Page 28 of Not Her Day to Die (Star-Crossed #2)

S omething has happened.

I am still in the locker room; no one has yet returned for me. My hand is wrapped tightly around the key. The white thread tangling us together. I had tried to set it back down, but I physically couldn’t.

Now that it is in my hand, it is here to stay.

And instinctively I know that I have to follow through with this. That I will need to ignore my crippling anxiety, the dread that slithers and crawls across my skin, the fear that sours my stomach.

My ear is pressed to the door that leads outside this room. Earlier, there was a guard stationed there, evidenced by only his heavy breathing, but now, there’s a commotion.

Stomping, yelling, sirens. Chaos.

And in the middle of it, my guard left.

He still hasn’t returned.

I hold my breath and wait. And wait. And wait.

I do not allow myself to think about Darius. About what we were forced to do. About the look in his eyes as he thrust into me for the first time.

The regret.

But I understand. He waited one hundred lifetimes to give me a choice. To choose him with the knowledge of all the loops and everything that occurred. But then that choice was taken from us both.

Stolen .

More time passes, and there is only silence. My guard still has not returned, so I use my free hand to jiggle the knob on the door.

It’s locked.

Next, I attempt to use the master key that is attached to me.

It works.

My heart pounds as I slowly, carefully twist the knob. Peeking my head out the door, I cast my attention left and right.

Empty.

Everyone is gone.

I don’t have time to truly think over what is happening, I need to move. Now .

And I know exactly where I need to go.

There are four pulsating purple strands that begin at my chest. Three are my men.

Two overlap and lead up and away in the direction I imagine the O’Brien’s house to be. One goes further behind me.

But the fourth? It is yanking me, tugging me, grabbing hold of my entire body, and physically thrusting me towards it.

As if it knows it’s time for me to reunite with whoever is at the end.

It reminds me of when I chased after Julia…to an extent. But there isn’t any apprehension.

As if where it will take me is exactly where I am meant to end up.

I circle around the dark hallway, back up the metal stairs to where the horseshoe shaped room was.

I am on alert, my entire body on edge, but everyone is gone.

The rooms that wrap around the area are now all completely see-through and noticeably empty.

But there is evidence left inside. Crumpled sheets, drops of blood, discarded clothes.

They must have left recently.

And in a hurry .

When I look down in the center of the space, I can see The Play House . The stage where Darius and I were forced together. It too is empty; there isn’t another disgusting show.

Where is everyone?

My heart pounds into my throat. It is choking me. It is propelling me forward.

It is warning me.

But every movement I take towards the purple shimmering light is as if a weight is lifting off my shoulders.

For so long I was being crushed into the ground below and I didn’t even know it. But now it is as if I am floating, each step lighter than the last.

Stepping into the hallway lined with doors, my vision blurs. It splices.

Déjà vu hits me in the face.

But I haven’t been here before. The brothers never mentioned a death where they found me in this nightmare.

Surely they would have.

But what if…

What if I have been here before?

As soon as the thought manifests, it blooms.

My memory is percolating through. And I want nothing more than to stop it.

Pushing as much of the uneasiness down, I turn to the first door. To the one that the thread leads inside to.

This time I don’t bother to twist it before using the key.

Slipping it into my empty pocket, I am not shocked when the handle twists for me.

But I am stunned to find the most unexpected person on the other side.