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Chapter 16

Wellesley 8:50 pm

I don't know what had compelled me to grab his hand. But I just couldn't bear to have him walk away from me and not give him some kind of warning. I hadn't expected him to pull me close. Hadn't expected him to be so calming and reassuring. Hadn't expected the nickname Dove to slip off his lips and to warm me to my toes.

His promises made me nervous. I'd been promised any number of things over the years. All of them were either a trick or the person had been powerless to keep them. Fear of what might happen gripped me, and my hand tightened on his, feeling the roughness of his palm against mine. I tried to focus on how warm his hand was and how safe I felt standing with him, the scent of cloves and strong spices enveloping me. A sense of security and safety washed through me. But, of course, that got ruined.

Even before Gunther had interrupted us, I'd felt eyes on me. His glare on the side of my head was searing, so hot it felt like it should singe my hair. I turned and locked eyes with Fredric. He'd always scared me the most. Even more than Marcus. Marcus, who, for all his horrible faults and cruelty, cared for me in his own sick way. Henric was wicked and liked to cause pain, but it was always in his search for pleasure. Fredric was different. He liked pain for pain's sake. And the gleam in his filmy blue eyes promised that he had something special in mind for me if he ever got his hands on me again. When his gaze shifted to Sanji, ice wrapped itself around my heart.

I tried to yank away from Sanji and put distance between us so that Fredric's attention would be wholly on me, but Sanji didn't let go. I looked up and found him staring fearlessly at Fredric. His thumb rubbed soothing circles on my hand, and when he turned back to me, there was only reassurance in his steady gaze. The kiss on my hand had fought me entirely off guard. From the way I watched his eyes widen, it was clearly a shock to him as well. Elation swept through me, and I couldn't stop it from shining across my face.

I felt my face heat up. My mind, always ready to criticize, whispered that I didn't deserve that warmth, that I wasn't worth the fiery determination that blazed in Sanji's eyes. A part of me, a dark and insidious part, agreed. But Sanji's unwavering resolve was like a beacon, guiding me forward. And so, I found myself taking the first step, moving with them toward Fredric to save Zoro without a single hesitation.

Celia laid her hand on my shoulder. Turning, I saw a questioning glean in her eyes as they bounced between Sanji and me. Nerves fluttered painfully in my gut. Celia, like me, had always been sensitive to the soothsy flower. She'd once dreamed of a mudslide rolling down Mount Pearl and wiping out a logging town, Chipperville, at the base of it. The dream had left her shaken, and she told our mother immediately the following day. Our parents, understanding the gravity of her dream, evacuated the town, giving the displaced loggers temporary housing on the castle grounds and surrounding towns until the danger had passed. The next day had been sunny, and the day after that and the day after that. It didn't rain for almost three weeks, and the loggers had grown restless and agitated from being away from their livelihoods for so long.

The mayor of the town came before my father and demanded that the cordon be lifted and that they be allowed to return to their homes. He rallied all his fellow loggers and their families, and together, they staged a protest outside the castle gates. The air was filled with their chants and the sight of their determined faces. Their protest continued for days until, finally, our parents were forced to concede. They came to a compromise. The loggers would stay one more night in their temporary homes and would be allowed to return in the morning.

That night, the people partied and celebrated their upcoming return home. Our father had offered the castle courtyard for their going away party. They'd set up giant tents and long tables overflowing with fruits, meats, and sweet treats dripped with chocolate and raspberry fillings. Al, Celia, and I had snuck out of the castle to steal sweet cakes and a glass of honeyed mead that we had shared with matching grimaces. Around 3 am, the party died down, and the loggers went to bed, leaving the clean-up to the castle staff. The early morning of moving awaited them.

Less than two hours later, a torrential downpour began. One moment, the air was still and silent, then the next, rain was falling so fast and heavy you couldn't see in front of your face.

