Before I could argue, an entire bed literally dropped into the room right on top of Drake’s things despite us clearing the room.
“Fuck you, Ivar,” he called out as we both scrambled to save his desk and wardrobe before they were damaged beyond repair. The bed was sturdy wood like the other and had a clean mattress on it at least. When we got the bed shifted in place, he started getting his half-broken belongings back in place. “Can you grab her bed stuff? Maybe something familiar will calm her. She’s going to be disoriented since he wasn’t giving her meds. At least that’s my guess from what I saw when I was up there looking for her.”
“On it,” I promised, slipping into the hallway again. Just as I was coming out of her room, I ran into Layne and Crew. They narrowed their eyes at me when I had all her stuff in my arms. “She’s back. In Drake’s room. It isn’t good.”
That changed their demeanor, and they rushed that way. I trailed behind them, knowing Layne was about to bulldoze right in.
“It was Vane,” Drake answered the question I’d missed. Likely what happened to her. We all knew Vane was a monster, but this seemed bad even for him. Then again, he was likely a fucking demon himself.
Pushing my way through, I quickly made her bed and Drake ignored Layne’s constant string of questions to help me shift Harlow onto her sheets. She let out a whimper before her eyes blinked open. She took us all in and her entire expression broke with pain and she flinched back.
“I’m not trash,” she cried, the words slurring as she fell back to sleep. “I’m not, please, please don’t hurt me anymore.”
“What the fuck?” Crew growled.
“Look, you know what you avoid at night? The unspoken monsters that lurk the halls? They got to her. She’s going to be a mess,” Drake said as bluntly as he could without saying ‘hey, demons are real’ like he did to me.
“I thought the demons were nightmares,” Layne admitted.
Drake gave her a reassuring smile. “You’ve always been more observant than you give yourself credit for. They’re actual demons.”
“What?” Crew laughed. “Get serious, man.”
“Show them,” I told Drake. He said he was a half breed that meant he had to have something he could do.
Drake blinked at me before his head morphed. Horns protruded from his head, his skin changed color, and his eyes bled to all black. He held up one hand and let shadows and fire pour out for a brief second before he was back to normal.
“Welcome to Dark Haven, where the halls are filled with demons and secrets are the foundation,” he deadpanned.
“Holy fuck,” Crew said. “I need to burn something.” Layne was pale now and clinging to Crew for dear life.
“Come on, we can come back and check on her later,” Layne said. Her voice shook and from the wild look in her eyes, she was far more freaked out than she was showing. He’d changed their reality, and now they had to cope in their own ways.
“I need to write to Hiro, but I don’t want to leave her for long,” I admitted with a heavy sigh.
“Is your journal on your desk?” Drake asked. I nodded and he stood up. “I’ll grab it. I’m going to grab her some real food too. She needs to eat.”
“Thanks,” I said as I kicked off my shoes and crawled onto the second bed, pulling her close so she was cradled in my arms. The way she melted into me with a sigh helped to soothe some of the jagged edges this day had brought out. The more I relaxed, the more Hiro pushed at me. I couldn’t usually feel a change coming, but this time things were different. Then again, last he knew Harlow was still missing. Resisting it wasn’t easy, but somehow keeping my focus on her and the demon who could pop in at any moment, I kept him at bay. For now.
“Hiro?” Her tired, broken voice nearly killed me, but I put on a soft smile. Or my attempt at one.
“Roman,” I corrected. “You’re safe now, Harlow. We finally found you.”
She blinked a few times before that same broken face took over. “No, I don’t want to hear anymore. I know that I’m disposable, that I’m useless.”
I growled at what she was insinuating. Had the demons just berated her for days on end?!
“Look at me,” I commanded. She blinked up at me before her eyes focused on something behind me and another soft whimper escaped. “You’re safe. Whatever happened in that room was either a hallucination or demon-induced. It wasn’t real.”
“Maybe to you,” she countered. “It was very real to me.” My heart broke for the girl who’d already endured enough abuse in her life. If Drake wasn’t going to take care of Vane, I would. I should have already.
“I’m so sorry, Harlow. But you’re safe now. Drake and Ivar tracked you down. We got you cleaned up and now you’re hidden away in Drake’s room.”
“Is it real?” she asked as she tried to look around. The dark circles under her eyes were so bad she looked bruised.
“It is. Drake’s grabbing you food. We need you to eat.”
“I’ve got her medicine,” Ivar said as he appeared, nearly giving me a fucking heart attack.