But the dark mage threatening me with the Wand of Flame and Fury isn’t Judgment at all.
It’s Ani. Dark and deadly. Empty inside.
His eyes are black, his smile dripping with blood.
“Ani!” I shout, reaching for him. “Let it go! It’s killing you!”
The rocks vanish, and I’m back in the bedroom once again, warm and safe in the arms of the man I love.
The blood is gone. The Wand is gone. There’s only Ani, his caramel eyes warm in the candlelight.
“Goddess, it’s you,” I breathe, reaching for his face.
But he flinches at my touch, his eyes turning cold and unforgiving. The fiery inferno that burned so hot between us mere seconds ago has turned to ice.
“What’s wrong?” I whisper.
“What’s wrong withyou?” His cold eyes narrow, lip curling back over his teeth. “Unworthy.”
I’m out of the bed in a flash, backing up toward the window with the sheet clutched in my hands, desperate to put as much space between us as I can.
Ani’s eyes clear, and he looks at me across the dimly lit room, his face falling. “What… what happened?”
I pull the sheet up to my chin, not moving from the window. My whole body is trembling. “I don’t know. I just… I saw something. A vision. You… you had the Wand.”
He doesn’t reply, just keeps staring at me, confused and uncertain.
“You were trying to hurt me,” I say. “I know it wasn’t real, but it—”
“You think I’deverhurt you?”
Something new flashes in his eyes, but it’s not sadness or concern. It’s not confusion. It’s not even a sense of betrayal at the idea that I might actually be scared of him.
It’s rage.
His energy hits me at the same time I see it in his eyes—a fury so intense, so pure, I can almost feel its heat on my skin.
The lingering haze of lust burns away in an instant, and new questions slam through my mind. He mentioned Doc refusing to share—how did he know about that? And how, after all those months of shy, sweet jokes, did he become such a commanding dirty-talker? All that confidence, all that fire… I didn’t expect it.
Because it wasn’t Ani.
Not the Ani I fell in love with. Not the Ani who sang with me and made up funny Tarot stories and gave me the sunrise.
“What’s happening?” I whisper, tears glazing my eyes.
“What’s wrong, Starla?” he snaps, climbing out of the bed and stalking toward me. His steps are slow and deliberate, a lion stalking a gazelle. “Don’t like a man who pushes back? You prefer them dumb and docile, is that it?”
“No, I…” I close my eyes and take a deep, steadying breath. I don’t know what’s going on, but this isn’t Ani. Maybe it’s some side effect from the dream realm or the potion, or some lingering brain fog from the whole ordeal, but it isn’t him. “You’ve been through a lot, Ani. I think we all need to just take a step back and—”
“Step back right into Baz and Kirin’s bed. That’s what you mean, right? Or maybe Cass’s? Anyone but good ol’ Ani.” He grabs the sheet and whips it out of my hands, tossing it onto the floor between us. His eyes are wild, his smile bordering on manic. “String me along for a laugh or two, some fashion advice, a few stupid karaoke songs, but I’ll never be good enough for that pussy, right?”
His energy hits me again, all at once. Rejection, loneliness, self-loathing, darkness. I’ve barely tasted the full cocktail of it when the door bursts open, Doc and Baz barreling into the room.
Doc takes one look at the scene, and grabs Ani by the throat, pinning him against the wall. “Apologize to her. Now.”
Ani’s eyes blaze with new fire, but then it’s like a wall goes up between us, cutting him off completely. I can’t get a read on him, can’t sense anything beyond a cold, dark numbness that makes my skin crawl.
Gaze locked on mine, Ani forces a smile I know he doesn’t mean. “I apologize. I’m just a little… tired. After everything.”
