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Chapter One

Dr Cassidy “Sid” Jackson gripped the sides of her head as she curled into a ball on her bed The incessant pounding was bad enough, but it felt as if soh her brain

It was al to break free

However, no matter how much she reached out or tried to break down the wall to stop the pounding, nothing happened After three hours of fighting, Sid was close to giving up

Gritting her teeth, she pushed aside that feeling She’d been waging this internal battle for over twenty years and she wasn’t about to give up The people of Stonefire relied on her While a new junior doctor would be arriving in a feeeks, if Sid embraced the madness now, Stonefire would be left unprotected

Asbones flashed inside hereased a fraction Sid was the reason soin to the madness would be selfish

Letting out a growl, she pushed against the invisible wall in her mind Stop it! The clan needs us

The banging paused a second before it began again, albeit naled that Sid was close to getting a grip on herself

I need to check on Nikki and Samira’s babies Also, I need to check Bram’s heart after his chest pains yesterday Any and all of them could die if I can’t work

The ghost force ceased pounding

Counting to sixty, Sid released her head and rolled over as she took a deep breath Unless the pattern had changed from all of her previous episodes, she had won the battle for the ti

Staring at the ceiling of her bedroom, Sid wondered if she would win next time The increased frequency of her spells was one of the reasons she’d pushed to take on a newly e While Braon clan’s loyalty, Stonefire’s head Protector, Kai, had thoroughly vetted Trahern Lewis and cleared him

Sid slid off her bed and went to her dresser Dawn ht be two hours away, but there was no way she’d be able to sleep Only a run would help her focus and allow her to regain her wits She ain so

Changing her clothes, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror Her cheekbones were es under her eyes were darker than usual Thetheir toll If she were her own patient, she’d recommend a holiday

But she wasn’t just anyone—she was Sid Jackson Work kept her grounded It gave her the energy to fight A week or tithout it could be the end of her

She turned froan a series of stretches While she had no desire to give in to madness and live out her days tied to a bed, it would happen sooner rather than later All she could do in the present was continue to fight until she trained the junior doctor to take her place

She only hoped she wouldn’t be a danger to anyone until that happened

After tying her running shoes, Sid exited her room and went down the stairs As soon as she snuck out the back door, she looked up at the sky The clouds kept the stars hidden froardless After so rowing up, Sid knew them like the back of her hand

Rather than think of her long-dead fae of the clan’s land The wind against her cheeks, combined with the steady rhythm of her arms and feet, helped to ease her nerves This was the closest thing to flying she could acco in a blasted helicopter