Think later, escape now. Bane rotated, scanning...scanning. No other exit presented itself. No matter. He popped the bones in his hands and peered at a rocky wall with spiked crystal protrusions, the need to reach Nola clawing at him. I’ll make a new exit.

CHAPTER SEVEN

One big (un)happy reunion

THE COUNTDOWN CLOCK had zeroed out, Nola’s twelve-hour window nothing but a fond memory. This marked day two without a pill, her withdrawal symptoms worsening every minute. The truly awful part? She felt as if the clock had reset, and she hurled toward something else—or someone. When the time came, she would crash.

In the meantime, her pain was excruciating and all consuming, with no end in sight. She writhed, pouring sweat, desperate to soothe her aching joints. Her blood pressure skyrocketed, her heart thudding against her ribs. A thousand times, she projectile-vomited...among other things.

One minute she was frozen to her core; the next, she was overheated. Her body shook constantly. Bursting into tears had become a regular occurrence, the physical, mental and emotional toll too much.

She would do anything for a respite; even contact Bane through their mental connection. But, though she’d reached out again and again, the jerk had gone radio silent. She’d attempted to teleport back to his cave, too...then to a hospital, then to anywhere but here. No luck.

How was she supposed to replicate an accident, anyway? Last time, she’d thought of Bane and boom, she’d been whisked into his presence. To get home, she’d panicked and moved away from him. Two different methods of operation.

Unless she hadn’t teleported to Bane originally? Maybe, after Zion’s abduction, her mind had broken, and she’d hallucinated the visit with Bane. Maybe she finally had a legit reason to blame a freaking delusion.

Lacking the strength to stand, Nola remained near the pond. Her new forever home and her future coffin—two for the price of one. Yay. Zion visited upon occasion, but mostly stayed away, warring like a pro. No matter how much she pressed, he refused to tell her anything about anything.

Where was Vale? How was Vale? And what had happened to Bane, the man who hated her for no reason? Had he truly lost a foot? Had he...died from blood loss?

Nola swallowed a sob. Bane was the only person she knew with firsthand knowledge of Adwaewethians and dragon shape-shifters. Maybe truth, maybe lies. No, after everything that had happened, everything she’d witnessed, she believed. Her mind wasn’t broken. She just didn’t know how to feel about everything. Excited? Frightened? Hopeful? Full of dread?

Could she shape-shift? Had she come to this planet before or after her birth? Had her parents been other-worlders, too? She had no memory of them.