I don’t have time to think, to react, before another sneezing fit consumes me. That’s when I hear theirs, too. The musty odor, laced with a deadly, fruity scent tugs at my memory, and then I realize, I’ve created poisons using this plant.
“Don’t breathe!” I shout into the chaos, unaware of how far I’ve traveled from them. “It’s Lumonice Lux pollen.”
Holding my breath, I grab handfuls of the fabric from my dress, then tear as hard as I can. I grit my teeth, letting out a guttural scream as I force the fabric away, until I hear the satisfying rip of silk. I bring the crumpled fabric over my nose and mouth and wince as the fabric touches my shredded skin. I breathe through the spores, holding back another sneeze as the pollen clouds the air.
I breathe slowly, my heart strained with each beat.
Without warning, tendrils of vines swiftly snake out under my dress, coiling around my ankles, restraining me to the ground.
“Cali!”
Ari’s scream pierces my soul. She’s close, but I can’t see anything. “Breathe into your dress. Now.”
Her loud sneeze sounds a few feet behind me. I lower my head as twigs shower me, landing in my hair, whipping against the exposed skin at the top of my back. The tree before me groans, and I reach my hand out for Ari. “He’s destroying the fucking forest.”
The air is knocked from my lungs, a thud landing on my back, winding me. I fight for breath, grasping desperately around me. My eyes fling open to a vision filled with stars, as the splinters destroy my sight. It takes me a few seconds for me to realize it was a large branch that had hit me.
Edwardo is going to kill us. I shouldn’t have underestimated him.
I tense when icy fingers grip my arms until Ari’s rushed tone fills my senses. “Don’t move,” she states, and I freeze, knowing she can see whatever I cannot.
Despite the dropping temperature and the chilling blasts in the winds, warmth seeps into my shivering body. The heat of Ari’s touch starts in my arm and travels up to my face, tingling with a building heat.
“It will hurt,” she says, heaving. “Only for a minute,” she finally splutters.
I scream as her healing magic turns to liquid fire, somehow hot and cold at the same time.
Every inch of my being is engulfed in excruciating pain, forcing me to lie on my back, my body convulsing violently, and as the fabric shielding my airways from pollen slips off, I struggle to breathe.
As I inhale, the scent of pollen fills my nostrils, its cloying sweetness overpowering my other senses.
The vines tighten around me, and my muscles twitch as I wrestle against the constraints. Ari’s hands slip away from my arms, and I lie back the algae, moisture seeping through my dress.
Footsteps pound as someone reaches us. At first, I think it’s Drake, but as my eyesight is restored and the fiery sensation trickles out of my body, I turn my head to see Edwardo.
The color drains from Ari’s face as she collapses in front of me, and I scramble to get on my knees, my adrenaline fighting against weariness.
“You.”
He glances at my torched fingertips. Under the crimson moon, his big, brown eyes seem even darker, and as the canopy above us unravels, revealing the sky, I notice how much he has changed since The Choosing.
His confident stance and hungry stare are accentuated by the gray bark he wears as armor, splattered with blood that suggests his victory over another witch or warlock rather than his own injuries.
“I’m going to kill you,” I promise as I shakily rise to my feet, poising myself to attack.
The pain and exhaustion lessen, but as I lunge at Edwardo, he reveals a handful of purple seeds, then hurls them at my arms.
My brows furrow, and I glance at my arms and hands, horrified as the tiny seeds penetrate my pores, dotting blood around the areas like a large rash.
I move forward, only to be forced back down on my knees by a sharp pain that cuts through my muscles, while a growing pressure builds beneath my skin.
My jaw slacks when I realize he’s forcing the plants to bloom from within.
Every fiber of my being is alight with a vibrant, all-consuming pain.
Waves of anguish pulse through me, any thoughts of survival and fighting back suddenly eclipsed by unrelenting suffering.
A guttural cry quakes from my chest, my fingers curling into the slimy moss.
Delicate stems emerge from my arms, tearing through flesh, as the green sprouts become drenched in my blood. My eyes well up with tears as I unleash another scream, the sound reverberating in the air, while unbearable agony mercilessly tears through me, as if my very cells are being ripped apart.
Buds form at the ends, bringing forth a garden of crimson, lethal blooms that cover my exposed arms, shoulders and hands. As I hold out my trembling hand, thorns spiral from my skin, chunks of flesh catching against the thick spears of the flower, transforming into a crimson rose.
Stars fill my vision, my head throbbing as each breath becomes a labor, the slices of agony shredding through my upper body, my senses distorted by Edwardo’s relentless attacks.
Screams tear through my lips until my throat is raw, my body curled up on the ground, every tiny motion enhancing the excruciating pain radiating through my muscles.
My racing heart pounds in my ears, drowning out all other sounds, while I desperately long for death to hurry me and take the pain away.
“Stop,” I beg between agonizing sobs, my limbs convulsing. “Please, stop, please.”
A shaky groan leaves my lips as I hold my breath, my eyes rolling to the back of my head.
I close my eyes, dizziness consuming me, and I welcome oblivion, the sensation of falling, of passing out, folding me into the edge of blackness.
I linger on the fringes of unconsciousness, the sharp stings needling my sticky, blood coated arms while the roots of the plants uncurl around my bones, etching closer to my heart. The vines move alongside my veins, meeting my magic. The moment that happens, my hungry darkness devours everything in its path, necrosing what is left of my shredded skin.
I refuse to lose my senses, turning my head in time to watch Drake launch himself at Edwardo. My heart stammers when Ari runs up behind him, then grabs his neck.
