A blinding pain searsthe inside of my skull. White light flashes in my vision before morphing into shadowy figures with glaringly white teeth.
“You should rest. We’ve been at this for hours.”
Knox’s gentle voice cuts through the agony. I open my eyes, my vision now swimming in and out of focus.
“I—I don’t feel good.” I try to stand up, but my limbs have a mind of their own. I collapse to the floor, more shadowy figures emerging to the front of my mind. A bead of cold sweat drips down my temple. Am I getting the flu? Hands brush along my forehead, leaving an icy heat in their wake. I cry out from the pain.
“Miss Collard?” he calls.
That name, I know that name from somewhere. Is it mine?
“Don’t touch me,” I manage to say. At least I think I do.
My mind fills with images of ballrooms and circus tents, animal masks and vials of blood. I don’t know where I begin and where I end. All I know is that my head is about to explode.
“Jesus, what the fuck is going on?!” My sister’s voice pulls me from the void of my mind.
I want to get up and protect her from the dangerous man hovering over me, but I can’t move my body. I can’t do anything but gurgle.
“Miss Collard? One minute she was fine and then the next, she’s on the floor,” Knox says authoritatively.
Collard… that isn’t my name.
“Get out!” my sister screams, high and shrill. “You’ve said too much. Damon warned you what the cost would be if you tried too much too soon!”
“Know your place!” Knox yells back.
Do they know each other? And Damon? As in Damon from the story? Why does Claire know who he is?
“Know my place? You lost the right to order me around three years ago, Master.”
Holy shit, what is happening?
“You are still bound to me. No matter what realm you reside in. Get her to her room, and when she wakes, see if she remembers anything,” Knox pleads with my sister. “If she does, remove her memories again and we can try again in a few weeks, just like last time.”
As Claire lifts me in her arms, I try to open my eyes, but fail.Are they talking about me? About my memories?
“We don’t have weeks. You know that. Besides, you weren’t here the last time she remembered. She screamed for days! I had to erase her memory again so she wouldn’t drive herself insane.But this time, she needs to ride it out. We don’t have time for this anymore. I’m done doing it your way!”
Claire carries me to my room and lays me down on my soft bed.
“I won’t let him take your memories again, Danni. I swear it,” she whispers.
“Danni?” I ask, confused.
Another blinding, never-ending pain stabs like a knife in the bone between my eyes. My scream doesn’t sound like my own voice. I writhe on top of the sheets, clutching the fabric for dear life, as if it’s the only thing keeping me tethered to the real world. Sweat soaks my body as Claire tries to soothe me with words I can’t understand. The high pitch of her voice has the opposite effect; it’s like nails across…
Wait. No. Not Claire. It’s Celeste’s voice.
Abruptly, the pain in my head stops. The throbbing ebbs away as a familiar crimson curtain is pulled up inside my mind. I remember everything. I think. I don’t know how I got back here, to my world. But I do remember…
“Knox?” I call out, my throat straining from the effort. I open my eyes a little, letting the orange glow of the morning sunrise flood my blurred vision.
Something inside my chest rattles awake as the room comes into focus. No, not something.The bond.Tears prick at the corner of my eyes as Knox rushes to my side faster than my eyes can track. He kneels beside the bed, my limp hand pressed warmly between his as he brings it up to his lips. Sparks dance wherever our skin meets.
“What’s happening?” Celeste asks from the other side of the bed, but I can’t tear my eyes away from him. He’s even more beautiful than I remember. The whole time I’ve been here, living this false life, I felt like a piece of me was missing, and I’vesearched for that missing piece in every flower I sold, in every shade of red I’ve come across…
“I feel it again,” Knox sobs as his own tears threaten to spill over. “The bond. I can feel it again. She’s come back to me.” He covers my hand in soft yet urgent kisses.
