I closed the door of Dylan’s cabin behind me, deciding to leave the door unbolted.
Nothing stung more than those five words.
Then stay in the cabin and keep out of the way.
I kicked off my boots, letting them drop against the plain floorboards, and threw myself onto the bed.
The thin mattress creaked under my weight.
I stared up at the rough ceiling planks.
I had gone out there looking for answers, hoping for some proof that I was an equal adult in this nightmare, but I had only discovered how terrifying the truth really was.
Markus hadn’t just lost control of his powers.
Someone had stripped away his humanity and transformed him into a grotesque beast.
Now I was trapped in this dreary mountain outpost while Dylan hunted the ghost responsible.
I squeezed my eyes shut, clutching my hands into tight fists against the thin mattress.
“I hate this place.” The silence in the room stretched out, thick and suffocating.
”I hate that man more,” I added bitterly to the empty room.
That unrepentant brute!
I let out a slow breath, trying to clear my mind and force my body to rest.
Then— [DING!
DING!
DING!] My eyes snapped open.
The familiar, bright blue screen materialized right in front of my face, glowing softly in the dim cabin light.
Glowing white text scrolled rapidly across the blue interface.
[UNRESOLVED PENALTY DETECTED.] I sat upright, my back pressing hard against the headboard.
“Oh, no.” [REASON: HOST FAILED TO MAINTAIN PROPER DOMESTIC HARMONY AND THREATENED TO FILE FOR DIVORCE.] I stared at the floating letters, my mouth slipping open.
“You cannot be serious.” I whispered, waving a hand through the blue light.
The box didn’t move.
The system ignored my protest completely.
Fresh text flashed on the screen.
[INITIATING RECALIBRATION PENALTY.] My stomach tightened into a hard knot.
“Wait.
Hold on.” [24-HOUR ALTAR KISS MEMORY LOOP TO REMIND HOST OF HER VOWS.] A cheerful final line pulsed brightly in the center of the panel.
[ENJOY THE ROMANCE, UNLUCKY ONE!] ”I want to appeal!” I shouted at the empty air.
No response came.
”System?” I called out, my voice rising.
“Answer me!” Silence filled the cabin.
”You fraudulent piece of—” Before the words could leave my mouth, my vision blew out to solid white.
The air snapped around me.
The smell of damp earth vanished, replaced by the scent of crushed lilies and expensive candle wax.
The walls dissolved into white marble pillars.
I was back at the altar in the chapel, the veil already lifted, my face bare to the crowd of formal suits and silk gowns.
Dylan stood directly in front of me.
His eyes fixed on mine, cold and completely unreadable.
Dylan stood directly in front of me.
His eyes fixed on mine, cold and completely unreadable.
His hand pressed against the small of my back, pulling me forward.
His skin was warm right through the pearl-stitched bodice of the dress.
Then his lips met mine.
One second.
Two seconds.
The chapel vanished.
The sound of organ music cut off instantly.
Then my vision snapped back.
I gasped, lunging forward on the bed as the cabin rushed back into view.
My right hand flew up to cover my mouth, my pulse racing against my ribs.
I looked around the room, checking every corner to see if Collins or Jace had somehow walked in on me.
The room was completely empty.
I let out a shaky breath and leaned back against the wall.
“That was just one time.
It’s over.” The blue interface remained invisible.
I pointed a shaking finger at the empty air in front of my nose.
“One.
That was the whole penalty.” Five quiet minutes passed.
I relaxed my shoulders, letting my hand drop back to the mattress.
[DING!] The room vanished and the chapel returned instantly.
The scent of lilies.
The veil over my eyes.
Dylan’s hand, warm and solid against my spine.
His lips brushing against mine, firm and unyielding.
Two seconds.
Snap.
I jerked upright on the mattress, a strangled noise escaping my throat.
Heat surged up my neck, flooding my cheeks until my skin felt on fire.
”Absolutely not!” I yelled, throwing the blanket off my legs.
I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and stood up, ignoring the sharp sting in my knee.
I paced back and forth across the floorboards.
I needed a distraction.
Something, anything, to keep my brain busy.
I stooped down and unraveled the bandage on my knee, inspecting the pink skin beneath it.
