Maybe that is Sebastian riding toward us, but if he’s alone, we’ll be outnumbered. I need to give him a chance, but I have no weapons, no allies, no magic. Nothing but Sluagh lurking too close for comfort.
If I can’t use my magic, I’ll have to rely on theirs.
I wait until we’ve almost reached the temple steps, then clutch my stomach and bend forward.
“Gonna be . . . sick.” My voice sounds like my body feels—beaten, pulverized.
“What is she muttering about?” the male ahead of us asks.
“She feels sick,” the female says, barely sparing me a glance. “Those injections do that, honey, but we can’t let you have your magic, now can we?”
“No. It’s not—” I rock back and forth, parting my lips and miming dry heaving.
“Aw, shit,” the male behind me says. “She’s gonna hurl.”
“So let her,” the female says.
I gag and lean into the male I’m riding with.
“Nah, I’m not doing this,” he says, jerking his horse to a stop in front of the temple. He hops off, then swings me off the horse, practically dropping me on the ground.
The others stop, and the one in the lead groans. “We don’t have all night.”
I gag again, louder this time. If I can just keep them focused on me, maybe they won’t notice the ravens that circle so close.
I crawl onto the marble steps and get a boot to the gut. “Get up,” grunts the male standing in front of me. “We aren’t going in there. Finish your business; then we’re back on our way.”
“So sick.” I stumble to my feet, then collapse again, trying to look weak—not that it’s hard. My body’s wrecked, and with my hands bound, it’s tough to get my balance.
The female hops off her horse, and my riding buddy winds a rope around his hand and yanks hard.
I stumble forward, only now realizing that they don’t just have a rope around my wrists, but one around my neck as well. Like a leash. Or a noose.
This could end very, very badly.
They climb on their horses. The male holding me snaps the rope. “Enough. You’re just stalling.”
“I could knock her out again,” the female offers, stepping toward me.
I swallow hard and pray my captors are too distracted to see the ravens I feel circling closer.
Suddenly the male holding my rope looks around wildly. “Shit! Over there!” He drops the rope and the horse’s reins and darts into the woods.
“What the—” the female ducks, as if something’s attacking her from the sky. “No! Please!”
Abriella! My mom’s voice. Like a siren call in the distance. Crashing waves fill my ears, and cold water licks my shins.
It’s not real. Do not engage.
Another male slumps on his horse and weeps. “No. Please don’t! I’m so sorry!”
A small part of me regrets dragging anyone through this mental torment, but I shut it down.
The final males stumble off their horses and scramble toward the temple steps. One cradles his head in his hands and claws at his hair as if he’s trying to rip it from his head.
Abriella! Hurry. The water’s getting too deep.
Ignoring my mother’s voice is like ignoring the need to breathe.
Abriella, please. Hold my hand.
I know if I turn my head, I’ll see her. I know if I offer my bound hands, she’ll free them and hold me close. I’ll get to look into her eyes again. Everything will be okay.
I can’t help but hesitate. My feet refuse to move.
It’s not her. My mother is gone.
I squeeze my eyes shut, blocking out the Sluagh’s siren call.
“Brie, over here!” Sebastian’s voice is so close. But has he come for me or are the Sluagh making me think he did? “Brie, let me help you.”
I want to see my mother’s face just one more time, and when I turn, I’m treated to her beautiful smile, her kind eyes—right before a wave crashes over her and pulls her under the sea.
“Mother!” I shout, diving in after her.
Hands claw at my legs, pulling me under, but I fight them and swim toward her. My mother’s chestnut hair floats around her in the water and her eyes close.
No.
Teeth like razor blades dig into my legs, my arms, rip into my gut, pulling me back from her. I fight them with the last of the air in my lungs.
“Abriella, breathe! ”
I force my eyes open to see Sebastian’s face backlit by the morning light pouring into the temple’s sanctuary. He’s bending over me, and those beautiful sea-green eyes are ravaged with worry.