How tightly she’d gripped me.
How terrified she’d been.
Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?
Mother, I?—
Pain lanced through my head, sharp at my temple. I winced but didn’t move to apply pressure. With the memories returning faster, it did nothing.
And the pain mattered little compared to the guilt.
She’s going to die.
What do you mean?
They’re going to kill her!
Echoes of two conversations overlapped in my head. They played on a loop, each line blurring into the other.
She’s going to die!
My voice, younger and panicked, resonated with the revelation Max Dread had placed on my shoulders.
Sometimes he echoed my words exactly.
Sometimes, I heard his warning the way I remembered it.
She’s going to die, Golden Boy.
What do you mean?
My response had been skeptical at best.
But the echo…
When Kingston’s voice interlaced with mine, the sound combined in a way that felt right, but the fear in his tone—it came from somewhere else. Our bond, and our friendship, had been strong. Much stronger than I remembered.
But I didn’t know why he was so afraid.
As it had since the night in the escape room, my mind lingered on the end. How Max had informed me of a sinister plot formed behind the scenes.
Nefarious plans that led to my failure.
And with them, Desi’s death.
But each time Max’s voice echoed in my head, it brought the ghost of mine, and then Kingston’s.
They’re going to kill her!
Who? Who is going to kill who, Landon? You’re not making any sense!
My hands clenched into fists at my sides, tightening with the memory of how I’d gripped Kingston’s forearms.
We were so small then, but it barely dwarfed the intensity beneath my palms. Time couldn’t either.
Stronger in my memory, I held onto him.
I didn’t understand. I didn’t know how to make sense of it.
