Or the next one goes straight through your skull.

The words repeat in my head. Twice. Three times. Four.

Each time, they sound more threatening. More dangerous. Cole's body trembles beneath my hands, and I know it is taking every ounce of control he has to hold back a shift. We're too close. He won’t risk changing into the bear when his arms are still wrapped around me, when his claws could very easily dig into my skin.

But my magic hums.

Aches to be used.

And I'm still too high on the wildness that coursed through me, too eager for destruction, so I give into that pull. I let the recklessness wash over me, and I surrender to the power coursing through me.

The windows behind me shatter.

I push my way around Cole as the vines break through glass and soar across the room, roping around the stranger's gun and tossing it to the floor. I bind her arms and legs before propelling the ivy into the wall, knocking her head hard against stone. She blinks as though seeing stars, but I don't pause. I'm too consumed by the magic and by her words. Before she has time to fight back, the twisting vines are latched to the wall, growing steadily around her, securing her so she can barely move.

Everything is over in seconds.

I pant as I force the magic to shut off, gritting my teeth as the pain takes over. Fire and ice consume my heart. Cole catches me as I fall against him, watching me with concern and confusion. He still doesn’t know exactly what my curse is, just that it hurts. But the way his fingers run soothingly up and down my arms makes the ache the tiniest bit easier to bear.

Another petal falls.

Another chunk of time slips away.

Seconds I could have spent with Cole.

Minutes I might have lost with my father.

Maybe even days, I have no idea.

All I know is that some of my life is gone, and this girl is to blame.

"Who are you?" I spit through my clenched jaw.

She doesn't say anything. She just stares at me.

I find myself mesmerized by the emerald color of her eyes. So brilliant, as though backed by fire. And right now they're full of an odd mix of hate and confusion that I can't even begin to understand. Her lips purse as the stare turns into a glare. Something about her reminds me of the sun, maybe the golden glow of her skin, made all the brighter by the dark, nearly black color of her hair. Or maybe it's her attitude, angry and blazing.

Steps echo from the hall. The loud pound of boots.

Everything about this hard girl softens at the sound.

And I realize why a moment later as a boy comes running into the room, crashing against the door frame, panting.

"Why." He wheezes. "Are you." He takes a deep breath. "So much." He exhales loudly. "Faster than me?"

The girl smirks arrogantly.

And then he looks up, searching for her.

It's my turn to gasp.

Something about him is so incredibly familiar. The icy blond hair. The fair, pale skin. The gentle smile that is rapidly turning to a frown as he looks around the room, eyes landing on the girl latched to the wall by my ivy. When his glance turns to me, my jaw drops. I would recognize those indigo eyes anywhere.

I used to imagine them in my dreams.

I used to imagine him in my dreams.

"Asher?"

The question falls from my lips, thick with disbelief.

His wide, light-hearted smile is back. "In the flesh." He bows deeply, just like the prince I remember him to be. And then he shrugs. "We're, uh, well, we're here to rescue you…?"

"She doesn't need rescuing," Cole growls from behind me, voice rumbling dangerously.

Asher jumps a little, laughing uneasily. "Yeah, well, it seems I was a little misinformed. Now, if you would kindly let Jade down, maybe we can all talk this out."

"Jade?" I ask. Isn’t that a stone?

Asher just points to the girl on the wall who is glaring at all of us. If it were possible for her to cross her arms, I imagine that's what she'd be doing. And maybe tapping her foot impatiently as well.

Two can play at that game.

I step forward, cocking my hip. "Will she promise not to shoot at us again?"

"Jade!" Asher rolls his eyes and throws a sidelong glance at the girl, who is suddenly looking up at the ceiling as though it's the most interesting thing she's ever seen. "I thought we talked about this," he teases. "Speak first, shoot second. Or, you know, shoot never." And then he turns to me, still grinning easily, as though his face doesn’t understand any other sort of expression. "We're still working on it, but she'll play nice, I promise."

"I can hear you, you know," Jade chirps, still latched to the wall. Though I notice her muscles are strained as though she's trying to break through the binds. Then she sighs exasperatingly. "Besides, we both heard her crying and screaming. I thought he was hurting her."

Cole snarls quietly. "I would never hurt her."

"Well, you could have fooled me," Jade retorts.

They glare at each other. Stormy eyes meeting fiery ones, equal in strength and fight, neither going to back down anytime soon.

I look at Asher, unsure what to do. But he pleads with me silently, imploring with his plum-laced eyes. And I relent, using a smidge of magic to loosen the vines, remembering a time when those violet-hued eyes were the only thing giving me hope that someday I would eventually find a place where I belonged. At the time, I thought it would be by his side. But—

A thought bubbles to the surface.

"You died!" I exclaim suddenly, remembering the announcement back at the base, the one that made me realize I couldn’t spend my life in hiding any longer. New York City had fallen, the magic holding it hostage had disappeared, Queen Deirdre and Asher had been defeated. So how is he standing before me now, very much alive?

I jump closer to him, pulled by a magnetic force. My fingers find his, latching onto his hands, yanking on him until I know I have his full attention.

