“It doesn’t matter. I’m getting us out of here.”
The door opens behind me and I stop, twisting around to see Rachel standing in the threshold. She’s holding a bowl of herbs in one hand and a candle in the other. Her eyes meet mine.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. She puts the candle into the bowl and purple smoke swirls out, surrounding me and making me fall asleep.
* * *
“Ace?”
“Jac.” My eyes flutter open and I inhale, temporarily forgetting about my broken ribs. Pain shoots through me, forcing me awake. The glow of dawn illuminates the room. Jacques is standing by the window, wings tucked in tightly against his body. He’s not tied up anymore, and his face is twisted in pain.
The sun is rising. He needs to go to the rune and turn to stone for the day.
“Get her up.” Mr. Trent’s voice is like a knife to the heart. With a whimper of pain, I push myself up and turn to see him standing a few feet behind me, holding a rune in his hand. Did he really get control? My heart skips a beat. If Trent does have control, I know exactly what he’s going to do.
He’s going to force Jacques to kill me.
Jacques rushes forward, dropping to his knees. Oh my God. He does have control! Tears well in my eyes. I failed the guys. Gently, he scoops me up and holds me close to his chest. I’m not chained to the floor anymore, but I feel as if I am.
I’m going to lose Jacques.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper as the tears fall. “I should have broken the curse before and none of this would have mattered.”
“Then you wouldn’t have been able to save those kids.”
“You still think I’ll get through this? You still think I’ll get out alive?”
He presses his lips to mine. “I know you will.” He winces, body twitching of its own accord. He’s resisting turning to stone, which I’ve only seen him do once before. It’s incredibly painful.
“You have to let him turn!” I yell to Mr. Trent. “Or you’ll kill him.”
He looks me right in the eye and smirks. “Not before he kills you.” Holding up the rune, he flicks his gaze to Jacques. “Finish her.” Brushing lint from his suit jacket, he pushes off against the wall and goes out the door, shutting and locking it behind him.
Jacques turns his head, jerking away from me. He lets me go and I fall to the floor with a heavy thud. I hurt all over, and it’s a struggle to get any air.
“Ace…I…can’t…”
I push up, hands slipping out from under me. My chin hits the floor and my teeth click together.
“Jac,” I pant, pushing myself up again. “You can fight this!”
“Ace, I…I don’t think I can.”
I blink, trying to focus my vision. And then I realize he’s not talking about fighting against Trent’s orders. He’s talking about being able to fight the resistance to go to the rune and turn to stone. Trent doesn’t have control over Jacques at all. Jac was faking it, giving Trent exactly what he wanted. But Trent doesn’t understand—or care—that Jacques needs to go to the rune. He’s locked in this room away from it, and if he doesn’t go to the rune and turn to stone for the day…
I have no idea what will happen.
Jacques goes to the door and claws at it. His fingers are turning into the talons he has when he’s in stone, and his skin is quickly losing color.
“Jac!” I cry, finally pushing myself up onto my feet. I stagger over to him, taking a hold of his hand. “What’s happening?”
“I…have…to…go…to…it,” he pants, and his eyes lose all their color. His hair starts to harden and he’s jerked back, twisting and falling down, being forced by magic to take on the crouched position he sits in when he’s in stone.
“Ace,” he says, struggling to get the word out. “I…love…” He doesn’t finish his sentence. He turns into stone, face twisted in pain. He’s half crouching, half reaching for me.
My bottom lip quivers and my hands shake. He’s stone again, but not the way he normally is. Will he wake up?
“Jac?” I whisper, gently cupping my hands around his face. He doesn’t look like himself anymore, but is the monster the curse turned him into. “I’m going to get you out of this,” I promise, but as soon as the words leave my lips, the stone on his chest starts to crack.
“No, no, no!” I put my hand over it, trying to keep the stone from cracking even more. A big chunk comes out, clattering to the floor. I pick it up and try to put it back to no avail. “No! Jac…no!” I cry, desperately trying to keep him from crumbling apart right before my eyes.
He starts falling apart faster than I can pick up the pieces, and suddenly, his whole form collapses into a million little pieces.
