A vision hit me fast.

I stood in the courtyard outside my room of the Institute. Guards lay on the ground all around me. Star was at my side. What was wrong with the guards? Why weren’t they moving? I was afraid of the answer and what had left them in such a state.

I grabbed her hand, weaved through the manicured hedges, flowering bushes, and stone benches, and followed the pathway to the gatehouse.

We ran straight out of Diamond Towers and into a rocky alcove, never looking over our shoulders. Fear and adrenaline pumped in my chest, but we kept going. Star stumbled, and I knew I was pushing her to her limits. She hadn’t trained as I had. Her body didn’t have my stamina, but I wanted to put as much distance between the white city and us as our bodies would allow.

Star was so scared that her fingers trembled underneath mine. It had taken all of her courage to go through with what we had planned, but there was no other way. We had to take the risk. No regrets, no matter the outcome—success or failure. I had promised Star my protection, and that included from the Institute.

Being responsible for someone else was a heavy burden, but I wouldn’t let her down.

The vision shifted, the Institute and Star disappearing. I found myself staring at the base of a black mountain. Somber Mountain, Dash had called it. Tendrils of smoke crawled along the ground, coating the air in a suffocating thickness. My boots crunched over the rocks—even as my instincts told me to run—but through the misty shadows, I saw a figure.

I caught a scream from escaping my throat and swallowed it back. “God. You scared me, Dash.” I took a deep breath because my voice had trembled.

Dash simply stood cloaked in the white mist, watching me. “What took you so long?”

I rolled my eyes. “Are you okay? Are you safe?”

His hand extended through the fog, reaching for mine. “Come find me, Freckles. We can’t end it until we are together.”

End what?

I never got my answer. Regaining consciousness, I sat up, my eyes flying open. A low light from the moon shone in the small room as my fists balled on the bed. The vision had come and gone like the wind. I had only a minute with Dash, and I wanted so much more. I’d even take just watching him like a creeper.

I couldn’t go back in time and run off with Dash when the opportunity had arose, but instinctively, I knew Star and I would escape from the Institute. We were going to find Dash.

* * *

Rising at dawn for cheerleading practice was something I’d tolerated at one time—not my favorite thing, but a small price to pay for doing what I loved.

Rising at dawn to get the snot beaten out of you was plain wrong on so many levels. I could handle the squats, the mile-plus runs, and jumping jacks well enough. It was the dreaded sparring—the exercise not of the body, but of our gifts—that sucked.

I told myself I would get stronger. Physically and magically. And I would find a way to escape the Institute and find Dash. The vision last night had been clear, and gave me purpose for the first time since I’d been taken. I was meant to leave with Star. We just needed to figure out how and when. And in the meantime, I was going to be the damn best trainee the Institute had seen since Dash Darhk.

I collapsed on the grass beside Ryker, winded and calves burning. “I hate you,” I said in between the heavy panting.

He grinned, turning his head toward me. Strands of damp hair stuck to his forehead. “It’s a start. I can work with hate. It is only a step away from love, you know.”

I snorted. “Dream on.”

“What else is there to do but dream?”

Good point. “Sorry to say, bucko, but our dreams don’t line up.”

“Ouch.” He placed both his hands over his chest in a wounded gesture. “Careful or you’ll have a heart as hard as your sister’s.”

I rolled my eyes. “So what is the deal with you and her anyway?”

“We’re friends.”

I snorted. “Ember doesn’t have friends. From what I can see, she has a long line of enemies.”

“And are you one of them?” he inquired.

My face sobered. “No. She is my sister.”

“And my friend.”

I got it. Regardless of who she’d become, we’d both stick by her side. “Just a friend?” I teased. “My sister definitely has a crush on you.”

He lifted himself up on an elbow so he looked down at my face. “Ember is complicated. I’m not sure she is ready for a relationship.”

“Is anyone ever really ready? Especially now.” Moaning, I rolled over and made myself sit up. There was no denying that I was getting stronger and my combat skills were improving, but my body still hurt like a mother trucker. “Can I ask you a question?” I didn’t know if I could trust Ryker, but he was different than the other recruits or guards.

He rested his wrist over his bent knee. “Shoot.”

“Do you believe in what you’re doing here?”

