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Back Seasons of Chaos
Chapters (70)
  1. Dedication
  2. Prologue
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. Epilogue
  66. Acknowledgments
  67. About the Author
  68. Books by Elle Cosimano
  69. Back Ad
  70. About the Publisher

His tone earns him a contemptuous smile.

In a flash of movement, he reaches for a leaf, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger. My right arm bends at an odd angle in response. I cry out, yanking my mind from the plant a second before the stem snaps.

Doug sits on the sofa across from me, twirling the broken leaf between his fingers. He sets down his glass with a sharp clink against the tabletop and stares at me with that horrible gleaming eye.

I leap for his glass and slam it against the table. It shatters with a deafening crash, and I back away from the sofa, clutching a thick, gleaming shard in my hand. I bolt for the door, braced for Doug to pounce, but he makes no attempt to stop me. The doorknob slips in my blood-slicked palm. I rattle it, but it’s locked, the security panel beside it blinking red. Whirling around, I search the room for another exit, but there’s no way out. Doug rises from the couch. He feints as I swing at him, grabbing my wrist as it flashes past his neck. The shard slips from my fingers as he wrenches my arm behind my back. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

“You’re an idiot if you think I’m going to make this easy for you. Why should I?” I snap. “You’re only going to kill me anyway.”

Doug yanks me toward the TV. He reaches for the remote with his free hand and turns the channel to the satellite feeds. An explosion of color bursts onto the screen. My eyes dart back and forth over the weather maps, my mouth falling open as I follow the path of the deadly storms spreading across Europe and Africa. News headlines cut across the bottom of the screen. Devastated cities. Trade routes interrupted. Markets in panic. The death tolls are staggering, and I turn away.

Doug hurls the remote across the room and spins me around by the arm, forcing me to look at him.

“This isn’t only about you and your boyfriend anymore. It never was, but you and Jack were too selfish to see it. Gaia’s magic is loose, and if I can’t control it, every living creature on this godforsaken planet is going to suffer and die. The destruction of the world will be on you!”

“You killed them!” I say, fighting back tears. “Everything was fine. Everything was better under Lyon and Gaia. You did this.”