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I grab harder, determined, as Rogan jumps and changes in midair.Bones shatter and muscles shift, and still I hold on.If I don’t I’ll die.In a flash I’m no longer grasping his firm buttocks.Instead, I’m straddling him, facing his tail, and clutching at his underbelly.
He’s running, leaping—one last snap brings him fully into wolf form—and I’m gripping onto him as if my life depends on it—which, of course, it does.
Flaming arrows shoot around us.Then gunshots.Bullets whizz by.Richard’s voice spews out more commands in Latin, but my mind is too occupied to decipher any of it.
This is the end of my life.I know it.I accept it.
Until—
Rogan leaps beyond some sort of—gelatin.It feels like we’re moving through gelatin for several seconds.What is it?A protective veil?Slime that leads to the underworld?
I don’t know, and I have no more time to dwell on it as the sun sears into my vision.I squint at the light.
Rogan is still scampering, and I’m still grabbing fistfuls of his fur.
The drugs in my body plus Rogan’s animal movement and my own fear and anxiety make my stomach churn.
No.Not going to get sick.I don’t get sick.I’ve been on the best roller coasters in the country and never even thought about getting sick.
I’m not going to freak out now.
Rogan continues to run.Where are we?Images whiz by so quickly I have no idea.
I close my eyes against the motion, trying to settle my stomach.Just when I’m not sure I can hold the nausea at bay a second longer, Rogan finally stops.
I roll off him onto a grassy knoll.Yes.Solid ground.Solid ground is good.Iloveyou, solid ground.The sky is bright blue and the sun is scorching—except I’m not hot.I’m comfortable.Flowers are scattered throughout the grass, poking pink, orange, yellow, and blue heads up through the green.
“Are you okay?”
The voice isn’t Rogan’s.It’s not even human.It’s a growl, but somehow I understand the words.
I open my eyes, again squinting against the sun.
Rogan stands over me—in all his gray and silvery magnificence, those greenish gold eyes searing into me.
Did he just use words?Or did I understand the growl?
“What… What happened?”I ask, my voice a hoarse whisper.
Rogan doesn’t reply.He walks away from me, and I close my eyes against the brightness once more.My heart is hammering, and my stomach is finally settling down.My thoughts are still jumbled.
My stepfather?The demon king?
In a way, this new fact makes the most sense of any of this mess.I always knew the jerk was evil.I just didn’t knowhowevil.
“Rogan,” I eke out.
No response.
“Rogan!Help me.He said he’d … My sister… I can’t…”
Again, no response.
“Rogan.Please.”
I force myself to sit up.Where is my purse?My phone?I pat myself down and find my phone in my back pocket.My purse strapped around my body.
Larissa.I’ve got to call Larissa.
