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  © Copyright 2018 Micalea Smeltzer

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design and Photo © Regina Wamba of Mae I Design and Photography

  Cover models Michael Senich and Jenna Mahr

  Edited and Formatted by Wendi Temporado of Ready, Set, Edit

  On the run from the Iniquitous, Mara feels lost and helpless. Without Theo by her side she’s left bare and vulnerable, but she’s a fighter and, with blood boiling in her veins, she vows to avenge him.

  The Iniquitous have already taken so much from her, and she refuses to sit back and let them take anything else. She trains harder, preparing herself physically and mentally to take them on. As her magic grows stronger, so does the voice speaking to her from beyond the grave.

  She wants to believe it’s real, to give in to what feels right, but if she does, her mind might be lost forever.

  The trees and endless roads bled around us.

  I was naïve to think things could be good.

  I got comfortable.

  I got happy.

  And it was all ripped right out from under me.

  Destruction followed me wherever I went. It was like I was a magnet. Anger bubbled and festered inside me like a living thing. I felt suffocated by it, but I was either too strong, or too stubborn, to die.

  “Mara,” Adelaide whispered beside me, breaking the silence that had descended on the car in the last five hours since we fled the mansion.

  I slowly turned my head to look at her. Mascara was dried on her cheeks, and her eyes were red-rimmed.

  The loss of Theo made me feel like half of myself had been ripped savagely out of my body. I no longer felt whole. But I knew his loss was equally as difficult for her. He was her brother, her only family she had left.

  “What?” I whispered. My voice was hoarse and raw. I hadn’t spoken since I stopped screaming out the window for Theo.

  “We shouldn’t be sad,” her voice cracked. “He was doing his job, his duty, what he was born to do. We should be proud.”

  I looked away from her and back out the window beside me, afraid I’d begin to cry again. I didn’t want to cry anymore. I didn’t want to be weak. I had to be strong. Without Theo, I had to stay alert and protect myself. In the window, my reflection stared back at me, my eyes vacant, my freckles stark against my pale skin. I looked like a ghost. It was how I felt, too. A shell of the girl I’d been only a few hours before, declaring her love to her soul mate.

  I knew he was doing his duty, but it didn’t make it any easier.

  In fact, it made it a little worse.

  If he didn’t have to protect me he wouldn’t have been there. He would’ve fled with us.

  Actually, none of this would’ve probably happened in the first place.

  I felt eyes on me, and when I turned slightly my eyes collided with Ethan’s in the rearview mirror. When they met, he quickly looked back at the road.

  I had no idea where we were going to go or what we were going to do.

  In the big scheme of things we were kids and ill-prepared for this.

  Victor’s last words echoed in my mind.

  “G-Get away f-from here. F-Find C-Cleo. She h-holds the k-key.”

  Who was this Cleo? I’d never heard the name before and had no idea how I was supposed to find this person. Maybe it wasn’t even a person. It could have been a place for all I knew.

  “Is anybody hungry?” Ethan asked.

  “Yes,” Winston and Adelaide answered while I gave a mumbled no.

  It was light out now, which meant it was safe for us to stop, but I wanted to keep going.

  And going.

  And going.

  There was a part of me that thought I could escape my racing thoughts, stop replaying Theo’s last moments over and over again, but my logical self knew it was impossible.

  Ethan pulled into a café and parked. I didn’t even know what state we were in—if we were still in Washington or had crossed a line somewhere along the way. “We’ll grab food and eat as we go. You guys go get some things and I’ll get gas.” He pointed across the road to a station.

  “You want anything?” Adelaide asked him.

  “I’m not picky. Get me whatever.”

  He reached over in front of Winston and pulled down the glove box. He found a bundle of cash and handed Winston some to cover our food. There must’ve been several thousand dollars in the stack and for all I knew more was hidden in the car.

  Even though I didn’t want to get out, I did, and followed the others inside.

  The café was small, with only room for two small tables and chairs and the counter where you ordered. The walls were painted a bright green with flowers stenciled on them. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the home I grew up in and the fruit stenciled on the kitchen walls. My dad said my mother did it, but now I wasn’t so sure.

  So much I believed to be true was a lie.

  I didn’t feel like I could even trust my own memories and it sucked majorly.

  Winston ordered first, then Adelaide for her and Ethan, and then it was my turn.

  I ordered a breakfast sandwich, even though I doubted I could eat, and a coffee.

  The three of us waited off to the side for our order to be ready. The patrons eyed us with curiosity. I’m sure we looked strange, me in my fighting clothes and the two of them dressed up from the Christmas Eve ball.

  I felt Winston and Adelaide watching me, studying me, wondering if I was okay or might run off at any second.

  I wanted to run, but I couldn’t.

  Not when Theo sacrificed his life for mine.

  I was still alive and, while I was, it was my duty to kill every last one of the Iniquitous.

  They killed my mom, they killed my dad, they even killed Ian, and now they’d taken Theo from me too.

