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“Annelise Kotova, you are hereby sentenced to death for the crime of being a Stormshade,” she spat, her disgust plain on her dreadful face. The crime of being a Stormshade, as if anyone could control what magic they were born to. As if anyone could control the powers the earth gifted them. “Do you have any last words?”

Annelise took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Osiris was gone. Zion was nowhere to be found. Annelise swallowed hard and hoped that he had made it out, against all odds, but she would never find out. Donika was queen, and there was nothing she could do to bring back her Stormshade allies who had been slain. Siraleth had fallen. Stormshades had been completely eradicated from Istmere in one single night, and the Nightshade witches would rule. Precisely as they had always wanted. But worst of all…she had lost her daughter. She had lost her to dark magic, and to greed. She had lost her to her thirst for power.

Anna always knew her daughters’ hunger for power was greater than the love she had for her own mother. It had been years since it had been different, ever since Donika had joined the king’s army at the ripe age of eight years old. She had been so young, as they all were when they joined the service of the king, but it had never mattered. Annelise had given her everything. She had done everything right. She had tried her hardest to be the best mother she could be to Donika. But it had never been enough.

She opened her eyes to gaze upon her daughter’s face one last time. Was there anything left worth saving? Was there a sliver of the old Donika in there, buried somewhere deep? She pictured her as she had once been, with deep blue eyes, laughing as she pushed her on the swing at the old cottage. Her blue and white hair flowed out in waves behind her in the shade of the old willow tree. The sound of her daughter’s laugh was music in her ears. Donika had been happy once, but that had been a long time ago.

“Fine, have it your way,” Donika hissed as she raised her black sword above her head with both hands and brought it down.

Colorado, USA

Present Day

Thesnow-coveredmountainsracedpast as I floored the old green Subaru up a beaten, dirt-covered path. I wound through the twisting roads to the peak of the mountain top it had taken me years to find. I put the car in park and threw the door open, eager to get out into the fresh air. I shoved the keys into the pocket of my faded jeans and raced towards the mountain’s edge. Swinging my legs over a fallen tree, I jumped the gap between two huge boulders.

The sun burned brightly overhead, and I closed my eyes against it, enjoying the warmth against my skin. This had been an unnaturally warm winter to begin with, and I couldn’t wait for spring. From here I could see our small town below, from the school all the way to the new downtown district.

Sitting on the edge of the largest rock that stuck out from the mountain face, I dangled my feet in the frozen air. This was the most beautiful and secret spot in all of Colorado to watch the sun rise. It was quiet and beautiful, but most importantly, it wasmine. Nobody knew about this spot, not my mother or my brother, only my best friend Tess. I threw my head back as a cold breeze swept across my face and stuffed my bare hands into the pockets of my velvet winter coat. I should have remembered to bring my gloves.

The chill of the morning air sent a shiver down my spine and a chatter through my teeth. Ever since moving to Colorado, I had searched long and hard for a place of my own such as this. I had grown up in New York and it had been about three years since my dad had passed and we moved to Colorado to be closer to Mom’s family. It was as quick as the snap of Mom’s fingers and my whole family packed up and moved across the country without ever looking back. I had to embark on my first year of high school in a new place, with no friends and family I barely knew. Here I was, a senior, and not much had changed. All I had was Tess.

I pulled out a battered copy of my favorite book. The torn and weathered pages fought against the wind to stay parted at the place where I had left off. My fingers were numb from being exposed to the cold winter air, but I wanted to take advantage of the peace and quiet and fall into my favorite fantasy.

When my eyes caught the glint of the sun as it rose higher in the sky, I knew I had to get back home before my mom started to worry. She wasn’t thrilled when I took off early in the morning and was already gone by the time she woke up. I gave the sky one last glance as the pink shine of the horizon faded and I stuffed the worn book back into my jacket pocket. As I was about to open the car door, something dark in the corner of my eye caught my attention.

I turned my head and froze, I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing. A large black wolf stood only a hundred yards from me, sauntering towards the line of the trees behind the mountaintop clearing. Its deep black coat was a stark contrast against the freshly fallen snow. The wolf stopped as soon as I did, frozen in place. Its bright blue eyes met mine, and a soft gasp escaped my lips.How on earth could a wolfs eyes appear so… human?The wolf was bigger than any I had ever seen before, not that I had ever encountered one in the wild. It was as tall as a horse, with thick muscles and long sharp teeth that sank below its muzzle. It glared at me, unmoving except for its tongue that made one slow sweep across its upper lip. It appeared as if it wassmiling. I was alone.

