Zephyra and Ethan began their search, she was on one end of the clearing and he was on the other. They walked in circles that gradually got bigger and further away from each other. “Here,” Ethan called out after several minutes.
Zephyra walked over to him. She wasn’t
As soon as Zephyra got home, she locked her doors and windows. She sent out a text to Ellie, letting her know she was home. Ever since the violence started to escalate, they had been texting each other every few hours just to make sure the other was okay, especially if they had to leave the house. Not that Zephyra planned on leaving the house much. She made sure that after dark she was at home. Tonight was no different; in fact, her only plan was to binge on Netflix until she fell asleep.
As the detective left, Zephyra’s parents rushed in. Her mother immediately bent over to encase her in a hug. Zephyra clenched her teeth to defend against the threat of more tears. She didn’t want to cry anymore. “It’s my fault,” Zephyra told her mom, her voice cracking. “Whoever did that to her did it because of me.”
After Zephyra stopped by the police department, giving them her official statement, she decided it’d be best if she went to work even if she would only work a couple of hours. It would keep her busy until she could figure out what to do next.“Zeph? What are you doing he
“Because I’m a nymph?” Zephyra asked. “Mom’s a nymph too.”Officer Richards shook his head. “She is, but not quite so involved with the townspeople outside of the aberration community. You, on the other hand, are. Pair that with the fact that you’re beautiful…
Zephyra avoided looking at everyone as they all followed Camilla out of the room. When everyone had left, Dylan, the badass, marched towards her much as the witch had. “What notes?” he demanded, his expression twisted with anger. “Do you know something about the person who did this?” The Texan and another shifter she didn’t know held him back.
Zephyra stared vacantly into the empty kitchen, chewing the nail of her pinkie as she thought. Despite what people might think, the list of men who had either dated her or had wanted to wasn’t that long. If Zephyra started back from freshman year of high school, there were only four men. Five if she counted Brady. With a sigh, Zephyra looked at the names she had written down.
Zephyra’s dad came back into the house and as he joined them in the kitchen, she flipped over the paper. Catching Dylan’s eye she shook her head at him. Zephyra didn’t want her dad to see it. That would be way more awkward than she was willing to deal with, and also, she didn’t want him or Mom involved. The risk the creep might hurt them too was too great. Her father may have been super powerful, but he wasn’t superman, and witches weren’t immortal.
“Does that thing really have to be here?” Tonya complained, giving Dylan, in wolf form, a look of repulsion. Zephyra had to give him credit—he played his part as a dog very well. He didn’t react to Tonya’s insults at all.“Jerry Lee is not a thing,” Zephyra shot back at he
Zephyra was glad Ethan wasn’t going to try to ferret the real reason out of her. “Yeah, sure.” Ethan took her jacket and draped it over a stool near the island. “This is a nice place,” she said as she sat down, watching him dish food onto two plates.“Thanks. I don’t spend a who
Despite her exhaustion, Zephyra didn’t sleep well. It took her forever to fall asleep, and when she did, nightmares plagued her. At least it was over. The nightmares would fade and pass. That’s what she told herself, anyway.Getting out of bed, Zephyra started down the hall towards the bathroom when she noti
Zephyra let loose the arrow, a sudden burst of wind giving it more speed, and she immediately notched the last one she held in her hand. Lysandra cried out as Zephyra’s arrow knocked the gun out of her hand. “Don’t,” Zephyra told her as she started to reach for it. “Don’t do it. Don’t make me kill you, Lysandra. I don’t want to do it, but if I have to choose, I’ll choose them over you.”
“God, you killed her?” Tommy’s eyes widened and his mouth fell slack a moment before his expression hardened. Anger now blazed in his narrowed eyes. “How could you, Zeph! She was my sister!”Was he serious? Zephyra stared at him, and, sure enough, he wa
“You crying?” Tonya mocked. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to shoot you,” she went on, mocking Zephyra with her false compassion. “That would be far too quick. Oh no, I’ll let Rhys and Jaxie do that. Just like they did to that slutty witch friend of yours.”
“That’s it?” Brady said after a long moment.“What are you talking about?” Zephyra asked him, not sure what he was getting at.
Zephyra’s head hurt. The pain stabbed at her temples and thrummed through the rest of her head in rhythm with the beat of her pulse. This was worse than the hangover she had the day after her first college frat party. Opening her eyes, Zephyra stared down at her lap in the dim light. She was sitting and judging by the almost painful pressure across her chest, she was willing to bet that she was tied to a chair. Zephyra started to lift her head when a sharp pain shot through it, making her wince. Maybe moving wasn’t such a great idea right about now.
“Hey, Brady,” Zephyra said with a smile. She was really glad that he wasn’t the bad guy anymore, even if he was an asshole. The memory of him telling her that he was done with all of this wiped the smile off her face. “Bye Brady,” Zephyra said and again started to get into the jeep.
As soon as Zephyra was in her Jeep, a torrent of rain let loose. It was raining so hard it took her double the time to get to her parents’ house than it usually does. Her mother ushered Zephyra inside and out of the storm when she knocked. “What happened now?” her mom asked, taking the dripping jacket off Zephyra. Her dad put away the book he was reading and gave her a worried look.