“Going for the big questions. I’ve been part of the Night’s Guard for over a year. I’ve seen things that should only be in movies… horror shows. That said, I don’t always agree with everything Jaxson does or the methods with which we deal with certain situations, but for the most part, I do believe in what the Institute stands for: the promise of a new tomorrow.”

I wanted to have faith in my parents and the council governing the Heights, but I couldn’t shake this sneaking suspicion something else was going on. Diamond Towers was built on secrets.

“I can see by those little wrinkles on your forehead that you’re uncertain about what you’re doing here.”

“Like I have much of a choice in the matter,” I said dryly.

“True. Not everyone has had the same experience as you. Most of us were grateful to get out of the Heights and have somewhere safe to stay.”

“I didn’t mean to dump on you. Everything is so different; I’m still trying to adjust.” I nudged my shoulder against his. “Thanks for not wanting to beat the crap out of me.”

He smirked. “You’re welcome, Red.”

* * *

The longer I stayed at the Institute, the more frequent the visions came, as if they were telling me my time was almost up. As days went by, I’d become less afraid of not waking up and more afraid of what my dreams might hold next. I clung to the moments when I could see Dash’s face, and feared those that left me shaken with a sense of hopelessness. The visions were never the feel-good dreams that had you smirking in your sleep. Nope. Nada. Not here.

The few people I cared about in this cracked out world were always in danger. What good was this ability if I couldn’t do anything to protect them, save them?

It was a pattern I wanted to end.

Tonight was no different.

The spotlight went to Star this time, and I was a little taken aback. Star lay in an all white room, flat on her back, a light shining bright over her face. The room was too clean, like an operating room—sterile. Beside her sat a tray with a syringe, a tube filled with something disgusting, and other surgical tools.

Even immersed in a vision, my stomach pitched.

Heels clattered on the tile floor, and Star turned her head toward the doctor cloaked in a mask, gloves, and a white smock. “Remember to stay still. This will only take a moment,” the doctor mumbled from behind the mask, picking up the syringe and sucking up the goo from the test tube.

Star’s fingers clutched the end of the medical table. “Just like a shot, right?” she asked. Her voice quivered. It was nice to know I wasn’t the only human afraid of needles.

“Quick, like a bee sting. It will be over before you know it. Then you can check on Charlotte.”

My ears perked at the mention of my name. Was the face under the mask my mother’s?

It couldn’t be, could it?

And yet I recognized that voice, and the phrase about a bee sting sounded so familiar.

Without hesitating, the doctor jabbed the needle into Star’s neck, pressing down on the plunger and injecting the liquid into Star’s bloodstream. Star relaxed her shoulders, relief reflecting in her eyes.

The doctor started rattling off the potential side effects: fever, rash at the entry site, muscle aches—the usual. It all seemed routine, until it wasn’t. As the doctor spoke, Star’s whole body started to jerk, her muscles spasming. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and foam formed inside her mouth, dripping out of the corners.

Star! I screamed, but the vision was always a parallel world I was unable to penetrate. As a bystander, I watched my friend die on the metal table.

The doctor didn’t seem shocked or alarmed and did nothing to help Star. She appeared disappointed. Leaning over my lifeless friend, she closed her eyelids before reciting the time of death. Six thirty-seven.

I had to find a way to save her. I couldn’t let this be Star’s future… her end.

* * *

On my way back to my room after another grueling day of training, I took a detour to the fourth floor. No particular reason why, other than maybe I could reason with Mom. I had struck out with Dad, but maybe Mom would be sympathetic to my plight of letting Dash go, calling off this stupid manhunt. If Mom and I ganged up on Dad, there was no way he could say no.

It had crossed my mind to enlist Ember, but I wrote her off as a lost cause. For reasons I didn’t understand, my sister hated me. She took sister rivalry to a new level of crazy. So that left Mom.

When the elevator doors dinged and opened on the fourth floor, I turned to Saber (my guard for the day) and grinned.

“What are you up to?” he asked. “This isn’t the housing unit.”

“Duh. I’m going to see my mom. There’s no need for you to follow me.”

Saber, to my great shock, didn’t argue, and since there was only one way in and out of the lab, he really had no reason to. Leaning a shoulder against the wall, he shot up a what-are-you-waiting-for brow at me.

I rolled my eyes and went inside the glass doors. What a meathead.

