Saphyr took hold of me and brought us down to the prisoners' level. Some were injured, but fortunately, there were no corpses. Yet, in my heart, I knew a terrifying truth lay behind the absence of dead bodies. The blood trails were likely all that remained of some of the victims.
"Father! Mother!"
As soon as Saphyr set me down on the stone floor, filthy and smeared with the limbs and blood of some shapeshifters, I ran toward my parents, tears in my eyes. The moment they saw me, they gasped: "Selyn! Selyn, my love!"
My mother was the first to grab me and hug me tightly. I ran my hands over her body to make sure she wasn't hurt, then reached out to my father, and he pulled us both into his arms.
"My little girl! We were afraid that—" he burst into tears, unable to speak.
"Me too, Dad, but I'm fine."
"Selyn? Who is she?" A trembling voice pulled my attention away from my parents. A man pointed at Saphyr and stumbled backward in fear.
"She... she saved us."
"She's one of them! I know a monster when I see one!" a woman in the middle of the group screamed, sparking panic.
"Selyn, care to explain what is going on here?"
I saw Alfred approaching me. He was a highly respected man in Greenhill, wise and selfless. Alfred Kin owned a farm and employed many of the town's people. He was a childhood friend of my father's, and as a little girl, I called him uncle... which is why I respected him as if he were family.
"Saphyr is not a threat. You can trust me. Besides, if she were, we wouldn't still be alive." I moved closer to her, placing myself between Saphyr and the group.
"So she is one of them..."
"Selyn."
Saphyr stepped forward, meeting the frightened, hateful glares of the people present: "I am one of them, but unlike my kind, I have realized my mistakes. Selyn was able to enlighten me, to show me the truth..."
"Saphyr has taken charge of my protection and has saved my life on multiple occasions."
"This could be a trick!"
"Selyn—!"
Saphyr lunged toward me, but not fast enough. I hadn't sensed a thing, but suddenly I saw something jutting out of my abdomen: a sort of bloody spike made of gooey flesh was protruding from there, but it retracted immediately after, struck by the angel of death's weapon beside me. I heard the screams of the people surrounding me, but a dull whistle drowned out the rest of the noises and words.
My eyes landed on Saphyr, who was facing the creature that had attacked me: her spear was lodged in its head, ending its life. Pale-faced and terrified, I looked down, checking my stomach, and my mouth fell open in a silent scream when I discovered I had no mark on my body. I saw no blood, I felt no pain... the pact with Saphyr had saved me once again.
Saphyr!
I saw her collapse to the ground and spit blood: her body had taken my wound, and the bluish liquid began to gush profusely from the gash, showing no sign of stopping. I ran to her, cradling her in my arms and seeking her gaze: "Saphyr! Saphyr!"
"Don't—" she grimaced in pain, and I saw beads of sweat dotting her forehead.
What could I do? I couldn't let her die like this; how would I manage on my own afterward? Who would defend me? Who would provide answers to my questions? Without realizing it, in the hours spent with Saphyr, I had begun to feel connected to her somehow, and the idea of her leaving me scared me.
"Don't speak if it hurts. What can we do?" I asked anxiously, pressing my hands against the wound to staunch the bleeding.
"I have a vial—" she gritted her teeth and searched under her cloak and in her pockets. I helped her look for what she needed, but we found nothing. "Saphyr?"
"Impossible... it was here..."
"This one?" Alfred had picked up a vial from the ground, found a few feet away from us.
Only then did I notice the survivors were surrounding us, watching with shocked eyes. My mother and father seemed the most terrified of all.
"Sweetheart, what is happening? We saw that thing run you through! But y-you... you... you're fine."
"I will explain everything... but first—" I turned to Alfred in a panic: "I need to give that to Saphyr, hurry!"
"And why should I? We are lucky she's in this condition. We can put an end to her life." Alfred closed his fingers around the vial, holding it out of my reach.
"W-what? But you all saw how she protected us! Mother? Father? Say something!"
"My child... they are very dangerous. You should listen to Alfred."
"Dad, you taught me to forgive... to be selfless, sensitive... why are you acting like this now?"
I was desperate. I couldn't leave Saphyr in that condition, and as the seconds ticked by, I watched her gaze grow distant.
"I will help you," I whispered in her ear and stood up quickly, after lowering her completely to the ground.
I reached Alfred and tried to grab the vial, but two men seized me, yanking me away: "Let me go! Dad, do something! Mom!"
"It's for your own good, sweetheart," my mother cried, confused by what was happening and worried about me. My father, however, remained quieter than ever.
Overcome with despair, a sense of injustice, and disbelief, I thrashed free and drew my dagger, aiming it at one of the men who had grabbed me. He backed away quickly. "Hey!"
"Don't touch me!"
"You're going crazy. That monster brainwashed you!"
"That is not true, Uncle Alfred. You have to trust me. It's still me... Selyn... why are you acting like this? What you call a monster saved my life right in front of your eyes. Now she is suffering in my place; she has the wound that would have taken my life, she's bleeding for me... please, give me the vial!"
I tried to step closer again, but Alfred raised a hand, warning me to stay back. Interminable seconds passed, during which I wanted to act urgently to retrieve the vial and help Saphyr, but Alfred continued to stare at me with an unreadable expression.
"Perhaps you will understand that we are doing this for your own good when you are free from that monster's influence."
I knew from his tone of voice that those words would trigger a breaking point. Indeed, Alfred raised the hand holding the vial and threw it against the floor.
"No!" I tried to catch it, but I was too late. The vial shattered, and the red liquid inside spilled over the stone, mixing with the shapeshifters' blood and the dirty sewer water.
"Grab the monster," Alfred ordered the men in the group, but before they could approach, I stepped between them and Saphyr, defending her.
"If you dare come closer," I said, my voice shaking, "I will hurt you... I won't let you take Saphyr."
"Selyn... d-don't turn against them."
"B-but Saphyr..." I knelt to her level, bringing my hands back to the bleeding wound. I couldn't tear my eyes away from that horrific gash.
"Look at me..."
I only did it because she asked me to: when I lifted my eyes to her storm-cloud gray pools, my heart began to beat faster, and I felt a bothersome sensation in the pit of my stomach.
"W-we can try another way." It was obvious she was struggling to speak.
I noticed no one else had approached me, and for that, I had to thank my father, who was defending me: "I trust my daughter! Please, listen to her... she's right! If it weren't for this woman named Saphyr, we wouldn't be alive right now."
"Saphyr... what do I have to do?"
"Your blood... I think your blood could help me h-heal."