls his eyes and both of us focus ahead.

Saiph extends his hands and touches Rigel’s temples, making him close his eyes. I hold my breath while my heart becomes a sprinter running a 100-meter race.

"Be safe," I whisper, not wishing for Rigel to feel any worse kind of nightmares and watch on intently.