Page 114 of Owned

Afraid?

Was it Valen? Or something else?

What if the woodswerefull of monsters?

My classmates at Messana Academy had talked about it. About children going missing—

Not helpful.

The end of the garden was just between the topiary creatures.

And the wall.

Its ivy-clad surface moved gently in a wind I couldn’t feel and I swallowed hard as the dreams rushed back into my mind.

“Your stepbrothers… These nightmares… They’re the ones who did it to you. They violated your dreams…”The grimoire’s voice was a persistent slither. A viper of doubt.

“Stop it,” I whispered.

“They’re lying to you,”the dark chorus of whispers insisted.

“They can’t,” I said through clenched teeth. “The bond—”

“If you’re sure…”

A sharp-toothed smile seemed to accompany those words.

The ivy seemed to writhe as I stared at it.

A trick of the light. It had to be.

I shook my head and looked desperately for the gate.

It had to be here—

A soft metallic creak tugged a breath from my throat that could have been a sob.

Hope flared in my chest and I rushed toward it. I gave the ivy a wide berth, just in case… I still didn’t trust those glossy dark leaves.

The moon glinted off the wrought-iron gate, and I pushed it open a little wider to allow me to squeeze through. It fought against me, and there was barely enough room for me to slide through.

It was the same.

All of it.

I wrapped my hand around the wrought iron and pushed, grimacing as the sharp metal bit onto my fingers. The stone scraped against my back and I gritted my teeth against the familiar sting of pain as I pushed through.

The metallic tang in my mouth was familiar now and I swallowed hard as I freed myself from the gate and stumbled out on the other side of the stone wall.

I spat on the grass to get the strangeness of it off my tongue, but it lingered and I wiped my sleeve across my lips.

The motion reminded me of the pain in my hand. My fingers throbbed and this time I looked down to inspect it.

My fingers were dark with blood that looked black in the moonlight.

Slippery.

But I was out.

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