Thousands of names and lives. Lips against hers, words spoken in her ear, hands passing over her flesh. Pleas and praise. Sobs and laughs.
Now that I’ve paid your price, pay mine. A dance.
A veil over her eyes, pulled away to reveal a face she knew as well as her own—red eyes and white hair. Unison vows.I do.
The dream drifted away, then morphed.
I am Lucien Quenlan, and I swear to you, I will never do anything to hurt you, nor will I ever use you or your body for evil purposes.
She wanted to sob, but if she did, a diamond would fall in place of liquid.
She thrashed from the force of holding her tears back. Words spilled out. "Find me in the—find m-me in—the next." Her jaw locked up.
The cool rush in her veins gentled her again, and she was forced back into memories.
Awareness came slowly.
Rin’s body ached. It hurt to breathe.
Her brain throbbed in time with her heart, each sickening beat dragging her closer toward wakefulness.
She didn’t want it—wanted to go back to the dreams, the memories, the hands, the eyes…
Eyes in shifting colors swam in her mind like fish in a bowl, trapped in her skull.
Red, purple, green, brown, blue?—
Black.
She tried to focus on the black. She remembered that shade, from more than just far-reaching, flickering memories. Sheremembered black eyes from a time close—too close to be from a life beyond this one.
She couldn’t move, not even wiggle her toes. She was caged in her own flesh.
Her bruised mind drifted to those black eyes, whispers against the tear tracks on her cheeks.
I know, Star of mine. This had to happen. I will atone for eternity for allowing this to come to pass.
But when she focused on that memory, she rememberedmore?—
The pain.
Her thoughts shifted to brown eyes, freckles scattered across a face she knew well. But no fondness on the face she could sketch from memory alone—only severe apathy and single-minded determination.
Kit was alive.
Rin’s fingers twitched. She felt something soft beneath her palms. A blanket?
Touch faded beneath the terror of her memories. Eventually, sound returned. The faint drip of liquid, the clicking of keys on a laptop, murmured voices, and rustling pages.
Each time Rin fought to surface, horror dragged her down again. So she let herself stay consumed by the darkness.
It was easier than facing what had happened to her.
Rin couldn’t fightit any longer.
With a gasp, she jolted upright, skin tingling as remnants of the electricity Kit had used still coursed through her.
Something was stuck in her hand, itchy tape over her wrist. She twisted, blankets tangled around her hips.
