How do I – how can I get out of this –But nothing. Nothing. I come up empty at every panicked turn.Oh…oh my god. Is this it? Is this seriously how I go?My wolf howls in my heart, faint, already feeling the effects of the lack of oxygen. Breathe, she begs, nudging me. Breathe, breathe! Please, br
A shaky little moan crawls up my throat as Anton wraps his fingers in my hair at the base of my neck, clenching his hand into a fist, pulling my head back slightly. He bends me, fastening his mouth to mine. I obey, letting him take control, letting my head tilt, a shiver running through me from head
And as much as I love them and want to look only at my friends, my eyes flick around, landing finally on Death, who looks at me with…With such fucking hatred in his eyes.Anger flares in me, true and deep, replacing my awe and my confusion and my panic.“There’s my girl,” Anton murmurs, stepping a
Slowly, I begin to smile.“Whose hubris makes her overstep her power. This Game –““Is my Game now,” I hiss, whipping my hand in front of his face and snatching it into a fist like I’m grasping a fly out of the air. “Mine. You have run it into the ground, and now it is mine. I claim it. I make the r
I look beyond Laila and am not very surprised to see Heralds showing up, vanishing girls away, presumably back to the palace. I growl a little, remembering my promise to kill Death if any more of them show up dead.My wolf turns in an anxious circle within me, both of us wondering if that was kind o
And, indeed, to put together the shattered remains of my reality. I start to shake in earnest now, my hands clasped tight to my arms, dropping my head as I look down at my feet.“Juniper?” Anton asks, his voice soft as he steps close, watching me tremble. “You all right?”“Yup!” I chirp, whipping my
“I don’t know,” I murmur, letting my eyes flutter shut. “I – I got all this magic, Tony. I don’t know where it came from.”He hums, letting me know he understands, letting me continue.“As soon as I said it?” I whisper. “It like…became true.”Anton nods. I can feel it, his cheek moving against my ha
I just stare at Tony, baffled. “You’re real,” I whisper.“I mean, only kind of,” he says back, lifting his face up to the water, apparently relishing the feel of it against his skin. “I think only conceptually, if that makes sense.”“It doesn’t,” I growl, closing my eyes and rubbing my hand over my
“No!” she sputters out, stumbling a few steps towards me, shaking her head so hard her pretty blue-green hair flutters out all around her. “No, Junie, don’t make me go! I want…I want to stay here! And help! I mean…” she bites her lip. “It will be nice to be able to visit home. But I want to stay wit
“I’m sending you home too,” I say quietly, doing my best to look each in the eyes. “I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed that you didn’t get the wish.” They murmur a variety of responses back to me, most of them relieved. One by one they step forward and I take their ha
“Does…” I whisper, my eyes still fastened to Orion as my eyes move over him, feeling the powers that radiate from him now. “Does that mean you have all of the powers of Darkness too? From…from the wish?” “No,” Orion murmurs, looking down at his hands and flexing them, experimenting with the feel o
Beatrice is the last to go, staring at me in shock, realizing finally that she bet everything on the wrong horse. I bare my teeth at her, fangs extended, and Beatrice’s eyes go wider as she trembles and finally submits, going to her knees and bowing her head. “Good,” I say, my voice returning to n
Laila’s knife sinks deep between Death’s shoulder blades and the final scream of a God fills the air as Death falls to his knees. The magic stops mid-stream, like a tap being suddenly turned off. I groan and tilt forward against Anton, who catches me and holds me against his chest. “Shit, June,”
“Just a little longer, June. She’ll do it.” But what if she doesn’t? What if…what if I’m inches from oblivion, and this is it? My heart strains in my chest, my wolf shaking like a leaf from snout to tail. But still, I will myself to hope. To trust in my friend. “I know,” I reply, letting my ey
I gasp, my shoulders trembling under the sheer weight of Death’s magic that flows over and around us, my shield barrier straining and buckling under its might. “June,” Anton breathes, eyes wide as he looks up at the magic streaming over us in an unending torrent. “Shit – are you –“ I crouch besi
The wish presses against Death for a moment and then sinks into him, dissolving into his chest. He sighs with happiness and what looks like ecstasy, tilting his head back to the sky as the magic disappears into him. Beatrice steps away, tucking her hands behind her back, beaming at the God she jus
Before I can get more than three steps after Laila, Anton lunges forward, his paws landing on either side of me as he snatches at the back of my gown with his teeth, holding me back. His fierce growl reminds me that I need to stay here – that Death took Laila because he wants me to come rushing onto