I groaned, stumbling forward as I clutched my side which was already bleeding. I stared down at the monster in front of me.

    "Well, don't you know me, Skylar dear?', the voice speaking out of its disgusting mouth said.

    A light chuckle echoed through the room as my lips curled into a sneer. "Oh my, I forgot you were quite the little feisty one, aren't you? Although I suppose, having your memories wiped out does have an effect", the voice said again.

    "What?"

    "Oh yes, let's see. You were a little princess, at the age of 10, when you were wiped of all your memories of your previous years. Youngest Princess of the Unborn Kingdom, to be exact. Pity Estella didn't survive for long. Azriel did an excellent job of keeping that under wraps." I could feel the stupid smirk in its voice.

    "What, exactly, are you trying to tell me? None of this makes any sense!" I exclaimed furiously, feeling all the more confused.

''Course it doesn't make sense, my dear. Do you recall any memories you had before the age of 10?''

"I..." Actually, what? I had NO absolute recollection of what happened when I was young. Maybe it wasn't unusual, but don't you sometimes remember particular events in your younger years? The heck? I couldn't seem to remember a single thing. 

Everything was pitch black in my memory like a black hole had just sucked it out of my brain. I jerked my head back up, widening my eyes. "What did you do to me?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"What did I?" the voice almost snorted, letting out a derisive laugh. "Do to you? Sweetheart, I didn't do nothing to you. It was Azriel himself who did it!"

''Who's Azriel?" I demanded. The monster gave me a sort of look. "Sorry, not sorry. Can't tell you," it smirked again. I forced my shoulders to stay rigid and ramrod straight to stop a disgusted shudder from breaking out. "Why can't you give me answers?!"

"Simple. You can't know. Ever," the monster snarled. 

I let out a frustrated scream and threw my hands in the air. "UGH! What the hell does he even tell me in the first place," I muttered under my breath. I reached into the deep recesses of my mind and cast a temporary shield to hold him back. I ignored the smirk on the monster's face again and turned away. I looked over to Terrus, finding him occupied in finishing off a task.

"Hey," I called to him as I walked over to him. "Need help?"

He briefly locked eyes with me. "Nope, I'm good after finishing it," he let out a heavy sigh. "Pretty sure my legs aren't gonna work for a while for the first time in a while." I smiled. Staying in the dark had been exhausting. Learning there are a lot of secrets I haven't known. 

For once, I let the familiarity of his presence wash over me, calming my mind down. I walked over to him, stopping just an inch from him.

"Hey," I stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say to start a conversation. "So um... How are things going on your end?''

"Fine, I guess. I don't know if he understands my reason for not going out there, but things are going as well as they can be."

"But you did," I reminded him.'

"I know, but that was because of The Haze. But all the same, if I hadn't done that, I would've never..." he trailed off.

:Never what?" I prompted. 

"Never.....uh..... met you," he muttered the last part so quietly I couldn't have heard it if I wasn't near. I was staring at the ground and suddenly whipped my head up to meet his gaze. But he wouldn't. 

Maybe it was a trick of the light, but I could've sworn I saw his pale complexion had a light pink