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EMBERLYNN

T he news is blaming the crack I put in the street as a sinkhole. It resembles one, except for the lavender residue that was left on the broken pieces of asphalt. But everyone is pretending that’s normal. I’m just grateful I regained control of my ability before something worse happened. I almost fell into the crack, but I jumped far enough away at the last second.

Needless to say, I spent the next few days drained of energy.

That’s not too strange. What is a little bizarre, though, is three days later, I’m woken up by a stabbing sensation in my chest that’s so painful I wonder if my powers have decided to melt my insides. But as rapidly as the pain arose, it fizzled, and I suddenly felt okay again.

Like more than okay, actually.

Like I kind of feel lighter and, dare I say, calm.

But Liam, being Liam, ruins that for me.

“Hey, freak,” he sneers as I trot downstairs to leave for school. He’s perched on a bench in the foyer and is putting on his sneakers, but he pauses to smirk at me. “Nice outfit. Did you buy it from a secondhand store?”

I ignore him, reaching into my pocket to turn up the music, but not before hearing him say, “Too bad that sinkhole didn’t swallow you?—”

The music smothers the sound of his voice.

I veer away from him and enter the kitchen to grab a bagel. By the time I return to the foyer, he’s gone. Relief washes over me, and I walk outside into the cool air, closing the door behind me.

Once I arrive at the sideway, I turn right and start walking to school. The sky is cloudy but rain-free, and the air is crisp. On my way, I have to pass by the crack in the ground, but I do my best to avoid looking at it, not wanting to be reminded of what happened.

Of what I did.

Of what Liam did to me with the mug.

I have a bruise on my chest from where it hit me.

I hate him for it, but if I focus on that too much, warmth will spill through my veins. So, I don’t allow myself to think at all. Instead, I let the song lyrics drown my mind in the angst. It’s all I try to think about, and I’m doing a decent job of it until the Jeep rolls up beside the curb .

It’s déjà vu all over again.

I tense, preparing to reel around and sprint in the other direction—take the long way to school—but then the passenger window rolls down.

Liam sticks his head out, and his lips move, but I can’t hear him over the music. Worried, I turn all the way around and start power walking in the opposite direction.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the Jeep following me up the street. Liam still has his head out the window and his aura darkens to an alarming shade of green. Then the Jeep slams to an abrupt stop, and the passenger door flies open. Liam jumps out and storms toward me.

Panic courses through me, and I start to run, but he catches me by the arms and jerks me to a stop so violently that one of my earbuds falls out.

“You little freak. You think you can ignore me when you leach off my family?” He digs his fingers so deeply into my arm that I’m sure I’ll have bruises. “My father leaves, and my mother tries to replace him with your disgusting face so that we can earn some money. And all you do is taint our house with your ugly presence. Well, you know what? Fuck you. It’s time to pay your debt, trash can.” He yanks me with him as he ducks down a path that weaves between two houses.

I dig my heels into the ground and attempt to jerk away from him, but he tightens his grip and wrenches me hard enough that my shoulder pops. My hoodie falls off my head, and so do my sunglasses. Even though it’s just a sliver of fabric, I feel so exposed.

A sneer curls at his lips. “Huh? Who would’ve thought that exists underneath all those ugly clothes. Lucky me.”

“Let me go,” I warn, my voice hoarse from the limited time I spend using it.

I jerk my arm while planting my feet against the ground, but it’s useless—he keeps tugging me forward. I try to hit him, but he dodges it then swings me around in front of him, yanks my back against his body, and pins me against him.

“Let me go?—”

He slaps his hand over my mouth. Then he releases a chilling laugh as we reach the alleyway. On the other side, just behind the subdivision, is a thick tree line that bleeds into a forest.

“So, she does know how to speak,” he taunts as he drags me across the street and toward the woods, and I kick and fight the entire way. “Good. I’m glad your mouth works, because I’m about to abuse the hell out of it.”

I continue to fight like hell and stab my fingernails into his hands as we reach the forest’s edge.

He winces but only tightens his grasp on me. I know what will happen if we get into the seclusion of the trees and, for the first time in my life, I consider intentionally using my ability. But that could lead to so much worse than hurting him, so I bite down on his hand.

“Dammit!” he shouts, his hold on me loosening.

“Help me!” I scream then bash my foot into his shin .

He stumbles back, cursing in pain. When I reel around, his aura is bloodred and bleeding across everything. His nostrils flare, his lips curl as he straightens, and then he smacks me upside the head.

My ears ring as the world spins like a cracked-out merry-go-round. I stumble as heat swells through my body. I can feel it biting—my powers are begging to come out.

