“Adne, run!” I’d shifted forms, barreling toward her with all the speed I had.
She turned to face me, startled. Confusion locked her in place.
“Connor! Ethan!” I kept running. “Get everyone away from here. Run now!”
I stretched out my arms, grabbing Adne at the waist. As I pivoted around, I threw her across the room, hoping Connor would be ready to catch her.
“No!” I heard Shay’s desperate yell at the same moment Ren howled.
I closed my eyes and let the wraith engulf me.
Pain.
As the darkness rolled over my skin, it felt like a thousand small, white-hot hooks had lodged in my flesh. They slowly began to pull, tearing skin from muscle. I was screaming, but I couldn’t hear anything. Not even the sound of my own agony. I was being torn apart. I was on fire.
And then there was nothing.
PART III
FIRE
SIXTEEN
I WOKE WITH A START, gasping for breath.
Outside the window a blizzard raged. Sleet and snow, sharp as darts, careened from clouds to earth. My eyelids drooped as I tried to sort through my dim memories. Warm breeze. The smell of salt air kissed by lemons.
Now I was surrounded by familiar scents. The must of dog-eared paperbacks, the dull bite of sharpened pencils, and the crispness of denim. I sat up, looking around.
I was in bed. In my room.
Goose bumps crawled up my arms.
I was in Vail. A scream got caught trying to explode from my lungs, as if it had been choked off by an invisible hand.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”
My mother was sitting in a chair near my dresser. My father stood at her shoulders, looking oddly stiff.
“Mom?” My voice cracked. I tried to move again, but my limbs tingled. They felt so heavy.
“Of course it’s me,” she said, while I stared at her.
Something inside me was sobbing.
“We thought you might sleep all day.” Her teeth were very bright when she smiled. “Didn’t we, Stephen?”
My father nodded. Something in his eyes made fear curl at the base of my spine. He was too alert. The Nightshade alpha was bristling, ready to attack.
Distant voices echoed in the recesses of my mind.
“Ansel?” I murmured.
A flash of pain tried to split open my skull. I bent forward, cradling my head in my hands.
“Your brother is patrolling with Mason,” my mother said. “He’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”
I nodded. That made sense. Why did my head hurt so much?
My father’s brow furrowed. “Are you in pain?”
“Stephen.” My mother’s eyes rolled up at her mate; a warning flashed within them. “Don’t coddle her. She is an alpha, after all.”
“Of course, m-Naomi,” he said. His hands gripped the back of her chair.
“I think I might be sick,” I said. “My head hurts.”
“We’ll get you some aspirin in a second, sweetie,” my mother said. “But you drifted off before you finished telling us about your adventure.”
“My adventure?” I peered at her.
“Yes,” she said. “You were just telling us about all the places you’ve been. You were traveling with friends. Remember how that was your gift from the Keepers after the Union? All the places you’ve seen?”
She smiled. A wave of ease washed over me, making my limbs heavier, but bliss coursed through my veins. “All the places I’ve seen.”
“That’s right.” Her pearl white teeth gleamed. “We want to hear all about it. What were the places you visited like?”
She adjusted her weight. When she moved, her body blurred and for a moment, her face contorted and I saw-
I cried out when my head throbbed.
“Calla!” My father stepped toward me.
My mother’s hand shot out and he froze. She stood up, taking very slow steps toward me.
Why was she moving so slowly?
With each step her figure blurred again. The pounding in my head forced me to keep closing my eyes. I couldn’t focus on her as she approached.
The mattress squeaked when she settled next to me. She placed her hands on my temples and the pain gave way to another surge of ecstasy.
“There,” she cooed. “Isn’t that better?”
I nodded, but I still wanted to cry. There was something I wanted to tell her, something so important that my mother needed to know.
I leaned my head against her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
But I didn’t know what I was apologizing for.
She stroked my hair. Her scent wafted into my nostrils-a stiff scent of parchment and red wine. I pulled away, staring at her.
“Feeling better?”
I inhaled, letting the scent linger. A scent that was not Naomi Tor’s scent. My mother always smelled of gardenia and ferns.
These scents, old, rich smells blending into a heady perfume, were familiar and they belonged to someone else.
“Lumine,” I whispered.
The moment I spoke my mistress’s name, her spell shattered.
The air around me crackled, splintering before my eyes. My mother had vanished. Only Lumine Nightshade sat before me. My father stood silently on the other side of the room. His eyes were bright with fear.
Shock welded me to the bed as the illusions drifted away. I began to shake and sob.
Lumine sighed, straightening the dark jacket of her Chanel suit. “That’s not very becoming, Calla.”
“You bitch.” I snarled, my teeth sharpened. I was about to lunge when my father shouted.
“Calla, no!” The command of the Nightshade alpha was still enough to pull me up short.
My eyes met his for a moment before I followed his gaze to my closet. The door was ajar and something was moving inside it. Shadows, thick as tar, undulating in the darkness. A wraith.
My stomach knotted up at the memory of the wraith taking me. A wave of pain crashed through my limbs,
