Eden’s POVAstrid and I awoke the next morning with the sunrise. My neck was stiff from sleeping on the ground and our clothes were damp from morning dew. My eyes were still puffy from crying. I sat up, hoping for a moment that it had all been a horrible dream. Maybe I had imagined it all – my conversation with Beta Brighton and his information about his sister and witches. The strange heat. The flashes of blue light. ‘Her witch is rising’…The field of wild flowers and the arrow in my back. But as the tall walls of the hedge maze came into view, I knew in my heart that none of it had been a dream. My baby had witch blood. And her witch was strong. Astrid was still fast asleep. She looked peaceful as the morning sun shone on her iron hooks. She had held me until I cried myself to sleep. She felt my pain. We were close, like sisters. She didn’t even need to say anything. I knew she understood. I picked at the grass, my mind swirling with hard realizations. If my baby was born a
Eden’s POVWhat? I wasn’t expecting that. Her wolf was rising too? My baby? Along with her witch? What did that mean? Zara shook herself, her white fur rippling. Then she stretched. She’d been asleep for awhile and was still feeling a bit groggy from the effects of the potion. I waited patiently for her to continue. I knew the baby’s witch had been rising. But apparently her wolf was too?“They’re both strong, Eden,” Zara said. “Her witch and her wolf. They are rising together. Have you felt her witch?”I nodded. I told Zara about the warm sensation and the blue flashes of light. Then I told her about the field of wild flowers. I was confused by the field of flowers. It felt too real to be a dream. Zara listened intently, still standing watch over my baby. “Yes. That’s her magic, the warmth and the blue light. Her witch must be very strong for you to feel it like that. The field of flowers…though, that’s something else. That sounds like a vision. Perhaps she has the gift of sight?
Eden’s POVAdrian looked wrecked. He wrung his hands and averted his eyes. “What?” I asked. “What do you mean they captured him?”It wasn’t possible. MY grandfather was out helping other packs. That’s why no one had been able to mindlink him. Because he was busy. Because…“It must have happened during the attack on Silvermist,” Beta Brighton said sadly. “Did no one see it?” I asked. This didn’t make any sense. “Surely someone would have seen my grandfather get captured!”“I wasn’t there,” Beta Brighton replied. “It was a surprise attack, Eden. And they were very, very fast. They came in and went out within minutes. They didn’t even kill very many people. It seemed like it was more of a warning. Most of the pack members were able to escape. But I guess…well…I guess they captured a few.”“How do you know? How do you know he was captured if no one saw?”They were wrong. They had to be. They were just jumping to conclusions. If no one saw then…“Someone did see,” Beta Brighton told me t
Eden’s POVMy jaw dropped open. The crow continued to circle high above. Caw. Caw. It screeched at us in a frantic, frenzied way. “Did you just say…sister?” I whispered back to Beta Brighton. Unlike the rest of us, he was looking up at the crow with admiration. Crows have never been my favorite bird. They’re scavengers and they’re smart. A group of crows is called a ‘murder’. I always found that disturbing. But Beta Brighton gripped my arm. “Please,” he said under his breath. “It’s within aim,” Storm said, his bow aimed at the crow. He drew back the arrow. “No,” I said quickly. “Why not?” Adrian asked, eying me skeptical. “It’s annoying. Let him shoot it.”“It’s a harmless bird,” I sighed, trying to sound innocent. “Don’t waste an arrow. I’m sure it will leave soon.”But the crow continued to circle. Beta Brighton’s eyes never left it for a second. Astrid watched Beta Brighton watching the bird. Then her eyes caught mine. She saw the look I tossed her and her face flooded with
Eden’s POV“Brinsle?” I repeated. She nodded. I shook her hand, careful to meet her gaze. “That’s a lovely name,” I said. She then shook Astrid’s hand.“Thank you,” she replied demurely. “But I have to confess, I didn't expect my brother to bring you along. I’ve never met up with him like this. I thought I was…a secret.” Her eyes flashed to her brother.He looked sympathetically at her. “You know I hate that I can’t talk about you,” he said, his voice low. “But if people knew…it’s just easier this way, Brinsle. It’s easier for you, too. Werewolves and witches don’t mix well. I could be exiled. You too.”“We don’t exile,” Brinsle snapped, raising her chin. “We punish. Or we kill.”“Right,” he replied. “But in any case, you can trust these two. Astrid is our Gamma. I’ve known her for a long time. She’s one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. And Eden here…well…you know who she is.” His smile faltered at the mention of my name.“Eden.” It was Zara. She was pacing, on high alert. She
Eden’s POVI was standing in a garden. But it was a garden I didn’t recognize, full of blooming white orchids and blue daisies. The air smelled sweet, the sun was shining. It felt like spring.A young girl emerged and sat on a bench. She had a shy smile on her face, her hair pulled back into a pony tail. She was clutching a suitcase. I approached her. It was Brinsle, but a younger version of her. This Brinsle couldn’t have been more than sixteen.I tried to speak but no sound came out. I realized I wasn’t really there. I had touched Brinsle’s pendant and it had brought me here. The pendant was obviously laced with magic.I was in a memory.A memory of Brinsle’s.She kept this memory locked securely inside the pendant. It must be important then.I watched as the young Brinsle shifted her weight on the bench. She was waiting for something. Or someone, I realized. And with a look like that on her face, I knew it had to be someone special.Sure enough, moments later, a young boy emerged f
Eden’s POVI gasped. Of course, Brinsle didn’t hear me. I wasn’t really there. This was her memory, not mine. I was like an apparition, a silent spectator.The boy lay crumpled on the ground. Brinsle was breathing heavy, her eyes still wild. Her pain swirling around her. It was tangible, tinged in a soft violet hue. Eventually, though, the pain dissipated. The leaves fell back to the ground and the air was still again.She didn’t move. Not at first. She just stood, staring at the corpse of her lover. Birds chirped. Flower petals blew gently in the breeze. Other than that, there was no other sound.I couldn’t believe what I’d just seen!Brinsle had KILLED her lover. She’d unleashed some sort of awful magic and bam – just like that, the boy was dead.She’d done it in a fit of fury, an act of blind rage. He’d hurt her. She was in love with him, ready to give up everything for him. He, however, was not so willing to do the same.I stared at the dead body. Brinsle did too. And I realized,
Eden’s POVThe scene crumbled away. I opened my eyes. I was back at the palace, at the lake. My fingers were still touching the pendant around Brinsle’s neck. I could hear her heart beating through her chest.My god.Brinsle had fallen in love with a werewolf. A strong werewolf, who was in line to be Gamma for his pack. She’d slept with him and gotten pregnant. Then they’d decided to run away together.I thought they wanted to run away because it was the only way they could be together. But I could see now that it was even more complicated than that. There was a baby involved. An illegitimate baby. And clearly Brinsle was Lucinda’s protégé. Lucinda was training her, helping her learn about her own, super powerful magic.But what happened then? Brinsle killed her lover, but what happened to the baby?“Eden? Back away. She has Zane’s scent on her.” It was Zara. She was cautioning me.Zane’s scent? She knew where Zane was?“I don’t think we should trust her,” Astrid whispered behind me.