Page 129 of Heart of Mischief

And you will see him again.

How funny. How ironic. If Charlie could have laughed, she would have. For weeks, the driving force behind her three distractions was destroying Elias. Getting revenge on what he did to her and her friends. Who knew that, just a few days after he finally reappeared, she’d use those same tactics to make sure she’d see him again? Who knew that all those nights she’d spent obsessing over how to kill a mare would prepare her for this moment, the moment she fought tobecomeone?

You are strong.

You found Elias.

You forgave Elias.

And you will see him again.

All at once, the agony vanished. The world went dark. The screams and jeers evaporated, leaving behind perfect silence. The kind of silence that could swallow you whole.

Charlie looked down at the spot where she was standing. Under her feet was grass, but the coloring was wrong. It was gray instead of green, as if leeched of all its color. Her feet were bare and pale white, like slices of moonlight. When she raised her head to take in the rest of her surroundings, she found only darkness. Yawning, never-ending darkness, like she was in the belly of a crow.

And the pain…

The pain was gone.

And not the kind ofgonethat comes after a good cry. Not the numbing warmth, like your heart has slowed down and you can finally breathe again. It had justdisappeared, leaving no trace that it had ever been there in the first place.

Charlie had done it. She’d made it through.

She’d expected to feel immense relief. Perhaps even joy. Instead, she felt…

Nothing.

Yes. She felt nothing. No relief or joy, not even mild happiness that she had made it through the first part of the Trial. She was completely empty, as if she’d forgotten how to feel at all.

And it was…

Well.

It waswonderful.

She was completely alone on a patch of gray grass in total darkness, but she wasn’t afraid. She had no idea where her brother or Henry or her friends were, but she didn’t care. No stress weighed upon her shoulders. No panic. No anxiety.

Finally.

It was fabulous. It was glorious. Charlie would have beamed if she actually felt happiness. But she didn’t; she only felt a delicious nothingness.

“No wonder people become drug addicts,” she said aloud, even though there was nothing and no one to talk to.

As if summoned by her words, dim gray light began toshimmer in the darkness. Charlie watched dispassionately as a landscape came to life before her: a tall gray hilltop, complete with rustling gray grass and a small gray tree at the top. The tree had a thin trunk and a round, perfectly symmetrical crown of leaves. She thought it might be a birch.

Welcome, Charlotte Hudson.

Charlie turned, looking for the source of the echoey whisper that had just danced across her ears. “Hello?”

You cannot see me, said the voice.You can only listen.

“A disembodied voice,” she said flatly. “How original.”

This is a test, the voice went on, ignoring her sarcasm.The result will determine whether you are fit to become a mare of night.

“Righto.” She clapped her hands once. “I’m ready. Let’s get on with it.”

Six gray lights shimmered to life just over the hilltop. They were lined up to the right of the birch tree.