Prologue
Maize
Why was I outside?
White, frozen crystals clouded my vision as I forced my eyes open, my lashes almost frozen together. I tried to focus on the ground beneath me. I swayed slightly, feeling as though I was going to face-plant forward into the thick, frozen snow that my hands were half-buried in, my fingers having gone numb. I frowned, tracking a blue flash of color in the white, icy texture underneath me, only to realize that it was my nails… My nails were blue. That wasn’t good.
A whimper broke from my lips as I tried to pull my hands from the snow, the stark, hard land cradling my frame as my arms shook and wobbled. I could tell I’d been out here for some time because my skin was nearly translucent, my arms so numb that they almost didn’t feel like they were attached to me anymore.
Why was I out here to begin with?
My eyes fluttered shut again as I attempted to shift myself from where I was sitting on my legs. I let out a small pained noise, raw unfiltered shocks of energy going through my limbs, almost turning me immobile.
Holy hell, that hurt.
I felt my body sink to the side slightly, my form nearly breaking under the pain as I tried to brace myself from falling completely, my dark, frozen hair covering my face in icy strings.
Had I been dunked in water before being left out here? Hell, maybe that was what had happened, because I felt like I was suffering from hypothermia. The memory loss… the inability to move my body… I was thinking that was my best bet and probably the reason I couldn’t remember how the hell I’d gotten here.
Where had I been before this?
Why didn’t I recognize where I was?
Shakily reaching up to my face, hot tears broke through the numbness as they streaked down my cheeks in panic.
Why was I panicking? It was like my body was reacting without permission from my mind. I hadn’t even realized I was upset enough to cry. Maybe… maybe it was the hard wind blowing across my face… but somehow I knew that wasn’t the case. Something had happened. Something that had worked me into this state. The back of my eyes were hot as my pulse increased with fear.
I had felt a lot recently, but this level of fear was something new.
Unfortunately, the more I tried to remember, the more it hurt, a whimper leaving my lips as the back of my head pulsed in pain. Yeah, pretty sure I didn’t need those memories for now. Reaching a shaky hand back to touch my head, bile rose in my throat almost instantly at the wound I practically dug my fingers into. I mean, it was not the worst I’d ever experienced by far, but fuck, it was bad. I confirmed the injury as I brought my fingers back in front of me, the thick, almost oil-like texture of blood dripping off my fingers and down onto the nightgown I wore.
Now that didn’t seem like something I would normally wear.
The basic white slip was tinted with the crimson color of my blood as mercury silver tears continued to fall and mix with the red substance, creating a rather stunning iridescent shade that had me starring with interest. Morbid interest, but interest nonetheless.
I think I was in shock.
My back twitched as if trying to release a pressure that was building there, but instead I hit a solid wall. My familiars and power were seemingly absent from my consciousness as my vision swam, causing me to feel off balance. I swallowed, trying to keep some level of calm, refusing to give into the full panic attack I could feel building. Not until I was safe.
Where was safe, though?
Safety was with my… the word was escaping me. Warmth and large bodies filled my memory, but I didn’t know who they belonged to. A memory flashed before my eyes, just a moment, that I didn’t fully understand but had me feeling a surge of strength and energy.
“Maize,” a soft, persuasive voice spoke against my ear, causing chills to break across my flushed skin. “You need to sleep.”
“I’m scared to fall asleep and hurt one of you, more specifically, you,” I admitted, smelling the scent of sweetness and sunshine mixed with rose. A firm set of arms was wrapped around my waist, and out of the corner of my eye I could see a flash of rose-colored hair from the originator of the voice. The body in front of me shifted, a head of golden hair buried against my neck, and a pair of lips pressed against a small star tattoo on my collarbone. A blush worked its way up my cheeks.
Why did I feel like the way he was holding me was unusual? Exciting, but something different than expected? I let out a small hum of contentment as the man behind me kissed my ear gently, causing me to naturally sink into the soft sheets.
“Trust me, Maize. We can take care of ourselves, I promise you.” His voice was convincing and almost magical, my eyes closing and feeling heavy. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t help it—I was giving into sleep with his soft, comforting voice lulling me into a state of darkness and safety.
Who were those men? I knew them. I couldn’t put a full face or name to them, though, making me feel an acute sense of loss. Maybe if I calmed down I would be able to remember better. Maybe that was the key. I mean, there had to be a reason for all of this. Right?
Before I could think further on it, a savage wind blasted through the space, causing me to nearly fall back over. Instead, I braced against it, the wind seeming to scream in anger as if I’d done something wrong, trying to forcibly tear the skin from my body. It hurt so much. Squinting around, I tried to see past the thick pines that were coated in icicles surrounding me in every single direction like a maze. There had to be somewhere safe to go. How did I land myself here? Wherever here was.
If I couldn’t remember how I had gotten here, how the hell was I going to get back?
I think I’d been in bed before this, with those large men… but why? I mean, who were they? Fuck. All of this sounded vaguely correct, but the details were muddled. There was something more there. Something I wasn’t understanding that had turned such a comfortable, safe scene into something much darker. Much more dangerous. A reason I was no longer sleeping, and it was frustrating and alarming to not be able to tell you why that was exactly.
Suddenly, above me, the full moon broke out from cloud cover to shine brilliantly down onto me like a spotlight for the entire forest to focus in on. Silver light surrounded me, highlighting my pain and confusion. My memories began to try to push forward, ones that I did remember from the severe trauma I’d suffered before… well, before whenever this was. Was I escaping from Mario’s dungeon? Maybe that was what was happening. Or they had left me out here to die.
The memory of shadows and darkness began to cause me to panic as anxiety invaded my chest, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut. No. Fuck no. I could not go there right now. I couldn’t trade my PTSD anxiety attack for whatever the hell was going on. The moon shone bright enough that it allowed me to ignore that it was night. To ignore the memories of being tied up and tortured down in a dungeon for three years of my life.
Just find somewhere safe.
Suddenly, the space filled with a familiar howl that had nothing to do with the wind and everything to do with a creature that was clearly at home within this forested terrain. It should have terrified me, but instead a sigh of relief broke from my lips, as if I knew who the howl belonged to. My skin broke out into shivers, craving their presence as I began to look around me eagerly searching for its originator.