The rain persisted for days, a week before it finally subsided. Its aftermath was a scene of devastation-puddles that resembled lakes, riverbeds, and creeks overflowing, and trees in the castle's surrounding forest uprooted. The wind was merciless, tearing off roofs and furniture from homes in the vicinity. The scale of the clean-up was staggering, and I recall Celia, burdened with guilt, crying herself to sleep, believing she was somehow responsible for the floods.

Mother held her, rocked her, and gently explained our family's history in a way Celia's four-year-old mind could understand. The citizens of Chipperville had grumbled for days, all through the storm and the aftermath. They were eager to get back home and to continue their livelihoods. A small group of guardsmen was sent with them to help them move back home, and when they came over a small hill, all they saw was devastation. Just as Celia had predicted, a massive mudslide had wiped it off the map.

From that moment on, Celia had been a devoted seer, using her gift as much as possible to help our kingdom as much as she could at her young age. Her visions had always been stronger than mine, but it was the shared gift and the unbreakable sisterly bond that had bound us together. There was a time when I knew her mind better than my own, and she felt the same, our connection transcending mere words.

For so long, it had felt like the bond we once had was a distant memory. However, as I caught Celia's gaze and saw her glance at Sanji and the cloud surrounding Zoro, I realized it was still there, as strong as ever. Her eyes held a hint of uncertainty, and at that moment, a smile crept onto my face, and I nodded.

She smiled back at me, but her eyes were still cautious. A worry I didn't understand flashed across her face. Before I could ask any questions, though, my hand, still held snuggly in Sanji's, was tugged forward, and we were on the move.

Sanji was leading us around the base of the stairs toward Fredric. Nami and Gunther were on either side of me, and Celia was pressed close to my back, her hand gently touching my hip. I felt a deep sense of safety with them, which I hadn't experienced in a long time. Even as we headed into this perilous battle, I knew they'd have to get through Sanji, Nami, and the others to get to me, and I allowed myself a moment to enjoy that safety.

Our movement did not go unnoticed. As we rounded the bottom-most step, Marcus's voice boomed across the throne room, echoing off the bare cement walls and up into the rafters.

"Look, Henric, my Lavender's found herself a little boyfriend." We all froze, our hearts pounding, and looked up all those stairs past the Strawhats, past Henric, and up at Marcus, who now stood looming in front of the throne. His tone and words came out playful, but his face was a mask of fury as he stared down at where I still held Sanji's hand. Instinct screamed at me to rip my hand from his. Years of Marcus's wrath and possessiveness have seared the consequences of touching someone without his permission into my very being.

Henric's laugh is short and mean. The desire to pull away from Sanji was there, a last-minute act that might help protect Sanji from further danger. But there was a larger part of me that wanted to hurt Marcus, wanted him to know I wasn't his anything. So far this evening, Marcus had somehow remained in charge, and I wanted more than anything to get a dig at him the way he continued to do to me. So I turned to the side, stood on tiptoe, and pressed a gentle, barely-there kiss on Sanji's cheek.

The effect was immediate and exactly what I had been aiming for. Marcus took a step forward, down one step. "You fucking whore!"

He didn't move forward any farther; he just seethed and yelled more vile curses at me. Luffy and Al were trading insults with Marcus, defending an honor that had long since been ripped from me. Sanji's body was tense, but he turned toward me in shock instead of joining the screaming match. I immediately felt guilty, and I know it showed on my face. "I'm so sorry." I loosened my hold on his hand and tried to pull away, my regret overwhelming me. I felt sick that I had used him, thrown him in Marcus's face, and put him in unimaginable danger just to make a point.

My fingers had just slipped from his when he grabbed them back and tightened his hand firmly. "Why are you sorry?"

Tears started up again, and even though I was so fucking sick of crying, I didn't have it in me to try and wipe them away. "I used you to make a point. I barely know you. I shouldn't have kissed you like that."

A look of understanding came over him, and he smiled softly at me. "You can kiss me whenever you want, Dove." He looked up at Marcus, scowling. The mean expression vanished when he turned back to me. "Maybe next time, though, do it because you want to, hm?"

