Chapter One
Layla had imagined death so many times, it felt more like déjà vu than a dream. She didn’t know when the reaper would get her or what it would feel like to slip beneath the veil separating the living from the dead. But she knew she didn’t want to die tonight.
Damp grass clung to her feet as she ran through a field she didn’t recognize. Brambles formed a tangled web of thorns and rotting berries she couldn’t avoid. Sharp spikes clawed at her skin, stinging her. Silver blood trailed down her calves. Bile rose the back of her throat at the metallic scent of her own blood. Her chest ached and her breathing turned ragged the longer she continued to push forward. The snapping of crunched underbrush followed her.
His footsteps drew closer. Her legs burned. Sweat dripped down her brow. Her vision blurred. She wanted to scream, but no one was there to save her.
“Hurry, Layla! He’s gaining on you!” her Personal Electronic Assistant, otherwise known as her PEA, AKA Penny, screeched in her mind.
Annoyed, Layla directed her thoughts elsewhere. Of course, she knew he was gaining on her. She closed her eyes, focusing on taking breath after breath as she continued running. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep going. The burning in her legs intensified as she continued pumping them harder.
“Turn left! Turn left! turn left!” Penny screamed.
Without thinking, Layla did as her PEA said, shifting her body to the left just as she was about to tumble down a steep embankment.
“How did you know that was there?” she asked, her mind whirring.
“I’m an AI. My reflexes are much better than yours,” Penny replied.
Layla rolled her eyes and smiled. If there was one thing Penny didn’t have, it was humility.
The wind picked up, sending her hair fluttering across her face. Momentarily blinded, Layla jumped as a firm hand gripped her wrist. She twisted, desperate to release herself. Penny hummed nervously in her ear, but that only made Layla more anxious. Using her nails as a weapon, she dug them into her assailant’s hand. Hot blood spilled over her hands as his skin broke. He cried out, relaxing his grip on her just enough for Layla to yank herself free. She punched at his face, feeling her knuckles connect with bone and cartilage. A sharp crack echoed through the night. She knew she’d broken his nose as she turned and sprinted away.
Comets shot across the sky, leaving glittering trails of stardust in their wake. If she hadn’t been running for her life, she might have stopped to marvel at how beautiful the phenomenon was. Something hard hit her knees, knocking them out from under her. She stumbled and collapsed forward. Her face dug into the ground. Dirt clogged her nose. She clamored to release herself from the cord wrapped around her legs.
Penny hummed nervously. “You have to move faster,” she squealed.
“You think I don’t know that!” Layla snapped. She felt her PEA recede within her. She felt bad for letting her anxiety get the best of her, but she couldn’t help it. Penny was like a sweet, but infuriating grandma: always worrying about and nagging her, but never telling her anything she didn’t already know.
“You know I can hear your thoughts, right?” Penny hissed.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Layla murmured as she wrenched the last of the cord from around her ankles to free herself. A shadow fell over her. Her blood turned to ice in her veins. Her gaze traveled up his body until she was looking directly at his head.
She couldn’t see his face. It was as if someone had taken a knife and scratched away all his features, leaving nothing but a black hole in its place. The rest of him appeared firm and real. He reached towards her, his hands going straight for her throat. She screamed, backing away as quickly as she could. Her hands squelched in mud, sinking in deeper each time she moved. His fingers grazed her skin as she barely evaded his grasp. He grunted and lunged for her again.
She scrambled backwards, digging her hands into the mud for leverage. The earth gave way beneath her right hand, sending a clump of dirt and grass to the bottoms below. She rolled to the left as more dirt gave way. It collapsed down the embankment with a thunderous clamor.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she lay on her back and stared up at the sky. Comets blazed between the sister moons. Her mother had told her once that comets were her fae ancestors, leaving behind a trail of dust and magic. She wondered if she would be joining them soon. Her head pounded as her heartbeat drowned out all other sound. Breathing in deeply, she relished the scent of damp grass and fresh night air.
If she was going to die tonight, she wanted it to be on her own terms.
He loomed over her. Although he said nothing, she could feel the hatred for her pouring out of him. Breathing in deeply, she drew upon what little reserves of energy she still had and kicked his leg right below the knee. Her shins jolted at the impact. He grunted but remained rooted in place. Growling, she kicked him again, throwing everything she had behind it. This time, she nailed him squarely in the knee. He crumpled to the ground as she scooted backwards.
Rolling to the side, she lay flat on her stomach and stared down the embankment. Her insides twisted into knots. A raging river coursed in the channel below. Mist wafted from it, giving it a mysterious aura, as if it were from beyond the veil. If she jumped, she didn’t know if she would survive the fall. But, if she stayed, she was certain the man would kill her.
He clawed at her feet. It was now or never.
“What are you doing!” Penny screeched. “You can’t! It’s madness!”
Taking a deep breath, Layla rolled off the cliff.
She couldn’t hear anything except the wind rushing through her ears. Her body felt weightless. Although she sensed Penny’s uneasiness, she drowned it out with her own thoughts. Was this what freedom felt like? Her emancipation from all the fear, sadness, and worry of the world? If it was, she would gladly take it.
Her body slammed into the icy river. Paralyzed by the cold and shock of finally landing, she sank beneath the current. Every part of her was numb. For a moment, she remained suspended in the water. But then, as if being born for the first time, she propelled herself upwards. Her head erupted from the surface in an array of rainbow droplets as she sucked in a deep breath of air.
She was still alive.
Looking up, she saw the man standing at the cliff’s edge.
“So long, motherdraker!” she yelled as she waved and blew him a kiss.
The current carried Layla further down the river. She lay on her back, letting the water course over her. Comets burst in the sky above, sending a shower of golden and purple dust all around her. Her skin began to glow as the dust coated her. Luminescent fish transformed the river into a miniature galaxy of swarming life. This was fae magic and it was dying. Ever since the royal family had been slaughtered while they slept over twenty years ago, the fae had been hunted down like sheep, enslaved by the king, or sent to the Mines of Moreshin to waste away to nothing. Since her wings had never developed, she’d been able to pass as an elf, but her heart belonged to the fae realm.
Shaking her head, she waded towards a sand bar on the opposite embankment as her assailant. Her muscles ached as she dragged herself from the water. Panting, she sank into the sand. She shivered as the night air kissed her skin. Wrapping her arms around her shoulders did little to warm her.
“Layla,” Penny began.