“Does anything look familiar?” I watched her scan the surroundings and settle on what looked like a mountain really far out.

“That wasn’t in the meditation, but Paige showed up, and it looks like the same one, just on the other side,” She looked at me, her face laced with confusion. “I’m not sure.”
“Well, it’s better than nothing.” I took a few steps in that direction before looking back and seeing Sophie still there. “What?”
“Are you sure this is what we should be doing?”
“We agreed to let the boy choose,” I said. “So, let’s go do that.”
She sighed and pointed to the area in front of us. I still didn’t see anything, but she must. “The house is shielded.”
“You can see it?”
“Not really, but it’s the right size and the energy glitches there if you look long enough,” she said, taking a step past me and walking towards it.
I ran to catch up. “You know I don’t want anyone to die, but the numbers don’t lie.”
“I get it. You think one is better than a hundred,” she said, not looking at me.
I grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Sophie. You have to understand where I’m coming from.”
“I do. That doesn’t make it right,” she said, pulling her arm away and walking towards where she said the house was.
We didn’t even make it five feet before my ears were ringing and sand was flying. I grabbed Sophie and pulled her to where I was, but the ringing just got louder. “What is that?”
Before she could answer, pain flooded my body. A hand was on my shoulder, pushing me down, but I was able to knock it away and get a hold of myself in time to see Mara going for another touch to give me that horrible pain.
I was able to kick her away and grabbed Sophie’s hand before pulling a potion from my pocket. A gust hit my hand like a punch, and the bottle went flying. I didn’t have time to react before Mara was pushing pain through my body, pinning me to the sand.
I saw Sophie take a step towards me.
“Don’t, or I won’t stop and every organ in her body with explode,” she snapped. “I still owe you for my fucking hand.”
Sophie’s gaze flicked to me and then back to Mara.
“I’d kill you both now, but our new demon friends want some new toys.”
The pain increased until I couldn’t stand it anymore, and my vision went black.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Lynn

I rushed towards Cam, but just as I was getting there, Kalerian stepped from behind him and let his body fall to the side.
He lowered his sword and let it rake against the ground while he walked closer. I refused to run even if I had nothing to fight him with, I wasn’t letting him hurt anyone else.
Ren grabbed my arm and yanked me back, stepping in front of me. “Are you crazy? You don’t even have your knives.”
“I’m not letting him hurt anyone else. This has to end,” I almost yelled.
“You tried that and got your ass handed to you,” he snapped. “Stay back and find us a way out of here.”
I wanted to argue with him, but he was right. To the left, Lexa was dealing with another witch I didn’t recognize, but his power seemed to be dealing with shadows. He kept pulling her into shadow and she kept fighting with her own weapons, a short sword and a hunting knife. Then the air went thick, and everything stopped. I glanced at Lexa.
She was holding her hand up, using that time stop ability to give us a chance. “Get the hell out of here,” she yelled. “I can’t hold them for long.”
I glanced back at Kalerian. His stride was stopped but his hand was moving. “It’s not holding.”
His eyes met mine, and he cocked his head at Lexa. “Time is your power.” He smiled. “Too bad I’m immune to that.”
Ren pulled his sword and waited, but Kalerian didn’t make any move towards us. He looked at Ren and back to me. “He’s always right there to fight your battles, isn’t he?”
“You can’t have her,” Ren said. “She’s stronger than you.”
“Is she?” He smiled wide. “Face it Ren, she’s becoming stronger than anything you could ever hope to be, and it scares you.” He took a step. “All that power and none of it came from you.” He took another step. He looked from him to me. “I can help you.”
“Help me become a demon?” I laughed. “Fuck off.”
Ren didn’t wait and swung his sword at him. Kalerian blocked it with his own and kicked him back. Ren rolled back onto his feet and jumped up just before Kalerian swung his sword downward. Ren blocked it, but Kalerian pushed.
The air seemed to charge like it did before a huge storm. Static crackled around Ren before he let electricity surge from him, knocking Kalerian back. He turned to me and pulled me back towards the door.
“What are you doing?” I said.
“Getting you the hell out of here,” Ren said.
“It’s not safe there either,” I snapped. He stopped right in front of the door.
“You have a chance at least,” he said.
Before I could counter, a huge gust of wind pushed him through the door before I could reach for him. I snapped my gaze towards Kalerian, standing almost directly in front of me.
“He won’t be coming back anytime soon,” he said, taking a step closer. I held my ground, and he stopped in front of me. He leaned in. “You’re almost there.” He grabbed my arm and held it. “All you need is one. Last. Push.”
Fire burned through me, and my vision went black, and then I was someplace else.

