shouldn’t be surprised that he knows I’m different. Clearly I’m a witch. I mean, I’m in the astral plane, but my irises are crimson. He can tell I’m not just a witch.
“Why?” I ask. “And how did you get here?”
What do you want with me?
He attempts to take another sip of blood, but the mug disappears before it touches his lips. He frowns, gaze flickering from his hand to me.
“You’re waking up,” he says plainly.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. I’m not talking to him; I’m speaking to my physical self, the one that’s asleep in my bed. I need to convince myself not to wake up, if that’s even possible. I’m not ready to leave Will. I have too many unanswered questions. He can’t leave yet.
“Sadly, yes,” he says.
I blink, and he’s in front of me. He moved so fast, I didn’t even see the motion. One second he was by the microwave, and the next he was beside me.
I shriek and fall backward, moving so quickly my feet skid against the hardwood floor. My knees lock, and I’m falling. Only, I never reach the ground. Will snaps his arms forward, grabbing my wrists. He holds me firmly and pulls me toward him. The space between us is gone, and I feel his breath hot against my skin.
I shiver beneath his hard, cold gaze, my legs numb beneath me. If he were to let go, I would collapse to the ground in a sloppy heap.
He smiles, but something is off about it. It’s menacing, and his eyes glow.
I shake my head, unwilling to leave but not wanting to stay.
“Just tell me what you want,” I whisper.
“You.”
I shake, trying to pull away from him. He releases me, and I dash through the dining room, not looking back. I don’t listen for his footsteps because I don’t want to know how close he is to reaching me. I just need to make it to my body. I can sever my connection there, and I can leave the astral plane behind and never return.
“You can’t run away from me, Ava,” Will shouts. “I already found you. I know where you are.”
I take the steps two at a time, stumbling when I reach the top. I shimmy down the hall on my hands and knees until I find the strength to stand again.
When I reach my door, my palms are slick from sweat, and I hear him stomping up the stairs. I scream, wiping my hands on my nightgown, and slam my body against the door. It doesn’t budge, so I hit it again. By the time it finally opens, I see Will rounding the corner.
He shouts something at me just as I fall into my bedroom. I’m only feet away now.
I can do this. I can make it.
I crawl to my bed and rip through the sheer fabric enclosing my body. I shred lace, tearing through the web of mesh. It lands in heaps at my feet.
When I finally reach my body, I can see that my physical form is restless. Slowly, I am waking, and when I do, this will feel like a nightmare. I will have to convince myself it wasn’t. This is something more.
Will is standing in my doorway. The light from the hall glows around him, casting eerie shadows across his features. His face is dark, but I can see his smile, his glowing eyes.
I scream and grab on to my body.
“Wait. Don’t—”
I jolt awake, eyelids snapping open so quickly my head hurts. I sit up in bed, chest heaving, and stare into my dark, quiet bedroom. My pulse is racing, my bed soaked from sweat.
Suddenly someone is at my door. The loud echoes of harsh knocking radiate off the walls. Before I can slip from the bed, Jasik is entering.
“Are you okay?” he asks, but he doesn’t wait for me to respond. He’s scanning the room, checking my closet and bathroom for monsters that hide in the shadows.
My throat is closing, and I cannot answer him. But I nod.
His gaze settles on me. “You’re shaking.”
“I’m okay,” I whisper.
As I reach for my blankets that lie in a bundle on the floor, I notice the marks on my wrists. I stare, gaze tracing each delicate curve of both handprints.
“What is it?” Jasik asks. Slowly, he walks toward me.
“Do you see them?” I ask. I can’t look away. I worry if I do, they’ll disappear.
Jasik doesn’t answer. Instead, he turns on the bedroom light, and a blinding flash illuminates