Page 69
{{Breathe, Threshold Breaker. Step through.}}
That voice. It’s definitely different from the last, and I loathe the sound of it with every molecule, and that anger gives me something to latch on to. I white-knuckle the feeling as the darkness cages me, pressing in. Screams ricochet inside my head. Acrid smoke.
NO. I pinch my eyes shut. This isn’t real. I take a calming breath.
Not real.
I’m safe. It’s fine. I’m safe.
Exhale. The air around me wavers, the edges rippling like a breeze skimming over a pond.
An illusion.
As if realizing what it is, I can suddenly sense a presence in my mind, and it captures all my focus. It’s not supposed to be here.
Get out. Get out. Get out.
I push at it as screams echo in my head again. Something about them is so terrifyingly real that my heart twists.
Agony.
It sounds like agony.
The presence in my mind hesitates.
That’s all I need. I imagine myself placing two hands on the magic and pushing with every last drop of my energy. Shoving until my head pulses in protest and dizziness washes over me. But the illusion finally splinters. Spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread through the dark walls all around me.
Teeth grinding, I push and push and push, screaming. Gathering the last of my strength. Almost. I’m almost free.
The voice in my mind that’s been with me throughout my childhood stirs.
{Get out!} Its scream joins mine.
Suddenly, I’m hurtled from that snowy meadow, landing fully back in my body so forcefully I tip over. I catch myself with one hand, gaze seeking Drake’s, and then I launch myself at him.
His eyes widen comically large for a millisecond. Clearly he didn’t expect me to attack. I crash into him, knocking him back and wrapping my hands around his neck, breath heaving out of me.
Drake grasps my forearms and tries to pull me off, but I latch on like a vise.
I want to yell or shout, but my throat is tender. Those ragged screams I released in the illusion were real, and my vocal cords paid the price. The pads of my fingers press into his neck. His pupils dilate.
Face reddening.
Even paranorms need air.
“Raina!” Carver’s voice is distant, like there’s a wall of glass between us.
Drake wheezes, but he doesn’t fight me.
This is taking too long. Moving faster than I ever have, I snap his neck, the satisfying crunch falling on my ears.
I roll off him and onto my back, struggling to breathe, to calm my racing heart. It’s like I’m still trapped in that cursed illusion. I thought temporarily killing him would fix it, but acid still churns in my chest, filling me with poison. I stay on the mat for a few minutes just breathing.
“Raina,” Carver says again, this time sounding closer.
Drake groans, bones snapping and cracking as they repair themselves. “Fuuuuck,” he rasps.
Too soon. Too much. I don’t want to be here. I pinch my eyes shut and throw my arm over them, breathing, fighting the sobs that threaten to wrack my body. I can’t even begin to understand the emotions rattling my bones.