***

Screaming all around me grabbed my attention. I was in that same Japanese village I’d been dreaming about, but this time it was on fire. I was dressed like the dreams, but this time I was in control instead of just watching it happen.
A woman ran towards me, and I grabbed her and guided her to the edge of the village, away from the chaos. Someone attacked from the left, but I blocked it and stabbed him in the neck. I had no idea where that came from. Another man grabbed me from behind, and I stabbed his hand, but he didn’t let go.
Blades flew past my face, and the man loosened his grip until he fell back. I looked up and Kalerian was there, his hand extended.
“Come on, we have to go,” he said.
I just stared at him.
A smile crept to his lips. “This is where it started, you know.”
“Get out of my head,” I snapped, and he grabbed my arm and yanked me to him.
“I will always be in your head,” he said. “And you have always been in mine.” He took a step towards me. “This is where I met your soul and decided your destiny.”
“You can’t decide someone else’s future,” I snapped.
“Every life you’ve had since,” he said, and the surroundings changed to the middle of a field in Scotland, the skies a mix of orange and pink. “Every time you came back-.” The surroundings changed again to a crowded street in London, with people wearing long dresses and top hats. The smell of wood burning in stoves for heat and horses filling my nose. “I made sure you were on this path.” The surroundings changed again to my mother and my father sitting at a bar in Tokyo. The sound of a jukebox playing in the distance and her laugh. The one I missed so much. “Including this one.”
“Why?”
“That kind of power,” he turned my arm over and pulled up my sleeve. “It takes lifetimes to grow.”
I pulled my arm out of his grasp. “No. You did this to me. You cursed me.”
“I made you strong. Unstoppable. You’re stronger than any human on this planet. They stifled your growth.”
“They were keeping me from you,” I snapped.
“No one can keep you from me,” he said, his fingers moving through my hair. “You’re mine.”
I pushed him back. “I don’t know what you thought this was going to accomplish. I’m not going anywhere willingly with you.”
“You will,” he said. “They will never understand your power. They will try to control you.”
“And you wouldn’t?” I laughed. “That’s all you do.”
“I’m the only one who has gone out of my way to make you strong instead of holding you back,” he said. “I’m the only one who understands you.”
I shook my head, but maybe he was right. Everyone around me was trying to protect me, but they held me back in so many ways. My mother when she took me from my home. If I’d stayed, maybe I’d have been able to find the power tied to my witch side. The one I was supposed to have instead of it being so behind. Maybe I could have stopped all this before it happened.
“You’re so close to remembering everything,” he said.
“I remember everything I need to.”
“Do you?” He turned his head to my right as he spoke, and I followed his gaze. An unmistakable version of Ren was fighting with someone I couldn’t see, not until he thrust his sword into the other man and stepped back.
Falling to the ground was my father in this life, his blood pooling on the ground, mixing with the mud.
I moved to help him, and Kalerian held my arm, holding me in place.
“You can’t save him. He’s long dead,” he said.
“Why would you show me this?”
“Because Ren isn’t who you think he is.”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Ren

I landed on my back in front of the door, the two guards standing between myself and the way back to Lynn. I grabbed my sword, but the swampy ground beneath me held me down. It was almost like it had fingers pulling me deeper.
“And here you thought you were going to get back through,” one of the guards said with a laugh. “We knew you were coming, witch.”
My legs sank deeper, and the gunk grabbed my hands, pulling them under before it steadied. “You know this would be way more fair if I could use my hands for this fight,” I said with a smirk.
“It’s not us you should be worried about,” one said and looked behind me.
I already knew who it was standing there. Her energy was unmistakable and strong.
“It’s been a long time, Ren.”
I couldn’t turn to face her, but she walked around the muddy bog and stood in front of me. She was still eerily beautiful. Her light hair fell down her back in waves, over the strangely perfect white dress she was wearing. It seemed to float with her, and her emerald eyes had a glow to them that drew you in. I held her gaze even though she was driving waves of her anger through me with.
“It’s nice to see you too, Aoibheall,” I said, keeping my voice steady.
“We made a deal, Ren, and you choose to run,” she said, her hair floating around her in a way that somehow made her more beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
“I had things to do,” I said with a smirk. “You know how it is.”
She took a long breath in. “That Lynn woman, I hope you said your goodbyes.” She leaned down. “It will be a long time before you see anyone again.”
“He made a deal with you, didn’t he?”
She smiled. “Kalerian and I go far back in years. Much further than you and I.”
“Was this the plan all along?”
She didn’t answer but looked back at the guards. “Take him to my castle.” She looked back at me. “I have someone else I need to meet.”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Sam

“Sam.” The voice pushed through the darkness, and I felt myself reach for the familiar, but it wasn’t who I wanted it to be.
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling for a minute. How the hell was I back here?
“Finally, I was beginning to wonder if she’d fried your brain, little sister.”
I snapped my gaze to Liam, standing in front of my closed door. “What the fuck?”
“I made a deal to get you your old room back,” he said. “Of course, the door will stay locked for now.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“I know you had a hard time at the end, but we’re back together now. We’re family and we stick together,” he said.
“I’m not who I was,” I said a little too quickly.
He watched me. “Aren’t you?”
I stared at him. “You don’t know me anymore.”
“I know you refuse to use the gift you were given even for them.” He crossed his arms. “Are you so scared of who you are?”
“That is not who I am,” I countered. It hurt so much to see the brother I grew up wanted to be like, on the wrong side of all this. “All this stuff-.“ I gestured around the room, to the large bed and the fancy decorations. “-It doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means we survive,” he said simply.
“Is it worth it if we lose who we are?” As soon as I said it, I understood what Sophie was saying the entire time. One life or a thousand, they both mattered, and no one should have to make a choice that could harm either. “I know the brother who pushed me on the swings is in there somewhere.”
He leaned towards me and shook his head. “You’re wrong.”
“Liam,” I said.
He sighed. “I never wanted this to happen, but it’s the only way you’re going to come back.” He stepped to the side, and a man I hadn’t seen before, who was the size of a small house, grabbed me and dragged me from the room.
I could hear Liam from the hallway. “Just do what they say and come back to me, sister.”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Lynn

