A Little Broken [Three Trinities Haven Church]

[Oriena]

She heard the sound of him fall backwards, and ignored it. When she moved the rag her nose was still fucking dripping. She spat the blood that had pooled in her throat and scrubbed a hand over her mouth in irritation.

The murmur of Sasha’s terror touched precisely nothing in Oriena. She could hear his quickened breathing and the press of his all-consuming panic in the snow behind her. It really wasn’t her problem. You either survived Sick, or you didn’t.

Yet she didn’t leave. Instead she glared up at the sky, wondering what might be summoned if he lost control in his fear, and if she cared about the proximity of Zeke’s church to whatever supernova he might set off. She let the blood-soaked rag drop to the ground. Then she sighed and crawled over to him, half climbing on him to wrap her hand at his throat. Not hard – it wasn’t a threat, not exactly. But it was a gesture most people struggled to ignore, which was one of the reasons Ori liked it so much. And she wanted to drag his attention back from wherever those sightless dark eyes strayed. Or maybe to just burn in the cross-hairs if they imagined her a threat. “Then learn to control it, dumbass. It’s yours, Sasha. So fucking take it.”