I wrapped it back up, tightening the pins.
I grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it straight, smoothing out every wrinkle.
I turned to the wooden wall and began counting the natural knots in the grain.
”One, two, three, four, five,” I muttered under my breath, pressing my thumb against the rough timber.
“Six, seven, eight—” [DING.] The chapel.
The veil.
The dark eyes.
The hand on my back.
The kiss.
Snap.
I groaned loudly, slamming my hands over my face and sliding back down onto the floorboards.
“I hate technology.” A beat passed.
I remembered the floating blue window wasn’t a gadget.
”I hate whatever you are!” I shouted at the ceiling.
I dragged myself back onto the bed and buried my face straight into the thin pillow, trying to smother the memory.
If I went to sleep, maybe the system wouldn’t be able to trigger the loop inside my head.
Five minutes later— [DING.] The altar.
The pressure on my lips.
I lifted my head and slammed it back down into the cotton pillowcase.
The absolute worst part of the penalty wasn’t the sudden light or the blue screen.
It was the terrifying accuracy of the memory.
It wasn’t a hazy blur or a faded dream.
I could remember how he smelled, the solid weight of his hand supporting my waist.
I could even remember how utterly paralyzed I had been when his lips touched mine and thanks to the system, I would never have the chance to forget it again.
I turned onto my back, staring at the rafters above.
“I married him by accident,” I whispered to the empty cabin.
I kicked my heels against the mattress.
“I did not sign up for this.” I rolled onto my side, clutching the pillow tight against my chest.
“And technically, I threatened to divorce him after we leave here and not before.
That ought to count for something right?
Huh?
System?” The migraine ignored me.
Hours dragged by in a torturous cycle.
Every five minutes, the system dragged me back to the chapel altar, forced me to relive those two brief seconds, and dumped me back onto the bed with my heart hammering against my ribs.
Late into the night, the iron latch on the front door clicked.
I froze instantly, pulling the blanket all the way up to my chin.
Dylan walked inside.
He took three long strides toward the desk in the corner before his gaze shifted toward the bed.
I was tangled in the sheets, tossing from side to side in a desperate attempt to look busy, my face burning red from the latest loop.
Dylan stopped in the middle of the room.
He looked down at me, his brow furrowing slightly.
“Oh.
You’re awake.
Are you sick?” My head snapped in his direction.
“No.” He took a slow step closer, his sharp eyes taking in my flushed skin and chaotic hair.
“Do you have a fever?” ”I don’t,” I snapped, my voice higher than usual.
He took another step toward the edge of the bed, reaching out a hand toward my forehead.
Panicking, I reached down, grabbed one of my discarded work boots from the floor, and threw it straight at his head with all the strength in my arm.
Dylan didn’t even flinch.
His hand shot up, catching the leather boot effortlessly an inch away from his nose.
Silence settled over the cabin.
Dylan lowered the boot, looking down at the scuffed leather in his grip.
Then he looked up at me, his eyes unblinking.
“Interesting.” I sat up straight, pulling the blanket around my shoulders and pointing a trembling finger toward the exit.
“Get out.” Dylan didn’t move toward the door.
He stayed right where he was, studying my red face.
“You’re acting weird.” ”What do you mean?
I’m fine.
This is normal,” I lied, forcing myself to sit still and use my regular voice instead of the tiny sound that was coming out of my mouth.
”You just threw a shoe at me.” ”You deserved it!” ”What did I do to deserve it?” I opened my mouth to launch into a rant, but the words died instantly in my throat.
How could I possibly explain that a glowing, invisible magic screen was punishing me by forcing me to replay our wedding kiss every three hundred seconds?
”Because you’re annoying,” I blurted out instead.
Dylan stared at me for two quiet beats and instead of arguing, he simply set my boot down neatly on the floor near the foot of the bed, turned around, and picked up some files from the desk.
He walked to the doorway, placing his hand on the latch.
He paused, looking back over his shoulder at me.
“Get some sleep, Knox.” The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me alone in the dim room once again.
I let out a long breath and sank back into the mattress, closing my eyes.
[DING!] The altar returned.
I pulled the pillow over my face and screamed into the fabric.