My breaths slow and turn shallow as she reaches farther, closing the small distance she left between us at first.
Then she’s touching my face.
Relief washes over me like a cold rain, chasing away the darkness. Warmth spreads beneath the very tips of her fingers, and I lean into it, my gaze locked on hers.
I know you.
The overwhelming fog, the screams of the shadows in my head… all of it eases just enough for me to remember one very important word. “Amora.”
A smile breaks over her face, and she slides her palm against my cheek. “Yes. It’s me. There you are.”
The more of her skin that touches mine, the more clear-headed I feel.
Mine.
This is mine.
“Come back to us,” Amora begs softly. “Please, Frost. Stay with me. Don’t give in to the shadows.”
The shadows.
Pain tears through me as if the shadows filling my body are trying to rip me apart from the inside.
No mercy.
No kindness.
No peace.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill.
I lose focus on her beautiful face. I lose her name. I lose that momentary connection that reminded me I’m more than a monster made of shadows.
Falling back beneath the weight of the darkness boiling over inside me, I scream.
Then I attack.