A slow laugh starts, as her body sways. A morbid bride of black, she twirls and laughs, the pitch turning higher, the feel of it a dangerous omen.
“We shall see.”
She lurches forward and I grab her blood. Pulling with everything I have, I don’t stop until the blood is completely under my control. The threads tying us together wrap around my fingers, a puppeteer holding their strings. My magic hisses in my gut, a waking beast, looking for nourishment and it snaps it’s jaws, ready to devour her life.
But she continues to spin and laugh.
What the…?
“You should return to your world,” she coos, hands held out wide. “See the damage you’ve caused.”
Return to my world?Narrowing my gaze, I force my magic to pullharder. She’s a wicked creature, full of tricks, but I won’t be dissuaded.
My body shakes and I yelp, as two strong palms grab my cheeks.
The world vanishes into a hazy mess of blurry images, and I blink, staring up into the face of my father. His lips twist into a frown, brow sweaty before he shouts, “Maximillia!”
Surging upright, my hands flail as he shakes me again. Harder this time, my head snapping back and forth.
The Black Palace disappears. Gone, back into the void, into a dream.
My heart shatters like fallen glass and I barely stop a sob falling from my lips.It was so real.I was home—for a brief time. Home, without the worries that have plagued me, andI want it back.
“Max! Come out of it!” Baris shouts once more and turns my head so I have to gaze at him through watery eyes. Usually stoic and aloof, my father’s face grows heavy with terror.
What happened?
Pushing him off, I yell back, “I’m awake!”
Falling back to the bedroll, my hands take the brunt as I wince. “What’s wrong? Are the wolves back?”
Slowly, it comes back. The attack, the chaos, and the carnage. Then, Kaden saving me before running back into the woods.
I saw the change in his face. Those amber eyes, balls of fire that burn with passion I love, had cooled to black stones of evil. The Hadeon kept me from following, who now stands beside me, body stiff.
Baris directs my face again, nails pinching my skin. I embrace the pain, letting the physical grounding shake off the emotional devastation from my dream. “Look around!”
My mouth drops and nausea rises in my throat. Everyone is frozen on their toes with frightful expressions. Their chests are stretched out, and I can see the outline of their hearts, pressing against their bodies. Hearts, that beat wildly inside their ribcages, drawn to me.
Glancing to my hands, they shake with blood-stained fingers.
But I didn’t command anyone here. I only tried to attack the woman in my dreams.
“Focus, Max. Pull it back. Let the threads go.”
Mouth flapping, I sputter, “How do you know about the thread? How are you not the same as everyone else?”
“Focus!” he bellows, pulling me to stand. “If you don’t release them soon, everyone will die.”
Stumbling against his chest, I think of what’s at stake. If I fail, they die. If I don’t release them, everyone dies.
No, don’t think about that.
Reid’s frightened face in the back, pale and stuck, pulls at my heart.
Quickly, I close my eyes, lifting my hands, seeing their threads pulled into one long rope. It’s not the first time I’ve done this, but it certainly is the first I’ve done it unconsciously.
Does this mean my powers are growing?
