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If I run again, they may not stop me. And if I’m being honest, there’s nowhere else I want to be besides here. So, I follow Ryland to the table where another poor being lays, suffering from Amber’s torture. I keep my focus on the wolf shifters with me, not the ones on the tables around us. I can’t handle looking at what Amber did to them.
“Why is she doing this to these people?” I ask, staring at Ryland instead of looking around.
“She wants to create an army and take out all the other supernaturals,” he answers, without looking at me. Unlike me, he refuses to avoid staring at the misshapen and disfigured people who’ve suffered far too much.
“That’s her end game? To eradicate species by creating a new one? That woman is a monster,” I insist. “I can’t wait until Garnet takes her out.”
“I hope she can,” Orym says. “Because Trevan was right; this is worse than Vincent.” I glance at him and see tears filling his eyes. These are people both men knew. They probably grew up as a part of this pack, and now their friends have to witness this tragedy. All because one errant witch decided to play god.
“We can’t let her win. Garnet has to defeat her. There’s no other way,” I declare. Suddenly I feel even more stupid for letting Amber manipulate me into leaving. I realize that she was trying to weaken Garnet, which means I have to stay by her side no matter what.
“Well, at least one good thing came from all of this,” Orym whispers to me with a knowing look. Even if I didn’t mean to, I let him hear that thought. I’m not upset about it. If anything, I’m determined to see this through because of what Amber has done to these people.
GARNET
I curl up in Luca’s lap, letting myself doze off while the movie plays and Grammy rubs my back. I’m certain that Ry’s little errand has something to do with Amber and possibly what happened to Vincent. But I don’t feel up to asking about it, since I probably don’t want the answer anyway.
I let myself drift off, trying to hold onto memories of Vincent when we were kids and things were easier between us. After a few minutes, I find myself in the training center, staring at the reason Ry, Orym, and James left. The only reason I know this is really happening is that they’re all gathered around the three figures laid out on tables.
These three look so much worse than Vincent. One resembles a puddle of somewhat human parts. Another is more or less the same, but with fur. And the third—I turn away, unable to handle what’s left of whoever that was.
A wave of nausea washes over me, and even though I know this is a vision, I’m sure I’ll be sick. I try to leave the training center, but I’m stuck. I close my eyes and focus on Luca, trying to pull myself back to him.
Instead, he materializes next to me. “What the fuck just happened?” he asks, looking around in shock.
“That’s not what I wanted to do. I’m sorry,” I respond, closing my eyes again. Since I can’t leave this room, I turn away from the mangled bodies. I’m glad that we’re not really here, so I can’t smell this. I won’t ever forget what Amber did to Vincent, or the way it smelled. This has to be worse.
“Red, are you okay? This is hard to look at,” Luca admits.
I nod. “I don’t know how we’re here, though. And I can’t seem to send us back.” I feel as if I’m failing at everything right now. I need to figure this out. Luca and I need to get back to our bodies.
“Just breathe. You can do this. Take my hand, and we’ll walk outside,” he offers. I almost tell him that I can’t leave, but something in his voice gives me hope. I do as he asks, and he leads me out the doors. I’m shocked that it works.
“How did you know that would work?” I ask, staring at him in disbelief. Before he can respond, movement catches my eye. I hold up a hand for him to wait, even though no one here can see or hear us. I follow the movement and see Trevan standing at the edge of the woods.
“What are you doing here, Briar?” Amber asks.
“I hate to break it to you, Amber, but that’s not my real name,” he answers.
She looks surprised, and I wonder what prompted him to give her a false name in the first place. “You lied to me? I didn’t think Fae could do that,” she accuses.
“Well, I didn’t lie. Your sister did, and I just went along with it. You never even asked me if what she told you was true. You were too busy trying to convince me that I should leave her for you,” he counters. That makes sense, even if it’s a little strange.
“Then what is your name?” she asks with a snarl. He laughs and shakes his head.
“I’m not dumb enough to give you my true name. Even if I can’t lie, there’s nothing forcing me to answer your questions. And in just a few days, my daughter will deal with you anyway.” His confidence in me is astounding. I don’t know what makes him think I can defeat Amber.
He barely knows me, and I haven’t exactly got full control over my powers—witch or Fae. Maybe it’s that he understands how determined I am to finish this and protect the people I love. I can feel his pain at losing my mother, so perhaps he can sense my emotions too. For a second, I swear he looks right at me, but that’s not possible, right?
Luca and I aren’t actually here. We’re projecting somehow, but maybe he can see it because of the connection to my Fae magic. I exchange a glance with Luca. “Did you see that?”
“He looked right at you and winked. He knows we’re here,” Luca answers. Good, it wasn’t just me. With everything that keeps happening, I feel as if I’m losing my mind half the time.
“Do you think he can hear us as well?” I turn back to where my father was standing a moment ago, but he’s gone. “Oh, shit, did she take him?”
Luca shrugs and then jumps when a figure pops up next to him. “The two of you should not be hanging out here like this. You’re lucky that Amber didn’t see you,” my father says.
“First of all, how can you see us? Second, how do we get back?” I toss the questions at him and wait expectantly for his response. I can feel panic rising in my chest as if my body were here with me.
