Page 43 of The Queen's Box

Willow brought her fist up to her mouth, tapping her lower lip with her knuckles. In Hemridge, the world had cracked open for her of its own volition... unless what happened had been triggered by Willow’s panic, her desperate desire to escape.

Could she call those feelings up again? Use them to summon the Gift of Orrin?

Ash’s words taunted her:You talk big, you dream big, but you don’t actually do anything. You never will.

Willow threw back her shoulders, lifted her chin, and strode forward.

“Ow!” she cried when the impact threw her backward.

“You didn’t pass through. You’re still here,” Ruby said.

Willow glared at Ruby. “Yeah, funny thing, that.”

“Try again,” Brooxie urged. “Feel for the spaces others can’t find.”

Willow turned to the door, her jaw tight. This time, she didn’t think about Ash or Orrin or even the thick slab of stone in front of her. Instead, she thought about where she wanted to be, which was anywhere but here.

The lightbulb hanging from the roof of the root cellar flickered. A silver thread formed in Willow’s mind, and when she closed her eyes, she found she could reach out and grab it. She tugged on it, and the boundaries of her body unraveled, until all that remained was Willow... and the stone... and Willow-in-the-stone, just like the Willow-in-the-mirror she’d described to Ruby and Brooxie. There and not there.

She stepped forward, and a gray sky stretched and expanded behind her closed eyes. A pinprick materialized, a tiny dark shape with wings. Was it a falcon? An owl?

No, it was a dragon. It looked like the smoke dragon she’d seen from the bus, but this dragon wasn’t made of smoke. It was solid. Real. It beat the air as it flew closer. Whoosh, whoosh, like bellows stoking an ancient fire. The dragon was huge now, its eyes as luminous as emeralds. They widened, then snapped tight, pupils narrowing into vertical slits.

The air buckled, and bright white light bloomed in Willow’s chest. A swirl of energy consumed her, and everything was pinpricks and sparkles and the oddest pop-pop-popping, like the sound Juniper made when she twisted a sheet of Bubble Wrap.

Except the popping sound didn’t come from Bubble Wrap. It came from her.

The popping stopped—and Willow fell. Cold ground caught her hard, her legs collapsing beneath her. She lay there for several disorienting moments, sucking in air.

Then she pushed herself to sitting and lifted her head. In front of her was the door. Still there. Still shut. But the sisters were absent. Willow was on the other side.

An amazed laugh broke from her lips. “I did it! I really and truly did it!”

A slow clap echoed through the shadowed room.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

WILLOW SCRAMBLED TO her feet. Cole leaned against the far wall of what appeared to be an empty cavern, watching her with amusement.

His hair was wet, suggesting he’d finished his shower, and he’d changed into jeans and a white linen shirt that fell open at the neck, revealing tanned skin and a hint of collarbone. He was more handsome than Willow had given him credit for. It was annoying.

She pressed her lips into a line and commanded her thumping heart to slow down. “Why areyouhere? And how did you get here in the first place?” She scanned the room. “Is there another entrance? Or are you justone with the mud, wherever that mud may be?”

“Yep, that’s me. One with the mud.” Cole pushed off from the wall and gestured at Willow’s jeans. “You’re a bit muddy yourself, princess. Should I see if I can find a fainting sofa for you to collapse on?”

“Ha ha,” Willow said, brushing the dirt from her knees. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no intention of collapsing.”

When she straightened up, the cavern air prickled against Willow’s skin, and to her horror, she swayed. The walls seemed to breathe, and beneath her feet, the earthen floor shifted. Before she knew it, she’d flung out her arms for balance.

“Hey. You’re okay,” Cole said, stepping forward and taking her by the elbow. His touch steadied her. She jerked away.

“Yeah, I am,” Willow said. “No thanks to you.”

The earth trembled again, and Willow found herself suddenly, ridiculously weepy. It had been a long, strange day, and it only continued to grow longer and stranger. She turned away from Cole and angrily swiped her hand beneath her eyes.

“Ah, shit,” Cole said softly.

“Don’t,” Willow snapped.Don’t feel sorry for me. Don’t you dare.

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