GRACE:

  I tugged at my too-short skirt, embarrassed at my desperate attempt to keep Feraz’s attention. Jackie was right. He was using me to get the serum my father created to cure my mother. Why hadn’t I seen it before? Why would I let him test an experimental new drug on me? Feraz said my father’s research unveiled the key to immortality, but it clearly didn’t work because my mom was dead. It miraculously allowed Feraz to rebirth, but at what cost to me?

  “You’re such an idiot,” I told myself.

  My self-esteem was in the gutter, but this had to be salvageable, right? My father could usually fix any mistake I made, but he would be furious to hear what trouble I got into this time. No, the solution should come from me to keep my secret safe and my relationship with Father intact.

  “Whatever. I’m going to the hot springs by myself to think. I don’t need them.” I left the safety of Camp Claudi, my bag packed with a towel and sunscreen.

  I coughed from the thick, smokey air. Bennu birds called in the distance, but fear wouldn’t get the best of me. Not this time. The mystery of the island drew me in.

  Trudging through the forest, my new sneakers got stuck in a pile of mud.

  “This place is the worst!”

  It was enough to bring my tears back, but only for a minute. Confusion replaced sadness when I hit a fork in the road. Which way was the hot springs? I hadn’t been back to this dreadful place since Mother died…

  I blindly chose a path, needing the walk more than the destination. The path not taken beckoned me, but I continued onward.

  I came across a cave covered in soot. It looked like a bomb went off. What happened here? Exploring seemed like a good distraction from my problems, so I peeked inside.

  Big mistake. A massive Bennu bird lay near the entrance. It woke up and stared me down, puffs of breath exploding from its angry nostrils. Its low growl rattled my bones.

  Screaming was my first defense. I fell backward, then got up and ran like hell. Breaking up with Feraz was now the least of my worries. This was life or death.

  The Bennu bird flew out of the cave with a blood curdling roar that triggered all my tears. There were so many things in life I still wanted to do; get married, have kids, run the Institute, travel the world. Maybe I didn’t deserve to live after everything I’d done.

  That scary creature swooped down to grab me with its sharp claws. My time was up.

  I fell to the ground, grabbed a massive rock, and hurled it at the creature. It recoiled enough for me to get up and run, but it was even angrier. The hungry Bennu bird nipped at my heels.

  “Over here,” a voice called from a burrow covered in jungle vegetation.

  I followed the instruction blindly and ran toward the mysterious voice. The vegetation covered a hole in the ground, and I tumbled down several feet before crashing into a large tree root.

  “Ah! My head… But at least I’m alive!” Thankful for the secret passage, I wondered who summoned me.

  The Bennu bird called out from the top of the hill, furious it lost dinner.

  I sighed with relief, but it was short lived. A thorny bush scraped my leg as I stood.

  “Geez! I can’t win today.”

  “Take my hand,” the voice said.

  I looked up and saw a local boy with his arm outstretched. I grabbed onto his hand. He pulled me out of the thicket.

  “Thanks. Hey, you look familiar. What’s your name again?”

  “Zayne.” He pointed at himself.

  He was shirtless, showing off his lean muscles. Tan with shaggy black hair, he lifted his dark eyes to meet mine. We shared an insta-connection, a spark, as if I’d been searching for him my whole life.

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  I smiled. “Nice to meet you, Zayne.”

  “We met.”

  Of course I recalled meeting him last summer. My mother introduced us right before she died. I just wanted to see if he remembered me. I’m glad he did.

  Zayne ripped the bottom of his already tattered pants. He wrapped the fabric around my bleeding cut.

  “Oh yeah, we did meet. That summer was a bit of a blur, to be honest. My mom died…” I wished I hadn’t said that.

  “Sorry… Grace.”

  The fact that he remembered my name sent my heart fluttering. It was hard to hide my smile.

  “Thanks. Zayne is a super cool name.”

  “Cool?” The slang was lost in translation.

  I laughed. “It’s a compliment. Want to go to the hot springs with me?” A vague fantasy of making Feraz jealous played through my mind.

  Zayne ignored my request and walked away, so I followed.

  “Hey, where are you going?”

  He pointed at me, then toward Camp Claudi. “You… home. Not safe.”

  I playfully tucked my arm around his. “I clearly need your protection, but I’m not ready to go back yet. Show me around? It must be so relaxing to live on island time.”

  A large Bennu bird flew overhead. Zayne pointed at it and said, “My shadow says yes. Go to the complex.”

  “That’s your shadow?”

