Sabina
Fear squeezes around me, and my breathing quickens. I take a few steps back, then bump into something. The room is completely obscured in shadows, blotting out all the light. This isn’t anything like it was with Brevan.
I shake out my hands, then close my eyes. Brevan said the magic can show when emotions are heightened. So I breathe, and work to calm myself.
Icy tendrils slither against my skin and ruffle the fabric of my dress. I can feel them moving and flowing like living things. They brush against my face and tangle in my hair. My hands ball into fists, and my jaw tightens as I resist the urge to bat them all away.
The shadows when I’d been with Brevan frightened me, but I had him with me. This time, there’s nobody else to anchor me. I’m on my own. That thought used to terrify me, but instead, my chest expands and I feel a sense of control. This magic ismine.
I will the air to clear, the slithering wisps to subside. Goosebumps rise along my arms as the shadows brush across my cheeks with a gentle caress.
It’s so different from the magic I thought I received. This isn’t waking the dead or having them invade my mind with their thoughts. That’s a horrific power I don’t want. A gift that I can’t use. What good is creating walking corpses?
Caiden controls shadows. But apparently, I do, too.
My eyes snap open, and I stare into the darkness. I’m more like him than I realized, aren’t I? But that doesn’t mean I have to use the magic the same way as him.
Shadows could be useful. This is a gift I could eventually master. Relaxing my hands, I reach into the void, calling the shadows to me. My chest grows warm, and I lean into it, embracing the feeling as if I’m greeting an old friend.
This isn’t the same feeling I get when my other magic flares. That sensation is twisted and dark and frightening. The shadows don’t feel dangerous.
They begin to ease until I can see the sunlight from my window cutting through the darkness. I summon the dark tendrils, calling them to me with curiosity instead of fear.
To my surprise, they respond, swirling around me, slithering up my body, wrapping around me like an affectionate snake.
Someone pounds on my door and the shadows dissipate like smoke, the room returning to normal as if nothing strange happened.
The pounding sounds again. It’s intense, frantic. I hurry to the door, then throw it open.
Juliettelowers her hand, then barges into my room. Brow furrowed, I turn to Nate. “She said you’d want to see her.”
“Yes, of course,” I say.
“Do you…is she alright?” he asks.
“I don’t know.” I glance over my shoulder to find her pacing the room, wringing her hands.
I thought she was away with her new lover and wasn’t expecting to see her anytime soon. My insides twist, anxiety making me uncomfortable. I’m still unsure around her. I told her I forgave her, but how do you ever truly forgive someone for causing a friend’s death? Especially when all the others offered to help me once they discovered who I was despite what happened to Katherine.
Juliette didn’t turn her in as a rebel because she believed in the kingdom, she did it to save herself. And now she’s in my room, seconds away from what appears to be a complete breakdown. I shove away all the unknowns. She needs a friend, and I can be that for her.
“I’m here if you need me,” Nate says.
I nod to him, grateful for his support. After I close the door, I cross to Juliette, then grab her hands, clapping them between mine. She stops moving.
“What is it? What’s wrong? When did you get here? Are you hurt? Did something happen?” The questions pour from me, and I force myself to stop.
She stares at me, her gaze unwavering and intense. “I came as soon as I found out. I swear, I didn’t know. They never told me. I had no idea. If I’d have known, I would have told you. I would have stopped them…”
“Juliette, breathe. Slow down. What did you find out?” I keep my voice calm, but my pulse is racing.
“They’re dead. They’re all dead.” Her voice is high pitched and laced with panic. “Every single one of them. All of them.”
“Who’s dead?” My thoughts go straight to Brevan, then Caiden. Panic claws at my insides.
Screaming, desperate and wild, cuts through the air, as if whoever made the sound is in the room with us. I run to the door and throw it open.
Charlotte is on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. I crouch down and pull her into my arms. “What is it? What happened?”
