"Taty, wake up." My head felt unbearably heavy. I couldn't open my eyes.
The voice was sharp—urgent, like someone used to being obeyed.
That voice.
Where had I heard it before?
"Shit."
Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me against a hard chest as the world lurched into motion. My mind flickered between reality and dream. I tried to open my eyes, desperate to see who was holding me, but my vision failed.
"Taty, stay with me. Don't fall asleep."
The voice was sharp—commanding.
I tried to answer, but my body was limp. My tongue felt thick, useless. I was fighting, really fighting not to sleep.
Footsteps pounded around us. Gravel crunched. Someone swore under their breath.
"We're almost there," the voice said, quieter now, but strained.
Almost where?
The air changed. It felt colder… open. Wind brushed against my face, carrying the smell of dust and metal.
"Get Alice here. Now."
An order?
"Was that an order...?" another voice replied.
I knew that voice.
"Now, Dreck!" the first voice snapped.
Before I could process the fact that Dreck was all right or that he knew the man carrying me, before I could even form the dozens of stormy questions rushing through my mind, cold crept over me again.
Is this another dream?
Did I leave my bedroom window open again?
Will I wake up screaming—again?
Wake up. Wake up.
I ordered myself.
It's just a dream. Just a dream.
"She's here," Dreck said.
"Alice," the male voice acknowledged.
"What happened?" A female voice—panicked.
That voice… Emmeline?
No. He called her Alice.
"She manifested her signet," the man said.
Signet?
I might have enjoyed this dream if I weren't in pain.
"That's impossible, I—" Alice began, but a brutal surge of pain exploded through me, ripping a scream from my chest.
"Alice!" The man's voice cracked as he lowered me onto something hard—ground, maybe.
My hands were burning. Not burning like fire. Burning like something was carving through my bones from the inside out.
No—I was burning.
"H… e… l"
"Tat." The male voice was suddenly closer.
I remembered him. He was the one who had saved me in yesterday's dream.
"H-help me…" I stuttered.
"Alice, you'd better do something, or I swear—"
"I'm trying!" Alice snapped. "She's stronger than before!"
"She's trying" Dreck started.
"You do not get to talk to me, cadet," the man cut in sharply.
"You are not my supervisor, and you will not direct me like that." Dreck snapped back.
"We are not in Aylem, Dreck. I can tear you apart right here, right now."
"You can try," Dreck shot back.
"Guys, this is not helping!" Alice shouted. "Ash, we need your shadows!"
"What are you planning to do?" Dreck demanded.
"She needs to release, or she'll burn out along with everything around her," Alice said.
"You can't lock her in…?" Ash asked.
"No. She's matured. It's too late for Plan A."
"Plan B, then." Dreck knelt, and I felt hands pinning my wrists and ankles, holding me down.
"Ash," Alice called.
"Are you sure this is the only way?" Ash asked quietly.
Silence stretched for several seconds.
Then wind rushed over my face, whipping my hair back.
The air smelled like smoke.
"Now!" Alice screamed.
A hand pressed against my head and I shattered.
Power tore out of me, surging from my soul into the world. Something, someone was holding me together, keeping me from burning completely. I heard screams. Whispers.
Open your eyes, Taty. Wake up.
I heard my mother singing, the way she used to after my nightmares.
When will I wake up from this one?
The pain.
The power it was becoming unbearable.
"Alice, how are we holding up?" Dreck yelled.
"I, I don't know," she faltered.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
I screamed.
"I'm a second year Deck, remember?" Alice snapped. "And you've learned nothing?" Dreck whispered.
"Oh, sure—blame the poor healer! I kept her under control for years, and you chose to start a fight in the—"
The chaos made everything worse.
My eyes flew open not by choice. The power was forcing its way out. I saw a massive, fiery storm raging around us. The fire was coming—from my heart.
Shadows burned alive, forming a barrier around a girl whose hands pressed against my chest. I couldn't make out her face through the flames. Dreck's hands rested on my head, and I was pinned, unable to move—yet no one was physically holding me.
Shadows? Someone else's power? I couldn't see the boy—Ash—at all.
"She's stabilizing," Alice called.
I watched the fire retreat, folding in on itself until it vanished. The pain dulled slowly, mercifully, fading layer by layer until all I could see was black.
Voices drifted around me, murmurs I couldn't understand. I opened my eyes briefly, saw someone walking away. Then nothing.
When I woke again, Dreck was asleep against the wall. I realized I was in the changing-room lockers.
It wasn't a dream.
Sunlight cut through the lingering darkness, soft, golden. His skin glowed like mine, as if brushed by sunlight over copper. Everything felt bright. Peaceful. Beautiful.
I wondered…What would his skin look like with a tan? What would mine?
"Dreck," I called softly, my voice rough.
He jolted awake, reaching for me instantly.
"Hey," he said, cupping my cheeks. Fear flickered in his eyes. Since when did Dreck's eyes carry a smudge of purple?
"Oh, Taty… I'm glad you're okay." Alice rushed forward, wrapping me in a hug as I tried to sit up.
"Thank—"
Red hair. Coconut perfume. That sweet voice.
"Emmeline?"
She pulled back, hesitating. "Uh… hi."
Confusion hit me like a wave. My heart pounded as though it had a mind of its own. I looked around, then back at her—at her eyes. Blue, threaded with the same exhausted purple as Dreck's.
The lockers were intact. As if there hadn't been a volcano-tornado moments ago. Or hours ago. How long had I been out?
"Let me explain," Emmeline began.
"Later," Dreck interrupted gently. "She needs to rest."
He slipped off his jacket, helped me into it, and offered his hand. "Let's get you somewhere safe."
I was too shocked—too overwhelmed. Questions swirled violently in my mind. And yet, beneath it all, I felt something unexpected. Relief.
I took Dreck's hand. Emmeline supported my other side. As we walked out, I glanced around. Ash was gone. Strangely, the school was calm. Normal. Casual. There was no way no one had heard that horror.
"How?" I whispered.
"Later," Dreck answered, as if he'd heard my thoughts.
My feet barely obeyed me, but Dreck and Emmeline guided me, just enough to keep me walking straight. Their movements were practiced—too practiced. Like seniors handling a crisis they'd faced before.
How could they act so normal after what had just happened? And Emmeline… How could she have lied to me all these years? And Dreck—didn't he hate me? Then why was he being so kind? Something about this felt wrong. Suspicious.
I looked up and caught Dreck staring at me. His eyes were heavy with sadness—as if he could hear every thought racing through my head.
We exited the school and stopped in front of a black van.
"Are you kidnapping me?" I asked, awkwardly, half-joking, half-afraid.
"Kind of," Dreck smirked.
"Let go of me," I said, suddenly pulling away.
"Taty, please, calm down," Emmeline begged.
"You will let go of me immedi—"
My legs gave out. Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground.
I went completely still—paralyzed. My head fell against someone's shoulder, and through the haze, I managed to see who it was.
Taylor...?