Page 65 of Crown of the Mist

My legs give out. The mist catches me before I hit the ground, but Jace is there too, his hands hovering near but not touching as I slide down the wall.

"I've got you," he murmurs, and for once I don't have the strength to pull away. "You're safe. We've got you."

But I'm not safe. I'll never be safe. The power that surged through me moments ago leaves me hollow, drained. I stare at my hands, still expecting to see frost or silver light or something to explain what just happened.

"The mist," I whisper, my voice raw. "It wasn't just... it was me. I did that."

"We know," Theo says quietly, crouching beside us. His calculated calm cracks slightly as he looks at the bruises forming on my throat. "We've always known there was something different about the way it responds to you."

"Different?" A hysterical laugh bubbles up. "I nearly froze him solid. I'm a freak. A monster. Just like he-"

"Stop." Jace's voice carries an edge I've never heard before. "You're not a freak. You're not a monster. You're..."

He trails off, and something flickers across his face - confusion, recognition, gone too fast to read. The mist drifts between us, gentler now but still active, still mine in a way I can't deny anymore.

"We need to get her out of here," Theo says, his tone shifting back to analytical. "Before someone comes looking."

"My shift," I start, but Jace shakes his head.

"Sarah's already covering for you. Called in a family emergency." His lips twist. "Technically not even a lie."

Family. The word hits harder than it should. Phil's voice echoes in my head:Your father will be pleased...

"I can't go back there," I whisper, and they bothknow I don't mean the house. I mean everything - the life I had, the person I thought I was. "I don't even know what I am anymore."

"You're Bree," Jace says firmly. "You're ours. The rest... the rest we figure out together."

The mist curls around all three of us now, and for a moment - just a breath - I swear I see something in Jace's eyes. The way he looks at me like I’m more than I know. It doesn’t take away the fear, but it calms it for at least a few moments.

41. Gray

My phone buzzes against the dash. Theo's name lights up the screen, and something in my chest goes cold before I even answer.

"We're coming," is all he says. His voice carries that careful control that means everything's wrong. "Pull up front."

I'm already moving before he hangs up, the truck's engine roaring to life. Three days of watching, of waiting, and still we weren't fast enough. My knuckles whiten on the steering wheel as I swing around to the entrance.

The sight of Bree cradled in Jace's arms makes my blood run cold. She looks small, fragile in a way she'd hate if she was conscious to notice. Frost clings to her scrubs, delicate patterns that shouldn't be possible in this heat.

Theo opens the back door before I can move, helping Jace maneuver her inside. "Home," hesays quietly, and I catch the weight in that single word. Not her apartment. Home.

"What happened?" I ask as we pull away, watching them in the rearview. Bree's head rests in Jace's lap, his fingers hovering near but not touching, like he's afraid she'll shatter.

"Phil." Theo's voice carries barely controlled rage. "He was waiting. But Gray..." He pauses, choosing his words carefully. "The mist. It wasn't just reacting this time. She controlled it."

"Controlled it?"

"Phil was on the ground when we got there," Jace says, his voice rough. "Ice everywhere. The mist—I've never seen it like that before. And his eyes..." He trails off, something flickering across his face that looks almost like recognition.

"Silver," Theo finishes. "Inhuman. He wasn't surprised either." He hesitates, glancing at Jace. "You said he mentioned something about a binding breaking?"

Jace nods, his jaw tight. "Yeah. Like it was inevitable. Like he’d been waiting for it."

A heavy silence settles between us, the weight of those words pressing down like a storm on the horizon.

My grip tightens on the wheel as pieces click into place. The mist's increasing activity. The wayPhil's been watching her. Her father's shadow lurking behind everything.

"The others?" I ask.