Page 7

7

EMBERLYNN

I can tell they’re all weirded out by the house I live in. Nico makes a comment about the blandness of it and that has me questioning what their homes look like. I guess I’m about to find out, because I’m packed and ready to go.

“That’s all your stuff?” Nico asks with a frown as he looks at the worn duffel bag that contains all of my belongings.

Wylder and Phoenix are in the room with me, looking around at the books and other items lining the shelves in the room. Kaiden was in here earlier, but then he received a phone call and went outside to answer it.

Nodding, I sling the handle of the bag over my shoulder. “It’s hard to have a lot of things when you’re in foster care. I’m usually only at a house for a few months before I’m sent to the next one. It makes it really complicated to get a job. And most foster parents don’t have a lot of money to spend on the kids they’re fostering. It’s not a big deal. I don’t need a lot of stuff.”

“Well, we’re getting you more stuff,” Nico insists as he fiddles with a snow globe on the dresser. He ends up breaking the winder off and hurriedly sets it back down.

I shake my head. “No way. That’s weird.”

His brows elevate. “What? Why?”

“Because …” I shift my weight as I adjust the handle on my bag. “It’s not your guys’ job to take care of me.”

He doesn’t remark but presses his lips together as he glances at Phoenix, who’s moved up beside me.

“Here. Let me carry that out for you.” He slides the handle of my bag off my shoulder and slings it over his.

“You don’t have to do that,” I insist, but seriously, what’s these guys’ deal with helping me? I’m not accustomed to it, and it feels like there might be strings attached—there always is when it comes to people being nice to me.

“I know, but I want to.” He crosses the bedroom and moves past Wylder as he steps through the doorway, heading for the SUV, I’m assuming.

Wylder pushes away from the doorframe and steps toward me, his lavender eyes fused to mine. “Are you sure you got everything?”

I nod, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Like I said, I don’t have a lot of stuff. And if I forget something, it’s not a big deal. ”

He reaches out and lightly sweeps his hand across my cheek. “Are you okay to go then?”

I’ll admit, it’s difficult not to become a bit flustered by his intense stare and soft touch. He’s just so freakin’ pretty that it briefly spazzes out my brain. I should probably tell him to stop touching me—normally, I would—but for some bizarre reason, the more he does it, the more comfortable I get with it.

“Are you sure I won’t get in trouble for leaving?” I ask as Wylder’s arm drops to his side.

“Yep.” Nico is the one to answer as he steps up next to me. “You belong to the witches now. And trust me; that’s a hell of a lot better than this.” He gives a disgusted look at the bedroom. “Blah, this place makes me want to cry and then eat a gallon of ice cream.”

I snort a laugh then slap my hand over my mouth. I’m so not used to laughing, but this guy is amusing, for sure.

Delight glistens in Nico’s eyes. “Aw, she likes my jokes,” he tells Wylder.

Wylder sighs. “Give her time. Eventually, she’ll grow tired of it.”

“Do you really want that after just hearing her laugh?” Nico questions with a haughty arch of his brow.

Wylder hesitates. “No.”

“Okay then.” He smirks at him before draping his arm around my shoulders. “Come on; let’s get out of this place before I start raiding the freezer. I’m really trying to watch my figure right now.”

I laugh. I can’t even help it this time. And it totally fuels his cocky smile—seriously, this guy is like a faerie on crack. But it’s not entirely bad. Like I said, I haven’t smiled in a long time.

By the time Nico, Wylder, and I are exiting the house, my cheeks ache from grinning. Kaiden is on the other side of the SUV, and he might still be on the phone. Phoenix is leaning against the SUV with his arms crossed. When he spots us, his forehead creases.

“What’s with all the smiling?” His gaze lingers on me.

“Nico’s doing a one-man show,” Wylder replies as we hike across the drying grass of the front yard and toward the SUV.

“Great, is that what we’re going to have to deal with the entire drive home?” Phoenix grimaces as he shoves away from the SUV.

“Emberlynn likes it,” Wylder explains as he halts beside Phoenix.

“So, we’re really going to have to deal with it then.” Phoenix’s lips sink into a frown. “I’m glad I brought my headphones.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad,” Nico protests dramatically. His arm is still around my shoulders, and he’s close enough to me that I can smell the scent of earthy tones flowing off of him. “Besides, being funny is my nature.”

“If you say so,” Wylder mumbles while Phoenix merely raises his brows, like okay .

Their dynamic is interesting, in the way that they argue, almost like they’re brothers. But I know Wylder doesn’t live in the same home as them.

