unnatural. Almost as if his body stops cooperating midway. And I don’t need to ask him to know he’s in pain.
"Help! Dr. Livingstone! Someone! Declan needs help!"
But of course, no one comes. I reach through the bars, trying to extend my hand to his, but we are too far away for me to reach him. I know this, but I still try. "Declan, I'm here. You're going to be okay."
My words lack any authority or truth, but I lace them with as much comfort as I can as he writhes on the floor, moaning and screaming as his body shifts from wolf to man—back and forth, over and over as his bones crack with the effort.
"Dean! Dean!" Through the shadows I see the prone form of his twin on the narrow cot, but he doesn't move.
"What the hell is going on here?" I ask. "Merde."
I don't know what to do. How to help. Clenching the bars of my own cage, I close my eyes and concentrate.
But nothing happens.
I grit my teeth, desperate to help.
Declan gives a yelp of pain that’s more animal than human.
Shutting out everything, I bow my head and pray.
I'm not religious, but I do believe in something. Not some dude-god in the sky, but something. And for the first time in my life, I plead with it for help.
Claim it, I hear a voice in my head say. Claim it and it’s yours.
"Estelle?"
Keep going. Claim your power. Tell it what you want.
“It’s not working,” I say. “Last night—”
Last night you had my help. I can’t come now. But you can do this on your own.
I don't know what she means, but I send out my prayer like a life raft into a tumultuous sea threatening to swallow us all.
And then I feel something waking up inside of me, like a flower blossoming and releasing a glittery kind of energy into my bloodstream.
I open my eyes and look down to see my skin blinking with silver sparkles, like stars shining across my body. As I watch, light pools at my fingertips and into the metal bars I'm still holding.
And then the lock clicks and the door swings open.
My eyes widen and I hear a soft laugh in my mind.
You did it.
I knew you could.
I knew you were the one.
I don't stop to question myself, or the voices. Instead, I grab the bars of his cell, pushing my power into them, and they unlock and swing open just like mine did.
I run straight to Declan, whose moans have faded into gasps as his body twitches on the ground.
Kneeling on the ground, I pull him to my lap. "Declan, I'm here. You're not alone. I'm here."
I don't know what else I can do but hold him and send this silver light I have into his body. I caress his hair, and his eyes flicker open, catching my gaze with his as his form slowly begins to settle into pure human again.
Sweat beads his forehead, and his skin is on fire. I cool him as best I can with my icy hands, selfishly enjoying the heat emanating from him as I do.
While I cool him, he warms me.
“Tell me what your life should look like now if you weren’t here,” I say, holding him as his breathing starts to settle.
“What?” His voice is raspy, but there’s less strain.
“Tell me about your life. What it would look like right now.” My voice is barely more than a whisper, as if talking about life outside of these walls already feels taboo and dangerous.
Declan sighs and leans into me. “Dean and I have always dreamed about starting our own bakery.” He glances up at me, waiting.
“I love bakeries,” I say.
He looks relieved by my response. “Dean is the genius at recipes. I’m more on the business side though I can bake any recipe you give me. We planned to settle down, start our shop, make a life for ourselves.”
“Don’t give up on that dream,” I say, as his body finally relaxes into its human shape and he sits up.“Dreams are dangerous currency in this place.” His expression still bears traces of pain, but when he finally smiles, I melt a little inside. I tell myself it’s the satisfaction I feel at seeing the darkness in his eyes chased away, but the flutter in my stomach says it could be more. Being this close to him, I see details I couldn't from across the hall. Like his dimpled chin and flecks of gold in his