Chapter 19

Ropes of fear tighten around my ribcage and squeeze. My heart is breaking. Literally breaking. I can't breathe, and I can't see straight.

I thought I'd never have to feel this way again. After losing Sam, I didn't know how I'd survive. But there was hope. Now, there is none.

If I lose Mack, I lose him forever.

I am standing in front of Thornfield's Original Six exhibit. I splay out my hands. Fire blooms in my palms. My wings are back. Anger like I've never felt before swirls inside me. White hot fury scraping through my insides.

I scream.

I throw fire at the exhibit. I want to watch it burn. The entire place. I want it to burn to the ground.

Above, a sprinkler splutters to life and rains ice cold water down on top of me. It does not stop the flames I throw, but it stops them from catching light.

A fire alarm sounds, loudly, screeching in my ears.

A hand tightens around my arm. I turn around, expecting to see Sam. But I'm blinded. A bright blue light batters my eyes. Pain hits me between the ribs, clawing through my body.

I drop to my knees.

And then everything is dark.

* * *

My eyes flutter open, my vision is blurry and unfocused. Like I'm looking out through fogged glass. I try to make sense of my surroundings. The room is dimly lit, the air heavy with the scent of incense and dried herbs.

I don't recognize this place. I'm lying on a strange wooden bed, my limbs restrained by tight leather straps. Panic rises in my chest as I tugs at the bonds, but they hold fast.

"Ah, you"re awake," a voice says from the shadows. Miranda steps into view, her eyes glinting in the candlelight. "I was beginning to wonder if I"d used too much." She is holding a small pearlescent pebble.

"Where am I?" My throat is dry and scratchy.

Miranda doesn"t answer. Instead, she produces a small, sharp knife from the folds of her robe. My eyes widen as she leans over me, the blade hovering just inches above my stomach. With a quick, precise motion, Miranda slices through my shirt and peels it open to reveal my underwear.

"What are you doing?" I struggle against the restraints as Miranda traces a slow line with the blade. It is touching my skin, but it's so light it doesn't break it open. There is no blood.

Miranda remains silent. She holds up the gemstone. It seems to pulse with light, casting an eerie glow on Miranda"s face. With a deliberate motion, she places the gemstone on my exposed stomach. It is ice-cold. It sends a shiver through my entire body, as if the fire inside me is retreating, shrinking away from it.

Instinctively, I try to conjure my wings, desperate to break free and defend myself. But nothing happens. No familiar rush of heat, no ember sparks dancing across my skin. My powers are there, but I can't reach them. They're fading, fizzling out.

Miranda laughs, a cold, mocking sound that echoes in the quiet room. "It's useless," she says, her voice dripping with amusement. "Your powers have been controlled. You're at my mercy now, Fire Bird."

My heart pounds in my chest. "Why are you doing this?" my voice trembling despite my efforts to stay calm.

"Because, my dear," Miranda says, leaning close, her breath hot against my cheek, "you have something I need. Something precious. And I intend to take it."

The gemstone on my stomach begins to glow brighter, pulsing in time with my heartbeat. A strange, tingling sensation spreads across my skin, like a thousand tiny needles pricking my flesh.

I grit my teeth, determined not to show fear. But deep down, I know I'm in trouble.

As the gemstone"s light intensifies, I close my eyes, a single thought echoing in my mind.

Mack. I"m sorry. I"m so sorry.

"What are you?" I cough through the pain. My lungs feel tight, like I'm deep down at the bottom of the ocean struggling for breath.

Miranda tilts her head.

"You're not Miranda. You're not Rev's aunt. You're something else." I breathe heavily, biting my lower lip as the gem seems to weld itself to my skin. Red veins snake outward from beneath it. "Tell me what you are."

The thing that isn't Miranda makes a clicking sound with its tongue. Its jaw ticks, then stretches open to reveal a swirling mass of long black tentacles. They worm toward me, small pointed teeth on their undersides, slick oily blackness on their edges.

One strokes the side of my face. I scream and try to use the fear to pull my powers back to the surface of my being. But they won't come. They've abandoned me.

The tentacles make a hissing noise. Miranda's eyes are inky, onyx black, and wide. Too wide. She blinks at me. Then snaps the tentacles back in and turns around.

There's a cracking sound. I scream again.

The back of Miranda's head is splitting open. Her skull fractures — her hair, and blood, and tissue, tearing. And then her body peels away from itself, opening into two halves and falling to the ground.

Inside, the black, tentacled thing claims its true form. It rises up higher, taller, then turns to face me.

I swallow down my scream this time. It swells in my gut, then solidifies. I can't breathe.

It tilts its head. Two large black eyes blink at me from a scaled, gnarly face. It makes a hissing sound. Then it speaks, its voice like hot coals being dragged over my skin.

"I will claim you, Fire Bird. For him. And when the end finally comes, I'll–"

It growls, and its words fall away.

There is a howl, and a gnashing of teeth.

Sam…