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Prologue
She could hear the monster coming.
Alanna shuffled to the side to hide behind the curtain, praying she wouldn’t be found in the dark room. Dread filled her with each step she could hear outside in the hallway.
“Please, don’t come in here … Please, God,” she prayed silently to herself, the prayer freezing in her mind when she heard the sound of the doorknob being turned. Terror held her mind and body paralyzed, as if she were in some Matrix glitch, waiting for what would happen next while knowing she had played this game too many times not to know the penalty of being the loser.
Holding her breath, hearing soft footsteps enter the room, Alanna was so lost in terror that she nearly wet herself when the footsteps stopped near her, so close she could hear the monster’s intake of breath.
“I know you’re in here, Alanna. Come out, and I’ll let you pick the movie we’ll watch. If not …”
The threat hung in the air, waiting for a response from her, which Alanna had no intention of giving.
She remained frozen in place, even after the footsteps had started moving around the room again and the monster had slammed the closet door open to search inside. She had known the monster would come out tonight.
Today was her birthday, and the monster came out to play anytime any joy could filter into her life.
The closing of the closet door had Alanna bracing to be found again as the footsteps were on the move again.
“I’m going to let you win tonight, Alanna, because it’s your birthday.”
Alanna didn’t believe the monster’s lies. She had been taken in too many times before.
“I had a special present I was going to give you. I guess you’ll never know what it is.”
She didn’t care what it was.
Voices coming up the steps had the monster moving to the door.
“You win, but I can’t let you go unpunished. You’re going to get it twice as bad the next time we play. I don’t leave for a couple of more nights, so I’ll make sure we’ll spend plenty of quality time together before then.”
The barely-heard click of the door closing behind the monster had her legs collapsing out from under her. Shoving a fist against her mouth, she managed to stifle the cries coming from her throat so her foster parents wouldn’t hear as they walked past her bedroom and came inside to see why she was crying.
She just had to make it a couple more nights, and then the monster would be gone.
Too afraid the monster would come back when the Fields went to sleep, she remained in the same spot until she felt the sun’s rays burning the side of her face. As she lifted her face to the bright sun, the terror of the night melted under the warmth.
The Fields usually kept the house chilly, to keep her foster mother comfortable. Alanna was used to feeling the chill, despite wearing a warm robe over her clothes.
Raising her hand, she pressed it against the pane of the glass, feeling the warmth heat her palm. Lingering instead of getting dressed, she wished the next two days would magically pass her by.
When she heard the other children stirring to get ready for school, Alanna stiffly got to her feet, dropping her hand to her side when a brisk knock sounded on her door.
“You up, Alanna?” Mrs. Field’s asked. “Hurry up, or you won’t have time to eat breakfast.”
“I’ll hurry.”
“I made French toast. You better hurry, or there won’t be any left,” she called out, her voice moving farther away.
Even though she was no longer touching the pane of glass, the chill settled back into her bones. There was no magic left in the world strong enough to make the coming days pass quickly. At fourteen, she was too old to still believe in magic. Her life was no fairy tale, and she wasn’t a princess, nor would any prince be coming to her rescue.
After hurriedly dressing, Alanna was tugging on her shoes when the door opened without warning.
She fearfully glanced at the doorway to see an older girl, who didn’t share the same lack of confidence, saunter inside. If anyone considered herself royalty, it was the teenager who was looking at her in irritation.
“Why aren’t you ready yet?”
Staring at the angelic blonde who could be a Victoria Secret model with an inferiority complex, Alanna jumped off the bed to shrug on her backpack. “I’m ready.”
