No sooner had Dessie fallen asleep than she was falling.
Through heated air, fighting the current, screaming into a voice-stealing void. She landed hard on the sand. Pain burst through her body, and she rolled over, coughing out granules. The orange moon seemed brighter than the blue this time.
That was odd.
“I called you.” The voice sent chills through her.
She rolled onto her hands and knees before shoving herself to her bare feet. The sand burned the bottoms, but she ignored the pain. She was only wearing Garrett’s long T-shirt, leaving her legs and arms bare. Vulnerable and defenseless. “How?” Last time, she’d brought herself. “I thought Hope closed your portals again.”
“Obviously not.” Ulric wore some sort of animal skin as trousers, and he’d left off the shirt this time. His hair was in a perfect braid down his back, bisecting his scalp. In the bizarre light, his hair appeared to be in flames.
The champagne rolled around in her stomach.
“We’re bound, Intended.” His canines glinted. “You and me. You came here willingly last time, which means I now can bring you in any time I want.” He flicked his wrist toward the blue moon, and a body fell toward the sand. “My gifts have strengthened lately. Because of you, possibly. Or this world is just beginning to fade.”
Hope hit the sand behind Dessie and rolled over with a loud groan. She staggered to her feet, her hair filled with sand. “What the hell?”
“Hello, Lock.” If homicidal monsters could look delighted, Ulric did. He looked around at the sharp and lonely surroundings. “I’ve had nothing to do in here but think for too long, and I’ve decided if there isn’t a Lock, the Keys are irrelevant.”
Hope snorted. “Guess you can join Mensa when you get out.”
Dessie cut her a look. The woman was joking? A closer examination showed Hope moving toward the liquid, putting herself in position to attack. Dessie caught her nod and shifted slightly toward what might be a forest. They’d have to take him from both sides, and their chances weren’t good. Was there still the combined blood of all the Keys in her veins? She’d have to get Ulric to bite her. It was their only chance.
Without warning, Ulric leaped toward her, spraying sand. He landed right in front of her. Grabbing her shirt, he yanked her toward him and backhanded her hard enough to send her spinning toward the trees. Pain exploded in her mouth, and her blood washed across the low rocks.
Hope rushed him, and he hit her in the stomach, throwing her several yards down the dark beach.
“No!” Dessie spun up to her feet, her mouth throbbing.
“Yes.” He moved toward her across the burning sand.
She balanced on her back leg and pivoted, landing a roundhouse kick perfectly to his groin. It was like hitting a metal plate. Her foot ricocheted off, and pain burst in her toes as she fell back to the sand. The granules pricked the skin of her arms, raising red bumps.
He threw back his head and laughed. The grating sound echoed back from every direction. “I’m invincible, you stupid female.” He leaned down and snatched her by the hair, yanking her up as if she were a useless doll. “You need to bleed more, and then you’ll learn your place.” Studying her, he manacled her wrist and twisted until it cracked.
She shrieked in pain.
The bone burst free, and blood flowed down to the sand. Dizziness overwhelmed her, and her legs gave out. He let her fall.
Hope ran full bore at him, stopped at the last second, and kicked him in the eye.
He reared back and grabbed his eye, swinging at the young woman. He nailed her in the cheekbone, and she careened toward the now-bubbling liquid.
“Hope,” Dessie screamed, grabbing her destroyed wrist.
Hope caught herself at the edge and swung around, barely keeping her legs out of the liquid. She rolled over the dangerous sand and then tried to stand, falling to her knees instead.
Dessie’s body seemed to flash in and out and then glowed for a moment. She looked down at herself—she was brighter. While she hadn’t realized she’d been muted before, now she was bright. And the pain felt even more real. She frowned.
Ulric’s purple eyes gleamed. “I thought so.”
Tears coursed down her face. The bone in her wrist was still protruding, and her arm was going numb. The blood kept flowing. “What?”
“Blood. It has anchored you here.” Ulric looked at the vast ocean. “When you hit Yvonne and her blood fell on the rock, she became more in focus. She was here in body, not just her mind. Now you are here.”
Dessie shrank back. It made sense. Her body was no longer safe in Garrett’s bed. She was actually here.
“Oh, God,” Hope whispered, crawling to her over the sand. The side of the woman’s face was already bruised and swelling. “Dessie.”