“What are you guys exactly?” I ask as Wylder starts to get into the back seat of the SUV. When they look at me confusedly, I add, “I know you’re warlocks, but like … how are you related? Because you kind of act like brothers, but I don’t think you are.”

Wylder pauses from getting in and faces me, the dry leaves under his shoes crunching as he does.

“We’re in a coven together,” he explains, scratching his arm. “All witches and warlocks are in covens. Usually, there are about four or five members in a coven, but there have been cases of there being covens as small as two members and as large as eight.”

I know what a coven is and everything, but … “How did you guys end up in one together?”

“There’s a selection ceremony that happens when a witch or warlock turns twelve,” Wylder tells me, strands of his blond hair flapping in the wind. “The four of us lucked out when we ended up together because we were already good friends.”

My stomach ravels into knots at the idea that I may be put into a coven with witches and warlocks whom I don’t know. Or maybe I won’t since I’m almost eighteen. “What about me? Will I get put in one?”

Again, the three of them trade a look.

“You’re actually in our coven,” Wylder answers, watching my reaction closely .

“Oh.” I try to process the idea of this. “How did that happen if I wasn’t there?”

“That’s an answer we don’t have yet.” Wylder lowers his hands to his sides. “We can tell you more on the drive home. It’s kind of a long story, and we really should get on the road.” He looks up at the sky then at the houses lining the street.

Some of the neighbors are still outside, and they’ve started to stare, probably because of the massive, tinted-windows SUV the guys drive.

Nodding, I move to get into the car, but then I skid to a halt as the middle-aged woman who lives next-door comes running toward us.

“Yoo-hoo.” She waves her hand in the air.

“Who the hell is this?” Nico mutters under his breath while eyeing her cagily.

She’s donning a floral dress with boots, and her hair is in a bun. Nothing too out of the ordinary, yet something feels different about her.

She confirms this when she reaches us and, a little out of breath, says, “I’m Maryfell. I’m the witch who made the report of the use of illegal magic by this girl.” The scolding look she gives me throws me off. “You should be ashamed of yourself, young lady, for using magic in the open like that.”

Nico draws me back from her while Phoenix steps in front of me. “You need to back the fuck off.”

“Excuse me?” she replies. “How dare you speak to me like that? I’m an elder witch.”

“And I’m Kaiden Everson,” Kaiden intervenes as he rounds the SUV and joins us. His dark, cold gaze is fixed firmly on the witch. “What did you say your name was again?”

“Oh, don’t mind me.” Maryfell laughs nervously. “I don’t even know why I came over here.”

“Huh?” The word tumbles out of my mouth totally unintentionally, but her sudden nervous politeness because of Kaiden’s presence is strange, to say the least.

“Kaiden’s family has an extremely high status in the wiccan world,” Nico whispers in my ear. “And that, among other things, makes many witches and warlocks afraid of them.”

I look at him. “Should I be afraid of him?”

He shakes his head with zero hesitation. “Not at all.”

I point at Maryfell. “Should she be?”

He dithers, raking his teeth along his bottom lip. “How about we get in the car and let these silly kids hash this out?”

He’s ridiculous, but again, a stupid smile pulls at my lips. He grins at me, and I roll my eyes, but my smile remains.

We slide into the back seat then, him scooting in first, which belatedly makes me aware that I’ll be sitting between him and another one of the guys. While this makes me uneasy, I resist the urge to ask for a new seating arrangement.

Suck it the hell up, Emberlynn. They saved you. You’re fine. Nothing bad will happen.

But it’s burned into my instincts to be a bit paranoid. I even have literal burn marks on my body that remind me of why I need to be that way, despite how much of a pain in the ass it can be.

As I sit in the backseat, I subtly brush my fingers along the spot above my knee, where the burn marks are. The memory of how the scars got there are brand on my brain.

“Are you okay?” Nico’s voice is gentle, but he still startles me.

I nod, my pulse thrumming like a cracked-out hummingbird in my chest. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about some stuff.”

A contemplative look crosses his features as he rubs his lips together. “Are you nervous about going to Moonlight Crest?”

My thoughts weren’t on that, but now that he’s mentioned it … “A little bit,” I admit. “I’ve never been anywhere really, so traveling is foreign to me. And I’m not even traveling to like a normal town, but a magical one. And what even lives there? Just witches and warlocks? Or are there other kinds of magical creatures?”

He stretches his arm along the back of the seat, his lips set into a soft smile. “You don’t need to be nervous. Being in a coven means we protect each other, and you’ll always be protected.” He wavers. “As for other creatures, there are a lot more that live in Moonlight Crest than witches and warlocks. But it’s a safe town with rules and laws that make sure it stays a safe place.”

