She’d been electrocuted once, as a child, around when she turned twelve—one of her mom’s new “lesson” methods. To bring forward the magic. That’s when they found out. Black drops like rainwater had shot out of her body, cocooning her in a protective ball, sucking Energy from wherever it could find it—darkening the entire kitchen.
Her whole body swam with it until she thought she was goingto explode. Her dad managed to knock her out before she did any real damage, but it took them hours to recover from her sucking their magic dry.
That had been the day she’d been locked up. Just weeks before Vesper saved her. Vesper…
Cypress cracked one eye open, dreading the carnage she’d wrought. She stopped herself this time, but Dampener's explosions are lethal to Energy wielders… Cypress took another deep, steadying breath, swallowing the lump in her throat, and peered at Vesper, face down on the concrete in front of her.
There. A breath! She was alive. Cypress almost laughed in giddy relief. Tension eased out of her body. She sagged, dropping to her knees beside Vesper, and a tear slid hot down her cheek. She’d almost killed her. If she hadn’t been able to stop herself, she would have.
Cypress sniffed, wiping her face with her fist and dared a look around the rest of the room. She hadn’t known where they were until her dad fell and the Illusion dropped. Her parents had brought them to this place once when she and Cedar were young. It was a safe place, in case anything ever happened. Her parents used to talk about bad things happening, about magickless coming and taking everything, killing everyone with their crude poisons and archaic weapons. She’d had nightmares about it for years—it was why they’d shown her this place, called it a safe house.
The room, previously empty, was now stacked with crates. Shelves lined the walls, which were filled with jars. She’d never known what was inside any of them, but she could guess—weapons, hoarded magic collected in glass orbs, food. She stared blankly at Cedar on a chair in the corner. Cedar was breathing, groaning. She wouldn’t be out for long. Neither would her parents.
It was a miracle Vesper hadn’t died. A blast powerful enough to knock out everyone else in the room should have killed anEnergy wielder, especially one so close to her. She’d need someone to protect her now more than ever.
But… Would Vesper still keep her safe? Knowing what she was? Or would she turn that rage onto Cypress and finally do what she’d been sent to do nine years ago and end this?
She wouldn’t.
Vesper loved her. She’d told her that. She wouldn’t kill her.
With a choked sob, Cypress looked over to where Bellamy had fallen to the ground. The chains around her wrists had been cut through and still burned orange from the heat of her Energy. Vesper loved her too. Cypress saw it. She didn’t want to, but she did. She always saw more than they thought. Just because she didn’t prefer eye contact didn’t mean she missed the things they tried to hide.
She should leave. Escape while she could. Vesper wouldn’t want her anymore, and Cypress couldn’t bear to be there when she put it all together. It would be heartbreaking to witness the anger replacing her usual tender softness.
A thought struck her like a bolt to the chest—she’d never been on her own before. Cypress wasn’t just giving up Vesper. She was giving up Mazz and Meila too, all the girls. She’d never see them again. It wouldn’t be wise to go back. They’d know where to find her now, and then everyone would be at risk.
Cypress was a Dampener. As much as she’d tried to hide that fact, it was who she was. What she was. There was no going back—not if she wanted to live. She’d have to figure out how to survive. But… She couldn’t just leave them here. Her gaze darted back to Vesper’s unconscious form, to Cedar slumped in her chair. Cedar had known. She’d known and still tried to protect her.
There wasn’t anything she could do about Cedar being chained, but she could hope that if she woke up Vesper, that Vesper would protect Cedar. Cypress exhaled a slow, controlled breath, releasing her hold on the energy coursing through her veins.
She’d never tried to return the magic she drained before, she didn’t even know if it was possible, but as long as her blood was on fire, she knew she held some of the Energy.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Vesper
Everything hurt. Vesper groaned. It was like she’d been run over by a fucking trolley. She was exhausted. The cold concrete beneath her at least provided some relief from the surrounding humidity. And was her skin wet? What the fuck happened?
“Vessie?” Cypress’s small voice came from her left, barely a whisper.
A tentative finger prodded at her shoulder. Her thoughts swam, trying to remember where they were, what was happening before… before…
There was a fight. She’d stepped in front of Cypress, shielding her, and then there was nothing.
Vesper peeled herself off the floor, arms shaking with the effort of pushing herself upright. She rubbed her painfully dry eyes and blinked until the room came into focus. Her ears rang; the only sound breaking through was Cypress’s quick breathing. Her sniffling.
“Cypress?” Vesper whispered. Her throat was scratchy, and her voice came out weak and raspy. She winced—her head pounded. And the shallow, crackling light overhead was almost blinding despite the room being mostly shrouded in darkness.
She squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them next, Cypress was staring in front of her, eyes full of fresh tears. The kid was squatting, just out of reach, hugging her knees to her chest and rocking on her feet. Vesper didn’t see any blood though, and she let out a sigh of relief.
“You’re okay,” she rasped. The words came painfully to her. She needed some fucking water.
“Do you hate me?” Cypress whispered, still staring at the ground and hugging herself even tighter.
“Hate… Cypress, what?” She tried to swallow, to dull the pain in her throat, but her mouth was too dry. “What happened?”
Something akin to surprise flickered over Cypress’s features. Her head shot up and her eyes found Vesper’s for a split second before lowering. “You… You don’t know?”