My eyes flew open, and I was lying on the ground in front of the portal. I rolled over to Lexa running up to me.
“What the hell?” she roughly grabbed my shoulders to pull me into a sitting position.
I blinked at her, my mind was still reeling over what I’d just seen. Ren, the man I trusted more than anyone else in the world, killing my father. It may have been a past life, but it still happened, and I still felt it. “What?”
“What the hell just happened?” She kept her eyes on me as she spoke.
“I don’t… I don’t know,” I said, looking at my hands. They were back to one being entirely human and the other with the black swirling up my hand and fingers.
“You don’t know, but he left you here?” Lexa shook her head. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” I said again. I glanced around the area to people picking up their friends and others rushing to get things together. That’s when I remembered Cam. “Cam, is he dead?”
Lexa watched me for a long minute before answering. “No.”
Another person I didn’t recognize walked towards us. He was tall with long straight blond hair and dark eyes that looked right through me as a whole. I shivered under his gaze.
“They’re gone,” he said, glancing at me. “The demon has an interest in you.”
“He has from the beginning,” Lexa said. “She’s connected to him.”
“And you’re not connected to that dude you were fighting?” Finally, I had my snark back, even if I was still trying to figure out my next move.
“He’s not as dangerous as Kalerian,” she said. “He’s still human.”
“Kalerian was never human,” I countered. “We have to get Ren.” If Ren was not the man I thought he was, it was safer for everyone if he was here. So I could keep an eye on him and figure out what to do next.
“The elves already have a plan and are retrieving him, but he won’t come here,” the blond said.
I stared at him.
“Mykr is my name,” he said. “Your friend is safe as long as the queen is distracted.”
“I don’t understand?”
“You don’t need to,” he said and smiled in a way that made me think he was probably right.
“What about Sam and Sophie? Are they here?” I decided that a change of subject was the best option. Plus, we weren’t much good all scattered like this.
“They were, but they went to get the doorkeeper for this door,” Lexa answered, holding her hand out to help me up.
I took it even though I knew she didn’t want me here anymore than I wanted to be. Kalerian would always be an issue for anyone I was around, and I wasn’t so sure I was safe to be around anymore. Not like this.
“What about Tara? Is she here?” I glanced at Mykr, who didn’t say anything. Maybe he didn’t know her.
“He took her,” a familiar voice said from behind Mykr. I took a step around him and couldn’t believe who I was looking at.
“Miles?”
He smiled, and I ran up to him, pulling him into a hug. “It’s good to see you too.”
“What happened?” I leaned back to look at him. “Ren said you were killed.”
He dropped his gaze. “I was stabbed. It was bad, Lynn.” He put his hands on my shoulders. “I have to tell you something.”
“Anything,” I answered. The only thing I wanted was to be around my friend again, to see him alive was everything. Especially after all that had happened.
He took a breath. “It was Ren who stabbed me.”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Ren

