LOGINFallonIt feels strange being back in the palace in Moonrise. We arrived last night after several days in Maatua, where Zayn had to bounce back and forth between there and KiloKilo, leading the rescue efforts. I was, of course, under house arrest, again. I let it slide only because my mom was either on the verge of tears or furious with me, and I was just tired. Tired and absolutely glowing with my success, which I didn’t rub in anyone’s faces, even though I desperately wanted to utter “I told you it’d work out. I was right, ha ha!” many, many times. But now I’m in Moonrise again, at least for a little while. Zayn is here as well and will remain for the next week until we both return to KiloKilo for what I hope is a long time. “The tour will be a few months, at the least,” Blake says, tilting an itinerary in Zayn’s direction. “It’s mostly for show, but there’s business to take care of in terms of nautical routes and policies, etc."“I’ll sign anything,” Zayn grumbles, back to his us
FallonThere is no point in bracing myself. Aunt Sarah grabs me and pulls me against her chest, cursing first, then mumbling a rushed prayer while tangling her fingers in my hair. The familial compound on Maatua looks and smells the way it always does. Nothing has changed. Not a single picture is out of place. But everything feels different now. Tense and strained. It’s, most definitely, my fault. “Is my mom going to kill me?” I murmur against her collarbone. “She’s made threats, yes,” Sarah doesn’t let me go for a long time. So long, in fact, that I start to wonder if she’s embracing me this way because she’s forgotten she’s doing it. I untangle myself, leaning back enough to track her eyes. She’s staring at the old man in the doorway. “This is Magnus, my father-in-law,” I say as I step away from her.She lets out a sigh of relief when it’s clear I know him, and a threat didn’t follow me through the aether when I spirited here only moments ago with no suitcases in sight, bruised
FallonThe Grand Wizard covers his head, but the damage is done. The rafters splinter under the falling weight of tons of ancient stone. I throw up my shields and fall to my knees, bracing myself as ceiling tiles shatter to the ground, exploding in sharp shards and larger chunks that slice through the throne and rows of stone benches, destroying everything. My shields barely hold. My magic flickers, threatening to burn out. The wind is unreal. I can’t see a Goddess-damned thing for what feels like an eternity. The warmth in my chest blooms into pure, unfiltered heat that makes my skin prickle in warning. The mate bond tugs sharply, like Zayn is reaching toward me through the aether, fisting my powers and keeping them from tapering to a weak finish. Someone’s screaming. It’s a bright, shrill, terrified sound. It takes several brutal seconds for me to realize it’s me. A burst of energy erupts so violently that my shields fail, and I’m thrown across what’s left of the room, which is b
FallonI love bad ideas. Generally speaking, they tend to work out for me after a bit of trial and error. Take Zayn, for example. Did he specifically tell me not to go to KiloKilo? Yes. Did I go? Yep. Was it horrific? For a minute. Did I eventually convince him to fall in love with me? I would say so… which I hope is enough for him to eventually forgive me for this. “Don’t look down,” Stella shouts over the roar of the wind. “I’m not afraid of heights!” I shout back, tightening my arms around her waist. My fingers are numb to the bone, and I’m sure my hair has frost in it at this altitude, but below us, the most violent storm clouds I’ve ever seen twist and spiral, flashing with deep purple lightning, which is often followed by Zayn’s bright blue bolts. A battle of epic proportions is taking place–still. But not for long, if I have anything to do with it. I tuck my chin against Stella’s shoulder. “How do I go about acquiring a broom like yours?”She chuckles then tilts us upward to
ZaynThe packhouse in Eurye is in shambles. Trees and cottages lie in pieces all over the town. The market street is reduced to rubble. The parliament building has been reduced to embers that still send smoke curling through the rain, but the wind has stopped, and while the sky is a smoky, angry gray, it’s calm. For now. My counterstorm kept the worst of my grandfather’s rage at bay. We’re not underwater. Eurye hasn’t been pulled into the sea. “We have a few hours until it begins again,” I warn one of the Alphas of a nearby territory, the two of us stomping side-by-side through debris. Wolves race through the rain, howling and barking, looking for survivors. A few people have been pulled from toppled homes, but so far, dozens of the men are unaccounted for. It could have been far worse had all the women and children not been evacuated early this morning. “Everyone in Shell Pass, the Haven Islands, and the Palm Lagoon is accounted for,” the Alpha beside me says. “My pack hasn’t s
FallonStella shoves open the exterior door of a large, circular building deep in the forest surrounding her village. It’s dark and damp with the rain brushing over the domed ceiling in relentless sheets that send deep vibrations through the eerie space. “Take these matches and help me light these candles. They’re hundreds of them, and we need them all burning.”I’m not even looking at her when she slides a matchbook into my hand. The black cloak I’m wearing weighs down my shoulders as I slowly drink in the room when the first candles burn to life. A sweeping, faded mural expands across the walls. A battle, I think. Maybe an entire painted history of this coven. It’s more than that, I realize, as Stella moves around the room lighting candles. “Whoa,” I murmur, staring up at the mural painting the ceiling. A woman with dark brown hair and sea-glass eyes extends her arms wide, her black cloak faded to an inky gray against the plaster, but her silver fire is so familiar. “There were F
*Isaac*I don’t believe her name is actually Jenny. The uncertainty in her eyes gives it away. This man, whom she says is her uncle, has motives that are unclear. I had Cassian send for the man shortly after I hauled the girl into the kitchen with the intent of questioning her. Both intentions fell f
Maddox’s eyes are even greener than normal in the soft clouds hovering over our heads in the unruly back garden. He stares at me, unblinking, his mouth slightly ajar as his brow furrows in confusion. “Did you hear me?” I say, taking a careful step towards him. Debris from the storm–broken branches a
*Isla*“He’s on his way back,” Ben says hoarsely, running his fingers through his hair as he takes a seat in the dining room. I hold Isaac against my chest, patting his back as I pace along the far wall where the sunset is beaming through the windows. “I talked to him a few hours ago. He said he’d be
*Isla*“Look at you,” Maddox beams as he balances on his hands and knees in front of Isaac on the floor in the large, airy sitting room near the library. I glance up from the magazine I’m reading to watch them, smiling as Maddox drops onto his elbows to look Isaac in the eyes. Isaac, hating every min







