CHAPTER ONE

Sneaking out isn’t supposed to be this hard.

I hide behind the empty barrel, waiting for the night guard to move away from the barracks.

Or it never used to be this hard.

Ever since the incident from two weeks ago, when two counsellors tried to murder me and my friends, the security around this camp has increased significantly.

I hold my breath as the night guard stops and lifts his hand to scratch his underarm. The odor reaches me all the way to where I’m hiding, and it takes everything inside of me not to throw up. I clasp my nose closed, gagging silently. I know if I make a sound, his sharp ears will pick it up.

One of the perks of being supernaturally inclined, as I have recently discovered.

Patience isn’t my strong suit, and I would rather be tucked in my bed, in the new barracks, but this is the only chance I have to meet Jesse. I check my watch and worry fills me. I’m already fifteen minutes late.

Finally, the guard moves away, sniffing, his hand scratching his butt.

I wait till he rounds the corner to the other side of the barracks before I rush towards the forest. Breaking past the tree line, I keep running till I reach the large boulders that Jesse pointed out. My choppy brown hair, which now reaches past my ears, is annoying, and I keep batting the strands away from my eyes. All the physical classes have really toned my muscles, my gait is smoother, and I’m faster than before.

I’ve just crossed a thick clump of trees when somebody grabs me by the waist, swinging me back into a male chest. I let out a shocked cry and then I hear a throaty chuckle.

“And here I thought you weren’t a coward, Taylor.”

Jesse’s amused voice makes me lift my elbow and slam it into his ribcage. The strangled sound he makes is oh so satisfying. As he lets me go, I turn to look at a tall boy with jet black hair in loose, enviable curls. His ivory skin stands out against the darkness of the night, and, despite his obvious pain, his piercing gray eyes are filled with laughter at my expense.

“I’ve told you not to do that!” I hiss at him.

He releases me, wrapping his arms around his stomach, and doubling over, groaning, “There must be something wrong with me that I like you despite how violent you are.”

His words fluster me and I’m glad he’s no longer holding me.

Considering that Jesse is the first guy I’ve ever dated, there are a lot of things that I’m still struggling with. Growing up in a trailer in Texas, I’ve not exactly been surrounded by boys who had more than one thing on their mind when it came to a girl. So, I stayed away from them and knew enough of how to protect myself to make sure they thought twice about approaching me.

My opinion about boys was sufficiently jaded by the time I was sent to Mistfall Wilderness Camp, so when I met Jesse, I never thought he would be the one to change my mind.

I watch him rub his stomach as he straightens up, his expression still pained, “I really need to learn how to avoid your elbows.”

“You shouldn’t have grabbed me like that.”

“Then you should’ve been on time,” he narrows his eyes at me. “My lips were turning blue in this cold.”

“They seem fine to me.”

I see the wicked gleam in his eyes, “Maybe you should warm them …”

I can feel the heat creep up my neck, and I quickly say, “I thought you were going to show me something.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jesse looks around before grabbing my hand. “Come on.”

I stare down at our hands as he pulls me behind him.

Jesse seems very comfortable with all of this, whether it’s holding my hand or kissing, but then he’s the opposite of me so it makes sense. Where I’ve always been reserved with a sharp tongue as my biggest defense system, Jesse is friendly and approachable. Why he likes me is beyond my understanding but from the moment I met him, I’ve been drawn to him.

Being with him, pushing past my own comfort zone, isn’t easy for me. When it comes to Jesse, everything is new to me, and I struggle to make sense of it. Our first kiss was weeks ago, and while it was so natural and felt so right, it also frightened me. It sparked so many emotions inside of me that no matter how many times I try to pick one and examine it, my head feels like it’s going to burst.

I’ve not told anyone about the kiss, not even Beth, who is as close to a best friend as I’ve had. I can’t even fathom talking to Quill, my other friend. Even if it weren’t for the fact that it’d be weird because he’s a guy, he’s lately been acting like he’s got a stick stuck where the sun doesn’t shine.

“So, where are we going?” I ask as I trail after him, the warmth of his hand heating me down to my bones.

“It’s a surprise,” the excitement in Jesse’s voice has me even more curious.

“What kind of surprise?” I ask, unable to prevent the hint of wariness from seeping into my voice. “You should know that I’m not good with surprises.”

