Page 66 of Nightmare Island

“Come again?”

“This island?” His laugh rumbles through his chest. “It used to belong to the fae before wolves came and slaughtered them all. Left their magic behind, though. That pond up ahead where we’re going is the most powerful spot on the whole damn island.”

Fuck, he can talk. Sure he’s not an Omega in hiding?

I ignore him, watching rain drip from Ghost’s jaw.

“What happened in the challenge?” I ask.

“We both fell in during the fight. Killed each other right there in those waters.” His arms tighten around me. “That’s how I got these—” He jerks his chin toward his scarred eye. “Before the spirits could take us completely, the pack dragged us out and revived us. But we came back… different. Both seeing shit that should stay dead.”

The path grows steeper, rocks slick with moss and rain. Ghost navigates them like he’s done this a thousand times, never loosening his grip on me.

“You actually died,” I murmur, the words feeling strange on my tongue. “That’s got to fuck with your head.”

“Don’t remember much. Just darkness, then waking up feeling wrong. Like something got in my head while I was gone.” He kisses my forehead. “Think you can walk from here? Ground gets tricky in this area.”

“For sure. I can manage. Thanks.”

He sets me down but keeps an arm around my waist. “Prefer you close where I can’t lose you.” His voice drops lower. “Fair warning… what you’re about to see? It’s not natural. Try not to freak out.”

“My freak-out meter is pretty much maxed out.”

We round a sharp corner, stepping onto a narrow ledge, and I freeze. The scene before us can’t be real. A vast pond spreads out in a perfect semicircle, bordered by jagged rocks. But that’s not the impossible part.

The rock face that forms the back wall bears an enormous skull, easily the size of a house. Water pours from its eye sockets like endless tears, creating twin waterfalls that feed the pond below. The bone-white stone seems to glow with its own light, casting everything in an eerie pale sheen.

“Please tell me I’m hallucinating this.” I gasp at the sight.

Ghost leads me closer to the water’s edge, his grip firm as we pick our way over slick rocks. That’s when I see white shapes swirling beneath the surface like smoke underwater. Faces form and dissolve, hollow black eyes staring up, reaching with ghostly hands that dissipate just as quickly.

“Zeus!” I step back, but Ghost holds me firm.

“The Gravewater pool,” he says grimly. “Jarl’s dead. The water is where the dead on this island go, so it should pull him out naturally.”

Fuck that! I’m not leaving until you’re dead with me,Jarl hisses.

“Well,” I say, lifting my chin and stepping forward. “Guess it’s time for an official divorce, asshole.”

Ghost’s lips twitch despite the tension. “I’m right here. Won’t let anything else happen to you.”

I step onto a submerged ledge, the water icy against my legs.

He watches the spirits swarm toward me.

The deep, freezing touch hits first—not normal cold water, but something that seeps straight into my bones. White tendrils wrap around my calves like silk scarves, but when I try to move, they hold firm. My heart beats against my ribs as they pull, and?—

Something’s wrong.

The cold spreads through my chest like frost, crawling up my throat. I’m being pushed back into my own head, trapped behind my eyes like I’m watching through a window. Everything goes dark except for a small square of vision.

Panic wraps around me, and I’m fighting to move my legs again, to get out.

Fuck yes, you little bitch. Jarl’s voice booms through what used to be my head.Now I control you. Now you get to watch while I destroy everything you love.

Horror floods through me as I realize the truth. The water didn’t pull him out.

It pushed me in.

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