Page 94 of Alchemy of Souls

An illusion materializes in front of the fireplace, and I freeze. It’s a woman with a little girl, and I spot their resemblance to Eloise immediately.

“Mom? Delilah?” Eloise says, standing on wobbly legs.

But it’s not a happy scene. Delilah is cowering behind her mother’s legs and her mom’s eyes are wide with her hand stretched out in front of her.

“What’s wrong. What’s happening?” Eloise asks hurriedly just as one of my uncle’s snarling illusion dogs appears in front of them.

“What do you know about your daughter and the Key?” someone says out of frame, and I recognize that voice—Damien.

“Nothing, we know nothing,” her mom says, and her little sister starts crying.

I scent Eloise’s fear spike like it was happening in my own chest and I stand, reaching for her. But Eloise bats my hand away.

My mother laughs and I glare at her.

Delilah moves behind her mother, burying her head in her mom’s skirt as the dog stalks closer.

“Stop!” Eloise yells at the illusion. “Stop moving!”

“Eloise, give me your hand,” I say, trying to get her attention. “Walk out of this room with me.”

But between the slurring solution and the horrific illusion, she can’t hear me. She casts a shield even though it’s useless, throwing it up in front of her holographic family. My mother snorts.

I could kill her.

Eloise’s mom reaches behind her to comfort her crying daughter and the dog springs forward. Just like the one in my uncle’s office, it aims for her mom’s neck.

“No!” Eloise screams, and my heart tears right out of my chest. She takes a step forward but trips on the rug and falls just as the illusion disappears.

And the careful facade I curate around my family shatters. I cast a spell, fast as lightning, lifting everything in the room that isn’t furniture.

“Did that actually happen?” I demand through gritted teeth, asking the question Eloise needs to hear the answer to.

“What happened is that this is my favorite tea set. Don’t you dare break it, Grayson,” my mother says with a barbed tone.

My uncle leans back on the couch. “You should be thanking me. You weren’t sure if emotion was a trigger, and well, now you know. Because here you both are and there is no Key present.”

It’s so like him, I don’t know why I’m surprised. But screwing with me is one thing—he just broke Eloise’s heart. I release all theobjects in my spell, smashing them downward and destroying every single piece of my mother’s china.

My uncle’s jaw tics.

But I don’t care. I move to Eloise, who’s crying on the floor. “It’s all right, Claws. I’ve got you,” I say, gently lifting her up in my arms and walking toward the door with her cradled against my chest.

“You’re weak, Grayson. Just like your brother was,” my uncle says, and my step falters as I very strongly consider killing him. “I’m sick of waiting while you coddle that girl. I’m shortening the time frame. You produce that Key in the next forty-eight hours or I’m taking over.”

CHAPTER 46Eloise

48 HOURS TO GO

My knees are pulled under my chin in the front seat of Grayson’s car as he peels out of his driveway. I can’t stop crying. My head spins, everything feels wobbly, and I’m pretty sure my world just ended.

“Was it real, Grayson? You have to tell me. Please. Was it real?” I say, my pride a distant thought and my heart tattered and raw.

“It was just an illusion,” he says, but I can’t believe it.

“But how can you know? How can you be certain that wasn’t a memory being played back?” I ask as he flies through an intersection without stopping. Someone lays on their horn.

“Because if he already killed your family, he has no one to manipulate you with later,” he says bluntly, and I pause.