“What kind of surprises have you received in the past?” Jesse glances over his shoulder at me.

I try to remember.

“Well,” my voice is dry, mostly to keep the pang of misery concealed, “my dad once tried to make a handmade confetti explosive device – thing – in our trailer, and well, I nearly died, so, yeah. Not an enthusiast.”

“That sounds like an adventure.”

“That’s what he said,” I mutter under my breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” I tug at his hand. “If this is an ‘adventure,’ I really don’t want to – Oh.”

My voice gets stuck in my throat as I find myself staring at a sequence of rocks with a spring flowing from it. That’s not what has me stunned. It’s the way the water is glowing.

“W-What is this place?”

Jesse releases my hand, sticking his hands in his pockets and grinning at me. “You like?”

I crouch down to run my hand through the luminescent water. It’s like a thousand stars in the flowing water and when I lift my hand, it’s almost as if the stars are mixed inside.

I look at Jesse, awestruck, and he just looks pleased, “I knew you’d like it.”

“How is it-?”

He shrugs, “I don’t know.” He kneels by my side, “There are a lot of strange places like these all over the islands. This water only glows on specific nights when the moon is at a particular angle.”

He runs his hand in the water and I glance at him, noticing an almost somber expression on his face. “How do you know that?”

He shrugs, sitting back on his heels, “In the summers, when the weather used to be good and all this cold fog wasn’t here, I used to come and sleep here when I was a Level One. The barracks would be too suffocating.”

He’s a Level Three right now.

“When was that?”

“A long time ago,” he murmurs, quietly.

There are times when I feel that Jesse is hiding something from me, but I just can’t put my finger on it.

“Wait,” I give him a startled look. “What do you mean by no fog? Wasn’t this place always foggy and cold and miserable?”

Jesse chuckles, “I wouldn’t know about miserable, but no. The fog initially surrounded the islands to obscure them from the normal folk, the normies, if you will. It just slowly started creeping onto the islands, a couple of years back.”

Years?

How long has Jesse been at this camp?

Before I can ask, however, he reaches out and pushes a strand of my hair behind my ear and his voice is soft, almost thoughtful. “Your hair is longer.”

Feeling self-conscious, I quickly touch it, “Yeah. I haven’t had the chance to cut it off yet.”

“I like it,” he smiles at me, and I can feel my heart take on that strange pitter patter sensation all over again. “You shouldn’t cut it. Grow it out some more.”

“You don’t think it’s too girly?” I feel uneasy, touching my hair.

Jesse’s brows raise, “Well, you are a girl, aren’t you?”

“That’s not what I meant,” I feel flustered, not knowing how to explain to him the significance of my short hair.

“Anyway,” Jesse pulls me to my feet. “I thought this could be our first romantic date. You know now that you’re so busy and all.”

I grin, “Aw, did you miss me?”

“Maybe,” he leans forward, and my smile slips away at the intense look in his eyes.

Jesse’s hand curls around my neck and I can feel his fingers pressing into my skin as he pulls me forward. I can’t help but be led by him, my heart pounding viciously, a steady thrumming between my ears. But as soon as his lips press against mine, all of it vanishes, only to be replaced by a slow burning heat that makes my toes curl.

His scent is surrounding me, the heat from his body making me burn as he holds me against him, one hand firmly grasping my waist. My hands clench his shirt as I try to keep up with him. It’s hard to think with Jesse so close to me.

It’s the light that distracts me at first and then a gasping sound.

My brain takes a moment to adjust back to reality and then cold hard shock fills me when I realize we’ve been discovered. I quickly pull away and we both look towards the bushes where a dark silhouette is standing.

“Jesse?”

It’s a girl’s voice.

I can feel Jesse stiffen. “No.”

I hear a soft giggle. “It’s me.”

The girl steps out from the darkness and I lay my eyes on a tall curvaceous redhead with tawny colored eyes and delicate features. She doesn’t look at me, her eyes trained on Jesse who’s wearing a strained expression on his face.

“Rachel,” he finally murmurs. “What are you doing back?”

I look between the two, sensing something between them that makes me uneasy. “You two know each other?”

Jesse grimaces. “Kind of. This is Rachel Adkins. She’s my ex-girlfriend.”