It had to.
I watched, helpless, as Ryder’s lips formed my name. I could almost hear his voice. My own scream filled the red room. Clutching the sides of my head, I struggled against the tug of the ritual arcana.
This was to be my future if Alvin succeeded. I would spend the rest of my days in this red room, watching Alvin order me around like a puppet on a string. The possible future unfolded before me. Alvin no longer had an heir. He would need a new one since I’d killed Harvey. I shuddered to think of how he might do that.
Alvin wanted power. Why not make more shifters like myself?
I screamed once again. This time, I heard it ring out distantly. My head snapped up just in time to watch confusion flicker across Ryder’s face. Hope flared bright in my chest, lifting me up.
That scream had made its way out of my body. That meant I might be able to talk.
“Ryder?” I asked. “Ryder, can you hear me? I’m so sorry. I’m doing everything I can to stop him, but he has a hold over me.”
Ryder’s countenance didn’t change. My stomach dropped again. The hope that had lifted me up flickered and died out.
I wasn’t going to give up that easy, though. Alvin could not have possession of me. I wouldn’t allow it. This was my body. My arcana might be new, but it belonged to me. I wouldn’t sit idly by and let Alvin use any part of me.
Once again fighting the ritual arcana’s pull, I staggered to my feet. The arcana tugged me down, making me shake with the effort it took to stay upright.
“Hey, Alvin! You can go fuck yourself.”
I didn’t know if he could hear me or if the communications were a one-way lane. Either way, it felt good to say.
I pushed with my thoughts, imagining my body expanding to fill the form that Alvin was controlling. I pressed outward, pushing against the red walls of this prison inside my mind. The ritual arcana writhed against my skin, but I shoved it out of the way. I pushed and pushed until the walls broke.
Sucking in a breath, I did a little dance of victory. That wasn’t enough though, because my real body didn’t move. However, I could feel things again. I felt the brush of my hair against my neck and the scrape of the rug against the soles of my feet when I shuffled forward.
“Ness?” Ryder asked.
I could hear!
“This isn’t you,” Ryder said. “Wake up. Come back to me.”
The way his voice cracked nearly broke me. I shoved forward because I wanted to wrap my arms around him in reassurance. My body didn’t respond, though. She kept shuffling toward him.
When her lips parted, I frantically searched for the ice that had been in my chest. It was still there, but a crack had split it open. Panicked, I quickly tried to push it closed. I tried to use my force of will to press in around it, but the ice wouldn’t budge.
Hey, death? Are you there? Could you give me a little more power? I know I’ve been kind of shying away from you, but I could really use a hand right now. I’ll do whatever you want. All you have to do is ask.
And, you know, give me a hand here.
There was no response. The chill presence of death didn’t swoop in. I took that as a good sign, actually. That meant Ryder wouldn’t die tonight.
Right?
If death never came, then Ryder would survive?
But my lips parted. I could feel the vibration of my voice, my own arcana mingled with it as Alvin pulled it out from beneath the ice like thread on a spool. I fumbled for it, trying to pull my arcana back. It was too late.
Muted, as if I were underwater, I heard myself speak. “Kneel.”
Oh, you dumb bitch, I thought to myself.You’re going to regret this.
Ryder’s face twisted with frustration, his upper lip curling while he fought my compulsion. His knees buckled, though. He dropped to the ground with a loud thud that I could feel even trapped inside here.
Anger roiled inside me. It writhed like smoke on dry ice. I pushed harder and harder. The sounds of the world pulsed in my ears. There was a barrier between myself and my body that dulled everything. I slammed my fists against it and felt it shudder with each blow. Eventually, I would break through.
There wasn’t anyone who could keep me from Ryder.