Madeleine… Help…
My chest tightened and I gasped, my eyes flying open. That was so not a dream. Hissing, I rubbed the heel of my hand against my sternum. It felt as if something was tearing me open.
The bond. If this was Elijah’s attempt at hurrying me up, he was in for a rude shock.
“Elijah, you better stop that or else.” I scowled and doubled over. “I’m working on it, okay?”
Yeah, so that last bit was a lie. The finding a cure bit was a total bust now that I’d broken Rhys’s nose. I guess I had another reckoning coming my way. Elijah could just take a number and get in line.
My vision blurred and for a split-second, I was lying on rocky ground—cold, weak, and alone. My chest burned as I dragged myself towards faint lights in the distance. Camelot.
I gasped as the tent came back into focus.
Elijah.
It took me a few minutes to get my bearings and once I did, I knew he was in serious shite. He hadn’t used our link to punish me—he’d used it to call for help.
Standing, I walked over to the closed tent flap. Damn Thompson and damn Rhys for being a bigoted arsehole. I bashed my fist against the side of the tent, and it rippled as I struck the invisible barrier which kept me locked inside.
There was no way out of here, unless… A dangerous thought popped into my mind and my dormant mutation stirred. Dangerous wasn’t the only word I thought of—intoxicating, deadly, and moronic. Even thinking about nullifying Thompson’s Light with my theoretical Darkness was the most insane, reckless, and stupid thing I’d ever considered. That’s if it even worked.
I shook my head and began to pace. Why was I even considering helping Elijah? He’d saved me twice—at Adrenaline and Ben Nevis—and he was…what? Handsome? C’mon, Madeleine, stop being a stupid little girl and grow the hell up. This isn’t a story about star-crossed lovers.
Somewhere out in the hills, Elijah pulled on the tether and I almost threw up. Great, it seemed like I’d feel his death, and maybe even partake in it.
I sighed as I glanced at the tent flap. I was already facing a ninety-five percent chance of exile, so I might as well go for a perfect score.
Checking that my arondight blade was still at my hip, I thanked Thompson for his oversight and turned towards the flap. I unzipped it, opening the tent to the night.
Okay, think, Madeleine. Electricity flowed from negative to positive, which meant my mutation could affect my emotions by making my Light into a circuit. That was how I could access it and use it to negate Thompson’s barrier and pass straight through. Theoretically, anyway.
All I had to do was complete the circuit between my Light, my mutation, and the barrier, then I was out of here. I reached for the anger deep below my Light and hoped it would work.
Static charge began to crackle across my skin, twisting with a coldness that almost made me pull back. So this was what Darkness was like. I trembled, choking as my Light fought against it. I couldn’t lose control… But thinking of Elijah, I let go.
I allowed the Darkness to fill me until I was unfeeling ice and charged rage. Pushing against the barrier, I grinned as my theory proved to be a raging success. Those pathetic Naturals didn’t stand a chance.
I stepped through, Thompson’s Light tugging at my hair, and then I was outside. Turning, I pressed my palm against the opening and snorted when I found the barrier still active. He’d be so mad when he showed up in the morning to find I’d vanished. The Dark part of me smirked, amused at the imminent chaos.
A tingling across my chest brought me back to the present and I slammed my Light closed around the mutation, cutting it off.
Holy shite…
Glancing around, I swallowed hard and began to move away from the tent, thankful that I was alone. If anyone had seen me do what I’d just done . . . I’d be killed on the spot.
A skeleton crew was stationed throughout the camp and on the walls during the night, so it wasn’t difficult to manoeuvre through the tent city unseen. Unlike the London Sanctum, there weren’t any alarms around Camelot my demonic friend could trigger, so there was zero fanfare when I passed the outer wall.
I’d just left everything I’d ever known behind, and I’d never be able to go back. My friends, my family, my entire reason for existing…gone. Moving away from Camelot, I knew there was no turning back now.
I stuck to the shadows, streaking across the landscape like a spectre. Patrols used the road in and out of the camp at regular intervals, and I had no idea what time it was and no time to wait. I took the risk and kept moving.
I darted away from the trail and up the hill, putting as much distance between me and Camelot as I could. Ducking below the rise, I cast my Light out, hoping I’d be able to sense Elijah just like I’d been able to sense those artefacts hidden underground.
Getting a hit farther into the rocky landscape, I clambered between boulders and scrambled over outcrops. This part of the Clee Hills was wild and untouched—it was on the outskirts of the illusion that hid Camelot, so humans hadn’t been here in hundreds of years. The only thing that set foot in this part of the world were the Naturals and the Dark.
I set out another pulse, then turned left and leapt up onto a boulder. I shook my head as I scanned the shadowy maze. This was impossible. He should be right here.
“Elijah?” I called. “Answer me, damn you.”
I jumped to the next boulder and skidded down the side. Looking over the edge of a shard of limestone, I found a natural alcove underneath. There, curled up
