A heavy fabric was over my legs, candlelight casting shadows across its rich texture. Panicking, I scattered the blanket off my legs, kicking it down to the bottom of the bed, and slid out of the bed.
The shadows stretched up into the corners of the room, crawling unnaturally along the tapestries. It was crawling up my skin. I’d seen these shadows before.
Panic twisted through my bones like chains, tightening around my ribs. I couldn’t take a deep breath as I scrambled into the silk sheets, pressing my back against the headboard. The air was too thick to catch my breath.
The flames of the wall sconces flickered furiously, giving life to shadows that slithered across the room. I couldn’t escape them as they stretched and twisted like claws toward me.
I pulled my knees to my chest.
It was going to take me back there.
“Anna!”
The voice cut through the darkness, and my breath hitched.
Strong hands gripped my shoulders.
“Anna, look at me.”
Blake.
What if he was the shadows?
I whimpered and tried to back away, but I was already against the headboard.
Shadows.
A strangled whimper escaped my mouth as the flames erupted.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I tried to reach the light.
“Anna!”
Blake!
My eyes snapped onto his. He took hold of my cheeks as I watched the dancing shadows across the bed.
Blake extended his palm outward and gave a sharp flick of his fingers.
I jumped as the heavy velvet drapes scraped across the curtain rod. Sunlight poured into the chamber, golden and blinding. It banished the darkness as it gleamed in the gilded carvings of the settee. I squinted in the glare as I searched for any remaining shadows.
The tightness in my chest faded as sunlight warmed my skin.
I glanced around, trying to make out my foreign surroundings. I sat in a massive bed with a towering canopy of crimson and gold velvet that flowed down around me, where it pooled against a richly patterned black rug. The red velvet curtains that seemingly ripped open on their own were the same deep crimson as the canopy and rested in place within marble columns that encased the window with a rippling swag valence. A large fireplace with unlit logs sent a chill down the back of my neck.
“Would you like me to light it?” Blake asked.
The way he’d flicked his wrist and the curtains soared open flashed through my mind.
I nodded once, watching him with undivided attention.
He sat at the edge of the bed and held his arm out like he was waiting for someone to hand him something. His hand was relaxed; his fingers gently splayed apart before his palm tightened as he brought his fingers together into a tight fist. He never took his eyes away from me as embers began to glow and flames came to life, synchronized perfectly with his motions.
I stared at the gently burning fire.
“How?” I whispered.
“We call it everi,” Blake said, his voice steady and low.
