As I become aware of the world around me once more, I sense Mara calling my name. Begging me to just fucking open my eyes. And so, I do. I open my eyes, and as I do, feeling returns to my body. My body aches, throbbing like crazy. I feel nauseous, and I want to cry.
Someone's carrying me. I don't know who, and I can't seem to turn to see. I'm being carried bridal-style, and whoever is holding me is running through the streets of a city, early in the morning, the sun barely up.
My head pounds, and I start to cry. Annika's voice filters through the haze in my head, and I lift my gaze to hers. She looks down at me, worry clear on her tan face. Those pretty, blue-green eyes shine with tears, too.
Then, I remember what happened. We were attacked. Torin and Darius were killed. And I killed Magnus, too. Because he killed them.
"Torin," I whisper. "Darius...."
"Shh, shh," Scarth soothes to my left, her hand resting on my shoulder. "We gotta be quiet through here."
"Where are we? What's going on?" I ask.
"Wren, calm down," whispers Annika. "We are in the In-Between. A world between worlds. Where we met.... it's not safe anymore. For any of us. With Darius and Torin dead, we are next."
"But where are we going?" I ask.
"A place called the Aetherworld," Scarth replies. "It's another realm. A .... a different reality."
I look away from Annika, watching the multicolored lights that dance and swirl all around us. We are in a cylindrical kaleidoscope of colors. And Scarth, Annika, and I are fleeing my home. All I have ever known.
My overwhelming sadness hits a crescendo as we reach a door in the long, never-ending corridor we are in. My heart feels as though it is breaking, and Mara appears over Annika's shoulder. She looks at me, her panicked expression still there.
"You're hurt," she says. "It happened when Magnus died. Tell Annika that you're hurt, that Magnus cursed you when he died. Tell her that it's a Crūxa Curse."
The lights fade, and we step through a portal in the wall of the bright kaleidoscopic hallway.
And we step out into a snowy, silent world. It is daytime. The trees all around us are thick and heavy with snow. And snow falls from the sky, blanketing the ground. I do not shiver, despite the frigid feeling of the air.
"Are you okay?" Scarth asks me, turning to me, her dark hair plastered to her pale face.
"N - no," I stutter. I then tell them everything that Mara told me. Including that Mara told me that.
"Fuck," Annika says. "This is bad."
"We gotta get her to Azriel and Irokilia," says Scarth.
"Who are they?" I ask.
"A wraith, and a half-elf, half-witch who can help you," Annika replies. "Come on, Scarth. We gotta hurry."
She nods. "Let's do this, Anni."