Page 74 of Kat Bethel

I slowly opened one eye at a time, half expecting to be blinded again. The sun shone harder than it ever had before. It was still too hot, but at least I didn’t think I’d been put on the grill.

I groaned, trying to get up. Every muscle resisted each movement and simply getting to my knees was exhausting.

My skin was covered in burns, and blisters confirming that it hadn’t all been in my head. I grabbed my chest, expecting to find a giant hole had been punched through me, only to find that somehow I was still intact.

My eyes jerked to check my shadow to make sure Abiel was okay. My heart skipped a beat for a moment when I found my shadow completely gone. Panic welled in me, before I remembered that was my intention.

Right?

I scanned the Dark Entry Forest expecting him to be watching from the treeline, only to realize it was lit up like a damn stadium.

There weren’t any shadows at all.

How was that possible?

My stomach sank. The canopy was too thick. The sun wouldn’t be able to penetrate the forest that much.

My hands and lips shook uncontrollably as my brain tried to process what that meant. Every ragged breath brought me the scent of charred wood and meat, instead of the field of flowers from the other times I’d been here.

It took three steadying breaths before I could bring myself to look up.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The sun wasn’t where I expected it to be either. Confusion filled me as my eyes jerked around, trying to see past the beaming rays of light blinding me.

Surely it was a trick of the light.

I squinted and put my hand up to block some of the radiating glow.

My stomach roiled, and fear that seeped deep in my bones made breathing too heavy.

I blinked and covered one eye, trying to get my vision to properly focus. Had I hit my head?

No. I was seeing it right.

Three suns sat at different points in the sky.

Chapter 27:

Irandowntheroad into Cornwall. I prayed to any god that would listen, that this phenomena was only above the Dark Entry Forest, but the further away I got the more I suspected I’d broken the entire world this time.

The guilt devoured every thought.

Please.

I could smell the fires and hear the crackling before I stepped into the town. People covered in burns ran around calling for their loved ones.

A TV in a shop window blared a warning and flashed about the ‘great light phenomena’ on the national news. There were theories about nuclear warfare and a falling star.

“Stay calm. Stay home. Don’t panic,” the anchorman begged.

As if those words could calm the riots that were already incited.

When would my coven realize I was something worthy of extermination?

I pressed my forehead to the burning glass.

Why did I do that?

The sinking realization of the damage I caused hit me. The crystal clarity that I only experienced after I wrecked everything was my worst enemy. I’d probably broken the civilized world and possibly killed the only person who made me feel whole.