Page 104 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

The branches above me that used to look like spindly hands reaching down to pluck me up are clearly twigs and leaves.

The shadows moving along the edges of my vision are gone.

It’s just me and the trail and running.

I pump my arms and breathe in deeply, breathing in the damp Texas air. It feels fresh. Clear.

Then, I turn the corner, and I see him.

Finn.

He is standing in the middle of the path, arms crossed over his chest, mouth tilted up in a confident smirk. He is standing there like he’s been waiting for me.

“Finn?”

“Finally,” he says, holding out a hand.

I don’t even hesitate. I reach for his hand, eager to touch him. He’smyFinn. Mine. And no matter what has happened in the past, I can see our future together, and it’s bright.

Finn has some issues, but hell, I have more than my share, too. We can work through them together, fix them together. He can teach me to be strong, and I can teach him to be weak. We can balance each other out and make it together.

And I can tell him all of that as soon as I grab his hand.

Finn’s fingers close around mine, but they are ice cold. Immediately, a chill moves through my body, sending shivers down my spine. The warmth from the air is vanishing.

“Finn?”

When I look up again, his blue eyes are pitch-black. He spins me towards him so my back is against his chest and grabs the lock necklace resting against my collarbone. With a single tug, he shatters the chain links and tears it from my neck.

“Why are you doing this? What is happening?”

“Nothing,” he breathes in my ear. “It already happened.”

I don’t know what he means, but he pushes me forward into the foliage.

When I break through, I’m standing in the clearing along the trail.

Except, it’s just like it was that night months ago.

The girl is on the table. Nico Barber is standing over her, a sadistic smile on his face.

Except this time, I see them all standing with him. The people I just spent the evening with. The people I thought were my friends.

J.C., Viktor, Noah, and Caleb.

And Finn.

They were all there that night.

I open my mouth to scream, but nothing comes out.

* * *

When I wake up, I’m lying in the middle of the bed, legs stretched out to either side.

And I’m alone.

I roll over to look for Finn, hoping for his comforting presence to help me make sense of everything, but the room is empty.

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