His easy forgiveness unknotted a twist in my gut. I wanted to tell him that I did want to, but that wouldn't be fair to either of us. Not now in the middle of this battle. Not with everything I had done.

A harsh, feminine cry echoed around the room. I turned immediately toward Nami and Celia, worried they'd been harmed while I caused us more drama. They were both pale but otherwise unharmed. They were looking behind me, eyes wide and frightened. Sanji jolted forward, and only my grip on his hand and Gunther's sudden hold on his shoulder kept him from running forward. Everything was happening so fast that I didn't realize what was happening until Nami shrieked.

"Robin!"

Robin had fallen backward down the steps and was now lying just a few steps above us. At first glance, I couldn't see what had happened, but then I saw Henric, missing a dagger and standing between Al and Luffy with his sword pointed directly at my brother's head. Again, Marcus let out a nauseating laugh. "Well done, Henric. If what the green-haired fucker had said was true, we'll have to begin building the menagerie from scratch, and Dusty here will make the perfect den mother. Once we break her in, of course."

All the Strawhats let out a chorus of disgusted sounds. Robin lay back on the step. Her cowgirl hat had fallen from her head, and her raven hair was now strewn in a short black halo around her head. Luffy ran to her side. Al tried to follow, but Henic's sword kept him in place. Robin had been stabbed in the stomach just below her ribs. Henric had snapped the handle off the blade and had left the blade lodged deep in her gut.

I knew from experience that that particular spot would probably not kill her. Luffy reached out to grip the tail end of the blade where it protruded from her stomach. "Stop!" My own voice shocked me, and I shocked Luffy, too. He immediately froze, hands hovering over her wound. Before I could second guess my movements, I was moving up those few steps that separated us and kneeling at Robin's side.

Luffy looked at me with concern and suspicion. I tried to give him a reassuring look. I laid a hand gently on Robin's shoulder. Her skin was clammy with sweat, and her body trembled with pain. Her limbs were lank, and I could see her energy flagging with every labored breath. I looked back to Luffy. "Don't touch the blade. It's made of sea prism stone; if you touch that, it'll zap your strength in seconds."

If anything, he became angrier. "That bastard!" He looked at me with bright, angry eyes. "Can you help her?"

It suddenly occurred to me that he had seen what I did for Nami. Of course, he did. His eyes have been glued to her since he entered this room.

Nodding rapidly, I looked back down at Robin, finding her breathing harshly, trying to push past the pain."If I can get the blade out, I can heal anything."

Robin let out a grunt, lifted one of her bloodied hands, and weakly squeezed my wrist. "Thank you." She whispered, her voice filled with profound gratitude. I smiled at her, took her hand in mine, and squeezed it. Her eyes were watery and unfocused, but she still managed to smile back at me before her face scrunched up in pain, and she let out a pained hiss. I looked back up at Luffy and found his gaze steady on me.

Even through his anger, he still managed to smile warmly at me. The other Strawhats, their faces etched with concern, had all surprised me with their easy friendship, which caught me off guard every time. These people give affection so easily. "Sanji." Luffy's voice was stern and authoritative, adding to the tension in the air.

Sanji jumped up to us and scooped Robin into his arms gently. She still gasped in pain, and the sound tore at me. "Take her out of the way and do what you can. We'll take care of these guys. You get guys with Robin and Nami and try to take out that creepy guy at the bottom of the stairs."

Sanji gave him a clipped nod and nudged me with his foot to get me to stand. The sound of rapid footsteps echoed behind us, and just as we made it off the bottom step, the very tips of my hair were ensnared in a punishing grip. Sanji, caught off guard, stumbled over my ankle as it flung out in front of him, nearly dropping Robin. Marcus very rarely used his Haki. Hardening his punches or other parts of his body to cause maximum damage was usually all he did. But his speed was like nothing I'd ever seen.

He held me tight by the hair, pulling me tight to his body. His breathing was harsh in my ear, "Hello whore. What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

I struggled, and he yanked my head sharply to the left so that my neck was stretched painfully far. "Wellesley!" Al and Sanji screamed my name, voice anguished. Al couldn't get past Henric, and Sanji was paralyzed with Robin's prone body in his arms. Marcus's hot breath fanned my bare neck, and suddenly, his slimy tongue ran along the stretched tendon. "Mmm, salty."

