Essence of the Angels (The Starlight Chronicles #2)

Epilogue

The girl gasped, shooting straight up from the cold ground. All around her, a familiar, blinding light made her squint, and she raised an arm to block some of the light. Blinking slowly, her eyes began to adjust to her bright surroundings. She was alone in that seemingly endless stretch of light, surrounded by intermittent colorful rays.

Where am I? What happened?

She looked down at her pink gown, noting the white mark on her chest and the red splotches covering her skin, and slowly her memory came back to her.

"Oh my God," she whispered in horror, scrambling to her feet. She looked around in desperation, trying to figure out where she was, how to get out of here. But it seemed to lead nowhere . . . and she seemed to be nowhere.

A voice echoed faintly in the distance suddenly, and she strained to listen—to figure out where it was coming from.

"She will become one of us," the voice said gently.

"Now that we have separated her from her entourage, the magic residing in her veins makes her ours to control."

Control? She thought, anxiety flooding through her veins. The clear, loud sound of footsteps made her jump. She spun, looking for the source, but saw nothing.

"Who's there?" she demanded, feeling very alone and afraid all the sudden. She tried to bring up her shield, but that didn't work here. She was on her own. "What is this place? Show yourself!"

The figure finally emerged from a distant mist, looking just as surprised as she felt upon seeing them. This couldn't be happening.

"Not you," she whispered. "Oh God, I must be dead."

The man approaching her chuckled and shook his head at her.

"Well, well—this is a surprise," he replied. "I can assure you, you're not dead, Maisfer. You're as close as you'll ever get to death while Titania is alive."

She shook her head. "Stay away from me, Kale," she insisted, backing up. "I mean it. If . . . if I'm not dead . . . how are you even here?"

He ignored her request, stepping even closer.

"Think of this place as a plane between life and death," he suggested, with a wave of his hand. "It looks like Titania has plans in store for you. Until then, I guess we'll get to hang out here together for a while."

He grinned at her, clasping his hands together, and she grew pale. "So, catch me up—how's my sister?"