I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, trying to chase down a memory—a clue—but nothing came. The last thing I remembered clearly was being at the safe house. Falling asleep on the couch, curled up in Asher’s arms…
Asher…
I gasped as a sliver of memory peeked through the fog. It was no more than a flash—a whisper of warm breath ghosting across my neck, rough hands running up my back, a kiss that tasted like cinnamon—and then it was gone.
Damn.The memories were so close to the surface, but the harder I chased them, the faster they ran.
I opened my eyes again and tried to orient myself.
Where was I, exactly? How had I gotten here? Had someone taken me? Where were the guys? Were they out wandering over these inhospitable black rocks, looking for me like I’d been looking for them?
And why was the front of my shirt covered in someone else’s blood?
I scraped my tongue along my upper teeth, trying in vain to get rid of that sharp, coppery taste.
No luck.
It didn’t add up. Witches weren’t vampires—none of us had ever survived the change. The thought of drinking blood curdled my stomach. How the hell had it gotten in my mouth? On my clothes?
More importantly—who did it belong to? I was pretty sure it wasn’t mine.
Had I… had Ikilledsomeone? Another vampire? A human?
Water, Gray. Water. Maybe something edible. Those are your priorities.
Hitting the pause button on my morbid thoughts, I grabbed a sharp rock and used it to tear off the bottoms of my pant legs, then tied the fabric around my bare feet. The rocks were only getting sharper, and I had no idea how much longer I’d have to walk. As far as I knew, I hadn’t seen any signs of life—water, birds, even centipedes or fire ants would’ve been a welcome sight.
But no matter how high I scrambled up the ridge, all I could see were more jagged peaks, rising up through the smoke. The vista was endless; from up on the ridge, it looked like a vast sea of torn tissue paper layered in shades of gray and black.
Aside from the fact that it was trying to kill me, the place was actually kind of beautiful.
I continued on, one painstakingly slow step at a time. But my makeshift shoe came undone and caught on a rock, sending me tumbling. I hit the ground with a grunt, slicing both my palms.
Great. More blood.
I got to my knees and inspected the wounds, watching as my blood dripped onto the rocks below.
Then it began to glow. Faintly at first, then stronger, pulsing like a bright beacon.
It was the first sign of my magic since I’d started wandering this place, and I leaped on it ferociously, slamming my palms against the earth, ignoring the stinging bite of the rocks.
Power surged up my arms and across my back, igniting my senses and kicking them into overdrive. I could smell the fires up close now, like sulfur and coal. The bloody taste in my mouth sharpened. All around me, I could hear the ash falling softly to the ground. And deep inside me, my magic was stirring back to life, warming my chest and vibrating out through my fingers and toes.
Something shifted in my mind—an audible click, like a gate unlatching. Without warning, a flood of memories rushed out.
The cool, damp walls of a cave.
My stomach turning at the words of someone better left forgotten. “You’ve grown up to be more beautiful than I could’ve ever imagined.”
Reaching out for Liam in my realm, only to be hauled back into that awful cave before I could tell him where I was.
The repulsive voice of my captor telling me Ronan, Emilio, and Darius were dead.
Magic seeping into my limbs, unleashed from the stone surrounding me.
Asher, my fiery incubus, his hands sliding up my back as I writhed in his lap, his eyes as wild as his kiss.
The look of fear dawning in Jonathan’s twisted gaze as I attacked him.
