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I land facedown in a pile of my own vomit, the coffin wood splintered around me. A faint stream of light burns through the crack.
What happened?
I can’t lift my head, can’t get a better view of what’s going on out there. I can hear footsteps, scuffling, thuds and thumps. I focus every atom of my body into my eyes, trying to clear the haze in my mind so I can interpret the shadows dancing on the other side of the damaged coffin.
Something flies from high up on the wall – from the entrance to the tunnel – and lands hard on a large lump near me that I assume is Antony. My cousin cries out as he falls hard, sliding into the grave he dug for me. The shape on top of him reels up, and a familiar golden head flashes across the hole as the figure pulls back a fist, slamming it into Antony’s face.
Eli.
Eli’s here?
Of course he’s not here. I’m in worse shape than I thought if I’m hallucinating things. Because it really truly looks like my Golden Boy pummeling Antony’s face until it’s a mess of blood and bone.
“Where’s Claudia?” the Eli-hallucination yells in Antony’s face. “What did you do to her?”
Eli’s voice breaks something inside me. I don’t care if he’s a hallucination. If this is my last moment on earth before oxygen deprivation pulls me into an eternal sleep, then I want my Golden Boy with me. Even though it’s not real, I can die with a smile believing that I was loved.
The coffin shakes again. A board above my head flies away, spinning through the air. Rough hands reach inside, shaking my numb body. I’m dimly aware of my limbs wobbling, my neck snapping back and forth.
“Claudia? Claudia, fuck.” Noah’s voice reaches my brain. Beautiful, dark Noah. He’s here with me, too. Maybe I did something right, after all. Maybe this is what heaven is, having my princes with me as I pass into the afterlife – my guardian angels.
Noah rolls me over. The splintered coffin digs into my back, but it feels like a light massage. I stare up into his eyes, and something in those shadows reaches through the fog and grabs me, shaking me from the inside out.
He wants me to live.
He wants me to fight.
“Something’s wrong with her. I think they gave her drugs or something.” Noah slaps my cheek. It feels like a feather trailing across my skin. “Claudia, can you hear me?”
“Mackenzie got away,” Gabriel drawls from somewhere in the darkness behind Noah’s shoulder. “I forgot that girl was head cheerleader for a reason. She’s fit.”
Eli’s face appears above Noah, shoving him away. “I’ll take care of her. Check Antony. I think he’s dead, but we’d better be certain.”
Something in the depths of my addled mind, I resurrect the lyrics of Gabriel’s song. They repeat over and over as I peer up at the impossible scene.
I’ve sharpened my steel. I’ve made my sacrifices. I’m unleashing war.
“Claudia.” Eli rolls me into his arms, cradling me against his body. Tears stream down his cheeks. A salty drop falls on my lips, and it rolls into my mouth. The saltiness dances on my tongue. And I know. I fucking know.
This isn’t a dream.
They’re here. They came for me.
The knowledge surges through my body like molten lava. My lips tear open a crack, and a sound escapes. “EEeeeeee…”
“That’s right. It’s me.” Eli touches my cheek. “Shit, shit, what have they done to you?”
“Trraaaaaan—” I can’t get the words out. The grey fog waits at the edges of my eyes, waits to claim me.
Eli’s brow furrows. He touches my forehead, lifts my sagging eyelid to peer into my eyes. “I think they gave her animal tranquilizer. I keep a bunch in my room for the lion. This is bad. We have to get her to Galen—”
“She threw up,” Noah says. “There’s puke all inside the coffin. It probably happened when I knocked it over.”
“It won’t make a difference if she’s been injected. We have to keep her awake.” Eli’s fingers continue to touch and press all over my body, like he wants to make sure every inch of me is still intact. “Claws, can you move at all?”
I try. I try so hard. I manage to straighten my middle finger and point the gesture in the direction I last heard Antony’s voice. I’m quite proud of myself, but Eli doesn’t see it.
“It’s really important that you try to stay awake, you got that? I’m going to get Galen over here to help you. But first, we have to take care of Mackenzie and your cousin.”
