Lowering my arm, I gazed around, shivering as the disembodied voice echoed from a cloudless sky. I stood at the edge of a sandy beach, white cliffs looming behind me, a red sun sinking into the waves and sparkling off the water.

Is that wise? Her mind is already under a lot of stress. We could do irreversible damage to her psyche if we go much faster.

As long as her memories are extracted, it won’t matter if her psyche is damaged. But the Elder Wyrm wants this done today. Dig deeper.

Anger and horror stabbed at me, and I turned in a circle, trying to pinpoint the voices that faded into the wind. Stop it, I tried telling them, though my voice was frozen inside me. Whatever you’re doing, whatever this is, please stop.

More voices caught my attention. I turned, discovering that the beach wasn’t empty. A few yards away, a group of six—three boys and three girls—clustered together at the water’s edge. I looked closer, squinting against the sun, and my heart jumped as I recognized them all. Lexi, Kristin...and I...stood talking to a trio of older college guys whose names I had mostly forgotten. One of them—Colin, I abruptly remembered—kept trying to put his arm around me, and I kept squirming away.

I drew in a slow breath as the memory became clear. This is Lone Rock Cove, I realized. And it’s...that evening. My heart turned over. The day I met...

I looked over, and Garret Xavier Sebastian walked past me, striding toward the group at the water’s edge.

Dread bloomed in my stomach. I was suddenly terrified, filled with a horror and desperation I’d never felt before, though I didn’t even know why. I only knew I had to stop this, keep him from reaching the group and setting those chain of events into motion.

Wait! I lunged after him, reaching for his arm. Garret, wait!

My fingers passed right through his body, and he continued toward the group in the distance, followed by Tristan. No, I thought in despair, hurrying after them. Garret, stop. Don’t go.

Her mind is retreating. She’s struggling to hold on to that memory. Increase the dosage and the current, now.

Sir, the procedure is at near max. Any more and we’re pushing the limits of what she can take.

Do it. This is a linchpin memory. Something significant happened to her on this day, that’s why she’s fighting so hard to keep it. Once we remove it, the others will become much easier to...what? Who are you? How the hell did you—no, stop!

Thunder boomed overhead, and everything fractured.

Chapter 28: GARRET

GARRET

“Ember!”