I would have laughed, had there been any humor left in me after everything that had happened. But I just snorted instead. “How very optimistic of you.” After flipping through a few more pages to discover that there was still nothing indicating a decipherable language, I started to grow frustrate
Nina “Nina… You found it.” The book sat on the floor between us, devoid of the bright white light that it had only just been emanating a moment ago. Tyler and I gasped at one another, utterly shocked by what had just happened. I blinked at him. “What?” I asked. “You knew about this book?” He
Nina “Nina… We have to get a divorce.” The moment Enzo uttered those words, I wondered if I was sleeping, if I was having some sort of nightmare. But deep down, I knew that wasn’t true; this was real. It was utterly, horribly real. “You don’t mean that,” I said, a wry chuckle escaping my lips
Nina I must have been asleep for hours, because by the time I woke up, the sun had long since dipped back below the horizon. There was hardly an hour, in fact, in which I was awake while the sun was out. The first thing I noticed was how parched I was. Groaning softly, I rolled over to see a fre
“I just—” “Enzo is still in the infirmary.” My father’s voice suddenly cut through the room. None of us had noticed him as he had cracked open the door, and he now stepped into the room, his hulking form seeming to tower over the bed as he entered. “Dad,” I croaked. “May I have a few moments
Nina “Wait! Wait, I’m coming with you!” At the sound of the familiar voice, both my mother and I whipped our heads around toward the noise. A moment later, I saw a lanky male form and a head of tawny hair break through the woods. “Tyler?” my mother and I said in unison as he ran toward us, a b
Mariah nodded. “It’ll keep you from getting sick when traveling between realms,” she said. “Luke told me that you were getting sick when using portals, so I did some research and foraging and developed this. Go on, try it.” My eyes widened a bit as I took the vial from Mariah’s hands. The liquid i
Nina “Goodbye, Nina. We’ll miss you.” Jessica and Lori held me tightly just outside the swirling portal, tears in their eyes. I had already cried all of the tears I possibly could, and felt utterly dried up; but it didn’t make their leaving hurt any less. “I’ll miss you guys, too,” I said soft
Nina The warm summer breeze brushed across my skin as I stood on the patio, clutching my robe tightly around my body. Laughter and splashes echoed up from the pool below, where our friends were already gathered for our big end-of-summer party. I should have been down there too, soaking up the ve
“What... what do you mean?” He braced his hands on the doorframe, leaning in closer with a heavy sigh. “I mean, by the time I caught up to them this morning, I only saw them long enough to get that photo before they were boarding a speedboat and taking off. Hell, I’m still not even totally sure wh
Nina My breath caught in my throat as I pulled open the front door expecting to see excited party guests, only to be immediately met with the sight of Luke’s grim expression. His brow was furrowed in a deep frown, his lips pressed into a tight line—clear signs that something was very wrong. “Luk
Nina I huffed out a breath as I hoisted the oversized cardboard box higher in my arms, carefully navigating my way through the living room. Strings of fairy lights poked out haphazardly from the top, and I could feel the weight of glass jars and other assorted decor inside shifting precariously wi
Then, at the last possible second, the scout seemed to find an extra burst of speed. He surged forward, hurtling between two towering oak trees and vanishing into the cover of the forest beyond. “Dammit!” I slammed my palms against the rough bark of the nearest trunk, powerless to do anything but
Enzo The crunch of leaves and snap of twigs echoed through the trees as Matt and I tore after the Schreiber scout. Our breaths came in ragged gasps, the hot summer air burning our lungs. Overhead, a little red bird chirped and flitted through the green canopy of trees; Daphne. But even she wasn’
Shaking my head, I turned without another word and stormed out of the fitting room. I took the two strides across the hall to Jessica’s fitting room and knocked on the door, folding my arms across my chest. “Jess? You in there?” There was a muffled thump in the fitting room, followed by the soun
Nina “How’s it looking in there?” I called out, rapping lightly on the wooden door of Jessica’s fitting room. “Um… decent, I guess?” her muffled voice floated back a moment later, although I could sense the uncertainty in her tone. “Decent? That’s it? Come on, Jess, this is your wedding gown w
Had I really known him at all, I wondered? Or had I merely been too self-absorbed and naive to see past the facade of unshakable command he projected? After a long silence, I found my voice. “Why didn’t he ever tell me that?” “He didn’t want you to see his weakness, I suppose,” Angelica replied