"What do you want, Merlin?" I asked. We were in some kind of odd shimmering place. Specks of light danced in every direction I looked. I had no idea where I was, but I knew who had stolen me away. "The same thing I've always wanted. I just have enough power to force it from your body this time." He stepped out of the shifting lights. A solid form among the drifting colors and dancing stars. He was a handsome man-if I were to consider average handsome. Medium height, slim build. Quite a crown of brown curls on his head. It was his eyes, though, that made him captivating. A glowing amber hue that swirled with golds and bronzes as the light shifted. His lashes were long enough to make any girl jealous. I crossed my arms over my chest, prayed he couldn't see the terror that sat just below the surface. "And how do you intend to do that?"His mouth twitched slightly. It was thin and pinched. As if it would physically pain him to smile. "In whatever way best suits me, of course." H

I looked up at the trees. The night sky. It shielded my tears from the prying eyes of those around me. I curled around the lifeless body of the love of my life. She was gone. Had been gone for hours now. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't let anyone take her from me. I'd almost shot Thane in the chest before I'd been disarmed. He'd tried to take her. Tried to put her body in the ground. Said we needed to bury her. I'd shoved him away. Carried away the shell that used to hold my soul. My heart. No one was taking her anywhere. And they certainly weren't putting her in the fucking ground. That was for damn sure. I knew what death looked like in a human body. I'd seen it. Smelled it. Watched it deform with decay and rigor mortis. None of those things happened to Cheeks. Not a single one. Her bowels didn't void. Her limbs didn't become rigid as granite.No. She was gone. But her body wasn't dead. At least not yet. I would stay with her until her body died. Then I would fo

A sob pushed at my chest. Tore at my lungs. Ripped at my throat. She was gone. She was somewhere I couldn't follow. Somewhere I couldn't bring her back from. I coughed to cover the sob. It came out wet and brittle. Even to my own ears, I could hear the sorrow. No one else was going to be fooled. I buried my face in the curve of her neck and shoulder. Shook as the next wave of tears and grief swamped over me. I sank my hands into her long, cool strands of hair. Gripped her head tight. "Come back, Hollyn. Please come back," I whispered against her neck. Someone stumbled through the forest next to me. I cringed back. My grief was still too raw to allow others to see it. To show it to anyone else. "Hollyn." It was practically toneless. Nothing more than an exhalation of anguish. The person stopped as if I'd shouted at them. I laid still in the grass. Waited for them to walk by. I tried to cover as much of Hollyn's skin as possible. As if the moon were trying to caress her sk

I turned from the circle of my family. Looked out into the night. Funny thing about this new power of mine...I could see just as well in the dark as I could in the full brightness of day. It was as if Chaos' power had somehow flipped a light switch in my brain. Not only was I glowing, but my eyesight seemed to have its own night vision as well. Oh well. Just one more thing to get rid of after I killed Merlin. Drace and Finn walked over. A passel of children following in their wake. When Drace saw me, she squealed and ran over. I was up and twirled around in circles as she hooted with laughter and tears. "Corcra, I've never been so excited to see anyone in my entire life." She gave me an extra squeeze before she put me back on my feet. I stumbled a bit as my brain tried to right itself. I smiled. "Well, next time, just a hug will do. But I'm sorry you were frightened as well. Merlin is a twat waffle douche canoe who likes to play at being a god." Her mouth dropped open. A

"We share her. But I swear to the fucking stars, Tove, you get her mouth." I slammed the bottle of syrup on the kitchen island. I was this close to losing it. He laughed. "I'm good with whatever part she gives me, bro. But I'm pretty sure all of that is up to her." He flipped another pancake over on the griddle. "What's up to me?" She took a deep breath. "Pancakes?" Her eyelashes fluttered closed. "Sweet stars, you made me pancakes?" Her lavender eyes opened, zeroed in on me. Shifted to Tove. She clasped her hands together, pulled them to her chest. "I love you both so much." Just like that, the tension left my body. Oh, I was still going to fuck her into next week, but the frenzy was off. Nothing had changed for her. Not really. Even though it felt like I'd lived a lifetime without her, she was basically back to normal. She wasn't going to be hiding under the bed. Cowering back from us in the dark. If anything, she looked lighter. Brighter. More settled than I'd ever se