I try to stand on the beach, but suddenly I’m sinking—no, not sinking, I’m falling apart as my legs disintegrate, breaking up and turning into tiny pieces of earth. I’m becoming one with the beach. I scream as I start to collapse in on myself.

What’s happening? I wonder frantically. And then another, more pressing thought appears. I’m going to die a pile of beach.

“Cody!” someone shouts. It’s Ethan. The maid must have found him.

My torso’s falling apart now. I try to shout to Ethan but the only thing that escapes my throat is a dry wheeze. I reach forward, but my arm is already starting to break down.

He runs straight for me, grabbing my hand as best as he can, but half of it slips through his fingers. Part of me touches his watch and I start to solidify again, this time taking on a gold, metallic sheen. The rest of my body follows suit.

I hyperventilate. My heart thumps in my chest, and I swear for a moment it sounds like metal, clanging against my rib cage. That makes me freak out even more, and I can’t catch my breath.

“Calm down,” Ethan says. “This is . . .” He struggles to find the right word. “I guess you’re developing new powers or something.”

Calm down? Is he joking?

“Breathe, Cody,” he says.

I almost shout “You know that’s not my name” but stop myself.

The maid reappears. She hands a little black bag to Ethan. He says something back to her that I don’t hear while I continue to have the panic attack to end all panic attacks.

He pulls out a little vial of something from the bag. He snaps it in two and holds it up to my face.

“What—” I start.

“Just something to help you relax,” he says.

Some kind of white smoke drifts out of the vial and I start to feel light and dizzy.

“There you go,” Ethan says.

He grabs my hand to help me to my feet, and I don’t know if it’s the weird smoke or touching real human flesh, but suddenly I’m me again—flesh and bone and not looking like some kind of gold robot.

Before I know it I find it hard to think of anything—to even feel anything—and all I see is black.

When I wake up, I expect to be restrained or locked up somehow, but I’m still just lying on top of the covers. The window is even open. My duffel bag is on the bed beside me, my Loric Chest still inside.

Ethan sits in a chair at the foot of the bed.

“Good afternoon,” he says. There’s hesitancy in his voice, like he’s unsure how to act. Or how I’ll act.

I glance around, looping my arm through the straps of my bag.

“What did you give me?” I ask, thinking back to the strange white smoke.

“Nothing harmful,” Ethan says. “Just a little tranquilizer. I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself if you didn’t stop changing.”

My heart starts beating furiously as I remember the feeling of breaking apart on the beach.

“No,” Ethan says in his most authoritative voice. “Calm down. Breathe deeply. You don’t want to start morphing again.”

I nod, trying to focus on taking long, slow breaths. There’s a residual numbness from whatever the drug was. I feel alert and focused, but relaxed.

Ethan’s eyebrows knit together. Either he’s genuinely worried about me or he’s a really great actor. I’m not sure which is the case at this point. He throws his hands out to his sides.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” he says. “It’s just you and me.”

“Like I’m supposed to believe you.”

“It’s important to them that you come of your own free will. That only makes sense. The Mogadorians don’t want someone they’ve forced to rule. They want someone who wants to be a part of their cause.”

“Free will?” I mutter. “That’s what you call all the lies you’ve told me?”

Ethan frowns.

I grip the handles of the duffel bag. I can be out the window in an instant if I need to be. But a huge part of me really wants to talk to Ethan, to find out why he’s done these things. To answer all the questions welling up inside me.

“Was Emma in on this?”

“Emma,” Ethan says with a frown. “No, she didn’t know anything that was going on. The men who attacked you at the warehouse were staged, but I honestly had no idea her brother would be one of them. They were just lackeys. I believe her family has moved to Tampa since you’ve been here. We keep tabs on them. I could have her brought here if you wanted.”

“No,” I say. All that means is that her hatred of me—her calling me a freak—was real. She was not really my friend. I wonder if that’s how all humans react to Legacies and superpowers like mine.

“You found Emma yourself. All I did was nudge you. Hell, all I did was show up on the beach and give you an opportunity. You came to us. You just didn’t know who we were.” He leans in a little. “Think about it. The Loric never gave you the choice we’re giving you. They put a spell on you and sent you away. They told you who you had to be. All I’m offering you is another way. A better way.”

“What about the other Garde?”

He shrugs.

“Maybe they’ll learn to see reason too.”

“And if I leave?”

“I’m not going to stop you,” Ethan says, looking very serious. “The last thing I want is for you to be hurt. But once you leave I can’t protect you any longer. If you turn down this offer, you’re the enemy. You won’t even be safe here. You’ve probably guessed it by now, but this isn’t my house. The Mogadorians arranged for it.”