Page 349 of Psycho Gods

I rolled my eyes at their antics.

A pang twisted my heart.

Last night was the first night in months that I hadn’t slept beside all of them. The nightmares had been the worst sort—memories. I’d woken up heaving in the dark, patting at my arms.

I shivered as I remembered the feeling of being lit on fire for hours.

Eleven, twenty-two, thirty-three, forty-four, fifty-five. The repetition calmed me down.

I was secretly grateful Scorpius had broken the rules.

Already, the tense, achy feeling in my joints from a sleepless night was receding.

Meandering around the room, I picked up the thousand-year-old engraved, enchanted wood champagne bottle Corvus had gifted to me.

The wood reminded me of my pipe. I’d discarded it in a drawer forever ago.

There was a time where I smoked every minute of every day.

It had been my crutch for so many awful months.

When I thought about the pipe, I thought about the infected screaming in my face as I gutted them, chasing monsters down dark mazelike corridors, convinced I’d never find my way out.

Never again.

When I’d first put the pipe away, the compulsion to smoke had made my tongue itch for days. I’d suffered night sweats and choked at random times.

But I hadn’t given in to the urges.

Now months had passed, and the cravings were gone.

Never again, I repeated. The lungs held memory, and if the pipe was between my lips, then I wasn’t living in the present; I’d be trapped by my past, coping in desperate ways.

It had served its purpose, and I’d survived.

It was time to move forward.

I popped the top off the champagne, brought the bottle to my lips, and chugged the sweet, bubbly liquid.

I’d stick to imbibing heavily on special occasions.

Instantly, the world mellowed.

A whispering melody started to play. I stared down at the enchanted bottle in awe and chugged some more.

The music was rich and melodious.

I felt like I was flying.

All worry drifted away, and I fingered the outfit I’d had custom designed for today.

Everything’s going to be all right.

Hours later, I walked down a makeshift flower aisle that led to the pond on the estate.

The sun was setting and cast the cloudless sky in streaks of gorgeous pink.

It was a deliciously warm day with a slight breeze, but snow flurried overhead and drifted around us magically. I tipped my head back and smiled as I unleashed my powers.