Disgust roiled around my empty stomach. Anger burned hot inside me, mostly aimed at Marcus and myself. How the fuck do I keep letting myself get caught. "Get the fuck off me, Marcus."

He laughed, his breath cooling the saliva still on my neck. "You're so full of fire this evening. I can't wait to douse it."

My neck snapped forward as he released some of the tension on my hair. I glanced at Sanji and found him gently laying Robin on the floor, her head across Nami's thigh. Celia was applying pressure to Robin's wound. I was glad she hadn't pulled the blade out. I wasn't sure how long it'd take me to get to her, and I'd hate for her to bleed out before I could heal her. Gunther stood over them, sword held tightly as he stood guard.

I saw the intent on Sanji's face. He was coming for me, and I did not want him to get anywhere near Marcus. The slack on my hair gave me an idea. Something I hadn't done since the early days of my imprisonment. I pulled hard on my hair so that I was as far away from Marcus as his grip would allow me to get. Once the tension was as taut as possible, and he laughed at my attempt to escape, I locked eyes with Luffy. If we could just catch him off guard once, it might be enough.

We had a moment of complete understanding, and he gave me a slight nod. A second later, I flung my head back to smash hard into Marcus's nose. The immediate headache speared my brain like a spike. It loosened his grip enough for me to slip away. Once I was out of his reach, Luffy threw his fist out and smacked Marcus in the temple, sending him flying away from me to tumble down the stairs.

I stumbled forward, and before I could hit that fucking marble again, I was caught in strong arms and wrapped in a cloves and spices scent. Sanji was trembling but held me tightly to his chest. "I've got you." His voice shook. I heard Luffy scream and throw himself into pummeling where Marcus stood so hard and fast that the marble around Marcus was turning to dust and floating through that air in chunks.

Luffy's arms snapped back to his side, and he breathed heavily. His tan complexion was ruddy, and his eyes glowed angrily as he watched the dust clear. Sanji had moved me to where Nami and the others were gathered. He kneeled down, his arms still wrapped tight around me, bringing me with him. Anxiety burned bright in my chest as I watched the dust settle. I felt momentarily relieved when I saw the crater that Marcus had been pounded into. It was deep, and now I only saw the bottoms of his shoes as they stuck straight into the air. I tried to put that aside and brought my hands down, laying them across Robin's brow. I thought hard and was able to feel her fever lowering. The sweat along her brow began to dry. Sliding both my hands down, I gripped the blade's very edge and immediately felt my powers' cooling effect fade as the sea prism stole my energy.

Luckily I'd had years of pushing past the soul suck that was the effects of sea-prism stone, so while my abilities did get blocked, I didn't almost pass out like I once might've.

I looked up once my grip was as firm as it would get. "Nami." Her brown eyes looked up into mine. "Hold her still." Nami and Sanji each moved so they could hold one of her shoulders and legs, and once I thought she was as stable as she was likely to get I yanked with all my strength.

The blade slid out easily. Like all Henics blades, it was sharpened expertly and slid out like it was slicing through butter. Robin let out a grunt of pain but was otherwise silent as she lay there, catching her breath. Blood poured out of her wound. I'd been mistaken earlier. This must have nicked an artery. I covered the wound with both my hands and forced as much of myself into healing her as I could.

"Why is it taking so long?" Nami's voice was frantic. "You healed me like instantly."

My breath came a little faster, my heart pounding in my chest. "Your wounds were superficial. Her's are life-threatening. Deeper, more dangerous wounds can sometimes take up to an hour to heal just on myself. On others, I've known it to take up to an entire day." Her worry did not lessen at all, but she nodded and looked back down at Robin, her face etched with fear and concern.

"Will she be ok?"

