Page 145 of Our Radiant Embers

I let go and threw open the door, wind and rain battering at me. Adam came around the car, his shoulder pressing against mine, wet skin of our arms sliding together, water in our eyes. We weren’t allowed to park here, were we? They’d tow the car. I almost said it, then realised it didn’t matter. My vision went in and out of focus.

“I’ll find him,” I repeated. “But it’s…It’s a lot. I’ll need…”

Adam’s fingers closed around my elbow. “Anything.”

“Be my eyes.” I barely knew what I was saying, words so far away. Adam seemed to get it though because he nodded once, then pulled me into a harsh kiss that made my mind go silent for a precious moment, all of the noise just fading away.

He let go, and everything rushed back in at once. I snapped my fingers for Lila to follow, closed my eyes, and started moving, Adam’s hand light on my elbow.

Come. Come dance with us.

“Stairs,” Adam said softly. “Up.”

I lifted my feet, then we were back on even ground. The thunderstorm receded and kept raging in my head. On, faster. Incense tickled my nose. I almost stumbled and Adam caught me. Right, then left. A skyscraper splintered like a needle made of glass—only in my head. Down.

Louder, closer, faster. Shadows swirled. Adam’s touch was the only light I felt.

Come.

When he drew me to a halt, I opened my eyes and willed the world to stop spinning. Dim brightness spilled onto the floor, a black metal gate partially open in front of us. Gravity pulled me forward.

“I think,” Adam whispered, “we’re here.”

Yes. We were.

26

ADAM

I hadn’t known fear before—the acidic taste at the back of my throat, every contour thrown into sharp relief. Shadows loomed like giants. Perhaps it was proximity to the epicentre or perhaps it was my connection to Liam, but now that we were here, I felt it too.

A dam, about to burst. And we had no plan. All we had was us.

Our eyes met. Liam looked overwhelmed yet determined, something fiercely stubborn about the set of his jaw. When he nodded, I threw the gate open, ready to throw up a protective wall of fire as we strode into the room.

My skin peeled clean off my body.

That’s what it felt like, anyway—a deep slice that had me reeling. I fell to my knees, head in my hands, make it stop, please, oh God, just make it stop.

“Adam!”

Gale. I forced my lids open.

Liam was right next to me, doubled over on the ground. I crawled across the tiles that separated us and covered him up, shielded him with my body. Just in case. Just in case. If they wanted to hurt him, they’d have to go through me. Somehow, I raised my head. A circle—we’d walked right into an entrapment circle that had torn our magic away. I could sense mine just out of reach, crashing against the barrier that separated us. Lila was fluttering by the gate we’d come through, and I could only hope she’d be smart enough to stay out of sight. To get help if she could.

“How kind of you to join us,” Eleanor said primly. “We thought you might.”

I forced myself to take a deep breath, to ignore the ache in my bones. The room looked like a tomb. Flickering light washed the walls and arched ceiling in a yellowish green, my aunt and uncle standing with my two youngest cousins. My father was next to them, frowning, one hand on Gale’s shoulder to stop him from rushing towards me. Gale stared at me in concern, and I tried to smile but couldn’t make my facial muscles move.

His gaze flicked down at the circle and back up at me. Down again. Huh? I blinked, everything shifting in my mind, a dizzying swirl, thoughts stutter-stopping.

“Wouldn’t miss this party for the world,” I managed. I sounded drunk, my tongue so very heavy. Why were they just standing there? Where was Christian?

There. In his own circle in the middle of the room, chalk lines forming a pattern around him that I’d never seen before. His eyes were closed, arms spread. I’d have noticed him sooner if my mind wasn’t lurching like a seagull flying through a storm.

“Adam?” Liam murmured.

“Yeah.” I tightened my hold on him. “We walked into a trap. I’m working on it.”

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