A faint cry from far away makes my blood freeze. Frantically moving my head in every direction, I try to pinpoint the sound but everything comes to a still-stand, as if I spooked it.
Angel pushes us towards the portal, sensing the same dread and discomfort lingering among the trees. Something is killingthe woods with every breath, and it’s unlike anything I’ve seen before.
The longer it takes to reach the portal, the more we feel a presence fast approaching with death and pain on its tail.
Suddenly the wild rustling is resounding from every direction, making it impossible to judge its source. Each picking a corner, we form a circle moving forward, but I can feel it in my bones that it’s not enough.
This is the chapter where the daydream ends and the nightmare begins.
Admitting there’s no chance of getting to the portal without making ourselves an open target, Angel conjures his bow before encircling us inside a clear shield charged with his Divine.
Sensing my mate’s worry, my Divine pushes me to free my restraint over it. Without overthinking it, I let my Divine latch onto Angel’s barrier to strengthen it.
All of a sudden, a disheveled figure appears from behind a tree and charges straight at me. My heart jumps to my throat when it collides against the barrier and bounces off it, landing on the ground. It’s hard to make out a face with the figure trying to get off the ground.
I look up just in time to see two more crashing into the barrier. One after the other, dark shadows come barreling into the shield with such force that it cracks in some places. Angel quickly repairs the barrier with my Divine’s assistance.
The first shadow finally stops heaving and coughing up a lung. When it drags itself up, all air leaves my lungs.
“Is t-that?”
All I can do is nod at Harvey’s stumped expression. Standing in front of me is a reminder of our past. Her clothes are ripped in places, her hollow eyes staring back at me with such hatred that it takes me back.
When my eyes fall to her shoulders, I have to bite my cheek to stop myself from gasping. Her arms are carelessly stitched together—like they were ripped apart more than once before someone pieced them back.
Twelve replicas of the girl I once knew. I don’t know what made me count, but the message is clear when I do. These are the twelve souls Visha ripped from this world to get her own version of a future. She wants me to know she’s always watching, lingering in the shadows and waiting for the perfect moment to finish what she started a decade ago.
To paint my world red.
Whatever Angel sees on my face makes him intertwine our fingers and pull me closer. I lean on him and try to breathe, but my heart stops altogether when the limping figure opens her mouth— wider than possible and lets out a loud wail that echoes in the silence.
I can hear her cries, but can’t see any tears or expression on her face. The sounds coming out of her mouth are as fake as the girl before me because I know for a fact thatAnishais dead.
A strong rush of wind ripples the fake reflections until only one remains. Her wails of pain are muffled now but not entirely gone. I’m too stunned by what I’m seeing to try to make sense of it.
I thought one over twelve semi-dead creatures were good odds, but it’s proving impossible to breathe freely without Anisha thinking of it as retaliation.
Risking a step back, I flinch when she once again slams against the barrier on my side. Every time I move—even an inch—whoever this is in Anisha’s body, screeches and bangs her head on the clear shield until I stop. It’s like she doesn’t want me to do anything but stand still and wait.
“Weapons out.”Angel’s orders through our link. He materializes his bow while Harvey fists the air and his swordappears out of thin air. Using one of his whips Seiji binds a sleeping August to his chest to balance him.
Before Anxo can devise a plan to get us out of here Hazel lets out a shaky whisper, “Anxo… the portal.”
Glancing at it, my jaw drops to see the portalfading.How is that possible? I blink rapidly to convince myself I’m seeing it wrong but it’s true. Our only way out is disappearing in front of my eyes.
The lump in my throat grows. I look to Angel who is trying to hold it together, but one peek behind him and all color drains out of his face.
Squeezing Angel’s hand, I tap into the link.“We need to get August out of here.”
With a determined nod, Angel breathes out,“We don’t have time to debate, so listen in. Nevaeh and I will distract whatever this thing is, and the moment you see an out, take it.”
Considering Anisha has her eyes set on me, I don’t have any option but to stay back. There is no chance my mate will leave me behind so arguing is useless.
At once, all of them start protesting. I get that none of them wants to, but this might be our only chance of finding some backup. It will help no one if all of us are stuck here.
Harvey is not even a part of the discussion. He took his eyes off Anisha long enough to beg Grace to leave but went right back to watching her like a hawk.
Hazel is not lifting a finger if she doesn’t agree so that only leaves two people who are smart enough to know which battles to fight and which to run from. Grace and August are the most vulnerable out of us, so there’s no way we will allow them to stay back.