“What kind of other creatures?” I’m nervous despite his reassurance .

He drags out a pause of hesitancy. “I’ll tell you, but again, remember what I said about you being safe. Kaiden, Phoenix, Wylder, and I all come from powerful families, and we all have powerful gifts so, like I said, you’ll be safe and protected at all times.”

“You know, your hesitancy is making me more nervous,” I state. “I’m more of a rip-the-Band-Aid-off kind of girl.”

“Noted.” A trace of a smile returns to his lips but promptly recedes. “The majority of creatures that live in Moonlight Crest are witches and warlocks, werewolves, vampires, and there are some fey, as well.” A funny expression flitters across his face then dims. “There are also a few rarer creatures, like pixies, sirens, and we have shapeshifters.”

At this point, I’ve reached the peak of Shocked Mountain, and I’m clueless as to how to get down.

Nico’s glittering eyes search mine. “You’re freaking out, aren’t you?”

“A little bit.” Total understatement of the year. “I just didn’t realize all of that existed. Vampires and werewolves … faeries? I mean, aren’t those supposed to be super tricky creatures that like glamour anything into an illusion? Unless all the stuff in the books I’ve read is incorrect?” I wait, partly hoping he’ll tell me that all the books I’ve read have been wrong. Because that would mean anything could be a lie in this world I’m about to enter.

But his face says it all; the corners of his lips are tugged downward, and wariness reflects in his eyes. “Most of them aren’t too terrible, at least the ones who live in Moonlight Crest. If you go to where the wild ones live, it’s an entirely different story.”

Wild ones?

“Oh.” I grapple to wrap my head around what he told me. I keep visualizing a bunch of winged, glittery creatures dancing around me, begging me to dance with them. If I do, I’d dance until I died. At least, that was the case in the last book I read. “Do they have wings?”

“The faeries?” he asks, and I nod. “They do, but they don’t walk around with them on display. They usually only let them be visible during special occasions … and also when they’re around their mate.” Again, a strange look crosses his features.

My eyebrows lift as I widen my eyes. “ Mate ? That’s a thing for faeries?”

“For all creatures,” he explains with a hint of reluctance.

My lips form an O , but no sound leaves my lips. A moment passes by while I grapple to process not only this information but the entirety of everything.

“I can tell you’re freaking out, but I promise you, you don’t need to worry about any of this right now,” Nico tells me cautiously. “You can take everything in small steps. Nothing major needs to happen at this moment except for getting you to Moonlight Crest and getting you acquainted with the magical world.”

When I went from living with Shadow Man to suddenly being thrown into the human world, it was a shock to my system. I struggled to learn how to exist outside of a cage and in a world where magic and powers weren’t a thing. I had no one to teach me, and many of my foster parents grew highly impatient with me. I was yelled at, punished, and smacked around because of mistakes I made.

It sucked, and that’s putting it mildly.

I cringe at the loudness of my shaky exhale. “Thank you.”

He tilts his head, strands of his blond hair falling across his forehead. “For what?”

I shrug, picking at my fingernails. “For being patient with me. It has to be frustrating to be around someone who doesn’t know anything, and you have to explain everything to them.”

He fixes his finger under my chin and turns my head so I’m meeting his gaze. “It’s not frustrating at all. Please don’t ever think that. And trust me when I say this. All of us are absolutely grateful that we get to teach you everything about our world. Do we like the fact that we have to because you were lost in the human world? Absolutely not. But that isn’t your fault.”

I nod but wonder if he’d think that if he knew the truth about where I was prior to the human world and what I did. But I so do not want to discuss that at the moment. Instead, I inquire, “What other legends are true about creatures? I mean, do vampires drink blood? Can they possess minds? Do werewolves have to turn every full moon?”

“They can actually change whenever they want.” Wylder ducks his head as he climbs into the SUV, taking a set beside me. “As for vampires, they’re a complicated species. I think it might be best to keep your distance from them until you get more comfortable with the magical world.”

“Agreed,” Nico scoots closer to me. “You’ll be able to scope them out relatively easily. Just look for the fanged creatures that dress in mostly black and have no freckles at all.”

“No freckles?” I question. “That’s weird.”

“Freckles, moles, scars—any sort of marks or flaws were erased when they became undead and immortal,” Nico elaborates. “Their eyes also turn red when they’re bloodthirsty, but there are laws that forbid them from drinking from other creatures, unless they have permission.”

“I guess that’s kind of reassuring,” I mutter, overwhelmed. “Can they walk in the sunlight?”

