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Absolutely. I lurched forward and threw myself through the doorway. Where did I want to go, though? I hadn’t quite figured that out before moving. So, the doorway led nowhere. I stumbled into the veil of hanging flowers still growing in my bedroom. They tickled my face and got stuck in my mouth.
I spat them out and tumbled into the bed. Behind me, Rhoan laughed.
“It’s all right. Not everyone gets it on their first try,” he said as if all fae learned this at my age.
I absolutely refused to believe that. I knew that this was probably somethingtoddlerscould do. Knowing that, I rolled off the bed and faced the doorway again. This time, I pulled my arcana up and wrapped it around myself. The flowers shuddered in response.
When the canopy shook, I caught glimpses of Rhoan on the other side. He extended a hand towards me like he expected me to step up to him so I could try again with him. There was an in-between before me, though. I had one more chance to do this on my own.
Where did I want to go?
Ness was having that cookout later. I imagined my oldest friend. Her face appeared as clear as day in my mind. I could see each individual freckle on her olive-tinted skin. So, when I stepped forward, I told myself that she would be on the other side of this door.
The scar at my throat tingled. The image of Ness in my mind changed. I saw her face twisted with despair as she watched in horror while Alvin shoved me to my knees. The lawn was burned into my mind. I could still feel the freshly cut grass on my bare skin.
Magic rippled over me. I tumbled forward and landed on my knees. Crumpling forward, my open palms met grass—though it was long overgrown now. I knew what I would see when I lifted my head, but I wasn’t ready. My blood thundered in my ears. The scar on my throat burned fiercely.
Rhoan
The veilof flowers parted for a split second. I caught a glimpse of Cerri’s face and her far-away eyes and knew that something was wrong. I reached out to grab ahold of her, but she vanished through the in-between before I could touch her.
“Well, that was impressive,” Feri said near my feet.
I gaped down at the little creature. He hadn’t seen the warning signs. The ferret saw Cerri successfully step in-between, while I knew that she hadn’t gone where she wanted. Bending, I snatched up the little creature and tucked him in my pocket.
I lunged for the doorway and used this lost moment as an in-between. So long as Cerri didn’t know where she was, I could tap into the power of that and appear beside her. Instead, I fumbled through into her bedroom.
That meant Cerri already knew where she was. She’d landed somewhere familiar. I snatched up my phone and thanked the fates for such convenient technology. We didn’t have anything like this back in the hey-day of the Seelie Court. Now, I could send Cerri a quick message to ask where she was.
However, my princess didn’t respond. I tried calling her, but her phone rang from the nightstand beside her bed. My hope sputtered and died. A curse reached my lips. I snatched the device up from her nightstand and shoved it in my pocket. My blood pumped, filling me with a momentum that I had to let out somehow.
If I stopped moving, my beast would rip its way out of me. I had to go, I had to find Cerri.
23
CERRI
Not here. Please. Anywhere but here. I never wanted to come backhere.
I would have said that my soul trembled, but I didn’t have one. This shaky feeling was nothing more than adrenaline and pure fear. No matter how many times I told myself that Alvin was dead and gone, I couldn’t escape the horror that I’d endured here.
Cautious, I lifted my gaze ever so slightly. My sight roved over the lawn but never reached the house ahead of me. The grass was darker in some areas—from my own blood, perhaps.
The feeling of hands digging into my arms and shoulders returned. I fell forward, my cheek slamming into the ground. A whimper escaped me when I felt the pointed tip of a claw pierce my skin all over again. Warmth spilled over my skin.
I thought I was going to die that day.
That could have been the end of everything, and I wouldn’t’ have been able to stop him. Why couldn’t my arcana have revealed itself that day? Why did it have to wait so long? I’d been helpless, weak as a mortal. Alvin could have doneanything.
I could remember the pain—the sensation of my rib snapping when he kicked me, the dull throb of my bones crying as he fractured them all. The suffering had seemed endless, and there’d been no one to save me.
While Ness had Ryder, I’d been all on my own. Alvin had used that against me. He’d hunted me down and dragged me out of my own home.
A scream built in my throat. My past came roaring back. I couldn’t escape the way it rushed over my body. Everything hurt all at once. I shook from the force of it.
Someone cursed softly and dropped beside me. Strong arms pulled me into their embrace. The smell of Rhoan filled my senses. I exhaled, the memory rushing away from me like it couldn’t get past Rhoan’s arms.
I clung to him while my breath shuddered. My whole body shook. While I wished he didn’t have to see this, there was no escaping it.