I nodded but then realized she wasn't looking at me. "Yes. I've already sealed the artery, but the knife seems to have sunk deep enough to nick her spinal cord." I didn't tell her that Robin was dangerously close to never walking again. They were worried enough, and the stakes were already sky-high.

There was silence as the seconds ticked away. Henric took a few steps back from Al. His steps shuffled loudly on the steps in the silent room. Henric wasn't naive. If the tides had turned, I knew he'd bolt for the closet hidden entrance; he'd leave his brother to die if he had to. Fredric had drawn his pistol, and I did not like the way he was holding it; the barrel aimed loosely toward where he still had Zoro trapped.

Al was already celebrating. He walked forward and slapped Luffy on the shoulder, "Good job, my friend. That fucker really got what was coming to him." He laughed and started to turn toward Henric, his axe held tight in his hand. He started to raise it for a strike when the sound of crunching debris and maniacal laughs began to percolate out of the hole.

Like a real-life boogeyman, Marcus rose out of that deep, dark hole, brushing dust and debris from his broad shoulders.

I felt the shock ripple out across the room. Al was the first to give it voice, "What the fuck!?"

Marcus, his eyes swimming with mirth, stepped out of the hole with a confident stride. "You all seem surprised. What didn't your precious Wellesley tell you about my little trick?" Despite a trickle of blood from his broken nose and his extremely dirty and disheveled appearance, there wasn't another scratch or bruise to be found.

Their eyes shot to me, questions swirling in each set. Sanji's arm, which had moved back to my shoulder once the blade had been pulled from Robin, tightened around me, and when I looked up, his gaze was tense. "What's he talking about, Wellesley?"

He let go of me, and the loss of his heat made me suddenly cold. "Ya Lavender. What am I talking about?"

I didn't respond to his taunt. I needed to focus on Robin's healing if I wanted her to be able to walk out of her on her own two feet. Luckily, Gunther answered for me. "Marcus ate a devil fruit that made him impregnable. He cannot be injured."

"That can't be true," Nami yelled. "I've seen him injured. He's bleeding right now from his nose, and when I bit his thumb, he bled everywhere." She held the collar of her shirt out for Gunther to see. "This is his blood right here!"

Gunther looked at the blood, his face grim. "Most devil fruit abilities are automatic. Wellesley doesn't have to think about using her ability on herself; it just happens. Luffy is made of rubber; he only has to think about stretching past his standard shape. Marcus's ability is different." He turned and looked at Marcus. "He has to actively think about using his ability. He can be caught off guard."

Marcus clapped. "Well done, little brother. Share all the secrets you'd like. It's not going to matter soon. Once these nuances are taken care of, I plan for you and me to have a very long brother-to-brother chat."

I watched his gaze snag on Celia. He ran his eyes along her body in a vile sweep. Gunther and Sanji jumped in front of her, blocking us from his gaze. Sanji spoke without moving a muscle.

"You said he can be hurt if he's surprised, right?" Gunther just nodded and said, "Or if he falls asleep or unconscious."

That was actually news to me. But thinking back on all our time together, I'd never seen him sleep. He always sent me away after he... well, after. I just assumed he didn't want to share his bed with a whore.

Sanji and Luffy shared a look I couldn't decipher. Marcus saw it too and said calmly as if he was reading a grocery list, "Henric, Fredric, get this over with."

As one, Henric moved to slash at Al with his sword, and Fredric lifted his pistol and pulled back the hammer, aiming at about head level in the dense fog surrounding Zoro. My heart split in two. A scream was building in my throat, but before I could release it, Sanji, Gunther, and Luffy jumped into action.

Gunther ran toward Al, blocking Henric's downward swing with one of his own as Henric aimed to sever Al's head from his neck. Metal on metal screeched into the air, and a gust of wind blasted out from them, ruffling my hair and clothes. Hatred burned hot across Gunther's face as he forced Henric back several steps. He and Al stood shoulder to shoulder as they threw attack after attack at Henric. He was forced to back up even more. His gnarled face pulled into a grimace as she swung up and twirled his body around the throne, causing both Gunther and Al's blades to lodge in the backboard of the chair. They struggled around the throne in almost a comical way, running around in circles. None of them were able to land that final blow.