  I wouldn’t stand for that.

  I wanted them to suffer as much as me.

  My mind played out creative scenarios of how I’d kill them.

  A knife to the eye, choking until I saw the life leave them, lighting them on fire with my magic—I’d burn the whole world down if that’s what it took to kill them all.

  “Order number two,” the lady called out.

  Winston grabbed the bag of food while Adelaide grabbed the drink carrier, which left me with nothing, so I grabbed a handful of napkins to feel semi-useful.

  Ethan was parked back out front and we all piled inside.

  It took a minute to pass the food and drinks around, but once they were, Ethan was back on the road and we were putting even more miles between us and the manor.

  I felt sick Theo was left there, or worse, the Iniquitous had taken his body with them.

  I’d barely had time to revel in what transpired between us before all hell broke loose.

  But those stolen moments with him, I knew I’d cherish them forever. They’d been some of the best and happiest times of my life. I never knew I could love someone so much and be loved in return. It was the stuff love songs and stories were written about. Even if he was gone, our love wasn’t. A love like that didn’t go away because he was gone. If anything, it grew stronger. Besides, it was better to have loved and lost someone as great as Theo than to have not tried at all. The odds were against us from the start, we weren’t supposed to be together for reasons I still didn’t know, but for one night I’d known what it’d be like for us to love each other openly.

/>   It was everything.

  I nibbled on my sandwich, barely tasting it.

  I noticed Adelaide picked at hers too. Nigel eyed me angrily and I couldn’t tell whether he was hungry or being a cat.

  When I’d hardly eaten a quarter of my sandwich, I wrapped it up and put it back in the bag. My stomach was rolling, and I knew I’d get sick if I forced myself to eat any more.

  Adelaide frowned at me, like she was saddened by my lack of effort, but then she sighed and stuffed the rest of her sandwich in the bag.

  Theo had died only hours ago. There was no way I could function like a normal human being yet. I was still processing, and I feared I might never be normal again.

  Yeah, he was an arrogant asshole, but he was my arrogant asshole.

  He was as much as extension to me as my hands. I felt lost without him and I didn’t know how I’d made it nearly eighteen years without him. As my protector, he and I were connected on a level that was special and unique, I trusted him more than I did anybody else without even being able to explain why. I just did.

  I picked up my coffee and sipped at it slowly. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t the best either. It helped settle my stomach, though, so at least there was that.

  “Where are we going to go?” Adelaide asked hesitantly, her voice shaky. “This is two safe houses attacked now. Where will we be safe?”

  Her question was valid and one I hadn’t asked myself yet even though I should’ve. All I could think about was Theo being gone, when I should’ve been thinking about what came next.

  Ethan sighed and tightened his hand around the steering wheel. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” he repeated. I noticed how stressed and strained he looked.

  “We can’t keep driving,” Winston interjected. “You need to sleep, man.”

  “We need to put as much distance between us and them as we can.”

  I leaned up between the two seats. “I can drive if you need to rest.”

  He shook his head adamantly. “Theo would kill me if I let you drive.”

  “Theo’s not here to reprimand you. Adelaide can’t drive—you can’t, can you?” I glanced at her and she shook her head. “And Winston?” I probed.

  “Only on the other side of the road, love. Never learned here.”

  “I’m your only option.” I patted Ethan on the shoulder and he groaned.

  “Fine, but I can go a little longer. Try and get some rest and we’ll switch.”

  I nodded and sat back.

  I doubted I could sleep, but I’d try.

  Setting the coffee in the cup holder, I laid my head against the window.

  I wiggled around and tried to get comfortable.

  To my surprise, I drifted off to sleep within minutes.

  ***

  The hall was long, endless, and no matter how fast I ran, the distance didn’t seem to shorten.

  “Run, Mara, run!” a voice called out, panicked and begging.

  I looked back, searching for the voice, my heart breaking in two. All I saw behind me were the darkened figures chasing me. So many.

  So. Freaking. Many.

  I burst through a door into the open air, the sudden brightness blinding my eyes.

  Something slammed into me from behind, and I screamed, kicking out.

  “You’re mine.”

  I stared into the face of my father. He glowered at me, his eyes lethal and feral.

  “You can’t escape me, little one.”

  “Mara!”

  “Kill him,” my father said over his shoulder. “Kill them all.”

  “Over my dead body,” I shouted, before a light burst out of me and pushed him off.

  His body flew through the air, back through the doorway, before hitting a wall and falling to the ground.

  He wasn’t dead.

  Not yet.

  But he would be.

  I jolted awake, my body clammy with sweat, my heart racing, and my breaths ragged.

  I pushed my hair out of my eyes, sick to my stomach from the dream.

  Nightmare.

  Vision.

  Whatever it was.

  “You okay, love?” Winston looked back at me. “You don’t look well.”

  “I-I’m fine,” I stuttered, trying to wrap my brain around what I saw.

  It was the same dream I had before my graduation, only this time it was longer, more vivid.