Why was I stupid enough to think coming into the woodsalonewas a good idea? The wolf was much larger than I was; whywouldn’tit come after me? We didn’t encounter wildlife like this back in the city, and I had yet to see anything similar since I had started coming here.

I swallowed hard as the animal suddenly broke eye contact and ran full speed into the line of trees. Its body became a blur as it receded into the dense forest before it disappeared from view entirely. As fast as I could, I turned back to the car and scrambled inside, locking the doors behind me. Why had a wolf strayed this close to town? And why was it so…big? And how did its eyes, its expression, appear so…human?

I took several deep breaths, resting my head forwards on the steering wheel.Surely, I had to have imagined this…maybe this whole thing was the product of my imagination, or lack of sleep. That had to be it. It’s early, I’m tired, nothing unusual about seeing a wolf in Colorado, right? Ok, calm down, Diana.I glanced around before turning the car on, but the peak remained how it always had been, quiet and empty.

With a deep breath, I started the car and wound back down the roads of the mountain, eager to get back home. I parked my car on the street in front of the house, realizing with a twinge of regret that I had forgotten to plow the driveway yesterday. I had parked my car on the street last night, too. I hadn’t noticed it in my haste to get to the mountaintop this morning, but the driveway was still covered in a layer of wet, heavy snow.

I raced through the front yard, trying my best to stay within the footfalls I had created first thing this morning on the walkway. Despite my best efforts, my jeans were soaked up to my knees as I burst through the heavy wooden front door. The smell of pancakes filled the foyer as I closed the door behind me and kicked off my bulky black snow boots. I unzipped my jacket, shoving it into the coat closet before tearing towards the kitchen like a tornado.

“Mom!” I called as she turned from the stove with her spatula in hand, having heard me come in. “I saw a wolf. It was bigger than a regular wolf… it was practically the size of ahorse.I was by myself up on the mountain. It took off, but I came straight home,“ I blurted out, taking a deep breath and settling into one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

I wasn’t sure if I had been planning on telling my mom about the wolf sighting at all, but it poured out of me as soon as I saw her. I knew she didn’t think too highly of me wandering off alone in the first place, and this would only confirm her fears. We made an interesting pair, an extroverted weather woman and her quiet, artistic daughter. We had never been that close, that is, until after Dad had passed. When we had moved here and I had no friends, she was the only one I could turn to.

If I was going to tell her, the least I could do was leave out the part about it appearing almost…human. That would surely get me a lecture about my lack of sleep, daydreaming, yadda, yadda. I didn’t have it in me to hear another lecture this week.

She fixed me with a skeptical expression before turning back to the stove and moving the pancakes to a plate.

“I’m not crazy, I know what I saw,” I pressed, slumping down in my chair. Even without the mention of the wolf’s human-like eyes, this story went into the ‘Diana’s been daydreaming again’ pile.

“Diana, what time did you leave this morning?” she asked, her tone light but patronizing. All I could do was roll my eyes at her back in response. Just as I had guessed…she didn’t believe me.

“Why is that relevant?” I breathed, exasperated. I should have known better than to think she would believe me. Why had I even thought to tell her? Time and time again I tried to connect with her, but every single time I was met with a brick wall. Maybe we were just too different. I wanted so desperately to be close with her, but I always felt she didn’t understand me. I grabbed my hat and yanked it from my head, strangling the pom-pom in a tight grip under the table.

“Because you weren’t here when I woke up…” She trailed off, placing the plate of golden pancakes in the middle of the round oak table before returning to the stove.

“I left at…six. Maybe a bit earlier,” I confessed.

I grabbed a fork and a plate from the stack on the table and helped myself to the pancakes. I might as well be a well-fed daydreamer if that’s the card she was going to play.

“This sounds like another one of your stories,” she said matter-of-factly, throwing me a sideways glance from the stove. “Please stay out of the woods when you are alone.” She fixed me with a heavy glare over the brim of her thick black glasses. I suppose this wasn’t the best time to tell her I wasn’t exactlyinthe woods, per se.