Monsters of the Day

EZRA (1)

I could only hope that he'd listened to me. Most Strikers had returned to their apartments by this time, shared with their Shields. Only a few actually went home to their own Houses.

Their Shields.

My expression turns bitter.

Before I leave, my eyes flicker down the dark hallway. There's a little bit of light coming from the endmost room, where Noel should be. Because we didn't have Shields, both of us had rooms in the compound itself.

It was late, nearly midnight.

And my features stay flat as I turn my feet towards his room. The beam of light is streaming through the slight crack of his door— and I see that he'd listened to me.

He's collapsed asleep in the middle of the bed, a candle flickering on the nightstand. There's a book fallen open right next to his head.

The door doesn't make a sound when I shift it further open.

My steps are silent as I take the book and close it, placing it by the candle. Then I pull the covers back over his slender figure.

I was certain he'd kick