I barely avoid the tree in my way as I glance at Eziah. He appears to be deep in thought, completely out of reality. “Oi, are you searching or just walking around half asleep?” I snap at him.
“I was thinking,” Eziah retorts and shrugs his shoulders.
Yeah, as if being deep in thought is a good enough excuse for not looking for my little sister. I roll my eyes at him. “Well, don’t think too hard. I wouldn’t want you to give yourself a headache.”
Eziah growls.
“Actually, I take that back. A head like that should ache,” I chuckle. I really need to think about the surroundings in which I talk shit because the smartass starts pelting rocks at me.
“Chill, I was only playing. Man, you have been a real dick this entire time,” I snarl at him as I rub the side of my arm which caught the fucking rock. The little shit has a good aim.
“Between you and mom, always breathing down my damn neck, I wonder why,” Eziah growls at me. Wow, isn’t this great? Now, I will have to deal with a temper tantrum too.
“Is that why your mother put you with us?” I ask him.
“No, I asked to be placed with you and Casen,” Eziah mutters.
“You’re telling me she wanted you to stay with her, but you hand-selected us to be sleep deprived?” I ask.
Before Eziah can part his lips or even think of an answer, pain ripples through me. I clutch my side and freeze in my step, waiting for it to pass.
“You okay?” Eziah calls out.
I wave him off. “Just a stitch from walking,” I tell him. The crunch of twigs and leaves tells me he is making his way through the thick bush to me.
“I’m fine,” I force the words through gritted teeth as I try to catch my breath and see his outstretched hand reaching toward me.
“You have been getting them for hours,” Eziah says as he shakes his head. Truth be told, he doesn’t look any better than me either. His body is overheating the same as mine.
“It’s fine,” I repeat.
I don’t think Eziah will get a chance to feel the same as me, honestly. The aches and pains started early this morning. Kaif is still under control, but Kyan is anxious. I can also feel that Kaif is very fucking angry, but what worries me the most and makes me feel sick is Kyan’s distress. I’m pretty sure the pain is somewhat connected to that.
“This is pointless,” Eziah whines as he stretches his back. I ignore his whining, but clearly, he doesn’t think that I should. “I can’t believe he still hasn’t told us what is going on and why she ran. Don’t you think it is a little odd?” he asks.
I just look at him and shrug. “That’s Casen and Rose’s business.”
“Yeah, but I don’t get why it is a secret,” Eziah keeps pressing the issue.
“Probably the same reason you won’t tell me about your nightmares. They are a secret,” I deadpan.
“They aren’t nightmares,” Eziah blurts out, and I raise an eyebrow at him. He brushes his fingers through his hair, but I’m unsure if it’s because he’s uneasy or uncomfortable. “They are like some out-of-body experience,” he adds.
Alrighty then. So, I knew the guy didn’t have quite a full deck before, but now I can see how fucking bat shit crazy he is. He must have gotten that bit from his mother’s side.
“Okay then,” I tell him.
“No, I am being serious. This is why I have told no one. No one would believe me.” he shakes his head and mutters some words under his breath as he kicks a rock. Damn, dude, no need to hurt the poor rock. It’s innocent.
I raise an eyebrow at him. I hate to admit this, but he managed to plant the seed of curiousness within me. “Fine, I will give you the benefit of the doubt here and say you aren’t nuts, so explain.” I keep my eyes set on Eziah for a moment until he starts walking again and I walk by his side.
I probably look like a right idiot as I swat at flies and insects every step I take. This goddamn place is full of them, like there is a whole birthing factory for the tiny buzzing fuckers somewhere near. And don’t get me started on the blood-sucking mozzies.
“I become her,” Eziah suddenly says. Wait, wait, waiiit… Did he just say he becomes her?
Jonah
“You become a woman?” I gasp out.
All jokes aside, holy shit… Holy truck fuck shit, the dude’s actually crazy. And I mean crazy, looney bin type of crazy, not the regular type. Whatever that type might be.
As shocked as I am, I still struggle to keep my face neutral. Well, aside from the shock, of course. I really don’t want to hurt his feelings. Or am I supposed to say her feelings now?
Wait, does this mean Eziah can shift between both genders? Is this a gift he just stumbled upon recently?
“I am being serious, Jonah,” Eziah says, and he stops in his tracks.
I glance at him and frown. The thing is that Eziah looks genuinely bothered by whatever he claims is happening to him. He shakes his head while I watch him.
“Forget it,” he says as he stomps past me. I stop him by grabbing his upper arm.
There’s no way I’ll let him drop this now that I know he’s a gender-shifter. Is that a thing? Shapeshifter is, so maybe I just discovered a new species. Damn it, my name might go down in history for finding the Gemini gender shifter.
I take a deep breath and focus on Eziah. “No, I can see it is bothering you, so tell me.”
He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms in front of his chest. I know he’s trying to close up, so I keep glaring at him until Eziah drops his arms to his sides and looks down at his feet. “You will just laugh,” he mutters.
“I won’t, promise,” Eziah looks up at me with a raised eyebrow. But the doubtful look disappears from his features as soon as he notices I am being serious. He sighs and glances away. “I can feel her. Everything she feels, I feel like I am trapped in her body. I can even see what she sees. Well, sort of,” he whispers the last part.
Alright, for clarification, I thought I could get some information, put two and two together, connect some missing dots or whatever bullshit. However, I’m not a freaking detective, and although I am not stupid, I’m not the megamind either. He needs to give me a little more information here to work with.