Page 88 of Hollowed

Itook another shuddering breath and forced my eyes open.Ifit wasDeath, if she was going to kill me,Iwould look her in the eye.BeforeIcould stand and turn around, though, my ears popped, signaling a change in the air, and purple fog snaked through my spirals of flame.

PurplelikeAlexander’sspirit magic.

Isnapped my eyes closed, squeezing them tightly to fight off the burning tears.Theyquickly gave way back to my rage, andIstood, forcing down the nausea and dizziness that had come with the quick movement.Whateverthis was would not trick me.Notanymore.Thetime for games and whispers was over.Takinga deep breath,Icalled my flames to my hands, intent on destroying whatever was playing this cruel trick.

“Katrina.Openyour eyes,” a soft voice said, directly in front of me now.

Myeyes snapped open, and a breath punched from my lungs.Alexander. “Howare you...”

Hestood before me in his spirit form.Stillmissing his head, though his body was covered in blood, he reached out his hand for me, butIflinched back.Itcouldn’t be real.Thiswas just my imagination, my punishment from theOtherworld.OrmaybeDeathherself, taunting me.

Tearspricked at my eyes, andIturned around, putting the deception behind me. “Youare not real.”

Not-Alexanderstepped around in front of me, blocking my steadfast stare at the cemetery gates. “No,Katrina.I’mreal,I’mhere.Don’tdo this.Don’tpush me away.”

Myheart skipped, wanting to believe he was real, if just for a moment.Ishook my head. “No, you’re dead.Sheslit your throat.”Ilooked down at my body, but the dress that had been covered in his blood had burnt away. “Yourblood was on me.”

“Youbrought me back,”Not-Alexandersaid, his voice softening.

Idesperately wanted to believe him, to believe that for the first time in my life,Iwasenough.Butthat just brought my anger back anew, thinking of all those inSleepyHollowI’dnot been enough for.ThatI’dfailed simply by being alive.Myfire flared.

Hereached for me again, his ungloved hand wrapping around my wrist.

Thetouch sparked inside me.Thiswas real.Igasped as my mind sifted through the possibilities.Myheart raced and my stomach twisted in glee.Hewas alive.“How?”

Hishand moved from my wrist to reach into my flames and wipe at a stray tear on my cheek that had somehow survived my flames. “Yourtears,Katrina.Phoenixtears are healing.”

Ireeled back, the world swaying at the edges of my vision.I’dhealed him?Ihad been so certainI’dbrought about his death, and had been ready to burn the world for him, to fightDeathand risk my own demise in his name.Andall along,Ihad saved him.Wasit possible to have this all?Tohave this victory so readily?Itdidn’t feel like it.

Iwas waiting, my breath catching in my chest asIwaited for reality to hit and the truth to be revealed.

Butnothing happened.

Alexandersimply rubbed his thumb over my cheek in gentle circles.Hishand was engulfed by my flames up to the wrist, and he never flinched.

Ishould have been grateful.Ishouldhave flung my arms around him and embraced that he was alive.Ishould have been celebrating that the flaw my mother hated, my propensity for tears, could be valuable instead.ButIwas none of those things.Iwas hollow, filled with nothing but emptiness.

Mythroat tightened, andIpushedAlexander’shand away. “Letme go,Alexander.You’renot real.”

“Yes,Iam,Katrina.Thisis real.”Hereached for my hand again, butIpulled back. “Katrina, don’t let her win.Youwon.Youdefeated her.SleepyHollowis safe.”

Mywings of flame flared, stretching wide.Myhazy mind fed the sparks that flickered off my skin. “SleepyHollowis filled with people who hate me, with the ones who made me this way.AllIwanted was to be loved, to be accepted.AndallIgot for my troubles was pain.TheCiallmhardeserves to die.Iwill burn them to ashes.Thatwill save the town.”

“Youare better than them,Katrina.Don’tlet them win.”Hereached for my hand, taking hold of it inside the flames surrounding me. “Don’tlet her win.Callyour flames back.”

Thesmell of burning flesh penetrated my senses, stinging my nose.Myeyes snapped to the source, realizingIwas the cause of it.Iwas burningAlexander, even in his spirit form.Hisother glove had singed away, leaving only his bare flesh, and yet he still held his hand out to me, holding mine.Cryingout,Ipulled away, staggering back. “Iburned you.”

Hestill reached his hands out to me, his face calm despite the angry blisters across his skin. “Yes, you did.”

Athis confirmation, my fire died with an unsettlingwhoosh, leaving me standing before him, cold, naked, and completely at his mercy.Mychin wobbled as my vision blurred behind hot tears. “Whydid you let me burn you?Whyaren’t you afraid?”

Witha slight popping sensation in my ear, the purple haze around us faded, andAlexanderappeared in front of me, human and whole.Apuckered pink line stretched across his throat, but he was otherwise just the same as he was before.Myeyes tracked down to his hands, both peeling, blistered, and red on the palms, the backs, the fingers.Hisproximity to me had resulted in his shirt being scorched.I’dburned holes into the fabric, and the visible skin beneath was bright pink.

Ihad done that.Tohim.

Hestepped up, pulling me into his arms and tucking my head into his chest. “HowcouldIever be afraid of you,Katrina?Yousaved me.YoukilledDeathbecause of what she did to me.Icould never fear that.”

Thereality of allI’ddone—of allI’dwanted to do—rushed back at his words.Myanger at theCiallmharhadn’t faded, but my shame surfaced, quenching the anger slightly asIburied my face into his chest.Hisskin was soft and warm, and damp from my tears. “Ican’t go back there,Alexander.Notanymore.”

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