And then I feel it. My hands are hot; scorching. And though it feels as if I have thrust them into a raging fire, it does not burn me. I look down at my palms, enraptured in a dull red haze, glowing hot with fury. They are trembling uncontrollably. My whole body is. I can’t stop it; I can’t even understand it. Anger and grief have completely overpowered me.
This isn’t numbness. This is wrath.
Tiny icicles assault my retinas, pricking my eyelids until they sting. My eyes feel too cold, frozen even, yet my vision is not obscured. I can see…everything. As if I have been blind for twenty years. The arteries beating in their rigid necks, the tight flex of their jaws, the fear inscribed in their faces. I see it all. I see them. Human. Frail. Infantile. I had always considered myself as one of them, but as I gaze upon them now, they appear alien to me. I can’t comprehend this sudden revelation but I know it is real. It is the realest thing I have ever felt.
“Gabriella,” Donna whispers hoarsely. “Please.”
She’s pleading. Begging. Why? Her petrified tone startles me and my emboldened resolve falters. The tremors cease, the red glow from my hands extinguished. Even my eyesight has dimmed and the alarming chill has dissipated. I tumble back down to Earth. Back to my humanity.
“There’s something you need to know. Please let us explain before you go,” she pleads from behind Chris.
I nod stiffly, afraid to do or say more to provoke their fear. I can’t be certain what would happen if I did. She steps around my dad cautiously and stands to face me. Chris’s eyes dance wildly between us, his fists pressed into tight balls of hard steel.
“Dorian was your father’s partner. The one who tried to keep Alex and Natalia’s secret. He wanted to keep them safe; to keep you safe. But once word traveled back to the Dark, he was taken. His punishment was harsh but he was spared.”
I fold my arms in front of my chest, not completely sure where Donna is going with this. I already knew that from Natalia’s journal. “Ok. He was punished; I get that. But he suffered a loss too. He lost his best friend. Why do I need to stay away from him?”
“Dorian is…special. And that is the only reason why he was not executed along with your father. He made a deal to save his own life. He was petrified- frozen in time, his magic stripped from him. His sentence was 20 years.” Donna takes a step towards me, her expression a mix of fright and concern. “The deal Dorian made was that he had to kill you. Once he was released from petrification, he had to hunt you down and slaughter you. And if he fails, he will be put to death.”
I struggle to process Donna’s words, my already shattered heart desperately urging my brain to reject it. But even in angst my mind can’t hold onto the illusion. I know what she is saying is true. Dorian was sent here to kill me. Everything we’ve shared, every ounce of passion we’ve exchanged has been a lie. And somewhere amidst all my hang-ups and denial, I knew it all along. What else could he possibly want from me?
I turn towards the front door when I feel a large hand grasp my forearm. “Where are you going?” Chris asks.
My glazed eyes fall to his grip and he instantly pulls it back. “I have to see him. I have to hear him say it.”
“What? Why? Did you not just hear your mother? He will kill you, Gabriella! He does not want you! He does not care about you! You are nothing but prey to him!”
Chris’s words sink the knife deeper into my hemorrhaging chest. I laboriously swallow down the bile rising in my throat. “I need to hear him say it,” I repeat with a shaky voice. “He’s not going to get away with being a coward. If he wants me dead, he has to tell me himself.”
“No, Gabriella! Don’t do it! He will kill you!” Donna shrieks. But I don’t meet her horrified eyes. I don’t respond to their pleas to stay in the safety of our home, away from the darkness that craves my demise. I am already out the door, guided by my own darkness festering deep inside me.
I don’t notice that I am at the Broadmoor until I am already there. I don’t even know how I managed to make it here in one piece. But as I gaze upon the double doors of Dorian’s suite, I can literally feel my heart beating out of my chest. I know I’ve been standing here staring at it but I’ve completely lost all sense of time.
The door suddenly swings open, startling me out of my anguished daze. And I am face to face with him. Dorian. Still dressed in his suit and tie, he is so amazingly gorgeous it physically hurts to look at him. His black hair is styled in its usual disheveled perfection. His jaw is shaved and smooth. Even his eyes seem bluer and brighter. I bite down the gasp at his splendor and fight the urge to melt into his arms.