"RHYLAND!"
I lunge toward him but Skadi appears in a blur of frost and shadow. Her wing catches me in the ribs, sending me flying into the ice wall. Pain explodes through my back.
"Poor little girl," she purrs, hovering between us. "Always watching the ones you love suffer."
A familiar figure emerges from the shadows. My heart clenches—John, whole and alive, that same protective smile on his face. But his eyes... wrong. Empty.
"You let me die, Dani." His voice echoes. "I trusted you."
"Not real," I gasp, but hesitate a half-second too long. His blade finds my shoulder, hot pain blooming as steel parts flesh. I roll with the blow, coming up with daggers crossed just as John lunges.
"I'm sorry," I whisper, angel fire consuming his form. The sound of his screams—even fake ones—tear at my soul.
Skadi's laughter rings out as two more figures materialize—Mom and Dad, but twisted, bloody. Wolf bites mar their flesh.
"Sweetheart," Mom reaches for me with mangled hands. "Why didn't you save us?"
"You brought those monsters to our door," Dad's voice grates like broken glass.
I try to dodge but Dad's fist catches my jaw. Mom's nails rake down my back. Real blood flows—illusions shouldn't be able to...
"They're real enough," Skadi calls. "I pulled their memories from your mind. Every detail. Every wound."
Through our bond, I feel Rhyland's pain, his desperate struggle to reach the wooden beam. Each movement drives it deeper.
I summon the Aquanite's power, trying to clear my mind. Ice responds, spearing through Mom's chest. Her blood is so red against the frost. Dad's neck snaps under my kick, that same sickening crack as the real thing.
I gag, as bile churns in my stomach, burning my throat.
"Not done yet, Dani."
Adrian steps from the shadows, that wicked look in his eye. But his chest... a gaping hole where his heart should be.
"You did this," he gestures to the wound. "I died for you."
"No," I chokeout, but his fist connects with my ribs. Something cracks. I stumble back, vision blurring from tears or blood loss or both.
Skadi appears behind me, her armored knee driving into my spine. I hit the ground hard, rolling just as her blade embeds in the ice where my head was.
"You're right," she sneers. "You're not helpless. You're worse—you're poison. Everything you touch dies."
Adrian's boot finds my stomach. I curl around the pain, eyes locked on Rhyland. Still struggling, still bleeding. Our bond pulses with agony.
No.
Not again.
Not one more person I love.
Something snaps inside me—not breaking, but awakening. The pain, the guilt, the rage... it all melds into something new. Something dangerous.
"You want to play with memories?" My voice sounds foreign, echoing with something ancient. "Let's play."
I reach deep into the ice chamber, feeling every frozen molecule. Adrian lunges but I'm done playing defense. Water rips from the ice walls, solidifying into razor-sharp spears that pierce his form. He dissolves into shadow with a scream that sounds too real.
"Impressive," Skadi materializes behind me. "But can you fight your demons and save your mate?"
Her wing slams into my back, sending me sprawling. The taste of copper fills my mouth. Through our bond, Rhyland's presence grows weaker.