I counted the scratches on the wall of the little cell the queen’s guards put me in. The smell of the dirty water seeping into my cell filled my nose, and the tiny window to the far side of the cell was the only light. The odd colors of silver and blue filtered in from it in a stream.
My count was up to two hundred and eight when I heard footsteps outside my cell door. I turned my head to see a guard with a plate of horrible looking foods. Most were either almost rotted or activity spoiling.
“You better eat or you’re going to die well before the queen gets back,” the guard said, pushing the plate into my cell.
I turned back to the scratches. “Damn it, I lost count. Now I have to start over.” I didn’t bother looking towards the guard, but he wasn’t hanging around long enough to hear.
The sound of vines wrapping around the bars of the window caught my attention. I glanced to it as they pulled and the window popped out of the stone wall.
I hurried over and leaned out to see what the hell was going on. Standing there in his full Elemental glory was Eó Rossa, the same guy from the door. “What are you doing here?”
“You can’t be here, human. Eventually, you’d have to eat something and be trapped here forever,” he said with a sigh. “No human should be here.”
“So you do care,” I said with a smirk, and he made a face like I’d fed him straight shit.
“Are you coming or what?”
I pulled myself through the narrow window and let my feet find the ground. “Wait, I need my sword.”
“I already have that handled,” he said. “Your sword can’t stay either. Too powerful.”
“Because it’s a Fae sword,” I finished for him.
“No, because it’s made for you,” he said, rolling his eyes like I was the stupidest human he’d ever met. “They will be here soon with the sword, then we leave.”
“What about the Queen?”
“A problem for another day,” he said. “You have too many already.”
“You have no idea,” I said and followed him through the fog to a nearby area where we waited. It didn’t take long for a small group of tiny men to make their way towards us, holding my sword. I smiled and glanced at Eó Rossa. “They got it for me.”
“No, they got it for me,” he clarified. “You need it to kill the demons.”
I furrowed my brow. “That won’t kill Kalerian.”
He looked back at me and shook his head. “It will if you use it right, idiot.”
I opened my mouth to make a smart ass remark and then thought better of it. “You know, no one can mistake you for a nice guy.”
He grumbled and started walking away. I grabbed my sword and followed. “Hey, which way do I go?’
“You don’t remember how you got here?”
I glanced in all directions trying to remember, but the longer I was here, the worse it was to remember. “No.”
He made an aspirated huff and started walking. “Are you coming or not?” He said, stopping to look at me for a moment.
I didn’t hesitate and followed. “You’re taking me back to the door?”
“No, that way isn’t safe, but I’ll take you to a ring,” he said. “You can go home from there.”
Fairy rings, I thought those were a lie, but somehow Hope crossed back and forth when she wanted. Although from what Lexa told me a while back, it was less and less. Either she wasn’t able to do it as much or something was keeping her occupied in the Fae world.
“I didn’t realize they had them here,” I said.
He didn’t look back at me. “They didn’t until the UnSeelie Court took over. Now they just happen. But they don’t last long. The Queen has them destroyed as soon as they are found.”
“But you know where there’s one that’s still in tack?”
“I know everything that’s connected to this world and all the others. I’m an Elemental.”
“Of course,” I said and followed as he picked up his pace.
“We have to hurry. They know you’re missing and the Queen is coming back,” he said. “She won’t be pleased with me if she catches us.”
“You’ll be okay, though, right?” I hurried after him, but he didn’t answer. Of all the things I’d done over the years to protect myself and Lynn and try to stop all of this, I’d never hurt anyone in the Fae world. That was a massive no no. Hurt one, and the rest will make your life a miserable hell.
“Here.” He stopped suddenly, and I almost ran into him. “Step in. The sword will do the rest since you aren’t Fae.”
I glanced at him standing on the edge and stepped into the circle. It was hard to see where the mushroom lined the bog under us, but once I was inside it, I could feel the power. This thing was real, and I hoped it would get me some place near wherever the hell Lynn and the others were.
I felt a surge of power through me, and one minute I was looking Eó Rossa in the eyes and the next I was standing in blinding sunlight.
And not where the others were.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Kalerian

I held the girl’s arm while I walked her into Charles office. His eyes met mine, and I let her go. She ran to her father, who came out from behind the desk.
“You have her back,” I said simply. “Now I need something from you.”
He looked at me while still holding onto his daughter. “What is that?”
“I need humans. Ones that will do whatever I tell them. Young ones,” I said.
“Humans aren’t usually what you’re after,” he said and then glanced at his daughter. “You remember where your room is, right?” He smiled as he spoke to her, like he was actually a caring father. She nodded. “Go hang out in your room, and we’ll do something fun tonight now that you’re back.”
She smiled and took off.
“You trust her, running through these halls?” I said. “She’s been with them for weeks.”
“She’s my child. Of course, I trust her.”
I raised an eyebrow but didn’t question it. If she did something stupid, I’d deal with it.
“I can control her,” he said simply. “Now, these humans you want. There are a ton in the camps you could pick from.”
“I need specific ones. Young for my brothers,” I said. “I want to give them a gift.”
“You don’t seem like the giving kind,” Charles said, taking a seat at his desk.
“If I don’t give them something to play with, they will find a witch to and none of us want that.”
“So, I should expect this human not to come back,” he said. “I’ll find a few for you to pick from.” He leaned forward in his seat. “How is getting the rest of your family here coming along?”
“My brothers would like me to throw Lynn back in the door, but I have other ideas that will get them here. I just need to find the right ones,” I said with a smile. None of these humans knew how the door worked. Unfortunately, I was very familiar, and finding the right ones to sacrifice was extremely hard. Lucky for me, I already knew where one person was. “Find me some humans. I have other things to deal with.”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Ren

