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"The red moon—I can see it. I shouldn't be able to see it," I mutter, still in awe and terror as I stare at the impossible, becoming oblivious to the destruction around me.
"The barrier between our magic and the human world is breaking. This bitch is going to destroy everything."
We screech to a halt when we reach the base of the woods, and Kane leaps out of the car. He's at my door before I can even get my hand on the handle, and he opens it, quickly enclosing my hand in his.
"Alyssa, I mean it, don't leave my side."
I continue staring at the moon, feeling it pulling at me, begging me to let my true self free. It's beautiful.
"Stop looking at it," he says while palming each side of my face and bringing my head down so that my eyes only see his night stalker blues. "Look at me."
I take several steadying breaths, and I feel the pull of the moon lessening, seeping out, and I regain some of my control.
"We need to go," Chaz says, stepping up behind us.
"Did you reach him?" Kane asks as we start moving quickly through the woods, ignoring the screams behind us. We can't do anything to save them until we stop her—whoever she is.
"He's still not answering," Chaz says.
"Who?"
Kane tightens his lips, and I realize who he's talking about when he tenses.
"Gage?"
"We need the Somage," Deke says as he curses a dusty spirit that tries to take his body. Thankfully, we're all sealed from them with our tattooed protection.
"I wish these bitches needed permission to take bodies," he growls.
"They only need permission if they're unable to fully cross the planes. Fucking purgatory is open. The spirits are free. They can take anyone who doesn't have protection."
My wrist starts burning fiercely, and I jerk free from Kane's hold, as I pull it up to see it. My mouth falls as the mark glows, promising me we're about to be met with some real evil.
"Castine's here," I whisper, looking at Kane who has already clenched his jaw shut.
"I'm stronger this time," he says softly, rubbing his thumb over the burning mark, forcing me to wince when the angry mark makes my flesh tender.
I hope all the blood he's been taking from me really does make him stronger. Maybe that's why my creature goddess craved his bite so badly.
We start moving briskly through the woods again, everyone on alert, but the sounds ripping through the air aren't comforting—too many spirits are free.
We all stumble to a halt when we reach the other side of the woods and see the fiery lake up close. I look to the middle where the water is parted, creating a land trail to where the beacon of blue light hums into the sky.
My breath leaves as dusty shadows flee from the dark hole of an opening, carrying ashes and fire with them as they escape. The dark lake almost looks black right now under the glow of the red moon.
Familiar faces litter the opening to where the water rises up to almost shield them, creating a circle for destruction to be evoked.
I don't know what shocks me the most. There are too many things.
First, there is the blond man who looks just like Thad, but it can't be—it just can't. He's bound, on his knees with his head lowered so that he only sees the ground, and he's beside a young girl in the same stance. A black, glistening, faceted gem rests between them, centering itself in front of the dark hole.
Next to them, I look into black eyes that shouldn't be on a night stalker. They draw me in as a hissing bitch notices our presence—Castine is here, making the mark on my wrist burn even hotter.
Then a deadly beauty with dark hair, red lips, and a devil's agenda looks our way. It's Amari, Gage's vicious mother.
Next to Gage’s mother, there’s a familiar monster, and a chilling tremor of fear spreads throughout me as a dark nightmare becomes reality. The scars on his face prove he's been hit by powerful magic—my mother's magic. It's him—the monster from my past, the monster in my worst dreams—the monster who marked me for life.
But not even that strikes as much horror as the next face I see, the one that answers many questions while leaving me with so many more. I gasp, cover my mouth, and shake my head as tears arise when the cold eyes fall on me.