Luffy sprinted, the slap of his sandals echoing on the marble flooring. He launched a high kick, aiming for Marcus's head like a battle axe. Marcus, quick as lightning, evaded the blow and leaped to the other side of the room. Their battle was a whirlwind of action. Marcus unexpectedly dashed toward the fireplace and seized one of the only decor pieces: two giant crossed halberds that had hung there for as long as I could remember. Marcus had always been extremely fond of them. I often saw him polishing and sharpening them, but I had no idea he was proficient in fighting with them.

He swung them, one in each hand, before taking a fighting stance. I looked at Luffy with an amused smile and gave him a "Come at me" look. I was learning that Luffy was remarkably impulsive. He took the bait and threw himself into the fight. Every punch was deflected; every kick went wide. Marcus had once told me he had trained in their home island, Grimea's combat division, but I'd always assumed that was mostly for show. A way to get a fancy pin to put on his dress clothes and get adoration from people he was trying to impress or deceive. But it was clear he had taken some of the training to heart as he continued to fend off Luffy's attacks and keep a good amount of space between them.

Beside me, Nami was rigid with fear, her eyes locked on Luffy's every move. I reached out for her hand, my own trembling with anxiety. A mix of Robin's drying blood and cement dust covered them, caked into the nail beds. Her tear-filled eyes met mine, and her voice quivered with unspoken dread. "What if he doesn't make it?" I had no comforting words to offer. If Luffy failed, our lives were hanging by a thread, a reality we both understood all too well.

Robin sat up suddenly and took a shudderingly deep breath. The wound at her side was healed; the only reminder was the blood clinging to her skin. She smiled a kind smile at me. Nami noticed her sitting up then and threw herself into Robin's arms, almost knocking them both to the ground. Robin grunted in pain, and Nami pulled back in distress. "Are you ok? What's wrong?" Her eyes met mine again, and panic blended into the swirling whirlpool of emotion. Robin put her hand on her side, right over the healed wound site.

Shifting to get a better view around Nami, I explained, "I had to heal the wound quickly, but there might still be some deep bruises. I can attempt to heal more later, but" I took a deep, weary breath, the weight of my exhaustion finally catching up with me. "I'll need to eat and rest before I can heal anyone besides myself for a while." I gave her what I hoped was a reassuring look, "You should probably rest for a bit. Straining yourself could open up any internal wound before I can get to them later." She nodded and leaned against Nami, letting the pale girl hold up most of her weight.

Exhaustion caused me to slump a little to the side. Nami's hands caught me by the shoulder and held me up as my sister kneeled worriedly beside me. I patted her hand where it had settled on my knee. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could say anything, a gunshot rang out, the bullet itself ricocheting off the floor not five feet from us. We scattered as several more shots went wide and got worryingly close.

Adrenalin was all that kept me moving, and when I stopped running, I turned and saw that it was Fredric. Instead of firing into the fear fog, he purposefully aimed at us. A grin of pure joy stretched across his ugly face. Only Sanji's expert kicks kept him from hitting his targets. As Fredric's attention became increasingly divided, I noticed that the fog surrounding Zoro had begun to waver. First, his heavy black boots came into focus, and then the fog around his legs and chest became more translucent.

I could see his arms hung loosely at his side, hands balled into fists so tight his knuckles were completely white, and blood dripped off them onto the floor from where his nails had ripped into his hands. His legs were tense, and his body was bent backward at an awkwardly painful angle. My heart wept at the sight. Zoro had been trapped in his worst nightmares for so long. I'd seen men lose their marbles after only a few minutes, and Zoro had been trapped for nearly an hour.

I could only imagine how many hells he had lived in that time. My feet were moving before I decided I would do anything. I'd crossed half the distance between us when Fredric suddenly appeared before me. He smiled at me, showing all his rotten teeth, and raised his gun so it pointed point-blank at my forehead. "Hello, whore." I never thought I'd miss Lavender. "I've been waiting to put a bullet in you for as long as I've known you." Sanji landed on his feet just to our right. He moved as though he would step between us, but Fredric pulled back the hammer on the gun and placed his finger on the trigger. Sanji stood trembling, a helpless expression on his face.

