He’s lying on the floor, shirtless, his body paler than I’ve ever seen it before. “Caz!” I yell. I run to him, lifting his head up. His body has black veins all over it, and he’s as cold as ice.
Footsteps approach, and Juniper and Maeve rush into the room.
“What’s happened?” Maeve shouts.
“I—I don’t know!” I wail.
Maeve drops to her knees, pressing two fingers to the pulse on Caz’s neck. “He still has a pulse, but it’s faint.” I’m glad to hear that, but he doesn’t look well. His lips are dark blue, and black veins slither along his eyelids.
“He’s freezing cold, Maeve.”
“Juniper, go for your brothers,” Maeve commands, and Juniper doesn’t hesitate to flee the room.
“What do we do?” I’m panicking now.
“Did you see anything when you spaced out on the balcony?” she asks.
“I—I saw Caz. I was in this room, but…it wasn’t Caz. It was like something darker had taken over him.”
Maeve’s eyes widen with shock. “What could that possibly mean?”
“I don’t know.”
Alora rushes into the room in a flurry, her gold gown catching the light. “I just got IDs on the men who attacked Beatrix.” She hands a small stack of cards to Maeve, who takes them and rapidly flips through them with a frown.
“I don’t know any of these men,” Maeve mutters.
“What happened to Caz?” Alora asks, walking deeper into the room.
I let go of Caz to look over Maeve’s shoulder as she shuffles through the cards, and at first none of them are familiar. But then…
“Wait!” I step around her, taking one of the cards out of her hands. On the card is a man, handsome, with a strong jawline, a wide smile, and shoulder-length brown hair.
I know this man. He carried me, gave me verdeberries. And right beside his photo is a name that confirms it.
“This is Alexi,” I say, pointing at his picture. “H—he lives in Whisper Grove.” But why would he attack Beatrix? He had to have been the one Caz said was familiar, despite how mutilated his face was.
As the questions haunt me, Caz lets out a pained groan that catches all of our attention, and when I look back, his body is upright and floating in the air.