  More real.

  “You sure?” He sounded doubtful.

  “Yeah,” I assured him with a wave of my hand.

  Beside me, Adelaide was sound asleep with Nigel curled up in her lap.

  “You ready to switch?” I asked Ethan.

  “Soon,” he replied. “We’ll need gas again soon, so I’ll stop then.”

  “How long have I been out?”

  “Almost five hours,” Winston told me.

  “Did you sleep?” I asked him.

  “Nah, I stayed awake to help Ethan. I’ll switch spots with Adelaide when we stop and she can help keep you awake.”

  I didn’t tell him, but I would’ve rather had silence than to have Adelaide trying to make forced conversation with me.

  I didn’t want to talk right now. All I could think about was Theo.

  Those last moments.

  The sword plunged through his body.

  I held my breath and fought back tears before I grabbed the little jar attached to the necklace. The firefly fluttered madly against my hand. It provided a much-needed connection to Theo I desperately needed.

  My body ached for him, like he was something vital I needed to live.

  As important as food or water.

  I let the necklace go and rifled through my backpack, searching through the things I’d packed months before. Theo hadn’t been crazy when he told me I needed to be prepared.

  Giving him credit wasn’t something I liked to do, but he was usually right.

  Closing it back up, I leaned back in my seat, closing my eyes.

  I missed him. God, did I miss him.

  It didn’t seem possible to miss someone this much when you’d only seen them hours prior, but when faced with the reality I’d never see him again it hurt in unimaginable ways.

  He understood me in ways nobody else did—in ways that didn’t even need to be spoken.

  I conjured his face in my mind, the floppy black hair, his perpetual scowl, the lip ring, and his narrowed gray eyes.

  A tear leaked out of the corner of my eye.

  He shouldn’t be gone. It wasn’t right, and I’d have to live with seeing his death.

  It would never leave me, I knew.

  I tamped down my emotions, refusing to give rise to the flood that threatened to overwhelm me. My strength was the only thing I could rely on now. I needed to keep my head above water so I could think and learn to avenge his death. His death would not be in vain. I wouldn’t allow it.

  I was born a Chosen One, for a purpose, and this was mine.

  I gripped the steering wheel so tight I was surprised it didn’t rip into two.

  “You won’t even look at me,” Adelaide whispered beside me, and I cringed.

  “I can look at you.” I stole a quick glance before returning my eyes to the road.

  Ethan had told me to drive, with no particular destination in mind, so that’s what I was doing. We’d crossed into Nevada not too long ago.

  “I’m your friend,” she whispered softly. “You can talk to me.”

  I clenched my teeth. “No, I can’t.”

  “Mara,” she squeaked. “Don’t shut me out. He’s my brother.”

  “Was,” I corrected.

  “Stop it,” she snapped.

  “What?” I shot back. “It’s the truth.”

  “I didn’t know you could be so cruel.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked out the side window.

  I sighed, feeling like shit for her hurting her. Adelaide had been a good friend to me from the moment I met her, and just because I was heartbroken didn’t give me the
right to lash out at her. It was easier to be mean, though. It eased the burn of the pain radiating in my chest, but I knew it was only a temporary fix—a pathetic Band-Aid that would rip off at a moment’s notice.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She snorted like my apology was pathetic. I guess it was.

  “I loved him,” I confessed. “Love,” I corrected. Adelaide was right, it wasn’t right to talk about him in the past tense. Not yet, at least. I did still love him, that wasn’t something that was going to go away simply because he was gone.

  “I know.” Those two words held so much weight. Adelaide had known before we did that we were meant to be.

  “I feel guilty.”

  “Why?” She looked at me. “You knew as well as I did the risks that come with him being your protector.”

  “Yeah, you might know the risks, but that doesn’t make an outcome like this any easier to understand. We might be enchanters but we’re still inherently human. We believe in good.”

  “You made him happier than anything or anyone ever has,” she whispered, glancing in the back at the sleeping figures.

  “I hope I did, at least a little; he was still a grumpy ass most of the time.”

  She laughed, the sound almost startling with the conversation. “Trust me, that was Theodore in a good mood.”

  “How are we going to prepare ourselves?” I asked her, glancing over my shoulder to change lanes. “You know they’re going to try to find me.”

  Adelaide bit her lip. “Ethan’s with us. He can teach us more about fighting and magic. Winston too.”

  “We have to hunt them first,” I whispered to her.

  “Mara …” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “I refuse to be a sitting duck,” I snapped. “I won’t sit around and wait for them to find me. I’ll find them on my own if I have to.”

  And I would. I’d leave them behind and find the Iniquitous on my own and kill as many of them as I could before I died. I wasn’t going to sit on the bench, I was going to get out and play the game.

  She stuttered a breath. “I’m in.”

  “What?” I snapped my head to her.

  “I’m in,” she repeated. “They murdered my brother. I won’t let you take them down alone and get all the glory,” she joked. “I want to have some fun too.”