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A loud, high-pitched squeak interrupts our conversation. I turn toward the sound in time to see those who were inside the cave, run out as if their pants are on fire. Flying behind them with its wings spread wide is a bat as large as a horse with glowing red eyes. With a squeak that hurts my ears, it proceeds to swoop down and snatch Alek up by the shoulders, making one of the toughest men I know cry out in pain. With its prize clutched in its claws, the bat flies in the direction of the setting sun.
Chaos ensues as a swarm of bats, just as enormous as the first one, fly out of the cave entrance. People scream in terror, running as fast as they can away from the creatures, some of them tripping over their own feet as they try to escape the same fate as Alek.
“Ivy!” Damon screams as he runs toward me. The frantic expression on his face is one I’ve never seen before.
He never makes it to me.
A bat flies straight toward him. Before I can even call out a warning, it digs its black talons into Damon’s shoulders and sweeps him into the air.
“Damon!” I run as fast as I can and grab at his feet to pull him back down, but I’m too late. My fingertips slide against the soles of his boots as he’s carried away toward the setting sun.
Helplessly, I watch the man I love fly over the top of the mountain. Out of sight and out of reach.
A scream of sheer terror draws my attention back to the cave’s entrance. Both Nahla and Oliver are snatched up by bats and flown away in the same direction as Alek and Damon. With their targets captured, all the bats fly off, leaving us in unnatural silence.
I fall to my knees in shock. Unable to breathe. Unable to think. All I can do is scream.
Pain wracks my body. Every muscle I have begins to ache. My heart feels like it’s about to explode as despair fills its every corner. What am I supposed to do now? How do I find Damon, if he’s even still alive? Grief is a strange emotion. It can either debilitate you or give you a strength you never knew you had.
In my case, it awakens a part of me that’s been held dormant until now. A power that has bided its time inside me but begs to be unleashed.
This time, when I scream, boulders shatter around me from the force of my newfound power, causing those on the mountain to shout in surprise or cower away from me in fear.
I fall to my hands and knees, breathing deeply as my body begins to tremble uncontrollably.
“Ivy!” Boris’s voice sounds distant as blood rushes through my veins like molten lava.
“Stay away!” My words aren’t a request. They’re an order given with no room for disobedience.
I have no idea what’s happening to me. All I know is that people should stay a safe distance if they wish to keep breathing.
I’m not sure how long I stay in my state of flux between anger and despair, but one voice breaks through the turmoil of my emotions and thoughts. One voice forces me to focus and attempt to temper the power inside me.
“Ivy, I’m here,” Emily says. She bends down on both knees, peering at me with a great deal of worry. “What’s happening?”
I shake my head vigorously, as more rocks rise into the air around me and explode. It’s only then I realize I’m crying.
“I don’t know,” my sobs cause my voice to sound weak, but I feel anything but. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
“I can’t help you unless you tell me what you’re feeling,” she says. I hear compassion in her voice but also a sharpness that practically orders me to pull myself together and speak.
Still on my hands and knees, I lift my head to meet her gaze. She sits before me like an angel wearing a maroon gown that would draw the attention of all who saw her.
“How are you here?” I ask. “You look like you were just at a party.”
Emily smiles. “I was, actually. I was at my engagement party.”
“Engagement?”
“It’s a long story. One I would rather tell you in person. I’m simply a projection inside your mind at the moment.”
“How?” I ask in confusion.
“That is also a long story, but rest assured, you are the only one who can see me. Now, tell me what you’re feeling.”
“I . . .” I have to swallow hard before I can continue. My thoughts are jumbled, incoherent. They’re in a million little pieces that I’m having trouble putting back together. The power that’s awakened inside me surges, wanting to take over, wanting to control me. “I . . . feel . . . out of control.”
“I can see that,” she says staring at something out of my purview.
