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“Because whatever cycle you’re in has to end so something new and powerful can begin.” I clutch the strap, needing an anchor to remind me why I’m here. To find an end to my grief by telling Lala how much I miss her, pleading with her to share whatever last words she’d planned to tell me, asking her all the questions I should have before I couldn’t, begging her to guide me on what to do next without screwing everything up. I just need a sign.
A scream cut short comes from somewhere inside the house.
“Think the tour people did that as a scare tactic?” Val asks, sounding less certain than I’ve ever heard her.
“If so, it’s working,” I whisper.
Heavy thuds clunk from outside. My heart jackrabbits in my chest, and an icy shiver slides along my spine in a dizzying spin. My gaze meets Val’s. Her wide eyes mirror my own.
We both run for the double doors. The crystals on my wrists rattle and the charms around my neck clink, but for once, they don’t steady my nerves.
From the other side, Theo the tour guide yells, “Atticus. Jace. Protect your queen.”
Thuds echo, a smash and shattering so loud it’s as though someone has torn away part of the house. I freeze, too confused and scared to move.
Val yanks at the knobs. “They’re stuck.”
“Push,” I tell her, snapping out of my panic and reaching to help.
We jam the doors open, but they bounce against something heavy with a shuddering crash. Once, twice, three times. We manage to bang them until a few inches gape between, not leaving enough space to see what’s blocking them, but letting a tiny, feathered body zip through.
Grey with wide eyes, a little owl flutters around me. I watch the owl in disbelief.
It’s impossible.
Lala’s pet looked just like this jittery ball of feathers, but he vanished months ago.
“Huey?” My voice comes out too high.
He answers me with a soft hoot and flies toward the gap in the doors.
No. “Huey!” I rush after him, shoving through the small opening as he darts just out of reach. The doors slam behind me, leaving Val alone in the library on the other side. She beats her fists against the wood, yelling my name.
But I can’t answer, can’t move, can’t even breathe. Looming above me are my guardian gargoyles—only they’re greyish-blue flesh and heavy muscle instead of stone.
My vision narrows to them, darkening around the edges. Growing shadows crowd the view that I can’t make sense of.
The larger one pulls me to him. “It’s not safe here, our queen.” His voice rumbles through me, a baritone gruff that competes with the gentleness in his tone and his touch. He wraps wings around me. Wings! They’re massive and so blue they’re almost black close to the base, turning gorgeous shades of purple and cream toward the edges. The claw tips at the top look sharp, lethal.
I should scream.
Or maybe I should fight.
I do neither because—for the first time in months, if not years—my heart thumps with genuine excitement. Not from running to take care of someone else’s problems or holding a patient’s hand while wishing for a miracle. Not because I’m too paralyzed by grief or failure to see a way forward.
My guardian gargoyles have come to life.
What if the haunted house company has been messing with me all those weeks since Ava scored the exclusive preview? The Underworld Corporation plans to bill this place as the most luxurious, immersive fear attraction in the world. Has this been one long, complicated buildup to freak me out?
Or am I actually delusional and tripping right now?
The big guy who wrapped me in his wings stares at me as if I’m the center of his world. His eyes? I don’t know what kind of contacts could create those silver baby blues, but wow, they work on him. He sweeps me into his arms as if I weigh nothing, and those arms—a master carver couldn’t have created a better fantasy. The tattoo on his chest looks like warrior ink on steroids. His hair falls in long blue waves, and I have the sudden need to run my fingers through those strands to touch the pointed tips of his ears.
One thing’s for sure. If this is a hallucination, I don’t ever want it to end.
7
ATTICUS