The lab was like a rat maze. Pristine white halls stemmed off each other with doors and windows lining both sides. Having only been here once before, the layout was unfamiliar. Eventually I was bound to come across the right room. I peeked into each large window as I passed, running my hand along the cool wall. The structure of the Institute was impressive—more modernized than anything I’d seen out in the Heights. I mean, just having electricity and plumbing was huge. It felt almost normal, minus all the supernatural stuff that went on.

I listened to the clap, clap, clap of my shoes and rubbed my hands up and down my arms. Why is this place so stinkin’ cold? It reminded me of the holding houses, and I didn’t like the feeling.

I turned the corner and hesitated, a noise capturing my attention. Muffled voices traveled down the corridor. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure I was alone, and my ever-present babysitter hadn’t decided to follow me after all. There was no one in sight. The fourth floor was the only unguarded area but had the most security, with keypads on every door. They were definitely trying to keep people out … or in.

Hugging the wall, I inched silently closer to the voices until I could make out what they were saying and identify who they were.

My parents.

Whatever they were talking about, they didn’t want anyone to overhear. The door to this particular lab was ajar just slightly, as if my father had forgotten to close it behind him or he hadn’t intended to stay long.

I wedged myself into the corner by the door. “How is she?” Mom asked.

“Charlotte is just fine,” my father assured her.

I had to snuff out the snort that rose up my nose. My father didn’t know jack about how I was really doing. He never took the time to see for himself. All he really seemed to care about these days was my chart and what I could do in the training room.

“And Ember? Is she still giving Charlotte a hard time?”

“Ember is Ember, full of determination and tough love.”

Is that what he called it? My sister was a bully with an authority complex. One day karma would knock on her door.

“Do you think he’ll come back for her?”

They had to be talking about Dash. I knew it.

“No,” Dad said sharply. “He isn’t someone who thinks of others. He is long gone. My guards haven’t been able to locate him since the last run-in. He’s in hiding, where—if he is smart—he will stay.”

“They seem to care for each other,” Mom added, not as convinced as my father.

“Dash cares only about himself,” Dad scoffed, disdain in his tone. “He used Charlotte. I won’t let him anywhere near her again. He would only disappoint her, hurt her. We’re sparing her the heartache. She is young, and there is plenty of time for her to develop feelings for another boy. I’ve noticed that she’s been spending time with Ryker.”

So my father approved of him, but not Dash. Good to know.

“If they were together—”

“I’m not going to let that happen. She is here, with us, and he isn’t coming back on his own, but make no mistake, I will find him,” Dad said with determination.

“We need him. His DNA is too important. I am so close. The others I’ve tested on are showing signs of success. There haven’t been any side effects of concern. I have a good feeling about this. It is what we’ve been working toward.”

I gasped, my hand flying over my mouth to keep from making any other noise that might get me detected. Oh. My. God. They were experimenting on people with abilities. But why?

“You’ve replicated their DNA?” Excitement laced Dad’s words.

“Yes, I’ve been able to isolate the mutated strand sequence that gives them the abilities. We’re moving into the testing stages. I can start administrating injections in a few days. We’ve been able to harvest cells from all of the Gifted that have come into the Institute, except of course Dash and Charlotte.”

“Charlotte’s cells were unusable, you said. We’ll just have to try again. There is something special about her. She isn’t using her abilities to their fullest potential.”

“Give her time, Ethan. She has been through an enormous amount of change. It will come. We must be patient with her.”

“It concerns me—her wish to protect the Slayer. I don’t want her to do anything that could put her in danger.”

“She is a smart girl,” Mom said.

“And that’s what worries me. Charlotte is resourceful and cautious. She doesn’t trust us yet. He managed to get inside her head and fill it with doubt.”

I was about to burst into the room and tell them both they knew nothing and badmouthing Dash wasn’t going to make me trust them, when a hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped, whacking my head on the wall.

Ember stood beside me, grinning like a fool, doing her best not to laugh and failing. “Hey, sis. Fancy meeting you here. Hear anything interesting? Let me guess. They’re talking about you. It’s all they ever talk about anymore.”

I rubbed the back of my skull, frowning. There was no point in denying that I was eavesdropping, so I didn’t even bother. “It’s not my fault the entire Institute is obsessed with me.”