I’m going to lose control again, and this time, I’m unsure if I’ll be able to pull back.

The most terrifying part is that I’m not sure if I want to.

“Let her go—now—before I cut your throat,” a voice slices through my internal struggle and engulfs me like a summer breeze.

The voice is deep, masculine, and rippling with so much rage that I know their aura will be blazing red when I turn around.

Liam snickers as he peers over my shoulder down the alleyway. “Who the hell do you think you are? I don’t have to listen to you, bro.” He balls his hands into fists. “Do yourself a favor and turn around and pretend you didn’t see any of this.”

Reclaiming my balance, I peer over my shoulder while clutching my cheek. My surroundings are still blurry, so I blink a few times. Gradually, my vision focuses.

Standing across the street is a guy around my age. He’s dressed in black pants and a short-sleeve gray shirt. He has an eyebrow piercing, and wisps of his dark hair hang in his stormy gray eyes that are locked on Liam. While it’s startling how gorgeous he is, what’s even more shocking is the color of his aura. It's silver. I’ve never seen that color before. And even stranger is that a shadow is woven around it.

What the hell?

“You want to know who I think I am?” the guy says, his tone chillingly cold. “I’m the guy who’s gonna make you bleed out all over the street if you don’t get away from her right now.”

“You think so, huh?” Liam calls out to him, acting tough, but his voice carries a wobble to it. “And how the hell are you planning on doing that? It’s one-to-one, man, and I’m captain of my wrestling team, and I took State.”

The guy cocks his head to the side. “I literally have no clue what the hell you’re talking about, but it means nothing to me either way.” He steps forward. “And I promise you’re going to regret ever touching her.”

Liam busts up laughing while clutching his stomach. “You’re seriously about to throw down for her ? Trust me; she’s not worth getting your ass kicked, so do yourself a favor and walk away from this while you still can.” He unexpectedly grabs the sleeve of my jacket and tugs me toward him.

I trip over my feet but reclaim my balance and move to fling his hand off my arm. His fingers delve painfully into my flesh, and I wince, gritting my teeth. Then I lift my foot to kick him again, this time in the balls.

The guy across the street storms toward us, his aura so vivid it’s nearly blinding. “I’m going to kill you.” Rage pours off of him like a violent rainstorm.

“Now, Phoenix, what have I told you about committing murder in the middle of a street?” Another voice appears out of nowhere, startling both me and Liam.

A tall, lean guy around the same age as me is strolling out of the woods.

His blond hair is shorter on the sides and longer on the top, and his eyes are an alarmingly beautiful shade of teal. He’s wearing a long-sleeved black shirt with the sleeves shoved up and a pair of jeans and sneakers. I’m confused for many reasons, one being: why in the heck was he just standing around in the woods?

To make things even more puzzling, his aura is silver, as well, but his is hazier than the other guy’s.

“Right. The woods are a way better spot to kill him,” the first guy, whose name is apparently Phoenix, grins darkly at Liam. “It eliminates the risk of any witnesses.”

Liam squirms, shifting his weight. “Fuck you both. You think you’re tough?” he scoffs. “I can kick your asses with one hand tied behind my back.”

The guy with blond hair’s eyes widen, and then he cackles with laughter. “Oh my gods, did this guy seriously just say that?”

“He did,” Phoenix tells him, his hawk-like gaze fastened on Liam. “We should tie up his hand and let him try.”

I’m so beyond lost.

My confusion doubles when another guy hikes out of the woods. He has short brown hair and the darkest eyes I’ve ever seen. He’s sporting black pants, a matching shirt, and a pinstriped jacket. And like the other two, his aura is silver, but his has an intensity reverberating off it that the others don’t, as if it’s trying to burst out of a barrier and he’s fighting not to allow it.

“We’re not going to let him try anything.” This guy’s voice is as frigid as the breeze encompassing us. “Drag him into the woods now before someone drives by and spots us.”

“Screw you,” Liam snaps, releasing me and shoving me to the side. Then he spits onto the ground and spreads his arms out as he backs up. “I’ll take you all on.”

Phoenix’s nostrils flare as he strides across the street toward Liam with his fists balled to his side, fury storming off him.

Liam stumbles back like he wasn’t expecting any of them to actually go after him. Then, as he tries to bail, he slips in the dirt and falls to the ground. But he jumps back up and spins around, ready to take off in the only open direction. That’s when a fourth guy joins the party, rushing out of the wall of tree branches and blocking Liam’s last way of escape.

