“Star,” he gasps.
My breath comes out in ragged puffs. Memories of choking vines, of my family saying I would die in the vision, and of Ariella with Sabine swirl in my mind.
“Malcolm,” I whisper as massive drops of water fall through the canopy of leaves we shiver under. The rain won’t seem to stop, but the moon seems set on showing me goodness, outlining the curves of Malcolm’s brown muscular chest with a shimmery silver light.
“Are you okay?” he asks, stroking my cheek.
“Yeah,” I reply, feeling the weight of his thumb on my bottom lip.
I wrap my arms around him again, resting my head on his chest. I want to press my lips to his neck, to feel his pulse beneath my mouth. The thought makes me dizzy with both desire and fear. Sobbing, I feel his heartbeat and his muscles slick with rain. My own heart thunders to the same relieved rhythm. He kisses my forehead as he holds me and says, “Thank God you’re okay. I charged Sabine. I reached her too… but the second I grabbed her dress, I was tossed here, and I couldn’t find you. I didn’t know if you were still in that room or if Sabine had killed you to punish me or what. Then there were all these crazy visions. And those stupid vines!”
My thin, wet nightgown is the only barrier between our bodies. I tremble. He must think I’m cold because he holds me tighter. But it’s the electric feeling of his skin against mine that makes me shiver. As he strokes mylower back, vines lock around us. Malcolm struggles to untangle us as more vines bolt us together. His fingers brush against my skin, igniting sparks up and down my spine, and his warm breath caresses my face. “Don’t worry,” he says. “I got you. I’ll get us out of this.”
As the thorny vines tighten around us, Malcolm’s strong arms reach around me to try to break free. I can feel his heartbeat racing against my chest, his hands dangerously close to my hips. The warmth of his body seeps through my nightgown, and his scent of earth and sweat overwhelms me. As he battles the green tendrils and prickly leaves trapping us, his thumb brushes against my hip, and my body betrays me with a surge of desire. It wants to press closer, to feel every inch of him. In this desperate moment, I’m lost in the heat between us, forgetting the danger we’re in. Malcolm’s always willing to save me, always there for me when no one else is. And that makes me want to pounce on him, to trace every inch of his flesh with kisses. But right now, he’s too busy fighting magic and nature to notice.
Raindrops race down his face and fall off his square jaw as he concentrates on setting us free. He’s so brave and beautiful, bathed in moonlight like this. I love how strong he is, how in control.
“Oh, God, Malcolm,” I say in a rush. “The rocks showed me everything. You were right. My family… they took my memories!” My heart thuds as more vines rise, bolting and looping us together tightly. “And… and I saw my best friend, Ariella, working with Sabine. I don’t know how she got to her, but Ariella never believed in me either. You were the only one, Malcolm. You were the only one who believed in me.”
Thick vines entwine our bodies even tighter, making our hug almost painful now. My breathing becomes shallow and rapid. The vines are cold and slick against my skin, growing more constricting with each struggle. Malcolm’s breath is hot on my neck, a stark contrast to the icy rain. His fingers brush my skin again, igniting a dangerous mix of desire and fear as the bloodlust starts whispering dark thoughts that I can’t ignore. I look at Malcolm’s beautiful brown skin, the thick vein pulsing in his neck. My teeth throb with the desire to sink into his flesh and rip that vein out. Shuddering, I bite my lip until it bleeds to stop myself. I focus on the feelof his heartbeat. I love Malcolm too much to let the darkness win, but the desire to tear into his throat is overwhelming. I quickly look away, ashamed of my own thoughts. I force myself to focus on the good times we’ve shared, taking slow, deep breaths. The metallic taste of blood in my mouth starts to bring me back to reality. My heart races; I’m terrified of what could happen if I lose control. Tears of frustration well in my eyes as I pull myself together. Malcolm doesn’t notice because he’s struggling against the green tendrils, fighting for our freedom. But the more he struggles, the tighter the vines hold, forcing us into an unbreakable embrace. His heart beats wild and strong against mine, his heartbeat matching the frantic pace of my own. We’re bound together, not just by the vines, but by the desperate need to survive—and protect our families.
But we both can’t win.
My arms thrash against the thick, thorny vines that have imprisoned us. “Can you believe this?” I yell.
Malcolm looks at me, sweat or rain dripping down his forehead and into his pleading eyes as he tugs at the vines around us. “Emma, please,” he begs, trying to untangle us. “This place uses our emotions against us. Calm down.”
“Calm down? When has telling someone to calm down ever worked?” Figuring that he’s right about the vines, I close my eyes and inhale, tryingnotto focus on my family, Ariella, the dark urges, or this cursed place. Instead, I replay the memory of us on the rooftop in New York. We were in the rain then too. I remember being happy. I recall Malcolm’s slick wet kiss as the dome above us broke. I focus on the warmth and love I felt wrapped in his arms. As the memory grows stronger, my mind shifts from passion and anger to a place of peace. The vines’ hold on us weakens slightly.
“I saw things too,” Malcolm says, stiffening against me. Vines circle his leg. He exhales, and they relax a little. As they loosen, he yanks them off. “We can’t react to the stones. We need to stay calm and keep moving.”
We breathe deeply. I avoid thinking about the things that have upset me, instead remembering happy moments. Like my first kiss with Malcolm, laughing late into the night with Grace. The vines fall like chains, and we emancipate ourselves.
“We’ll be fine if we stick together, Star,” he says, his hand reaching for mine like I’m his last hope.
“But Sabine wants us to hurt each other. Intentionally. Or she’ll kill our moms.” I can’t hide the fear in my voice.
“We help each other until we can’t.”
His words chill me more than the rain. Slowly I release his hand.
Another rock begins to glow nearby, and curiosity slows my steps. I take a closer look. Inside the glow is a reflection of chipped bricks that ripple like water. No, not just bricks—they’re alley walls decorated with flickering fairy lights. I see myself, trembling against a wall as a lion appears in front of me, its powerful black body shimmering and outlined in flames as it paces. Its pink tongue licks spear-like fangs. I raise my hand, trying to summon my power, but nothing happens. Something is blocking it.
Then I see someone far behind the lion. A storm of spiral curls frames her fearful angular eyes set in a dark face as beautiful as midnight. My sister Grace. She’s safe, out of the lion’s view at the other end of the alley. But she’s coming back.
NO!my mind shrieks.Don’t come back!
“RUN, EMMA!” Grace screams frantically. She scrambles by the dumpster, grabs a rock, and hurls it at the lion, striking it on the back of its head. The lion roars in fury and whips around, its blazing eyes locking on her.
“Run! I got this!” Grace yells.
Terrified, I listen to my big sister and sprint away from the danger, my heart beating like an African drum.
Grace heads in one direction while I dash in the opposite, like we’re two panicked mice scattering from a predator.
But as I reach the end of the next street, I hear my sister’s blood-curdling scream, and something inside me snaps. I’m more scared than I’ve ever been, but I have to save Grace the way she saved me. I charge back to the alley, frantically searching for anything to use in our defense.
Weaponless, I watch as the lion’s fangs tear out a chunk of my sister’s thigh. A machine-gun blast of blood sprays from her body. Grace’sleg twitches; she’s coated in gore. The blood spreads across the asphalt in crimson streams. Her pant leg is tattered, revealing the raw red gashes and glistening muscles protruding from her brown leg. I’m frozen in horror, tears streaming down my face as a scream rips through my lips.