I walked for what seemed like forever looking for anything that resembled a town or something. I had no idea where the hell I was or how to get to Lynn. This was one of those times I wished I had a travel potion, but we were stuck in hell instead.
“Where the hell am I?” I said to no one but the air. Everything smelled like cattle and mud, even though it seemed dry and there weren’t any cattle I could see.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, I stumbled onto a road. One that had survived the wars and was still seemingly functional. I followed it for a while and the sun moved overhead. Just before dusk, an old, broken town came into view. It looked abandoned, with the buildings half gone and no one in sight.
“Well, this isn’t going to help much,” I said with a sigh. “I guess I can rest for the night at least and maybe figure out where the hell I am.” I walked down the middle of the street through the town, looking for anything that might be suitable for a place to stay.
Most of the buildings were either commercial ones or they had half the front blown out, and neither of them would be suitable for tonight. I wanted a bed, a real one for once.
I walked past the town center and stopped in front of what looked like it would have been the mayor’s home. It was large and took up an entire city block. “Now we’re talking,” I said and opened the iron gate surrounding it.
The trees were overgrown, and the grass was fairly high, but everything still looked decent. It was like it wasn’t as affected by the last six years we’d been fighting, and so many people were either taken to the camps or ran for their lives.
I was guessing this guy either died trying to get back home or joined the bad guys. Either way, this was going to be where I stayed for at least the night. Traveling on foot was going to take a hell of a long time to get anywhere, and the only clue I had to where Lynn was, were the green and pink northern lights. My guess was the Arctic Circle.
The large wooden door to the home was already open, and things were thrown all over the place by whoever was in there previously, but everything large, the furniture and the fixtures were still there.
The moment I stepped inside, I felt off. The home was huge and extremely quiet. I walked into the kitchen, and everything was thrown on the table or the floor. The fridge was long empty, and there was mail still sitting on the center of the large wood table. The cabinets were made of some fancy dark wood, my mother would have killed to have in her home. I grabbed a piece of mail and looked at the address. I was back in the United States, or what was left of it. In Texas.
I sighed at the idea of being in Texas, but at least I knew where I was now. That was a start.
I made my way up the winding stairs and into the master bedroom. It looked pretty untouched minus the drawers being open and some clothing thrown around the room.
The large platform bed was still made and the paintings lining most of the walls were still there. There was a large window to the left of the bed and a small nightstand on the right. Twilight was the only light coming into the room, which suited me fine. I was ready for a good night’s rest. Then I could figure out where to find Lynn and get back to helping her with Kalerian.
I drifted off to sleep for at least a couple of hours before howling woke me with a startle. I opened my eyes and listened for where they could be. It was probably nothing, but there was always the chance it was the hellhounds out hunting.
I heard it again and sat up to look out of the window. Sure enough, there were some lights in the distance and several hellhounds sniffing out magick. My hand fell to the sword, and I realized this damn thing was a beacon leading them right here.
A hellhound was sniffing the gate and howling for the others.
“Shit,” I said to myself and jumped out of the bed. I carefully went down the stairs and headed for the back of the home. I headed for the kitchen when a hand grabbed me and pulled me back into the hallway. I rounded my fist to hit whoever it was, but before I could, my hand was pushed back and hit the wall. Someone I knew stepped into the moon light and I smiled. My old master shook his head.
“Ren, you shouldn’t be here,” Kurayami said.
“It wasn’t by choice.” I furrowed my brow. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving you,” he responded and waved me down the hallway. “When they come in, they will find me and you will have a chance to get away. Don’t wait,” he said, handing me two bottles of travel potion. “Find my daughter and make sure she’s safe.”
“Did you know?” I didn’t even think about it before I asked. “Did you know what he was turning her into?”
He sighed. “Yes.”
My stomach dropped. This whole time he was training both of us, he knew what she was and didn’t warn her. I’d figured it out on my own, but he knew this entire time. “Why didn’t you stop it?”
“There is no stopping this. There is only making the transition as easy as possible and keeping her protected,” Kurayami said. “Take care of her.”
“You know I will,” I said, and he hurried out of the front door towards the hellhounds. I heard them howling and calling to the other magick users who were looking for people they could kill or worse. I slipped one bottle into my pocket and broke the other on my chest, thinking about Lynn and hoping I wasn’t too late.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Lynn

I sat next to Cam in the little hut towards the center of their camp. A young woman with long dark hair checked the bandage on his chest and then glanced at me. Her light gray eyes were a sharp contrast to the rest of her. She was short and small in frame, probably around nineteen or so.
“Is he okay?” I asked when her eyes met mine.
“As much as he can be. He’s still alive anyway,” she said. “We need a real healer.”
“Sophie can do it when they get back,” I said, letting my gaze fall. If they come back.
She nodded and walked past me through the door, leaving me alone with Cam. I kept my eyes on the rough grass under us. When they built these things, they hadn’t put a floor in, probably because they were never meant to be permanent.
The walls were made of hurried together pallets and wood they’d found from God knows where. Cam was lying on a table they’d put together for the wounded, but the way his blood leaked through the crack in the middle, I doubted it was made for that originally.
I thought about what Miles said about Ren being the one that killed him. When Kalerian showed me that past life, I didn’t want to believe Ren would be capable of doing something like that, but here I was being faced with the same accusation in this life with a man I trusted.
Miles walked into the hut and glanced at Cam before looking at me. “Are you okay?”
“This all happened because of me. Every bad thing that’s happened,” I glanced at him. “It’s because he wants me.”
He shook his head. “No, he’s a crazy lunatic who wants to control the world.”
I sighed. Explaining it would make both of us crazy, so I decided on a subject change. “How’d you get away?” I glanced up at him, his gaze shifted to Cam laying on the table, and back to me.
“I managed to get to someone who wasn’t too happy with what was happening there, and they got me out,” he said, shifting his feet. I had a hard time finding you, though.”
“I would imagine,” I said with a slight smile.
“But I’m here now,” he said with a slight smile. “What happened to Ren? I figured he’d be at your side.”
I shook my head. “He’s gone for now, but the elves are getting him.”
“Elves?”
“It’s a long story,” I said. “Do you think he’s going to make it?”
“I hope so,” Miles said. “Cam is a tough guy. If anyone can, it’s him.”
“Sophie will heal him when she gets back with Sam,” I said again, like it was more than just hopeful thinking. If she didn’t get here soon, I wasn’t sure he was going to make it.
“We won’t be able to stay here,” Miles said, and I snapped my gaze to him. “They know where we are. If they wanted, they could come take us all out.”
“They’d have a fight on their hands,” I said, my voice going harsh.
“Would they?” He raised an eyebrow, and I shook my head.
“They’ve taken so much. I can’t let them win this world. Even if it means I don’t survive it.”
“So, now you’re going all martyr on me?”
I cocked my head and pressed my lips together. “I’ll do what I have too.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be that simple,” he said. “You know there are only two ways to close a door.”
“And both require a life, I know.” I sighed. “But there has to be another option. We just haven’t found it yet.”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Bree