"Why?" My voice cracked around the word.

His smile widened. "Cause you cloud his mind. If you weren't around, we'd have already milked this pisspot of an island dry and moved on. Maybe even have gone home. But no, he's been mesmerized by that gob between your legs and decided this humid hell hole was a peachy place to waste away our lives. Our talents."

A scoff bounced out of me before I could stop it. "What talents? Beating on women and torturing people weaker than you?"

"Yes! You have no idea how thrilling it is to roll into a new place and lay waste to everything they hold dear. It's want I was promised when I agreed to leave my home, my tools, and my toys."

Anger boiled over. "Look around! You have destroyed everything! That's all you've been doing here for the last eleven years."

"Yes. And I became bored of this place and its pathetic little people ten years ago. Everything I've done since then has been in the hope King Marcus would finally tire of you and allow us to leave."

I felt that intense anger begin to boil over. It filled every inch of me till I felt that I would explode with it. It became too much and a scream finally exploded out of me. I felt this wave of energy blast from me. It was full of rage and sorrow and all the violent emotions I'd been forced to swallow for so long. Fredric stumbled back, a solid step, shock written across his face. He scrambled with the button on his shirt for a moment before finally just ripping it open and staring down the red on his chest.

Once years ago, I'd seen Fredric and Henric sparing. They'd been shirtless and weaponless, beating the absolute shit out of each other. On Fredric's chest was a long, thin scar puckered and red in the center. Marcus had told me that the scar was why the brothers had to spar barehanded. As one, Henric had gotten ahold of the knife and had slit Fredric from throat to navel.

Now, the decades-old wound was running red. The very top of the scar had come open, not deep enough to kill, but enough to cause blood to drip in heavy drops down his chest. I looked down at my hands with shock and wonder. My hands trembled, and a weird tingle had started at the tips. Did I do that?

We all stood in shock for a moment before Sanji jumped in and forced Fredric back from me with a swift kick to the hand, knocking the gun out of his grip and sending it flying. Fredric bounced back quickly, blood slinging from him in thin red lines that splattered across the white floor. Fredric's eyes bore into me hot with hatred and a new emotion he'd never looked at me with before. Fear.

"What the hell did you do to me you fucking bitch!" I didn't even get a chance to responde before Sanji aimd a kick at his face and then they were off trading blows. I stared at my hands for a moment longer. I'd never reopened a wound before, but if I could close them, I guess theoretically, I could reopen them as well. That didn't seem any crazier than being able to heal someone with a touch or stretch your limbs to infinity.

Fluttering drew my attention back to Zoro. The fog was lighter than it had been; I could now make out the distinctive shade of his hair. Any second, I knew Fredric's concentration would snap, and Zoro would be free. But that could be several long, agonizing minutes from now, and who knows what might befall him in the meantime?

I fretted my lip between my teeth, chewing the delicate skin raw, though it healed as soon as my teeth let go. Leaving Zoro there any longer might kill him. Unless. My earlier thought about dream walking came back to me. It was an incredibly rare skill in our family. Even with a lung full of soothsy and years of training, only a handful had ever done it successfully. I looked back at the cloud, and my resolve was set.

He'd do it for me if he could. I took the last few steps toward him in a hurry, painfully aware that any moment Fredic, his brother, or hell, Marcus himself might come for me and stop me. The fog, thick and swirling, was cold and humid and smelled sulfuric. Reaching my hand into it caused my skin to prickle painfully. I gripped his shirt tight, and just as I pulled myself closer. I knew from experience that the fog would make it damn near impossible to just rip him out, so I took a deep breath and prepared to dive in head first.

I heard Sanji yell my name. I turned and saw him watching me with a horror-filled expression. It was the last thing I saw before my vision blacked out, and I was swept into Zoro nightmares.