“Mom?” Thea’s voice called. “Everyone’s waiting. Are you ready?”I took one last look in the mirror, adjusted the mask slightly, and turned toward the door.“Ready,” I said, opening it to find my daughter standing there in a midnight blue dress that she had designed herself. Her own mask, shaped lik
AgnesOne year later.I stood in front of my mirror, hardly recognizing the woman staring back at me. Two years. It had been two years since I met Elijah—not counting that foggy night we conceived Thea seven years before that, a night neither of us could fully remember thanks to whatever drugs had b
Initially, I resisted. The thought of sharing my pain with a stranger when I had spent so many years being treated like a madwoman for my trauma scared the hell out of me. But Elijah was persistent, reminding me that we all carried burdens that were too heavy to bear alone.And so, twice a week, we
AgnesThe weeks following the destruction of the Lunaris Stone passed in a blur.Elemental Enterprises, of course, was immediately shut down by the authorities. Every known international law enforcement agency descended on Richard’s territory, working alongside Richard and us to document the crimes
AgnesConsciousness came in flashes.My head throbbed. A high-pitched ringing filled my ears, drowning out most other sounds. I tried to open my eyes, but even the dim lights pierced my vision painfully, forcing them shut again.Something was trembling against me. Thea. She was alive. “Mommy…”More
AgnesFire burst from my palm with more intensity than I’d ever managed before. The heat was incredible, searing through my hand and up my arm. My palm burned furiously, the skin already blistering and cracking, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.Every instinct in my body was screaming at me to pul