"You got rid of your magic, didn’t you?" I ask, begging for more information. "You released it? How? When? How?"

I'm too excited to think clearly. Too overwhelmed to realize how close I'm leaning into him. Too stunned to notice that two sets of furious, jealous eyes are now watching the spot where my hands clutch Asher's.

But he's not.

Gently, he shakes free of my hold, glancing quickly toward Jade with a hint of guilt clouding his expression.

I don't understand why until the thunderous voice behind me asks, "How, exactly, do you two know each other?"

My eyes find Cole's.

My mouth goes dry. My tongue feels heavy. For some reason, I feel the sudden urge to apologize, to explain myself, even though I know I didn’t really do anything wrong. But before I can answer, a different female voice chimes in.

"So I wasn't the last to know?" Jade comments lightly, too soft for a girl I already know is made up of hard edges.

"To know what?" Cole asks darkly.

Jade glances pointedly from me to Asher, then back to Cole, smiling sharply. "Omorose and Asher," she starts slowly. Her voice simmers, and I can't help but notice a protective edge to it, as though she's silently claiming her ground. "They're engaged."

Oh, for the love of—

"What?" Cole growls.

I jump in immediately, reaching for his trembling arms, getting close enough that I force him yet again to maintain control. His gray eyes are little more than churning storm clouds, dark and tumultuous as they look down at me. "We were," I say quickly, emphasizing the word were. "But that was a million years ago, in a different world, before the earthquake, before everything changed, before I met you."

His brows twitch, and instantly I know it's not fury he's feeling, but hurt. Deep, painful hurt. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

I swallow. "Because I thought he was dead. I didn’t think there was anything to tell. And even if he was alive, I didn’t think it mattered. Not anymore. Not with everything that's happened, not with everything we've been through together."

"Ha!" I hear suddenly, and it's Asher's triumphant cry. "I told you!" he exclaims. Jade frowns. But at the same time, the corners of her lips are pulling up, as though she is secretly thrilled. "I told you she would say that. I told you she wouldn't care. I win. You lose. Next time we're home, you owe me one movie of my choosing. Something with a little less explosive destruction and a little more warm, gooey feelings. Ha!"

I blink a few times, utterly confused.

Jade doesn’t respond, but her grin takes over. With her face soft and joyous, she looks so beautiful, radiant even. And so does Asher. The space between them fills with something palpable, electric, making me feel like the intruder.

Uncomfortable, I take a small step back, unaware how close I was standing to Cole until my shoulder presses into his hard chest. I lean into him, hesitant, hoping. Every part of me warms when he reaches down along my arm, searching for my hand. We clasp each other, holding tight. With his skin pressing against mine, I realize I was waiting for that small bit of contact, that unspoken signal that I've been forgiven. My heart feels lighter, and a different sort of heat passes through me as he begins to trace circles on my hip with his thumb.

Asher turns away from Jade, looking from Cole to me and back again. His brows pull together for a moment before he shakes his head slightly. "Why don't we both start from the beginning," he says gently. "You go first. Why does everyone at the base think someone called the beast kidnapped you? And why are you here looking very much at peace and not at all like someone being held against her will?"

"It's a long story," I mumble. But I can't help but notice how Cole has leaned away from me. His eyes burn the back of my neck.

"The beast?" he comments.

"Um," I murmur, biting my lip. "That's sort of what the people of Earth call you."

He snorts. "Really? No wonder you were afraid."

My tension releases and I smirk. "You did that all on your own."

He grins too. Our little inside joke.

"Okay, so he's the beast?" Asher asks, trying to make sense of everything.

"He's Cole," I jump in. "He didn't kidnap me. I just made it look like he did."

Jade and Asher shake their heads. Each raises an eyebrow at me, silently questioning for more. Even Cole watches on, intrigued by this story that I haven't told him. I take a deep breath. This is going to be a long night.

"You guys must be freezing," I say, ushering them toward the library door. "Why don’t we all sit by the fire and figure out what the heck is going on."

They nod.

We walk as a group out of the room. Jade doesn’t even try to hide it when she reaches down to grab her discarded gun, tucking it back into her pants. Asher tosses her a look but she just shrugs it off, staring back. They both remain stubborn for a moment, but Asher relents quickly, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her against his side. Jade is almost as tall as he is, and her long slim body is all muscle. He would never be able to move her anywhere she didn’t want to go, so I know she leans against him willingly, because she wants to.

Without my magic, I would have been no match for her. She's a fighter. One look is all it takes to realize that. But it's just as obvious that Asher's not, he never has been. How did these two find each other? They're complete opposites, yet at the same time, deep affection ties them together. Love. Clear as a cloudless sky. Sparkling between them every time their eyes meet.

A little part of me wonders if they see it every time I look at Cole?

Every time he looks at me?

The idea lingers as we all take a seat near the fire. I settle into my normal spot, tucked into Cole's side. Pulling my feet into my chest, I bundle up, small and delicate compared to the muscular arm cradling me close. Jade and Asher don't say anything as they take their seats, but both of them watch me curiously. He stretches his feet close to the fire and she crosses her legs. In the space between their bodies, their hands come together, meeting seamlessly in the middle as though second nature.