  Zayne nodded.

  “Okay… If you say so.”

  He grunted affirmative.

  We took a left turn and walked in silence until I couldn’t bare it anymore. What did this boy think of me? I rambled nervously to find out.

  “You’re a man of few words, huh? What’s it like living on Bennu Island? Are you used to the bugs? I hate the bugs. And it’s so hot! Not to mention the evil birds. I literally would have died if you hadn’t saved me. Why did you call that bird your shadow? Is it your pet?”

  Zayne smiled and shrugged his broad shoulders, drawing my attention to his chiseled chest and abs. He was very attractive. Too bad I was so preoccupied when we first met. Maybe things could be different if I had dated him instead of getting caught up with Feraz.

  Yeah right, like Father would approve of me dating a villager from Bennu. I couldn’t disappoint him like that, especially after losing Mother so recently.

  “What is your life, Grace?” Zayne asked in stilted English.

  I tucked my hair behind my ear to hide my smile. Feraz never asked me questions about myself. Instead, he’d criticize and critique.

  “I know a lot of girls at school are jealous, but… things have been tough ever since my mother died. Father was gutted. Nothing is the same.”

  “Sorry. I like your mother. She released me.”

  “Released you? From what?”

  Zayne hopped over a large tree trunk in the forest path. Now ahead of me, I saw a deep scar running down his back.

  “What happened?” I touched his scar.

  He snapped around, causing me to retract my hands.

  “I lost my shadow.”

  I looked into his deep eyes, desperate to know him. He was such a mystery, but he felt safe.

  “You lost your shadow? Did your pet do that to you? Maybe those wild birds shouldn’t be domesticated.”

  I gave him my hand to help me over the tree. Zayne leapt to action, attentive to my needs. Something else I wasn’t getting from Feraz.

  “Come, Grace.”

  Zayne jutted to the left. I followed him to our unknown destination through the forest.

  He stopped at a stream to splash water on his face. Water trickled down his sculpted chest. He splashed me, and I screamed with delight. I splashed back, and we chased each other through the brook. It was exhilarating, a glimmer that life could still turn out. Exactly what I needed.

  He grabbed my hand, and a spark jolted through my body. Zayne valiantly led me through a field of flowers. He picked a bloom and tucked it behind my ear.

  Our chemistry was magnetic. I pounced on him like a tiger out of its cage and planted a passionate kiss on his supple lips.

  I don’t know what came over me, but the attraction was mutual. Zayne kissed me back. We rolled around in the meadow, ravenous for each other.

  He bit my lip and pulled away, leaving me wanting more.

  “Heat,” he said.

  I leaned in. “Yeah, you are so hot.”

  Zayne laughed and shook his head. “No, I feel… your heat.”

  My body flushed. “I feel it, too.”

  He stood up, choosing his words carefully. “I feel… it… inside.”

  He pointed at me. Then Zayne flexed his muscles. The blood in his veins glowed radioactive underneath his tight skin.

  “Heat.”

  I stood up and put my hand on his bare chest to feel the strength of his heartbeat. Its rhythm made me want him more. Why hadn’t I explored this sooner?

  Zayne flexed harder, and his veins lit on fire. “Indestructible. You have?”

  I didn’t quite know what he meant.

  He untied the fabric around my leg. My cut had already healed perfectly. How could he know about the side effects of my addiction? Did he have access to the drug too? I’m ashamed to admit my excitement at the idea we could shoot up together.

  “Heat,” I repeated with eyes closed. I manifested a tiny fireball in my hand to show off a little. Would he think my powers made me a freak or would he be attracted to my unique abilities?

  Zayne blew out my flames. “Bennu on fire enough today.”

  I nodded with doe eyes, desperate to kiss him again.

  A Bennu bird flew overhead and let out a screech.

  I took the opportunity to saddle up close to Zayne. “You’ll keep me safe, won’t you?”

  Zayne looked at the sky and whispered something about a fire storm. He grabbed my hand and led me back toward where we came.

  “Where are you taking me?” I asked.

  “Complex.”

  “I’m not ready to go back…”

  I grabbed Zayne by the waist and kissed him, not wanting to miss my chance. He kissed me back, but was the first to pull away.

  Zayne looked at me, dead serious. “Grace. Complex. You must. Me and my shadow. We will protect you.”

  “We? What do I need protection from? Zayne, what’s happening?”

  “Finem maluma. Evil lives here.”

  I gasped, terrified of what was to come on this ghastly island!

  Who do you think Grace will ultimately choose?