Aria

"Aria. Aria, wake up."

I groaned and rolled over. Something inside me was saying to just keep my eyes closed, stay asleep. It was telling me that I wouldn't like what I saw if I decided to face the world.

"Aria, come on."

I squeezed my eyes tighter, curling further into myself. 

No. I'm not ready.

"Okay, Aria, you leave me no choice."

I felt a painful jolt go through me and I jerked awake, my eyes flying open. I looked up to see James kneeling over me. We were both still in Leto's tent.

"Did you just shock me?" I questioned.

James shrugged. "You weren't waking up. I figured you needed a pick me up."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically, sitting up. "How long was I out?"

"You slept through dinner and all through the night."

"It's morning?" I demanded.

James nodded.

I rubbed my eyes. I couldn't believe I had slept so long and comfortably in the tent of the enemy.

"Has Leto sent out the runner yet?" 

James nodded again. "He sent the runner out yesterday evening. Leto thinks he will probably be back soon. That's why I woke you up. He wants to 'get us ready' in case the runner brings the master back with him."

"Do I want to know what 'getting us ready' entails?" 

James shrugged. "I don't really know myself."

"Well, let's go and get this over with," I sighed.

James and I emerged one after another from the tent. The camp was alive with motion. Lycanthropes were scurrying to and fro, each doing different little tasks. Each of the firepits blazed brightly with fire, sending smoke billowing into the air. Uncooked meat hung on hooks around the fire, sending an unpleasant smell in our direction each time the wind picked up. Gold irises flashed all around us, and many of the lycanthropes would glare if I tried to catch their eye. I looked to James to see that his small hands were trembling. I moved closer to him, leaning down and lowering my voice.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

He couldn't seem to look me in the eye. "Someone nearby is in pain. I can feel it."

I looked around, searching for some sort of obvious sign like a person limping or cradling a limb to themselves. I didn't even see anyone with so much as a paper cut.

"Are you sure?" I queried. 

He nodded, looking pale. He couldn't seem to focus on anything. I reached a hand out to him, worried that he was going to pass out, or at the very least tumble over, but he recoiled away from me. Suddenly, his head snapped up as if he was zeroing in on something. 

"There," he pointed.

A young girl was sitting on a log by one of the fires, holding her hands up to the flames as if she were warming them. 

"That must be Leto's sister," I commented.

"She's sick and in a lot of pain," James informed me, sadness tingeing his voice.

He was so sombre and serious for someone who looked so young. It was like he had this heavy weight on his shoulders that added years to him. Logically, I knew that he had been in the Upstairs for years, centuries even, and was much older than me, but on the outside, he still looked like a little boy and my heart went out to him.

"Yes, she is."

James and I turned to find Leto standing beside us, his arms once again folded across his chest.

"But the master has promised that he's going to heal her," Leto announced with a small smile. "It will be so nice to see her happy and healthy again."

"Do you really believe the master will be able to do it?" I asked.

"Aria," James warned.

I pressed my lips together, realising that questioning the master's power probably wasn't the best idea when we were supposed to be on his side.

"Don't you? The master is all powerful. He was even able to infiltrate the Upstairs and take down the Guardian. He can do anything. He'll heal Leyla."

I smiled. "You're right. The master is all powerful. I guess I just never realised just how generous he is. He truly is the ultimate leader, and we're lucky to get to be his followers."

"Alright, don't get too sappy on me now," Leto laughed. "Now, come on. You both smell and look like you were just pulled out of the garbage dump."

"Gee thanks," James muttered.

"Sorry, but you do. You aren't exactly fit to be meeting the master. We'll get you cleaned up and then I'll get you both some clothes. we make our own garments here out of a mixture of animal skins and scraps from old items that people have outgrown or torn. We don't like to be wasteful here. I had Jeremiah, our designer of sorts, work up some outfits for you both."

I gave him a smile. "That's so nice of you."

I was finding it harder and harder to believe that we could truly consider this group of Lycanthropes enemies of the Upstairs. They were just a group of people who were looking for something that would give them hope. Leto just wanted to save his little sister. That wasn't exactly the epitome of evil.

Leto led us over to one of the firepits. A group was standing over it with buckets of water, heating them on the flames. 

"We've got warm water and cloths. You guys can scrub your arms and faces at least, maybe wash your hair. And the water should be nice and warm by now."

James and I sat down on logs by the fire, each with a bucket of water in front of us and a cloth in our hands. At first, the water was almost too hot to touch, but after it had cooled down a little, it felt good to have it on my skin. It was nice to be able to wipe away the dirt that had sat on my skin since yesterday and feel at least slightly refreshed. I could feel the eyes of most of the camp on us as we washed and I tried not to squirm uncomfortably. I couldn't decide if they were staring because I was the only girl, because they didn't trust us, or if it was some other reason all together. Maybe it was a mixture of all three.

"Hey Leto, here are the clothes you wanted. I had to guess at the measurements, but I think I got it pretty close," a tall guy who I assumed to be Jeremiah said, handing Leto a pile of material.

Leto turned to James and I and distributed the items between us.

"Feel free to use my tent to change," he said. 

I nodded, giving him a smile. 

"I'll go first," I murmured to James. "Will you be alright on your own?"

James rolled his eyes. "I'm not a child, Aria."

"Right," I replied.

I made my way to the tent and zipped it closed. Despite being in private, I still felt extremely uncomfortable stripping down in the middle of the camp. It made me feel more exposed and vulnerable in this unknown territory than ever. I unfolded the clothes that Jeremiah had made and regarded them for a moment, trying to figure out how exactly they went on. The top was patched together from a couple of different coloured materials. It had leather spaghetti straps and laced up at the back with a crisscrossing leather cord. The shorts were a jaggedly cut off pair of jeans that had been cinched in at the waist. They were cut a little short for my taste, but at least they were snug enough around the waist that they stayed up. I took a deep breath before stepping back out into the camp.

"So this is Cassie, huh?"

I froze in place and slowly raised my gaze to find most of the camp gathered in front of the tent, staring at me. At the front of the group, standing beside Leto was a guy with midnight black hair and charcoal eyes. The hairs on my arms raised, and my stomach dropped to my feet. His eyes were intense and piercing and darkness radiated off of him in waves. Every cell in my body was telling me to run. I felt like I was standing in the middle of an open field, holding a metal pole while lightning flashed all around me. I wasn't safe standing before this guy.

I nodded slowly. "Yes. What's it to you? Leto, who is this?"

The guy raised his eyebrow, the side of his mouth slowly quirking up into a smirk. "My name is Ezekiel Greigh. And if that isn't answer enough, let me put it this way: I am your master. Now, what is this information about Will and his lackeys that you have for me? Oh, and just so you know, I have one of Leto's men standing by with your brother and the orders to rip his heart out if I don't like what I hear, so let's hope for your sake that you've got something good."