All the guys are gorgeous, but this one is the prettiest guy I’ve ever seen. Full lips, eyes the color of lavender, and blond hair that hangs to his chin. He has on jeans and a green shirt that makes his eye color pop. He also has a hoodie and sneakers on. Again, his aura is silver, but it carries a shimmer to it unlike anything I’ve seen before.

He strolls right up to Liam and whispers, “Sleep.”

Liam’s eyes roll into the back of his head, and he teeters to the side before slumping to the ground with a thump .

“Dammit, Wylder, I thought we said no magic,” the other blond guy groans. “You couldn’t even make it ten seconds.”

“Sorry,” Wylder mutters. “It was just instinct.” His gaze lingers on Liam for a moment before landing on me.

I may have reached a state of shock since I almost forgot I existed. But that changes as his gaze collides with mine. That’s when I realize the severity of the situation. That I’m surrounded by four guys, and one of them just used some sort of magic to make Liam pass out … I think he’s passed out, anyway. With all that discussion of murder, Liam could be dead for all I knew.

His chest is moving. I’m unsure if I’m relieved by that or not. I mean, I hate him, and he’s an awful person, but I’ve been around death too much in my life.

When I glance at Wylder, he hesitates before taking a cautious step toward me. He attentively eyes me over and asks, “Are you okay?” as he inches closer to me.

I don’t answer, not because I’m terrified—okay, well, I sort of am—but I’m also not used to conversing with people. Silence has been ingrained into me like the need to breathe.

A frown forms on his lips. He opens his mouth, but then his attention strays to my cheek. Anger flickers in his eyes. “Did he hit you?”

I touch my cheek then wince. Shit, I almost forgot Liam smacked me before these guys interrupted.

I swallow hard as the thought of what Liam was going to do crashes over me. However, I doubt it would’ve turned out that way since, more than likely, I would’ve ended up unleashing my powers on him.

Wylder starts to reach for me, and I stumble back.

“What are you doing?” I whisper, my barely used voice cracking.

His frown becomes more prominent. “I was just …” He rubs his lips together as he lowers his hand. “I want to help you, okay? You’re safe now.”

“Good gods, Wylder, you’re probably scaring the pixies out of her right now,” one of the guys says. “Back off and give her some time to process this.”

What the hell is this even?

And wait … Did he just pixies?

“I’ll take care of the asshole,” Phoenix mutters as he steps up to where Liam is lying on the ground. He cocks his head to the side. Then, looking as though it takes no effort, he bends down and throws Liam over his shoulder before stalking off toward the trees. Right before he vanishes into the shadows, he casts a glance my way. His expression is unreadable, but the shadow around his silver aura fleetingly shrinks before he disappears into the woods.

“Is he going to kill him?” I contemplate what to do next. I should run, right? This is beyond weird. And yet, I’m more comfortable with weird than normal.

“Nah.” The other guy with blond hair steps up beside me. “He’ll just torture him a little.” His eyes glint as he assesses me intently. “Freaking faeries, your eyes are gorgeous. ”

I shrink back at that.

My eyes are rainbow-colored and have been called freaky, gross, and weird. Never gorgeous.

Wylder groans. “Dammit, Nico. Can you go two minutes without hitting on someone?”

The blond guy’s—Nico’s—expression falters as he glares at Wylder. “Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.” Wylder stares him down. “You told me to back off, and now I’m going to give you some advice—stop hitting on her.”

Sparks of glimmering light hiss off Nico’s fingertip, and my panic skyrockets. Shadow Man used to do the same thing whenever he’d get upset with me.

My chest is heating up again as my magic melts to the surface.

I take off, walking backward and hurrying toward the road. That captures Wylder’s and Nico’s attention, and the other guy’s name I still don’t know.

“Um … Thanks for saving me,” I sputter as I misstep but manage not to fall down. “But I need to get to school.” Then I spin around and start jogging down the road with my heart racing while terrifying thoughts creep into my mind.

I knew I wasn’t the only one living in the world with magical abilities. But the only other person I’ve crossed paths with who possessed any sort of magical gifts was Shadow Man.

Crap, what if they work for him?

“Kaiden,” Nico hisses as I increase my speed to run .

“Go help Phoenix out,” Kaiden commands. “Wylder, come with me.”

I don’t wait to see what happens next. I run like my life depends on it—and it just might.

I keep slipping in the gravel, but no matter what, I don’t stop as I barrel up the side of the road.

“I’ll find you, little aura,” Shadow Man told me. “If you ever escape, I’ll always find you.”

As memories pierce my brain, heat courses through my veins. The ground vibrates. I attempt to shove all my emotions deep inside that metaphorical box I keep locked in my chest. It works enough that I can reach the corner of the street. Then, I glance behind me to see where the guys are.

