Something’s different. Wearing my flowing white cotton nightgown, I spring out of bed and take stock. The nausea and fatigue are completely gone—just like that. It’s like a switch was flipped during the night. I feel like my old self, the rounded belly and bigger boobs notwithstanding.
Armed with restored vitality, my first thought is, Time is running out. The girls down here continue to disappear one at a time in the middle of the night, and new girls keep coming down to take their place. It’s as if they’re an interchangeable commodity with an endless supply—an undrainable blood bank to fire Elle’s spells and satiate Franco’s hunger.
Although I continue to count the days, it gets harder to keep track of time the longer I’m here. The ultrasounds are less frequent now that the pregnancy is well established and the doctor no longer discusses how far along I am. I miss seeing the babies. They’re the bright spot in all of this. The doctor continues to measure my stomach and tells Elle and Franco the babies are about the size of an ear of corn, measuring about eight inches long and each weighing about half a pound. They feel bigger than that as they roll around inside me, doing their baby gymnastics. I have to be toward the end of my second trimester by now, so it must be getting close to Halloween.
When I sit on the edge of the bed to tie my canvas sneakers, my wedding ring tattoo catches my eye. Turning over my other hand, I find my half of the infinity symbol tattoo that Ash and I share. A longing for him overwhelms me—to see him, to touch him, to tease him, to roll around in bed with him. I want all of it. I want all of him. Sinking into loneliness, I bury my face in my hands.
Just then, Ash sends me a message across the mate bond, as he does every morning and every night.
I love you.
I’m not giving up.
I’ll look for you until the end of time.
Our families and Earthside leaders are all searching. We’ll find you.
The strength in Ash’s voice buoys my spirits and gives me hope. I also sense Archie, Reg, Ben, Luke and Max in the bond even though they don’t speak. Ash is calling on clan magic to locate me. Pressing my fingertips into my temples, I stand up and, once again, try calling out to him. There is no answer, and my efforts are rewarded with the beginnings of a migraine.
All the time I’ve been here, I haven’t been able to get a single message to him, ask how he’s doing or what’s happening with Avalon. Has the Council of Seven voted me out? Is Avalon or my Earthside territory under attack? Are my friends, leaders and the humans in my care at risk? The not knowing is terrible.
Trying to shake off the migraine, I head out to the common room for a change of scenery and find Luna and Winnie chatting on the couch. Danny is also there, sitting silently in a nearby chair.
Walking into the room, a quickening sensation in my stomach, like the butterflies I get every time I see Ash, stops me in my tracks.
“What’s wrong?” Luna asks.
“Nothing. The babies are moving,” I say happily, my hands flying to my bump. Although I’ve felt them moving for the last two months, it never fails to take my breath away.
“Can I feel?” Winnie asks as she and Luna leap up and cross the common area. Danny doesn’t move; she just keeps staring straight ahead.
“Sure. Put your hands here.” I point to where the movement is the strongest and imagine the babies stretching their little limbs, flexing their tiny muscles.
“I think I feel something.” Winnie smiles.
“Me too,” Luna says excitedly.
A sense of elation fills me, and I want to share this with Ash, even though I know he can’t hear me.
The babies are moving, Ash.
I wish you were here to feel them.
After a few minutes, the babies settle down, and I tell the girls I’m going on my daily walk.
I’ve waited as long as I can wait. I’m not going to let Elle and Franco kill me and take my babies without a fight. I’m going to find a way out of here. Today is the day. The time is now.
When I’m out of the sight of the common area and the guards, I pick up the pace.
If I hadn’t marked the halls I’ve already been down with my magic, I’d never be able to tell which I’ve searched and which I haven’t in the spelled warren of corridors. After bypassing several hallways that already bear my mark, I head down one I haven’t searched before. Fanning a delicate stream of magic out in front of me, I leave my mark and look for a chink in the armor of the binding curse—a bolt-hole I can use to get the fuck out of here.
I have to get out of the school. If I can get outside, I may be able to use the mate bond to call Ash. Or perhaps I can even call his clan magic to me. He once said that’s a power I may one day possess. Failing those options, the school is on an island surrounded by a lake. If I can get to the lake, just put a hand in it, I might be able to send a message to my mother as I have in the past, and she can alert Ash.
I’m searching so frantically that I almost miss when my magic passes through a section of the wall.
The portal.
I place my hand over the cement wall, memorizing the magic signature of the opening, and then push my hand through. Wasting no time, I plunge the rest of my body into the portal. The magic closes tightly around me, making it difficult to breathe. It’s what I imagine swimming in quicksand would feel like, and the panicky sensation of suffocation constricts my chest. The pressure of the portal compresses my belly uncomfortably, and the babies squirm indignantly. I’m sorry. It’ll be over soon.
When the portal ejects me, I touch down in the grassy area outside the back of the school. While gulping lungsful of oxygen, I scan the area for guards and see none. The morning is bright and quiet. Closing my eyes, I try to call Ash using the mate bond, but have no luck. The binding curse must extend to the grounds.
I set my sights on the forest surrounding the school and take off at a run. The leaves on the deciduous trees have changed color and are already falling to the ground.
Suddenly, a severe cramping starts in my feet and moves up into my calves. It’s like the worst nighttime muscle spasm I’ve ever had times a hundred, my muscles contracting uncontrollably. My breath hitches with the pain, but I manage to stumble forward into the woodland like someone who’s had too much to drink. Trying again and again to contact Ash or call his clan magic, I force my legs to cooperate as I press through the forest, branches pulling at my hair and scratching my face. Fighting through the dense underbrush, I pitch forward, tripping over fallen branches, thick roots and sharp stones.
When there’s no answer from Ash or any member of his clan, I know the lake is my last chance at freedom. It’s not far, just on the other side of the trees.
I have to keep going for my babies.
But the farther away from the school I get, the worse the cramping becomes. It climbs up my legs, almost locking my knees, and then seizes up the muscles of my thighs. The throbbing ache is unbearable, but I continue to stagger forward. The sound of guards shouting and the barking of dogs break the still morning air. They’ve discovered I’m missing.
Emerging from the tree line, I spot the lake only a short distance away. The pain shoots into my hips, seizing them with a burning agony, as if I’m being stabbed with a hot poker. Lurching toward the water, a sharp twinge low in my belly doubles me over. The twins.
I fall forward but manage to land on my side. Digging my fingers into the dirt and leaves, I half crawl, half drag myself forward toward the black-water lake. The cramping in my belly gets worse, like steel bands wrapping around my middle. The shouting guards and barking dogs close in on me.
Should I stop? Am I putting the babies at risk? I have to keep going. They’re already in jeopardy.
I’m only a few feet from the water’s edge when I’m surrounded by heavy booted feet and snapping canine jaws. I pull my limbs in to protect my babies when the booted feet start kicking me in the back, in the stomach, everywhere.
“You fools! What are you doing?” Elle’s disembodied voice shouts, and the men stop.
“You never cared what we did to the other girls who escaped,” one of the guards answers, out of breath. “Pregnant or not.”
“This one’s special.” Elle’s expensive leather shoes fill my vision.
With my remaining strength, I call up my power and cast it out, hoping to kill them all. The force of my magic boomerangs back to me with a knockout punch. I convulse and throw up as the hazy mist of unconsciousness swallows me.
