“Careful,” the woman said with a gentle smile. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

She could speak! My mind was numb.

The woman took a step toward me. I lifted my arm as if to ward her off. “Please,” I begged. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“I would never hurt you, Grace.”

She knew my name.

“I know many things,” she said.

I didn’t remember speaking out loud, but she’d spoken as if I had. I forced myself to take deeper breaths. I’d never heard of or seen such a creature. Was she a Fury disguised as a woman?

“Personally, I never much liked the term Fury,” she said. “But I can assure you I’m not what you think.”

Again, I hadn’t spoken and yet she’d known what I was thinking. How?

“Do you really need me to answer that question?” she asked.

I opened my mouth in wonder. Shook my head. No. My body was still trembling. I couldn’t process what was happening.

A terrible cry, pained and full of terror, echoed through the night, and I knew immediately the wail belonged to Jamie. I jerked my head in the direction of the sound as another scream ripped through the air, followed by a thunderous roar.

Fury! More Fury!

I had to save him! I had to find Jamie!

“That’s not a good idea,” the woman said.

Jamie’s distant screeching tore a hole through my heart. What were they doing to him? I couldn’t just stand there.

“I can protect you,” she said.

“I can’t just leave him,” I managed to whisper.

“You have to,” she said, and took a couple steps toward me.

“They’ll kill him.”

“They’ll kill you.”

She was only a couple feet from me now. The dancing fire illuminated a beautiful face. Her eyes were clear and confident.

“If you want to live, come with me,” she said.

Hearing a Fury offer me life filled me with confusion. How could that be? She was lying to me, she had to be.

More cries flew overhead, cutting off my words. Suddenly she had closed the distance between us and held my wrist in a firm grasp.

“Remember, we run away from the cliff, not toward it, Grace. Fear keeps us safe.”

The familiar words snapped me out of my confusion. She was speaking truth. Rushing after Jamie would get me killed. Would staying with her also get me killed? Maybe she was an angel. Or a Fury deceiving me.

“I would never hurt you,” she said. “I can keep you safe, but to do so, I need your permission. Let me protect you.”

A chorus of low growls pricked my ears, and I knew two things: first, there was more than one Fury out there; second, they were closing in. My brother’s cries had stopped.