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Being in the prison cell brought back memories I’d rather forget. The symptoms started again—the hyperventilating, the tightness around my ribcage, the dizzying panic, and everything started spinning around me. I lost my balance and collapsed. Everything went dark. I wasn’t sure if the crystal lamps had gone out or if my vision had blanked.
“Snow!” Shadow cried. “Grimm! Don’t leave her in there. She’s not well.”
“It’s for her own good,” Grimm argued, the door creaking as it opened, and then crashing shut as he left.
“Grimm!” I groped for the bars but struck nothing.
“I’ll get you out of here,” Shadow promised.
But the voice that spoke to me next was unexpected and had me jolting. “Imagine the stars, sweetheart, blazing like diamonds in the sky.”
Flare.What the hell? Since when did he care about calming me? All this time, he’d wanted me dead. He’d never shown an ounce of kindness toward me.
“The moon, her brilliance outshining it all,” Flare continued, his steady voice mesmerizing me. “Lighting the path for the mighty goddess, who walks among Her kingdom, Her footfalls silent, Her green eyes stark against the darkened canopy.”
Every word exploded in vivid color in my head.
“All the animals bow to their goddess,” Flare said. “Even the branches dip out of respect, caress Her side, and play sweet music on their leaves. The insects chirp, adding to the chorus, and the panthers stomp their feet in a rhythmical beat.”
Each noise drummed in my mind.
“She calls to Her mate, Her mighty consort, with a soft roar,” Flare said. “And he responds, running to Her side, asking Her what She wishes from him.”
The scene played in my mind, with the consort nudging his mate, running his gums along Her cheek, the way cats tended to do.
“She is hungry and wishes for him to catch Her a meal,” he said. “To feed the baby growing in Her belly.”
My gaze focused in on Her expanding abdomen. How beautiful.
“Do you see it, sweetheart?” Flare asked.
“Yes,” I whispered, suddenly aware that his story had captivated me, and all my symptoms had vanished.
“Good,” he said. “Tell me…what’s the goddess doing now?”
When I sat up, the cells were dark, all but for the faint glow coming from upstairs. I blinked, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Flare leaned against the bars, his back facing me, his neck craned as if he, too, were imagining the scenery he’d spoken of.
“How did you know what to do?” I asked, crawling to the edge of my cell.
“It’s something I made up,” Flare replied, adding to the air of mystery about him. “To deal with things when I’m overwhelmed.”
Who was he? What overwhelmed him? Why was he so bitter and cruel? What had made him that way? Why did he show compassion one moment and resentment the next? He made my head spin. I couldn’t figure him out.
“Thank you,” I said, my throat stinging from gasping.
“Better get some rest, sweetheart,” Flare said, severing any possibility of the conversation developing further.
My hands balled at my sides. Sea God, he was infuriating. Right when I’d thought I was cracking his hard exterior, he’d pushed me away. Fine. I accepted we’d never be friends. But if I was going to help him get his collar off, I at least wanted us to be on civil terms. Maybe then he’d be able to fight the raging beast a little more and would be less likely to rip my head off if the collar’s magic overpowered him. A nice back-up if I couldn’t use my magic to protect myself.
Shadow gave Flare a grateful smile and clapped him on the back.
I settled into the patch of hay on the floor and curled into a ball, reminded of every horrible night I’d spent in my stepmother’s dungeon. At least this cell wasn’t cold, and a breeze didn’t carry inside. And I didn’t have to worry I’d be awakened by a torturer or an executioner. Still, I couldn’t believe Grimm had done this to me. When I got my hands on him…I’d kill him.
Talk about an epic few days. I’d been attacked by panthers and had fended them off. Then I’d discovered I had magic powers when I’d saved Phantom. Now that I thought about everything I’d experienced recently, I was pretty exhausted.
***
“Snow.”Someone’s voice roused me from my sleep. “Are you awake?”