"I guess I should start at the beginning," I say, breaking the silence. "I think we all remember the earthquake, and I know you both must have stories you could tell me of how that day changed your life, how it disrupted everything. But this is mine. On the day of the earthquake, I was with my father, traveling to see you, Asher."

Nodding, he says, "I remember." Then he pauses, frowns. "My mother was preparing for your arrival."

I want to ask why such a haunted expression just passed over his face, but I know I'll hear his story in time. Right now, they all want to hear mine. "When the ground settled, my father and I woke on one side of a dividing line. He and I were in an open field, and just fifteen feet away rested a town in ruin, a town full of things I didn't understand. Buildings. Clothing. Things like cars and phones. Things that were beyond my comprehension. We were terrified and alone, and the people of Earth captured us. For that first year, we lived behind bars, until my father offered to tell them everything he knew about magic and how to destroy it. They moved us to the Midwest Command Center, and in exchange for our information, they kept us fed and safe, they let us live among them."

I take a deep breath. Cole caresses my arm with his thumb, silently giving me his strength. "But something else happened on the day of the earthquake. My mother died, and I inherited her magic. So for ten years, while we lived among the people of Earth, I had to keep that power locked inside. I had to hide it, hide myself, pretend to be something I never could be. Normal."

Jade gasps quietly. I glance at her but she shakes her head. "Sorry," she murmurs, gentler than I realized she could be. "I held magic once, I felt it. I could never imagine keeping something like that contained. Never."

I scrunch my lips, aching to ask questions. What magic? How? Isn’t she from Earth? Or was she a princess, like me?

I swallow them back down, continuing my tale. "But a few weeks ago, something inside me snapped. The general in charge of the command center made an announcement, he told us all how one of the queens had fallen, how the people of Earth had won a huge victory against the magic. I listened to hundreds of people cheer and chant, utterly jubilant to hear that someone with magic had been killed. And I just had to get away. I couldn’t take it any longer. I wanted to embrace my magic, not hide it. I wanted to find someplace I could belong. I wanted to be free. So I ran away. But my father stayed behind, and in order to keep him safe, we tried to make it look like I was kidnapped, not that I left of my own free will. I didn’t want anyone to grow suspicious, to think I had magic, to believe my father couldn’t be trusted. I didn't know how long—"

I pause when I notice Asher's lips part. He doesn’t speak, but I can practically hear the questions burning his tongue.

"What?" I ask.

He meets my stare, eyes downcast with an unspoken apology.

A fist clenches around my heart. Panic. "What, Asher?"

He winces slightly. "You said your father was there?"

"Yeah," I answer smoothly. "Actually, I'm surprised he didn’t tell you I came here on my own, that I didn't need to be saved. Why didn't he stop you from coming after me?"

Asher turns to Jade.

She glances at him, biting her lip. An emotion I can't read passes over her face, lasting for a short moment before she looks away, cool expression returning. Cole's grip tightens, as though he knows. Asher spins back to me, gaze incredibly soft. The smile normally crossing his lips vanishes.

"What?" I whisper.

All the air has gone out of me in one fell swoop.

Because I know.

Without Asher having to say it, I know.

"Omorose, your father wasn't there."

My whole body deflates. The only thing holding me upright is Cole. Every ounce of strength seeps out of me, sinking into the floor, disappearing.

"They thought," Asher continues, unsure of what to say. "I mean, they told us he was kidnapped too. He disappeared a few days ago. They thought he was here with you."

"They thought…" I mumble, trailing off. The world is in slow motion, yet at the same time, everything is happening too fast. My mind whirls, but I can't speak. My movements are sluggish even though my brain zips at breakneck speed.

"Cole!" I screech, too loud, too high.

I'm on my feet. I'm pacing. Am I running? I can’t process what's happening. The room blurs as my heartbeat turns rapid. I breathe quickly, sharp inhales and exhales. Alarm courses through me. Alarm and fear. I can’t speak. Can't think. I'm trapped by my own body.

Be brave.

That voice tries to whisper.

Be brave.

But I can’t. Because it's my father. And he's gone. And my world would be nothing without him. He's the only family I have left. I love him too much to be brave. The idea of losing him is too overwhelming. Too much to handle.

"Omorose!" Cole calls fiercely. "Omorose!"

He's calling me back from the brink. I blink, clearing my eyes, trying to see through the panic overwhelming me. His hands cup my cheeks, and his smoky eyes gaze into mine with a fire that sparks me back to life.

"I'll find him," he whispers. "If he's anywhere on these mountains, I'll find him. Have faith in me. Trust me. Trust these words. I'll find him. And I'll bring him home for you."

I nod. But I can’t find any words.

So I cling to his.

I wrap his promise around me like a warm blanket, comforting and secure.

Cole looks at me for another moment and then he turns, running toward the door. As soon as he's through it, he shifts, this time into a golden hawk I've never seen before. Wide, powerful wings, pump once, twice, and then he's out of sight.

Only when he's gone do I realize all of my hope flies with him.