“What message?” My fingers dug into his arm, the only thing stopping me from toppling over the edge.
“That you should give up now. That you should leave this academy. Just run away, back to your old life, gutter whore. I’ve tried to make it obvious. I don’t know what else to do to make you see…” A wave crashed against the cliffs, spraying us both with dark, cold water. Trey’s arm slipped. My feet clipped the edge of a rock. I screamed, but the wind and the sea swallowed my cry.
Trey’s arm tightened around my throat. He leaned forward, my whole body tipping, the ocean rushing up to meet me.
My arms swung wild, grasping at air. My feet slipped and skidded against the sharp rocks. The wind whipped up, spraying my naked legs with salt tears.
I’m going to die I’m going to die I’m going to—
Stars spun above my head, the band of the Milky Way swirling with the curl of white froth capping the dark waves. The specks of light becoming the flames of dying stars, the faces of my mother, of Dante. Panic collided with my grief, and the grief swallowed me up into the cold night. My arms went slack. I stopped fighting.Fine. Let me die.
Let me find the only people who will ever love me again.
“The fuck?” Trey growled, adjusting his grip as my whole body slackened. “Hazel?”
“Do it,” I choked out. “Go on. Give me what I want.”
Trey made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like an animal in pain. He tossed me to the ground. My body slammed into the hard rocks. Pain arced up my side. My head swam and I gripped the earth as it spun around me.
“Fuck.Fuck.” I could hear Trey swearing. Other people were talking in quick, hushed voices. They sounded muffled, as though they were shouting underwater. I lifted my head and tried to see what was happening, but white stars burned and exploded and died in front of my eyes. I placed a hand under my shoulder, trying to shove myself upright, but my body refused to obey. My cheek hit the rock, sending a fresh jolt of pain through me.
Hands wrapped around me, hefting me to my feet. “Hazy. Shit. Can you walk? Lean on me.”
Quinn. His touch was a shooting star, jetting fire through my body as he dragged me off the ground. He wrapped his flame-skin around me, steadying me as my legs collapsed beneath me. He pulled me up again, his body acting as both crutch and shield.
“That wassick,” Quinn spat out, his arms squeezing me so hard I gasped for air. Needles stabbed in my chest as I swallowed the cold. I could only make out faint, spidery shadows through the dancing lights in my eyes, but I figured Quinn was talking to Trey. “All these years you’ve pulled some fucking sadistic shit, but you crossed a line. You said you were going to steal her clothes and scare her a bit, not drop her over a fuckingcliff.”
“We’ve never had one like her before.” Trey’s voice pierced my skull, sending new lights dancing in front of my eyes. “None of that small stuff is going to work. She has tobelieve—”
“You’ve never acted like this before, either,” Quinn shot back. “What’s wrong, Trey? Why couldn’t you finish the deed, then? What’s your father going to say when he finds out?”
I didn’t have time to contemplate Trey’s words, because Quinn scooped me into his arms and stomped away. I could feel my limbs being poked and jostled as he shoved his way through the crowd.
“Fuck, I’m so sorry, Hazel,” he murmured. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
“Let me down,” I begged. His touch burned. The full fury of what happened rolled over me.I nearly died. Iwantedto die.
I’m messed up. This school is breaking me.
Quinn kept walking, wobbling down one of the narrow paths. I kicked my legs, raking my nails at his face. “Let me down!” I yelled.
“All right. Here, let me help you.” He tried to hold me up, but I scrambled away. My legs still wouldn’t support my weight, so I crawled on my hands and knees down the narrow path.
“Hazy, wait!” Quinn’s voice bounced off the cliffs, but I kicked out at his shins and kept crawling. I leaned against the cliff and managed to haul myself to my feet. With every step, fresh agony splintered my body.Keep going. Find the cave.
Horrible, disjointed thoughts pounded against my skill.
This isn’t a game anymore.
Trey could have killed me.
Hewantedto kill me.
And I was going to let him.
The cold crept into my bones as I pulled back the vines to expose the cave entrance. I hugged my arms over my body, but I couldn’t keep out the cold. The flame inside me had died.
I felt like a ghost – invisible, cursed, shunned.