“What do you want me to do?” I glanced from Lexa to Sunna and back. “You know it’s impossible for me to go to the Fae Realm.” I took in the tent they’d put up for Sunna. She was the obvious leader and the one that was going to give the orders out here, but I still couldn’t get over the rich colors of fabric she had hanging all over her tent. It was like she was bringing a piece of her home with her.
To the back of the tent was a small bed with a red and gold rug under it. To the left was a desk with papers and an assortment of knives lined up. Each bigger than the last and a set of armor hanging against the edge of the tent.
“It’s not,” Sunna said. “We just need someone to let them know what’s happening here.”
“What makes you think they’re going to care?” I shrugged as I spoke. “They have yet to help us, and the entire world is on fire.”
“Hope will,” Lexa said.
“Hope isn’t the ruler,” I said.
“It’s worth a try,” Sunna said. “Kalerian didn’t even flinch against us, and if there are six more just as powerful on the way, we need all the help we can get.”
“You know something, don’t you,” I pushed. I didn’t know Sunna well. We just really met a few weeks ago, but I knew when someone was hiding something.
“I know how the Queen operates. She wouldn’t have just let a bunch of elves take a prisoner she wanted without a reason,” she said. “There’s more to it, I can feel it.”
“We need to tell Lynn,” I said, shaking my head. “She deserves to know.”
“You didn’t see the look on her face when Kalerian was done with her. She’s fragile,” Lexa said. “I hate to say it, but we have to operate on our own.”
“What about Sam and Sophie?”
“They haven’t come back yet,” Lexa said, but the worry in her eyes told me she didn’t know if they were coming back.
“You think something happened to them,” I finished for her. “That’s why you want me to go.”
“Bree, I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t think it was important,” Lexa said, her voice laced with something I rarely saw from her — vulnerability.
“Okay, I’ll go, but how the hell do I get there?”
“The fairy rings are the only doors left. You’ll need something with Fae magick,” Sunna said. “Do you have anything Hope might have given you?”
“I have something,” Lexa said and reached around her neck to undo the only jewelry I’d ever seen her wear, a unique blue opal pendant. “Hope gave it to me. She said her father gave it to her mother.”
“Her father, the Fae king,” I said with a slight smirk.
“It will get you there,” Lexa said, dropping it into my hand.
I glanced at her and then at Sunna. “It might be wise to get the hell out of here.”
“I know. We’re prepping to move tonight,” Lexa said. “If you can’t find us here-,” she handed me a bottle of travel potion she must have gotten from Lynn or Sam, “-use this.”
“A year ago, you wouldn’t have trusted me to do this,” I said with a slight laugh.
“A year ago you hadn’t risked everything twice to save us all. You can do this. I trust you.”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Lynn

I walked from the hut where Cam lay dying, my whole being feeling hopeless to help him. I wasn’t a healer. I had no magick that could mend anything and barely could control whatever was growing inside me. I was useless, and Kalerian knew it.
He’d come back and kill everyone here just because he could. My eyes snapped to the people hurriedly pulling down tents and grabbing what they could.
Lexa finally walked towards me with a weak smile. “We’re packing up,” she said.
“What about Cam?”
“He’s too weak to move,” she said. “Lila has volunteered to stay with him until Sophie gets here.”
“I’ll stay,” I said. “It’s my fault he’s hurt.”
“No,” she said simply. “That would be handing Kalerian exactly what he wants.”
“He’ll get it anyway, we both know that,” I snapped. “I won’t let him hurt anyone else.”
She watched me for a moment, her green eyes taking in what I was saying. “If you do that, we’ll lose the one thing we still have against him.”
“I’m far from a threat to him, he knows that,” I said.
“Lynn, you can’t take everything that happens as your fault. This is a war. People die. They know what they’re getting into.”
“You weren’t there when Mia and Kate were closing the door. You didn’t see what happened,” I said. My memories flashed to Mia with the stone spike through her body. The way her dead eyes stared at nothing.
“No, but they both made a choice,” she said.
“I killed Mia,” I whispered. “I am the reason she’s dead.”
Lexa kept her eyes on me. “I know.” She took a step closer. “I have my own Mia. Her name was Nora.” She dropped her gaze. “We all have one. It’s not your fault.”
I wanted to believe her. I wanted to be as sure as she was that this was not on me, but every time I closed my eyes, all I heard were screams and all I saw were those dead eyes.
They haunted me and always would.
“Now, get what you need and be ready with the others,” Lexa said. “We leave in ten.”
I opened my mouth to answer, but the familiar fire in my arm stopped me. I glanced at Lexa, my face twisted in pain and warning. “He’s here.”

