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Was she coming back?

“Did she say where she was going?” Roman choked out.

She shook her head. “I didn’t have a chance to talk to her.”

“Thank you.” He got back in his car, and after he called Kylar to let him know where he was going, he sped out onto the interstate.

Being back in room number nine in Motel 58 came with a lot of emotions that were difficult to swallow.

Shay sat on the edge of the bed closest to the door—her bed—surrounded by the ghosts of her and Roman. This room had seen thousands of guests, had housed thousands of stories.

This tiny, ordinary room had brought her closer to Roman—the man she’d left back in Yveswich. Left without saying goodbye.

Her bags sat on the table by the door. Her whole life was crammed in that duffel and backpack. She didn’t have much to show for over nineteen years of life, but if Shay had learned anything this month, it was that the important things in life could not be bought or borrowed, but were found on the inside.

Nugget sat beside her on the bed, peering up at her with sad eyes, a flipper laid softly across her thigh in comfort. The room was so quiet. So…empty. Her heart was split in half, the jagged pieces weighed down by the lack of not one person, but two.

Roman and Anna. Shay had lost her sister, and in trying to find her had wound up falling for the last man she had ever expected to lose her heart to. And now, they were both gone.

Shay blinked, warm tears rolling down her cheeks and dripping into her lap. She opened her fists that were resting on her knees and watched the tiny bolts of purple and yellow lightning crackle across her palms, setting aglow to the teardrops like beads of glass struck through by sunbeams.

Shay sighed. “You want to go for a swim?” she asked Nugs.

The Familiar cocked his fuzzy head in question. He may not be able to speak, but Shay knew what the Familiar was asking: How could they possibly go swimming when the pool was dry?

As if in answer, thunder cracked outside, and a flash of lightning sliced through the curtains.

Shay got up and crossed the room. She unzipped her duffel and sifted through her clothes until she found the yellow bikini she’d bought from Everything but the Kitchen Sink.

She parted the curtain. Drew a deep breath as she stared out at the monochrome landscape. And whispered, “Let’s see what my magic can do.”

Ten minutes later, Shay stood outside in her bathing suit by the empty pool, a towel clutched under one arm.

Her most sobering moments had taken place right here in this desert, a stagnant, barren landscape so different from the busy city and her busy life. She had failed to notice it the first time she’d come out here, but she noticed it now—how quiet and still it was out here in the desert, her mind sighing in content at the emptiness. No noise fell upon her ears except the wind. No skyscraper in sight. Just land. Just peace.

With a heavy blink, she summoned her magic, her eyes darkening to the deepest black. She pushed that magic outside of her, covering the motel with spells that would muffle any noise, the people in those few rooms sleeping soundly.

No one would know.

When she opened her eyes, she tipped back her head, staring up at the clear sky studded with stars.

And she let herself feel.

She cried. Hard. She thought of Anna, thought of the future she’d lost, the best friend she would never get back. Her sister, her other half. She was alone now. Alone and lost, and missing relationships both old and new. Tears streamed down her face, blinding her vision of the night sky.

But she saw the clouds the moment they arrived—a rumbling mass that blotted out the stars. Veins of brightest yellow and palest lilac carved the sky into pieces, throwing the hazy layers into stark relief.

Deep inside her, her magic strained to be let out, stretching like an elastic band.

Shay let it snap. And as she let it go, she sucked in a deep breath and screamed.

Thunder cracked. Lightning flashed brightly enough to blind, turning night into day.

And for the first time in its life, the desert saw rain.

94

The Desert