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CHAPTER 1

DEEP BREATH, MERCY. You’ve been in far worse situations than this. If you can relax, you’ll be able to muster an idea of how to get out of this fucked up situation.

“Focus,” I muttered to myself. “Just focus.”

I sucked in a deep breath and slowly released it, hoping that would slow down my heart rate. Each breath I released burned my dry mouth. I assumed I’d been six feet under for at least two to three hours. I was unsure how long it would take for me to consume all the oxygen, but I couldn’t imagine it being much longer than this. The air was thick within the wooden coffin, and it became harder to breathe with each passing moment.

It’s not like I could die, but being buried in a wooden box for eternity would be worse than death.

I hadn’t died and come back yet since I had become immortal. Though I wondered how that would play out. Would I pass out, open my eyes again, pass out, wake up, and repeat that again and again until I lost my mind?

My muscles quivered in anger just thinking about the two vampires who had put me down, but I also cursed myself for being such an idiot. I should’ve been paying better attention to my surroundings.

Fuck!

It wasn’t about getting out of this situation so I didn’t suffer … it was about getting out so I could makethemsuffer. Very, very slowly.

Come on, guys. Where the hell are you?

I looked around the wooden coffin those assholes had forced me into after they’d injected me with God only knew what, which had crippled my powers. Once the drug had worn off, I’d opened my eyes to this nightmare—they had buried me alive.

This was going to happen, eventually. The vampires knew it was the only way to stop me, so long as we hid the dagger from their grasp. They had to put me six feet under, literally.

I held my palm open so that I could use my powers to light up the walls around me. I could barely raise my head before knocking into the lid of the coffin.

Man, it’s fucking hot in here.

Sweat dripped down my forehead, and the taste of salt consumed my senses as it touched my lips and entered my mouth. I rubbed the sweat off my lips with my other hand and looked around the tiny and cramped space. The earth was slowly seeping through the cracks every time I shifted my body.

This wasn’t one of those fancy metal caskets stuffed with the white cushion padding they use at most burials today. This was a tattered, wooden coffin that looked like it came straight out of the Dark Ages. The wood had split into several places, and I feared the entire thing would crumble on top of me if I so much as sneezed.

I placed my hands on the top of the lid and applied some pressure. When I pushed, even slightly, the wood cracked, causing the dirt to seep through again.

I couldn’t use my powers at full strength; it would have only caused the ground above to crush me, then I’d die of suffocation repeatedly for eternity.

Now, that would be worse than passing out.

Slowly, the earth fell through the crack near my chest, the dirt and small round pebbles seeping through.

Oh, shit! That’s it!I beamed.

Earth.

Ezra’s element.

Bingo! I can send a pulse through Earth to contact Ezra and share my location.

Without skipping a beat, the tip of my finger reached for the earth. I pressed my index finger deep into the soil through a small crack above my chest. I focused on Ezra and his energy. Hewasthe ground we walked on. He’d feel it.

It wasn’t as if I couldn’t harness that power, but if I could connect my magic with his, I might be able to break through without crushing my body to a bloody pulp.

“Ezra, I’m right here,” I whispered quietly. “Where are you guys?”

My pulse pounded faster when I closed my eyes and brought myself into a state of meditation, helping me focus on what I needed to.

This has to work.

I kept my finger on the soil for what felt like hours, but time seemed to move differently inside the little box, or the lack of oxygen messed with my head. I sent a stronger pulse of magic through the dirt. I was met with a loud cracking sound, and the wooden lid groaned.

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