***

Lexa didn’t hesitate to get everyone moving. I could feel the burning in my arm getting stronger. He was close, but not showing himself for some reason I didn’t know.
Then I saw her.
First, it was just a silent feeling that moved across the group. Every eye in the camp turned to the door, and I followed, seeing what they were looking at. A beautiful blond woman wearing the most breathtaking white dress. Her hair fell in waves over her shoulders. Her smile was deceptive in its beauty because the power coming from her was stronger than I’d felt from any human.
Her eyes scanned the group and settled on me. “You must be the one Arigath told me about.”
I furrowed my brow in confusion. “What do you want?”
“Nothing I’m not about to get,” she smiled, and my arm throbbed and burned more, but this time it moved over it like a wave of something. Not as much pain as power.
Then the same asshole who broke every bone in my body in hell stepped through the door followed by two others, one I recognized as the demon who tormented Ren and I in the dungeon. While the big one was wearing armor this time, that covered pretty much every inch of him, making him look more intimidating than he needed to be, I still remembered how his magick felt and what his face looked like.
He stepped past the woman, and his eyes fell to me.
“What the fuck?” I felt my whole body losing the fight with sanity at that moment. There was no way they were here. None. It had to be a lie, a vision someone was making me see to make me weak. To throw me off my game more than I was.
“I told you, you would lead us to Earth. Now we can destroy it,” he said, stepping in front of me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. All I could do was stand there and stare at a demon who was impossible to kill. A demon that was going to take everything and turn this world into the one I’d escaped from.
“You followed me,” I said, shaking my head. “It was all a lie.”
“It was a plan,” he corrected, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards him, his face twisting into a smile as though he was making a point to let me know how outmatched we were. Then he shoved me back, and I felt myself run into someone else. I turned and Kalerian was there, his hand wrapped around my arm. “Your prize.”
I yanked it away and turned to face him. “This is all you.” I shook my head. “You knew I’d run and they could follow.” I felt my anger bubble to the surface. All of the lies and manipulation. Every move I made was to get here, to get them here. Even from the beginning, he was manipulating everything. “I’m not letting this happen,” I snapped. “I’m not letting you win.”
“You have no chance against us. It took seven the first time and even then they had help,” the oldest demon said from behind me with a laugh. “This time, you’re alone.”
I felt the fire from the power they gave me bubble up in my arm and spread to my chest. I had a choice. I could grab it and use it to save my friends, the family I hoped would always be there, or I could let them win.
I turned and faced the demons and pulled that power to the surface. It burned through me, pulling at something deep inside. Something that was always there, but I’d never wanted to grab.
The pain and fear of everything I’d been through. I let if push through me and aimed it all at the demons in front of me. The black power surged from me in a wave in all directions. Knocking over trees and burning the ground.
Lexa dove behind cover and pulled as many as she could with her. The ones remaining were too slow, and their skin peeled from their bodies. Their screams filled the air, and I took in a sharp breath.
The power pushed through the demon king. He cocked his head and smiled. “That power is of us and will never betray us.”
I stepped back, and Kalerian put his hands on my arms, holding me there.
“Saki, this is what I was protecting you from. This pain. You aren’t ready,” he said almost sweetly.
I shook him off. “This is your fault.”
“I’m not the one who just killed all these people,” he said, letting his gaze travel to the bodies not far from us.
I followed his eyes, and my breath caught. Tears stung the edges of my eyes. “No.”
“Saki, I can help you. I can show you how to control it.” He stepped forward and let his hand run through my hair. “You don’t have to be afraid of your power. No one is going to understand you like I do. Ren lied to you. I may manipulate the truth, but you know exactly who I am.”
“You killed my friend,” I said. “Cam is dying because of you.”
“He was an unfortunate causality, but there doesn’t have to be more.” He kept his eyes on mine. “I’ll leave the others if you come willingly. If you let me help you.”
The last thing I wanted to do was hurt my friends. He’d never stop. He would always come after me, and people would get hurt, either from what I would do or him.
It would never stop.
“I’ll go.”