I stop, my brows pulling together because the road is empty. “Where the heck did they go?”

I give myself little time to think about it and whirl back around, preparing to run to the school?—

Wylder materializes in front of me, and I stop short of slamming into him.

“I’m n-not going back,” I stammer, backing away from him. “I’ll kill myself before I do.”

Shock flashes across his face, and then he holds up his hands in front of him. “I swear we’re not here to hurt you. We just want to help you.”

“I don’t need help with anything.” Wrapping my arms around myself, I widen the space between us while frantically peering around .

Where are the other guys? Are they planning to jump me? Can I take all of them on?

“And I know you’re lying,” I add. “I know you have to be working for him .”

A crease forms between his brows. “I promise we don’t work for anyone—I swear.”

“Liar,” I snap, then spin around to hightail it away from him.

Kaiden is standing a few feet behind me, so I have no choice but to come to a stop. I consider my options. Either try to run across the street or say screw it and unleash hell on these guys and this entire neighborhood because that’s what will happen. I have hardly any control over my abilities, which means chaos will rain from the skies if I let even a drop of my powers go.

“Who do you think we work for?” Kaiden asks me calmly.

“You tell me,” I throw back at him, my mind soaring and causing that heat to build.

I need to calm the hell down.

“Wylder’s telling the truth—we work for no one. But if you don’t believe me.” He sticks out his hand with his palm up. “Feel the truth for yourself.”

Normally, if I wanted to, I could get a vibe on if he’s lying. That is, if I took the time to decipher the splashes of color mixed in with his aura. But I haven’t done that in a long time. And besides, none of these guys have typical auras.

“Why would touching your hand show me if you were lying?” I skeptically glance from his outstretched hand to his dark eyes.

He watches my reaction closely, asking, “Do you believe in magic?”

Do I believe in magic? What a crazy question. Even crazier is, after everything I’ve experienced, I want to say no.

I’ve known magic has existed my entire life, but I haven’t seen it since my time with Shadow Man and the few times when my grasp on my own abilities got the best of me.

My life has been so exhausting, filled with the crushing agony of brokenness and terror that’s stretched out over every damn day.

Bottling down an uneven breath, I step toward him. “If you try to hurt me, I’ll unleash my power on you, and you won’t survive,” I warn.

It’s the first time I’ve used my ability as a threat.

He nods. “All right, I’ll consider myself warned.”

I touch my fingers to his palm. His skin is basking with warmth, and a soft hum buzzes off it. Looking closely, I can see thin black lines occasionally weaving across his flesh. Those are the first details I noticed about him.

I’m uncertain how to describe what occurs next. It’s not like flashes of images of his truth blind me or anything major like that. His aura remains sliver and glittering against the sunlight creeping through the swirls of clouds above us. No magic spills through my veins and causes every part of me to believe him. And yet, I somehow just … know. Know he’s not wo rking for Shadow Man, that he has powers like me, and that he’ll never hurt me.

I withdraw my hand. “Okay, fine, I believe you.”

He neither stiffens nor relaxes as he lowers his hand to the side. He’s a complicated motherfucker to read, but many people have said that about me.

Tingles are kissing at my fingertips from where my skin grazed his. When I open and flex my hand, the sensation dims.

“Can I go now?” I ask, adjusting the strap of my backpack. “Or are you planning on dragging me into the woods, too?” It’s a dumb question to ask after I felt that Kaiden won’t hurt me, but I’m unsure what to expect.

“We’d never do that.” Wylder moves closer to me, strands of his blond hair dancing in the wind. “Ever. We’re here to protect you.”

My brows knit. “Protect me from what? Liam? Because …” I’m about to tell them I could’ve handled it if I wanted to, but I don’t know if that’s true.

If it had come down to that, would I have done it? Or would I have surrendered like I have for the last decade?

“Because what?” Kaiden hedges, his gaze never wavering from me.

I lift a shoulder, shake my head, and hug my arms around myself. “I don’t know what I was going to say. I’m really confused right now.”

Kaiden’s expression softens, and it’s the first time I’ve seen his stoic demeanor change. “That’s understandable.” He gives a short, considering pause. “However, we can explain things to you. There’s a diner around the corner.” He nods his head toward it. “We can walk over to it, get something to eat, and answer your questions. It’ll take some time anyway for Niki and Phoenix to take care of the human.”

Yeah, I’ve lived with weird living inside me for years. I’ve seen things no person has ever seen. I’ve experienced the unordinary to the extreme. Even so, hearing him say human like that is weird as hell.

Still, I nod, agreeing to go to the diner to get some answers, starting with: what the heck are they? And what are they going to do to Liam?