“Jaxy? Don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not,” I murmur, and go find my shirt.
I need to find a way to stop this. I slip my arms into my silk shirt and run a hand over my hair.
“Will you be there?” Cecile asks, turning in her seat to watch me dress.
Just as I grab my pants from the arm of the sofa, the weirdest feeling hits me.
I pause, frowning.
It’s as if…I’ve been here already before.
Huh, weird.
I shake my head and finish dressing.
“I’ll be there,” I tell Cecile.
Just thinking about her in the same room as my father makes my heart stutter. I take a deep breath to steady myself.
There’s something odd inside me.
It’s as if there are two heartbeats in my chest, overlapping.
I freeze.
Wait a damn minute.
I look around the familiar Cecile’s room. The wrought iron bed, silk sheets, and flowery wallpapers. The open window lets in a breeze that rustles the heavy curtains. The view of the port in the distance?—
No.
That’s not the view from Cecile’s room.
That’s the view of my room back in Emera.
The second heartbeat in my chest grows louder.
Phoenix.
We were in the forest, camping by the waterfall. She fell asleep in my arms.
Did I fall asleep, too?
How am I here?
I look at Cecile. Her blue eyes are full of unshed tears when she says, “Don’t let me die, Jax.”
It’s a punch in the gut.
I’m reliving the day she died.
There must be a way out.
I head for the door and yank on the handle. It opens to reveal a familiar meeting room in the basement of my father’s favorite pub where he does his business dealings.
There’s no escape.
