My feet pounded across the terrain, but as I moved, so did the roots. They punched their way through the ground, stretching upward, growing tall—taller than me. Branches sprouted from their stalks, and those brittle limbs snatched at me as I ran, pulling at my clothes, my hair, anything they could grab.
I cursed and ran harder, but it seemed impossible to maintain a lead. No matter how hard I pushed myself, I couldn’t seem to increase my speed. It felt as though I was caught in tar, and my limbs became too difficult to move. Every time I thought I might have gained a little distance, another crack split the rock and a root jutted up. One to my left. One to my right. Three behind.
I weaved through the maze, darting in every direction in an attempt to avoid capture.
When five roots burst through the ground in front of me, I skidded to a stop, summoned my magic, and shot both flame and shadow at the roots. A sharpened shadow poured free of my hand and cleaved one of the roots in half. The two pieces flopped to the ground, but an instant later, knit themselves back together. Then it wiggled itself upright until it pierced the sky.
“Yeah,” I muttered breathlessly, “because that’s not creepy at all.”
The nearest root took advantage of my distraction and struck, catching my leg just above my boot. Before I could react, it jerked me right off my feet, and I slammed down onto the ground, my hands—and face—hitting the hard rock. My palms, cheeks, and nose stung, but I didn’t wait to find out what these stupid roots had planned. Instead, I shoved myself back to my feet. I refused to let possessed vegetation win this fight. I was Lucifer’s daughter, for crying out loud! I was stronger than a fucking plant.
I unleashed another shadow blade, which cut me free from the root, then resumed my sprint.
Except that little fall had cost me everything.
Before I could get far, a second root snagged my ankle. A third caught one of my wrists. A fourth snatched the other.
They pulled, the world tilted, and I went down. Hard. Without my hands, I had no way to brace myself when my head bounced off the rock. Stars exploded behind my eyes, and for one moment, I went painfully still, allowing the roots to coil around me and pin me to the ground.
Damn it, I’d already gone through this once before. I refused to let it happen again. No more invasions of the body snatchers, please and thank you.
But no matter what I did or what I told myself, I seemed to have no control over this situation, as seen when more roots burst from the ground and coiled around me, tucking me into a tight, woody cocoon.
A smaller root rose and hovered above my face, almost menacing in nature. I watched as its tip lengthened into a sharpened point. Then, before I had a moment to brace myself, it struck and pierced my throat like a damn vampire—sharp and quick.
Fuck!
The darkness slid inside me then. It invaded me and wound through my veins. My pulse thundered in my ears as I tried to summon my magic, desperate to protect myself.
Except, nothing happened. No fire, no shadows.
Nada.
The darkness had cut off my magic.
I twisted and squirmed, but every time I moved, the roots only tightened.
“Let me go!” I screamed.
Not that the roots answered. Because of course they couldn’t. Becauseplants couldn’t fucking talk. But apparently they could possess someone. What the hell was the purpose of this? What did the darkness want with me? Was I some sort of outlet? Had I created this monster when I touched my essence? Had I strengthened it by resurrecting my army? I’d felt its presence within me all day, exploring all the weaknesses within me, and filling the gaps like caulking.
Anger surged within me, and I bucked against the roots, thrashing as hard as I could, screaming at them until my throat went raw. But it didn’t matter how I struggled. The roots held fast, pinning me in place as the darkness poured itself into me, invading every inch of me until it hollowed me out and turned me into a shell of myself.
“Lily!” a voice shouted.
The sound of my name cut through the chaos. Rathiel. I fell still. So still. Where was he? He sounded close. Was he here? Where evenwashere?
“Lily!”
“Rath—” The roots snaked up my torso and coiled around my neck, cutting off my air and silencing my voice.
Yeah, I got the message loud and clear. No calling for help.
“Lily! Wake up!” Rathiel shouted again.
Wake up? Was this…a dream? Was that even possible?
His words renewed my strength, and I twisted against the bindings, desperate to free myself. A dream. A dream. This was afuckingdream! That meant I could escape this, I could get free, if only I wouldwake the fuck up!
