You’re not done. The whisper came from nowhere and everywhere.
She didn’t want to walk this road, and she tried to stop, but the summons was relentless and sure. Can’t fight fate.
This time, the voice sounded like Thena, and Cass knew she was in trouble. The path forward began to spiral, taking her into the inky void as her grip on the now slipped. Branches appeared and veered off, one after another in a relentless cascade, each one stretching further and further out, offering glimpses of endless possibilities.
To her left is an unknown figure, cloaked in shadows—her mother, broken and bleeding at their feet. A devil’s bargain. “Will you take her place?”
“Yes!” She lunged toward her mother, but the road twisted, forcing her forward. “No, stop!”
Another bend. This time, vines erupt and slither around her mother, swallowing her. A cold laugh echoes. “Remember, this was your choice.”
Desperate, she struggled to leave the path as horror and dread broke her heart. “Mom!”
Another curve, steeper, darker. “Someone has to pay for you interfering with our plans.” The voice is a sibilant whip.
Heartsore and half mad with grief, Cass tried to step off the road, to go back, to change what was coming, but she couldn’t—the pull was too strong, too fast. It dragged her deeper and deeper into the cold, unforgiving abyss as it spiraled down in a dizzying dance. Darkness closed in, like thick mud, creeping inexorably up her legs, her hips, her torso, until it dragged her under.
Then it will all stop. The thought was almost a relief.
“Cassandra! Dammit, wake up!”
Something wrapped around her wrists, burning through skin and bone, making the clinging darkness pause.
“Come on, Cassandra, come back to me!”
She knew that voice—recognized it, reached for it, wanted to hold it close, where it would chase away the ice in her veins. “Grayson?”
“That’s right, Cass. It’s me.”
Blindly, she reached out, trying to find him. “Where are you?”
“I’m here. Right here,” he said. Heat flared against her face, and the unforgiving grip of darkness loosened.
Her searching hands found purchase on warm flesh, and her fingers dug deep. “Don’t let go.”
“I won’t.”
She clung to his reassurance. “I can’t see you.” The choking fear that she would lose her grip and disappear into the spiral made it hard to breathe. “Where are you?”
“Here, I’m right here.”
Frantic, she clawed at the arms she couldn’t see, her breath coming out on a sob. “Grayson, don’t let go.”
“I won’t.”
She believed him. Believed the fierce determination she could hear in his voice. She strained against the cascade’s hold, felt it give, and for a moment thought she would make it. Then a brutal tug yanked her back, and she lost what little ground she’d gained, the world around her spinning. She opened her mouth to scream but couldn’t get air. Fear encompassed everything, and her body jerked.
Suddenly, there was Grayson, his eyes burning bright, his mouth hard, his hand gentle against her face. “Come on, Cass. Breathe. I’ve got you. Come on.”
She held his gaze, fighting against the inexorable hold. “I’m here.” She gasped, her grip on his wrists—now marred with raw scratch marks—tight. “I’m here.” The relentless pull took a step back as she repeated the mantra. “I’m here.”
Relief swept through his face, and he dropped his forehead to hers. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Scared me too,” she admitted shakily as the present resettled around her, loosening Fate’s brutal grip. “Sofia?”
“She’ll be okay.”
“You broke it?”
