I expect the drop from the portal to be gentle. It is anything but. Being dragged through the electrifying purple tunnel, thrashed around, holding my breath—it takes all the breath from me and causes my heart to race and my belly to drop.
I see the opening when I’m flipped over, revealing treetops and lush green lands. Willow goes down first, crashing through the treetops aimlessly. I look back, and the Garrett fucker is scrambling, trying to reach for something to hang onto and failing.
I have no time to consider him as the portal spits me out, then come the trees, its branches whacking me in the face and leaves slapping me in the eyes.
I tip to the right and land on a hard branch that cracks with ferocity, holding back a yell and clenching my jaw instead as I wait for the fall to be over. But what I hope for most is that Willow isn’t being hurt this badly with the fall.
Then, after that hellish drop, I land.
I drop flat on my belly, and all the wind gushes out of my lungs. My head throbs with unspeakable pain, and my mouth tastes of copper. I spit, and a glob of blood lands on the bright patch of green grass beneath me. I try looking around, but the world is spinning, and the urge to vomit is imminent.
Flipping onto my back, I stare up at the sapphire sky. The last thing I see before closing my eyes is a body landing right beside mine. It thuds on the ground too.
It takes me a while to come to. When I do, it’s to the sound of Willow’s voice.
“Caz,” she calls, lightly tapping my cheek. She looks down at me with bright brown eyes, blood dripping from her forehead. “We made it. Wake up!” She taps my right cheek again, and I groan. A sharp gasp escapes her as she whips her head to the right.
“No!” she screams. “Stop!”
In that moment, her fear awakens everything inside me. I feel her like I once did before, the way her heart drops and her belly clenches with fear. I hear her thoughts screaming, Why is he coming after me? No!
“Stop, Garrett! Please, just stop!” she screams.
My eyes pop open, and I sit up just as Willow dashes away from me. Someone hustles past, their feet pounding into the ground, and I realize it’s Garrett chasing after her.
I push off the ground, whipping my gun out and chasing him. They don’t get far. He tackles her, and I taste nothing but bitter rage as he pins my mate to the ground.
In the air, he raises a dagger—the same one Korah had to my throat.
“NO! Let her go!” I shout, running faster. He looks back at me with a menacing glare, and with a bloody sneer, he brings the dagger down and stabs Willow in the chest.
