Rune pressed his head to the wall, as if he could transmit the visions out of it somehow. Orion stood by his side, trying to help him but unable to. His wedding clothes were sweaty and torn, there was blood on his shoulder from hitting the wall, and he could not stop the constant visions no matter what he did.

  “Do you want me to go tell Eliza?” Orion said.

  Rune panted heavily, and his nostrils flared. “You can’t. It will ruin everything.”

  “You can’t possibly get married like this,” he reasoned.

  He went away from the wall, and ripped his clothes off. “I have to try.”

  His head jerked up with every flashing memory he saw, and he heard voices in the back of his mind screaming, yelling, crying out. He wiped the blood off his shoulder and started walking down the stairs, ignoring it all. He strode into the ballroom and his sight was so tunnelled from encroaching visions that all he could see was Eliza, standing on the stage like a prized show horse. She looked distressed, but she hadn’t even noticed Rune’s arrival yet. She was staring down at two of the guests.

  Rune’s whole body launched into another vision, and he screamed like a banshee on the way down. There was blood everywhere, and fire, horses were galloping around and dancing in the air. Ears were laid flat back, tails wrung furiously. The world was shaking. Pillars of ice ran up against raging wildfire, creating frosted sparks that hissed and whined like hotblooded horses.

  …

  Laci walked down the stairs, running her hooves down the front of her cloak to straighten it. She knew she was late, but it was alright. She had to take the time to bind her cannons with red ribbons, and give her braids the final touches. Marshall would not be upset with her so long as she looked her best.

  When she came to the doors, she immediately spotted Rune, splayed out on the ground and howling wildly. She looked up from him and saw Ariel and Marshall wrapped around each other, staring at Rune like a diseased tumor. Marshall had his neck curled around her like he always did to Laci. A scream started to ripple from her throat, starting low, then echoing across the ballroom. Marshall was staring right at her, trying to remember her, but she no longer cared who he was.

  She galloped across the hall, nostrils flared and spraying blood. Her mane was lit up with red hot flames and the whites of her eyes would not recede. She jumped on Marshall’s neck and pounded him into the floor, grabbing the nearest flesh in her teeth and tearing through him. He cried out in pain, but that only made her want to hurt him more. She picked him up in her powerful jaws and smashed him against the wall, pinning him down with her bladelike hooves.

  His eyes were rolled back with fear. She reached up and bit at his jugular, sending blood flying everywhere. He desperately slipped from her grasp, and she let him run away, craving a chase. She hunted him into the corner of the stage, allowing him the hope of survival only to destroy it. With a terrifying rear and kick, she crushed his head into the piano keys, and they resonated like church bells.

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  Orion and Ashley tried to grab her, but she shoved them off and singed their arms with her loose flames. Her cloak burned to ash. She dashed out the back of the mansion and sprinted across the lawn, vanishing into the woods. She went for what must have been miles before she started to feel her body again, the high of vengeful murder and escape so intense that she went numb. Her chest felt like it was going to explode. She crashed to the ground, breathing heavily, and Sultan stood by her side for a long while before saying anything.

  “You have done well, little dove.”

  She tucked close to him, and her face was wet with tears. Her body trembled from her shaky breaths, but she tried to slow them down. Through all of this, her ears pricked up, and she caught the sound of horses moving through the woods. She climbed to her feet and stood watching for them.

  “I can’t be the only one who’s shocked,” a familiar pony’s voice said.

  She silently lifted her head over the bushes, and stared at the spotted pony officer. He still had Marshall’s cousin by his side. She remembered holding back when she had the opportunity to kill him the first time. She wished she hadn’t.

  “Don’t worry. He’s the last person everyone expected to have magic, but like he said, what’s there to worry about? It’s only him,” Houston comforted.

  “It’s Glacial Divinity we’re talking about here. He’s not a kind stallion. He’s just well liked,” the pony replied.

  Laci’s heart turned into an iron weight. Glacial Divinity had magic? The more she thought about it, the pieces started to come together. Was that why he had come after her this whole time? To save his own reputation?

  Sultan smiled devilishly next to her. “That makes this much more interesting than I originally thought.”

  Laci jumped out of the bushes and ripped the two officers to pieces, leaving them writhing with pain on the ground, and regretted nothing. There was no way to explain how good it felt to tear things apart. She abandoned them and started on her way toward the city of Norfolk.

  …

  “Where in Epona’s name is she going?”

  The room stared at Orion silently, except for Rune who was still thrashing on the floor. Marshall looked an absolute travesty, and Greg desperately tried to keep his body from turning into a puddle. Eliza was by Rune’s side, rubbing his neck and talking to him. His legs stiffened for a moment, fighting against the vision.

  “To Norfolk,” he gasped.

  “Why would she go back there?” Orion shouted.

  Rune was tossed into another vision and threw himself around violently, not hearing Orion. Ashley appeared deeply ashamed, Marmalade was holding Knight in her arms tightly to keep him from panicking, and Ariel was simply horrified.

  “It doesn’t matter. Who is going with me to find her?” he commanded.

  The room was quiet for a moment, until Ashley spoke up.

  “I will go. It’s my fault.”

  Ariel gasped, and flattened her ears.

  “What did you do?” Orion asked.

  She stared down at the floor. “I made Marshall dance with Ariel tonight. It’s my fault. I have to fix it.”

  Orion looked at Ariel in shock. “Did you know about this?”

  She tried to shake her head, but it was obvious she was lying. Her illusion had failed her.