The blood dripping from the tip of the spear sticking through Nash's chest snapped the last thread of reason in my mind.

"No!" My voice amplified, exploding throughout the mountain. Terror took control of my body.

A guard swung for Nash where he lay on the ground. Wren caught it with her blade, crying out in effort.

I turned in a drift of snow as two more spears shot through the air. I knocked them aside without even thinking about it, the power flowing from me increasing as I slowly stepped toward the guards. The ground didn’t just tremble. It quaked. The arrows raining down shattered and fell in bits of wood and iron. The snow scattered in a wave that tore through the field, flinging eight camouflaged men into the air.

They hung there, suspended and totally helpless. I hardly heard their shrieks and pleas. The same force that caused the ground to tremble ripped at their bodies. With dozens of pops, their arms and legs snapped like twigs. Next I heard their ribs crackling like the flames of a fire, the kind that burned within me.

If before I'd managed to break through the walls blocking my power, this time, I pulverized them entirely. The energy exploded from me.

In my mind's eye, my perception rushed across the field with my power, closing in on the faces of guards who I ripped high into the air. Dozens, maybe hundreds, flew up from the ground high into the sky as they screamed.

I couldn't think. Couldn't stop myself. Couldn't control it. The power had taken over and it was spreading.

“Max…” Nash's voice sounded so weak.

Bones shattered while bodies jerked in unnatural positions.

"Max!"

I froze, really registering the people for the first time. The eight before me hung in a cloud of misty blood, the tiny beads suspended along with them. Broken bones tore through skin stretched tight. One man's skull had caved in. Another had arms that looked like balled up cloth. Several were bent backwards in half. They were all dead.

Those were only the closest ones I could see.

Blood fell in splatters of rain over the white. Bodies dropped to the ground with a ghastly rhythm.

I’d butchered them.

Fear filled me as I turned to see Nash lying on his side, his eyes half closed. “Max…” Blood darkened his chest and middle. “Stay here… Don’t… Don’t slip away.”

The surviving enemies retreated, leaving us completely alone. They must have had orders to fall back after my last display, or all were too terrified to continue.

I crawled to Nash and reached for him, afraid to touch him. My tears dropped onto his neck and chest. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…” I bowed my head. The tip of my hair that had pulled from my bun brushed his chest. Nash was right to look at me the way he had. I was Eclipse. I’d spent my whole life trying to outrun the name. It was who I was.

I sat up, carefully taking hold of the spear. Leif slid onto the ground beside me, holding my arm to steady me. It had lodged deep within the base of his chest on the left side.

Wren covered her mouth with one hand and gripped Nash's hand with the other.

“I’ve got you," I said. With a grunt, Leif and I both ripped it from his body. Nash screamed through clenched teeth, blood bumping from his wound. It took only moments for his eyes to slide shut.

I used my power to stabilize him the best I could. I could stop the blood loss and hold him together, protect him from any bile that might leak inside of him, but I couldn't heal him. That advanced skill was something I had never learned to do. It took a lifetime to master.

We carried Nash through the snow for an entire hour, struggling even as I used my power to aid our natural strength, until I found the cave where I had taken refuge all those years ago.

Once we were deep inside, I collapsed, exhausted from the power, the fear, and the guilt of what I'd done.

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Even sitting, my heart raced like I’d run for hours. I rested with my forearms against my knees, working every second to keep Nash's wound closed. We at least had a fire going and Nash properly bandaged, lying down in his blankets. The burn from my power had settled into a constant pain throughout my body.

The lives I'd taken pushed against me and threatened to smash me into the ground. All those guards, dead.

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I could feel the blood splattering like rain. The thought of the warm droplets made me tremble.

No one should have this power. No one. I thought I was finally succeeding by traveling here to get help taking on the Prophet. Flare had been right in her own way. I didn't see the big picture yet. I was thinking too small.

This power needed to be destroyed.

The pain of what I'd done eviscerated my insides.

Nash had passed out several times on the way, but since getting situated in the cave, he hadn’t slept.

"Try to rest," I said gently. "We'll continue as soon as the sun rises."

He looked at me for several seconds. His stare made me feel my haggardness. "You're exhausting yourself…"

"I can't stop, Nash. You'll bleed out. I'll be fine. Please rest."

Pain strained his face as he reached for my hand. My heart lodged in my throat when he tugged it onto his chest, holding it in both hands. "I'll be okay, Max… Don't worry."

I laughed, trying to fend off tears. "You'll be okay if I keep the wound closed." I kept my hand in his, willing him to sleep so he could have rest from the pain and I could see him at peace for a few moments.

Leif watched us, expression tense.

“I’m sorry for what I said,” Nash whispered. "I was wrong."

“You don’t have to say sorry.” I settled on my side next to him.

“Your skin… is so feverish…”

“It’s the power.” I pushed his curls back from his damp forehead. “Stop talking and sleep. Please.”

His eyes settled shut.

What would we do now? We would never make it up this mountain with Nash in this state. If I left him, I wouldn't be able to keep his wound shut. At some point, I'd walk too far away, and I'd lose him, especially because I was still getting used to wielding power again.

A few minutes passed before Leif knelt beside me. "We have to take action soon, Max. He doesn't look good."

"I don't know what to do," I whispered.

"Yes, you do." Leif's voice was too calm. "You just don't want to let us do it."

I twisted my brows. "I don't. What could we possibly do?"

He glanced at Wren and then me. "We have to go on without you and make it to your friend."

"That's not happening." I nearly released Nash's hand to knock some sense into Leif. "You don't know the mountain. They're watching for us. It's certain death. Even if you make it, the instructors may kill you."

"This is certain death." Wren rubbed small circles into my back. "That's why they aren't pursuing us. They're waiting for us to die here. We knew this was dangerous. This is why we're here, Max. If you and Nash had come alone… You'd either die with him or leave him to die. We have to continue on."

"It's too dangerous." Panic ripped at my lungs until I couldn't draw in a breath. Nash moaned, his grip on me tightening. I focused on him again. I was losing my hold. Trying to breathe, I glared at Leif. "I won't stand for this. I'll find another way."

"Do you want to leave Nash to die?"

"No one is dying!"

Leif looked at Nash again and placed his hand on his shoulder. Worry filled his eyes. "Boy."

Nash's eyes slid open.

"Don't be weak and die on us. You hear me? The only thing you have to do is stay alive. That's your only job."

The corner of Nash's mouth just barely lifted in a smile. "I will…"

"Come on, Wren." Leif stooped and kissed the top of my head. "We'll be back with help."

"I'm not letting you leave." I caught his hand.

"Will you fight me?" Leif tilted his head. "That's the only way to stop me."

"Yes! You know I will!"

"Oh, Max." Wren pulled my hand from Leif's. "You're wasting precious energy. We'll come back for you. Leif has me and I have him. Tell us everything we need to know to find your friend and then have faith in us that we'll return."

My head fell as the tears came. I didn't want to do this.