“Emory? My name is Memphis Carter. Do you know who I am?” He could feel Nyx’s eyes burning into his back.
Emory peeked up at him through her fingers. “I’m not going to answer that until you tell me where I am and why I am here.” Her voice was like crystal, smooth and commanding. The voice of a queen.
Guilt tinged in his gut, and he chose his next words carefully. “I realize what this is going to sound like, and that it’s insane. Brokk and I brought you here to our world. This is the Academy—our home. You came from Earth, but this world was your home first. Kiero. We grew up together. Your parents built our government, and a school called the Academy. To us, you are rightful heir to their lineage.”
Her mind was like walking on ice, too much pressure at once and it would break. Memphis had to dance around the edges, especially to protect what he had done. Softly, he asked, “How much do you remember?”
Her eyes were daggers, and she stood up. “Why should I remember this place? This world? You’re telling me that you just kidnapped me and transported me to another world? This isn’t freaking Star Trek! It feels like my mind is being split into two, I remember my life—going to work, my apartment, my friends—but now...” she winced. “Now it’s like someone has drawn back the stage curtain, and all these broken memories have come into play. I see myself as a little girl, and instead of being raised in an orphanage, I’m with parents. And we had abilities...like supernatural abilities. Which just proves that I have lost it, or you have obviously drugged me. So, if you’re going to kill me, then just do it.”
Memphis blanched from the pure venom in her tone.
“Show her,” Nyx’s quiet voice resonated in his mind.
Memphis stared back at Nyx, narrowing his eyes. He could gently feed more memories to Emory, it was the only way to make her see the truth.
Reaching toward her, he placed his palm against her temple. Her skin was cool and soft, and he could feel the adrenaline rushing through her.
“Get away from me, now.” Her voice hitched as he stared into her eyes, and he entered her mind. Her consciousness was a tornado, unforgiving and pure destruction. Memories, images, noises swirled around her mind, battling to find the truth. Each one trying to find its place once more in the timeline of her two very different lives. It was like dropping a pebble into an ocean. Memphis watched his added memories fight against the tide of her consciousness. He relived every moment with her.
Brokk hugged Emory tight, messing her hair. She playfully punched his shoulder.
They poured over books long into the night, Memphis smiling at her concentrated expression.
Memphis levitating glasses in class.
Brokk shifting into a golden wolf, playfully barking.
Her parents, their classes together. And... Adair, quietly in the shadows, watching and waiting.
Everything abruptly went black. Furrowing his brow, he tried to retreat when Emory’s breath began to be labored. Eyes rolling into the back of her head, the whites showed as a slow trail of blood trickled down her face.
Panicking, Memphis reached out for Nyx’s help. It was as if they had been shut in a soundproof room, his own thoughts muffled. He watched as Emory’s body went ridged, and then a flurry of activity sparked, and all Memphis could do was watch and listen.
Emory tucked herself into bed, the soft glow of her cell phone lighting her room. Her head sank into the familiar curve of her pillow as she drifted off into sleep. Of course, it wasn’t long until her dreams took over.
She found herself in a dark forest, the trees thick and dense. Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she took off at a slow jog, her breath coming in puffs.
“Em... Em... Emory.”
A soft voice called out to her, as a figure with long blond hair stepped out of the shadows. She ran to Memphis. The name felt like home. With arms wide open, she collided into his chest, burrowing her face in the crook of his arm.
“Em, help me.” His eye silently pled, then the world erupted into flame.
Screaming, she tried to reach out to him, but all that was left was smoke and ash. Choking, she blindly stumbled. Every time was the same. Tears streaming down her face, she sank to the ground waiting. He would come.
“EMORY!” Her head snapped up, and focusing, she saw Memphis moving toward her. She didn’t wait. Pushing off from the ground, she propelled her body forward, running as fast as she could. She saw the knife glinting in the filtered light, his golden eyes dead as Brokk stalked toward him.
“NO!”
But it was always too late. She locked eyes with him, and he smirked, revealing his pointed teeth, Memphis’s blood dripping from the knife.
She awoke—her scream caught in her throat. It had always been the same nightmare for as long as she could remember. Trying to still her shaking hands, she frantically glanced around the room, as if for thehundredth time, she could save this mysterious man, but she was alone.
Memphis came out of the vision with her as fast as it came, Emory’s body lying on the bunker, convulsing.
“What happened?” Nyx surged forward, grasping Emory’s body and turning her on her side to avoid further harm.
“I... Nyx...”
This was going to end them.
Nyx didn’t wait for him to sort out his thoughts. “Hold her legs down for me, will you?”
Numb and at a loss for words, he complied. Minutes passed before the episode subsided, Emory becoming still once more. Her skin was ashen, drained of any color.
“Is she okay?” Memphis asked, meeting Nyx’s deadpan glare.
“Minor injuries. She will be fine though. I am more interested in the fact that a couple of minutes ago, I couldn’t access her mind or yours. What happened?”
He could physically feel the