Her auburn hair flowed loose over her shoulders in soft waves. It made her seem like less of a hard ass and more like the sister I remembered. “If you say so, but if you don’t want to be the center of attention, you might try not objecting to every rule.”

“I don’t. My only objection is being treated like I’m a prisoner. Besides, all anyone here is interested in is the meaning behind my crazy eyes and what kind of gifts they’ve given me.”

“You got that right.” She leaned a hip on the wall, watching me with heat in her eyes. Ember always seemed to be running hot. “Another tip: stop bringing up Dash in every conversation. The jerk left you here. He fled without so much as a goodbye. Why do you care what happens to him?” she challenged me.

“Why do you think?” I shot back. “You’re my sister. If there is anyone I should be able to talk to about this, it’s you.”

“You’re a fool if you think he loves you,” her voice inflating in volume.

“So I’ve been told,” I mumbled.

“Ember, is that you?” Mom’s voice called out a moment before she stuck her head outside the lab door. Surprise flickered in her eyes when she saw Ember wasn’t alone. “Charlotte. Wow, this is a pleasant surprise. Both my girls. I wasn’t sure this would ever be possible again.”

“We’re just one big, happy family,” Ember said dully, breezing her way into the room and propping a hip up on the desk that sat in the center.

I gave a small smile as I walked in, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Hey, Mom.”

Ember put her arm around my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. I just bet she wanted to choke me. “Big sis was wandering the halls, looking a little lost.”

It took all I had to pretend as if I hadn’t just found out that Mom was experimenting with the DNA of the Gifted, searching for a way to duplicate their powers, but I forced my expression to be blank. “I was looking for you,” I told her as I inconspicuously pinched Ember in the side and weaseled out of her chokehold.

“Did you need something?” Mom asked, her long white coat swept with her movements, but before I had a chance to say anything, she turned to Ember. “How about you use a chair instead of my desk?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not staying.” Ember straightened, lifting her brows at me.

Was she going to tell Mom that I’d been spying on her? I held my breath waiting for Ember to out me. Monroe would have taken the secret to the grave. Ember I was positive would use it for ammunition or blackmail.

“Are you sure you can’t stay?” Mom asked. “The three of us haven’t gotten to spend any time together.”

With her hand on the doorway, Ember glanced back into the room. “Can’t. I’m allergic to lectures, and I wouldn’t want to intrude on your mother-daughter time.”

I rolled my eyes.

Ember winked at me. “See you later, sis.” Then the devil disguised as my sister headed out the door.

I exhaled as I listened to Ember’s boots clatter down the hall. Definitely blackmail. It would come eventually.

I glanced around the room, taking in the space that occupied so much of my mom’s time, and realized my father was nowhere in sight. He must have gone out another door while Ember and I had been having a row.

“So, what’s on your mind?” Mom asked once she sat down. Her fingers wrapped around a tin mug on the desk.

It unnerved me how she quickly jumped from doctor to mother, especially when she had just been plotting to steal my DNA.

Not cool.

But Mom didn’t so much as blink an eye. “Don’t tell me Ember and you were arguing again?”

I shook my head. “Shockingly, no.”

“Oh, good. I’m glad to hear that. I was beginning to worry the two of you would never be friends.”

I crossed my ankles and then re-crossed them the other way, unable to find a comfortable position. “Is that what you want? For Ember and I to be like we once were… close?”

A faint smile curved her lips. “Of course. Don’t you?”

“I don’t know what I want,” I admitted.

“I know this isn’t easy for you. You were tossed into this world like many of us were. I didn’t want this life for you, Charlotte, and if I could change it, I would. But sometimes things happen for a reason. We can’t always change our fate.”

But what if we could? This might have been an appropriate time to open up about my visions, and I might have before I learned what I had today.

The vision of Star dying came back to me, tumbling over my mood like black waves of doom. She had been injected with altered DNA, but the outcome for Star hadn’t been as successful as Mom hoped. Star died, and if I didn’t do something to stop it, the vision of my friend would haunt me for life.

I couldn’t let her die.

The world was a dangerous place for those who didn’t have abilities to defend themselves, but within the walls of Diamond Towers, it was even more dangerous to be human. A different kind of evil breathed in the white city, and I wanted to be as far from here as I possibly could.

I had to get out.

Star had to get out.

And I had to find Dash.

But I didn’t have the first clue as to how I was going to do any of those things.