“They can, but they don’t prefer to because it weakens their powers,” Wylder answers, drawing my attention back to him. “More than likely, you won’t have much interaction with them. They tend to hang out with their own kind. Most immortals do.”

“Are we immortal?” I inquire curiously.

Wylder shakes his head. “We live longer than humans, though. Werewolves are the same.”

I’m highly aware that both of their legs are resting against mine. “What about faeries?”

Wylder’s lavender gaze glides to Nico. “Fey aren’t immortal, but their lifespan is much longer than witches and warlocks. ”

I rub my forehead, my mind spinning, and I start to doubt that I’ll ever reach the peak of Shocked Mountain. Honestly, I wonder if I’m barely a step onto it.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Wylder assures me, brushing his fingers through my hair. “Like Nico said, there’s no rush to learn all of this. And we’ll help you with everything, okay?”

“Okay.” I attempt to aim for a more relaxed demeanor, but the truth is, I’m a mess of confusion floating in a sea of madness. And I can’t swim, so yeah, that’s scary.

My worry only escalates when a cry ripples through the air. My head snaps toward the back of the SUV where, through the window, I can see Maryfell is stumbling back from Kaiden.

She’s flinging her hands in the air and yelling, “Get the shadow, buzzing bees away from me! I won’t let you do this! You monstrosity—” She abruptly quiets, her hands falling to her sides.

Kaiden stands in front of her with his back turned toward me. His posture is rigid, and I swear the faintest wisps of shadows are swirling around him. Phoenix is standing close by with his arms crossed and his black, hollow gaze locked on Maryfell …

Wait … black hollow gaze …

“Oh my God,” I breathe out—he looks possessed.

“It’s okay,” Wylder assures me quickly when he notices the direction of my gaze. “They’re just using their powers to make Maryfell forget about all of this.”

I stare at Phoenix for another heart-slamming moment before tearing my gaze off him and fixing it on Wylder. “About you guys being here?”

He nods. “And about ever seeing you.”

My puzzlement magnifies. “What? Why?”

“Because …” Wylder dithers, his head wavering from side to side.

Nico finally offers me a full explanation. “Because, usually, when a witch or warlock lives undetected in the human world, they’ve gone rogue, which is what we refer to them as. While we know you’re not a rogue, Maryfell is suspicious of it, so it’s better if she just forgets about you altogether, so she doesn’t end up causing problems for us later on.”

I frown. “I’m guessing it’s a bad thing to be a rogue.”

“It is. Because, usually, they’ve done something corrupt. Or at least been accused of doing so.” Nico sweeps his hand through his hair. “Although, false accusations do happen.”

My thoughts travel to Shadow Man and how he fits the description of a rogue. Well, kind of. He lived in the human world, but not like humans. And his castle-like home was up on a mountain, away from civilization.

Nico’s eyes rove over me, and questions fill his eyes. “Are you okay?—”

He’s cut off by Phoenix hopping into the passenger seat.

I’m grateful for the interruption since I’m pretty positive he was about to inquire where my mind was.

A moment later, Kaiden climbs into the car, as well. “Now that that’s taken care of, let’s get the hell out of here,” he mumbles as he starts up the engine.

Phoenix slumps back in the seat. “Agreed. No offense, Emberlynn, but the human world kind of sucks.” He glances at me from over his shoulder, and relief washes over me that his eyes have returned to their standard gray color.

“No offense taken. I’ve never liked it here.” Though I’ve never lived anywhere else either, as far as I can remember.

Maybe when I was a baby and my parents still wanted me, we lived in a pretty town with sparkling magic, but who the hell knows, since I can’t remember much of my time with them. However, I do wonder if I’ll like Moonlight Crest. I could merely be the kind of person who doesn’t feel content anywhere. Perhaps this gloomy cloud will always hover over me. Or maybe it’s not as magical of a place as these guys are portraying it to be. I barely know them, and a small part of me questions my comfort around them. They have magical powers, and from what I saw them do to Maryfell, they could manipulate my emotions. It’s a concern that skyrockets when, as we’re driving away, I peer over my shoulder and find Maryfell happily waving at us.

I twist back around in the seat, unsure what to make of it. I make a promise to myself, though, to be on the cautious side, to remember all the times during the years I spent with Shadow Man. So many moments surround those memories where I was tricked into believing I was safe, and then he would rip it all away from me.

Over and over again .

It got so bad that I constantly felt like I was freefalling into an abyss where I may never land at the bottom. Eventually I did, and that bottom became years of being passed around in the human world.

No, I can’t trust these guys yet. Not until I get more answers about them, about myself and, most important, what the hell their powers are.