"I know what you're thinking," Zoey said, her voice unnervingly calm as the screen lingered on the nightmare image of my parents' house collapsing. Tears streamed down my face. "This did happen. It's real, Ravine. The Beast Lord chose you. Saved you. This is your second chance. Seize it."
"Seize it?" I screamed at the cartoon laptop.
"You threw me into this insane world without consent and your advice is to 'seize it' by fucking my mates so I don't explode? Fuck you!"
"Ravine, calm down."
A familiar baritone pulled me back to reality. I blinked against harsh light, squinting. Aquasteine and Ramses hovered over me, faces etched with worry. Zayne's deeper voice came from my other side. "You were having a nightmare. You're safe now."
Aquasteine gently wiped sweat from my forehead with a cool handkerchief, his icy blue eyes full of tenderness that made my chest ache. I wanted to tell them everything — about Zoey, my parents, the floor swallowing them whole — but the words stuck in my throat.
"Why were you yelling 'fuck you' in your sleep?" Ramses asked, attempting a smirk. "You know we can't exactly help with that right now, right?"
"Shut the fuck up," Alexis snapped. "She had a nightmare, idiot."
I barely heard them. My mind kept replaying the vision. Were my parents really gone? The heavy ache in my chest made it hard to breathe.
Beep. Beep.
"She's having a crisis," Zayne said sharply.
My chest heaved. A drip line tugged at my hand. "Doctor!" Ramses shouted. Footsteps rushed in. A horned woman in a white coat appeared and pressed something cold against me. Electricity jolted through my body in a violent shock. My limbs jerked uncontrollably.
The doctor pressed a stethoscope to my chest, her expression tight with poorly hidden anxiety before relief finally washed over her face. My mates watched with matching frowns.
"What if she doesn't make it?" Aquasteine whispered, voice cracking.
"She'll pull through," Ramses said firmly. "She always does."
Beep. Beep.
[Stress-induced teleportation triggered.]
The world spun. When it settled, humid jungle air pressed against my skin. I was barefoot in my thin hospital gown, standing in dense green foliage. The scent of leaves and earth was overwhelmingly sharp. My heart still raced from the vision of my parents. Not now. Focus.
A sharp pinch on my ankle. Then another. And another.
I looked down — I was standing on a massive anthill. Red ants swarmed up my legs, biting furiously. The pain felt like hundreds of tiny needles injecting fire. I screamed and bolted, stomping wildly as I ran. The bites only grew worse.
Through the trees I spotted a lake and dove in. The cold water brought instant, blissful relief. I moaned, rubbing my swollen feet underwater, trying to soothe the angry bumps.
A blunt nudge hit my back.
I turned slowly. A massive crocodile stared at me with murky, unblinking eyes. Its jagged teeth and bumpy green snout filled my vision. Terror froze me in place. Warm urine mixed with the lake water around my legs.
Beep. Beep.
[Stress-induced teleportation triggered.]
I blinked, disoriented. Spiky leaves pressed into my thighs. I was high up in a coconut tree, the fruit within arm's reach. Hunger gnawed at me, but fear quickly overrode it. I yanked a coconut free anyway.
Sharp cawing erupted around me.
Three enormous brown eagles landed on the branches nearby, their massive wings folding as they stared at me with cold, menacing eyes.
They sat like silent predators, circling me slowly, as if deciding whether I was prey or a temporary perch.
I sat perfectly still, heart hammering against my ribs, trapped between the sky and three massive birds that looked ready to tear into me at any moment.