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“How are things?” I whisper the words to Connor. He’s a good few metres away, but sound travels easily on the hill.

“Fine. Sorry I haven’t been in touch. You were… anyway, I overreacted.”

“I was totally the one to blame,” I say. “You merely said some things in the heat of the moment. I kept things from you for weeks. I thought I had good reason not to admit who I was, but it was wrong of me.”

“I’ve missed you, you know,” he adds. “Tonight’s not a great night for a deep conversation… but once this is all over, maybe we could get a drink?”

I study his face. He could just mean as friends. He might just want to talk things through and give us both some closure. But there’s something in his soft smile that suggests he’s hoping to try again.

“That’d be really nice,” I reply, smiling back.

Meeting him for a drink absolutelywouldbe nice. The animal bit of my brain has no doubts on that score. I’d love to see that muscular body again and have some fun together. And on a less lust-fuelled level, it’d be nice to have someone to laugh with, someone to take care of me.

I’ve lied to Connor once before. This time, I wouldn’t be lying with my words or wearing a disguise and a fake name. But wouldn’t I be lying with my heart?

Connor’s a great guy. I like him. But he deserves someone who could love him, and I don’t think I’m capable of love. Or at least, not for anyone but the one person I absolutely can’t be with.

I shake my head. I always overcomplicate things. I should meet Connor for a drink. Have a fun evening. Be as truthful as I dare and see where things take us. But first, we need to survive the night.

My siblings have given us some peace and quiet for our Serious Talk, but now, Liam speaks up. “How long do you think we’ll have to wait?” He glances at his watch as midnight goes by.

Right on cue, Gabriel appears a few meters in front of Connor. He looks unearthly tonight, dressed all in white, and wearing green jewels that must be the equivalent of our rubies. The usual sunglasses are nowhere in sight, and his eyes are already brightly glowing. He’s all alone. I’d have expected his uncle or Nikki at the very least, if not a small army. But perhaps the magic he plans is too dangerous to do in the vicinity of those he cares about.

I breathe in and out, trying to close down my conscious brain and let the power flow through me. I get the shield up in moments. If it were visible, it would be a bulbous T-shape. A thin, vertical line in front of the three of us, expanding out to a sphere around Connor. He needs the protection more than we do.

Gabriel’s attention is focused on Connor. He knows a duel when he sees one. Besides, even if he’d happily treat me as collateral damage in the cause of bringing down the Dome, I don’t think he’d hurt me directly. Not seriously anyway. Or not permanently. Not fatally, at the very least. You can’t look at someone the way he looked at me in bed last week and then blast them apart with dark magic… can you?

I slip into the lightest of trances, enough to steady my nerves and strengthen my magic, without leaving me unable to react to changing circumstances. It’s sufficient to let me taste the magic in the air, on both sides. Magic is an art, not a science. It’s not easily quantifiable, but it’s possible to do a rudimentary sort of equation. The power emanating from Gabriel is insane. There’s plenty of power swirling around Connor, too, more than enough for him to win any normal battle single-handed, but it’s unlikely to be enough to allow him to strike a definitive blow. Gabriel’s in a different league. We need Brendan.

We need me,my mind whispers back.I’m wasted on defence.

Perhaps, but thanks to my efforts, the shield isn’t going to fall. Connor might not be able to take Gabriel down, but the worst-case scenario is a stalemate. Gabriel might be some mystical practitioner prodigy, but he can blast Connor with all the magic he wants. It’s not getting past me and my siblings.

To be on the safe side, I slip deeper into my trance. My conscious brain can deal with the aftermath. Right now, we need raw power. My mind is miles deep in the earth, my eyes are no doubt as flamingly red as Gabriel’s, and my shield is inviolate.

Connor lifts his hands to strike the first blow.

And then the mystical practitioner prodigy pulls out an antique silver revolver identical to the Sadler family heirloom used to kill Niall—the Thornbers would have been our acolytes back when they’d been given out. Without a word of warning, he shoots Connor four times at point-blank range.

We’d all been so fixated on the magic that the concept of physical protection had never even crossed our minds.

Chrissie and Liam are screaming. I’m utterly silent, too far into the trance to react, though I sense the horror somewhere at the back of my mind, waiting to assault me when I snap out of it.

There’s blood all over Connor’s finely honed chest and those arms that used to hold me and make me feel secure are limp at his sides.Surely no one could survive wounds like that…

Poor Connor. Poor, poor Connor. Once again, he’s been hurt by proximity to me. We’ll never have a chance to make another go of it now or even just to have that fun night together. Nor will he have the opportunity to move on and find someone else who can love him like he deserves.

“Give me more power,” I whisper to my siblings. I feel like I’m trying to make them hear me from one mountaintop to another.

The second they comply, I sink my mind and spirit dangerously deep into the earth. Time seems to move more slowly here. It already feels like hours have passed, but Connor’s only just hit the floor. Everything is clear and simple at these depths. I have my own power, supported by the earth and honed by my fury. And my siblings are willing to give me whatever more I need.

Give me a near-fatal injury to repair and a powerful enemy to kill, and with a little concentration, right now, I could do both. But this isn’t just anear-fatalinjury. Connor’s soul hasn’t yet left his body, but his life-force is gone. It wouldn’t be healing, it’d be practically resurrection. And this isn’t simply apowerfulenemy. Gabriel is off the charts at the best of times, and today, he’s performed goodness knows what ritualistic preparations on himself.

I can do one or the other, and I have seconds to decide, before Connor slips away entirely, and Gabriel blows the whole hill to smithereens. In my mind’s eye, I hold out my hands.

“Sadie.” Liam’s voice drifts down to me from a million miles away and a hundred years ago. “Don’t do this.”

I don’t have time to decide which course of action he’s warning me against before I raise my right hand and launch Hellfire at Gabriel. No messing about with Greenfire this time. Hellfire is hot enough to melt flesh from bones.