Chapter 18

Aurora’s POV

A sharp, throbbing pain radiates through my head, like a hammer pounding against my skull. My eyes flutter open slowly, and I find myself in a nauseatingly filthy truck, bouncing and rattling over rough terrain. I take in the surroundings—the truck bed filled with grimy tarps and bit’s of hay, as if it’s been used to transport livestock. A disgusted groan escapes me.

“Oh, great,” I mutter, forcing myself to sit up. I reach up to grab my purse, which has somehow stayed hooked on a corner of the truck bed. Digging through it, I fumble for my phone, dread pooling in my stomach as memories of the night before start filtering back. I’d tried to outwit Elena, slipping something into her drink to give her a taste of her own medicine. But now, somehow, it’s all turned against me.

Finally, I hit call. When Desmond’s smug voice answers, I nearly shout, my patience frayed. “Desmond! What in the world did you do to me?!”

There’s a pause, then his calm