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Ren

I wasn’t expecting to drop right into a fight, but when I saw Kalerian grabbing Lynn and the other demon assholes, I wasn’t going to just leave. I hurried up to where they were and pulled my sword, the metal humming in my hands. It wasn’t just a slight hum this time.
“Am I late for the party?” I kept my eyes on Kalerian, and he cocked his head, pulling Lynn to him. She looked defeated, and the fresh lines of black running up her neck made my chest tighten. She’d used that magick again because I wasn’t here to protect her.
“You’re always late,” he said, and then glanced towards the door. I followed his gaze to Aoibheall watching me with a slight smirk. “It was nice seeing you again, Ren.” He smirked, and black smoke filled the air. When it cleared, they were gone, and I was left staring the Fae Queen in the eyes.
I faltered slightly, and she cocked her head. “You don’t have any power here,” I said. “This isn’t your world.”
“You seem to forget nature is in all worlds,” she said with a smile.
“You’re not welcome in this world,” a male voice I didn’t recognize said from behind me and to the left. I turned my head slightly to see who it was.
He was tall, with straight blond hair and a sword in his hand. He buzzed with power, but it was muted. He wasn’t from here.
“Mykar, I’m so glad you survived,” she mocked. “What’s it like being king of nothing?”
My eyes moved back to him, and I raised my eyebrows. He met my gaze and then dropped it to my sword, like it were something strange. Maybe it was. Humans and Fae rarely got along. It would make sense that he’d be confused or at least a little curious about how I got this sword.
“Leave,” Mykar said.
“Not without my prisoner.” She let her gaze drift back to me. “And his sword.”
“He’s under Elvish protection,” Mykar said, and I furrowed my brow.
“What elves?” she laughed. “They’re gone.”
“Not all of us,” Mykar said, “and I have just as much power here as you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Could have used your help sooner,” I said with a smirk. He shot me a hard look. Not a guy who can take a joke, got it.
“I just want him,” Aoibheall said, her finger pointing at me. “No one else has to die.”
“Crawl back into your hole, witch,” Mykar said.
He was a bold one, but I was glad for the help. If I get caught up in the Fae Queen’s grasp again, Lynn would never get away from Kalerian. We’d lose this fight completely, and everyone in this world, Fae, Elf, or human, would be dead or worse.
She seemed to falter, and I followed her gaze to a blond woman standing off to the left with Lexa. She kept her eyes on the Queen but didn’t speak.
Aoibheall raised her hands, and vines twisted all around us. One grabbed my leg and pulled me to one knee. I slid my blade under it and easily cut through the earthly flesh. Another twisted up my back and around my waist. Before I could react, I was being dragged towards the door.
I swung my sword down on it and it broke apart, but another wrapped around my leg and dragged me closer. Then everything stopped. There was no sound, or movement beyond Mykar cutting the vine from my leg and pulling me towards Lexa and the other blond woman.
Lexa had her hand out, her green eyes strained. “I can’t hold her for long.” She pulled a small bottle from her pocket and I recognized it as the travel potion I’d used before. The blond grabbed her shoulder and Mykar grabbed the blonde’s hand.
Then Lexa smashed the bottle against her and the world tilted.

Want to read ad free? You can do that inside the coven. Click here to join.

Sam

I let my head fall forward, and the blood bubbling up in my mouth fall to the ground. My hands were strapped to the sides of the chair with wire that dug holes into my skin. I had no concept of time. No idea how long I’d been stuck down here or what day it was. I had no idea if Sophie was even still alive. All I knew was the pain every time they wanted me to shift, to remember the killer I once was.
The door opened, and I heard footsteps coming toward me. I didn’t even look in that direction. “I’m not doing it,” I said and spat blood onto the blood-soaked cement floor.
“Sam?”
The voice was familiar, and my breath stuck in my chest. If she were here, they had gotten to her. They’d changed her. I shook my head. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Sam,” the voice said again, and her hands touched my face.
“Sophie,” I said, and finally met her eyes. “I won’t do it.”
“They just want you to shift. Just once,” she said, her voice was almost pleading.
I took her in. She was thinner, like she’d given them hell up until the last moment she could. Her eyes slightly sunken in, and the golden color of her eyes seemed less colorful. Less alive. “I can’t.” I swallowed. “I won’t.”
“This is the last chance we have. If you don’t…” Her voice trailed off, and I knew what the threat was. One of us would die. “Please.”
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. This was against everything Paige and I had worked for. If I did this, then there was a real chance I wouldn’t be able to come back. I wouldn’t be able to fight for the people I love. For Sophie.
But I couldn’t let her die. Not here. Not like this.
I took a breath and let my mind wander to someone, anyone that I might be able to shift into easily. That would be the best way to know if I could come back. Only one person came to mind.
Paige.
I dug into that and let myself think of the time I’d put my hand on hers and made that one connection that would allow me to shift into her. I thought about the way her eyes smiled when she was telling me something I should already know. The way she would hum when she was getting things for her spells.
My skin tingled with the memory, and I realized what was happening. I pushed further into my thoughts of her until they were her thoughts and her movements. Until I was watching memories out of her eyes.
I wasn’t ready for the memory of the vision. The one she never told me about.
She was walking towards the door in Wyoming, the sky a deep red. The one we failed to close and Lynn was standing in front of it, tears streaming down her face. She was forcing a smile and nodding as if someone were telling her something. One last thought before she finished it. One last thing before her world was split apart.
She closed her eyes, and power radiated from her, blinding power I’d never seen or felt before. I blinked until the blast of energy passed and everything was different. The sky was blue again, and the door, the one we so desperately wanted to close was gone.
My eyes flew open, and I felt myself shift back to me. Instead of Sophie looking back at me, it was my brother with a huge smile on his face.
“I knew you didn’t forget who you are, baby sister,” he said, stepping back. “I’m sorry I had to finish a mission, but I’m here now and we’re going to change the world.”
I stared at him, still rocked by what I’d just seen. I didn’t know if Sophie was alive or if my shifting meant I was going to be an instrument of death again. I did know one thing.
Lynn had to die.

To be Continued in Destroyer of My Soul Coming Soon