My pulse roars in my ears, drowning out the crash of the waves. The taste of salt fills my mouth, chased by the bitter tang of fear. I push harder, faster. My chest burns, my legs scream, but I keep running.
The world narrows to the rhythm of my breath, the pounding of my feet, the sting of bramble against my legs. I dart between twisted trunks and gnarled roots, ducking under branches, searching for a path to safety.
And just when I think I might make it back to the bridge, to the castle, to Alderic and the women, just when hope flares, foolish and fragile in my chest, I look back. One single, stupid heartbeat of a glance.
And I slam into something solid.
The impact knocks the air from my lungs, the world pitching as I stumble back. I flail for balance, but before I can catch myself, a hand shoots out and clamps around my wrist.
I don’t need to look.
I already know.
But some part of me still can’t understand how he got in front of me so fast.How did I get so turned around?
Alder stands before me like he was conjured from the deepest, coldest depths of the sea. His fingers tighten, and his eyes gleam with something close to victory.
“It’s cute and so like you to think that Delphara and I were in the dark,” Alder says softly, mockingly. “We’ve known from the beginning who he really is. What the two of you do to the machines when you’re together.”
My stomach drops.
Alder smiles wider, and it’s all teeth. “You used to dream of being someone, didn’t you, Gemma? Someone important. Chosen. Special.” He leans in, his voice a poisonous whisper. “Well, you were right. You are going to be someone. You’re going to be the key.My key. To power. To everything I’ve ever wanted.” He tilts his head, voice velvet-smooth and venom-laced. “It’s about time you finally proved your worth.”
A flush of rage burns through me, snapping the fear clean in two. My hand slices through the air and lands with a crack, my nails raking down his cheek, carving deep, angry red lines into his perfect skin.
Alder stumbles back, stunned, a sharp curse hissing from between his teeth as his fingertips brush the blood beading along the jagged lines my nails left behind.
I don’t waste a second—I bolt.
The castle rises ahead, dark and distant. I have to get there, to Alderic. If Delphara knows the truth—if she’s figured out who he really is—then there’s a chance he’s already been taken. And they know about the women…
I have to save them.
All of them.
The wind claws at my hair, my skirts twisting around my legs as I push harder. My breath tears from my throat in ragged gasps. The bridge stretches before me, the only path back to the castle. I’m almost there. Almost—
The scent of the ocean and something ancient fills my lungs.
No.
I skid to a stop, my chest heaving.
I’m not on the bridge. I’m standing at the mouth of the Tower.
The withered apple blossoms curl against the stone like burned parchment, brittle and blackened. The sea roars below the cliffs, spray shooting in foamy white arcs, but I barely hear it over the hammer of my own pulse.
Panic surges as I spin around and sprint back the way I came, chest burning, limbs screaming in protest, feet pounding the earth.
But the moment the bridge comes into view, I’m back. Back at the Tower.
The world has twisted in on itself.
The air thickens, heavy with the stench of old blood and older magick. It wraps around my throat, seeps into my lungs, presses down until I can barely breathe.
The bridge is gone.
The castle is gone.
