Lucy’s voice fills my mind again.“The words are in your blood, Guardian. Let them rise.”
I close my eyes as something stirs within me. Fragments of memories flash through my mind—generations of Guardians standing among these same chimeras, facing threats to the magical balance.
Energy surges up through the soles of my feet. The chimeras’ presence intensifies, their collective consciousness offering me something—a phrase passed down through generations of Guardians.
Without thinking, I let it pour out. The words feel right, like I’ve spoken them a thousand times. “Old magic! With Guardian blood, I call you to fight!”
My army charges, heading for the surrounding Shadows.
From the Journal of Hazel Okada
The dark vortex surged downward, devouring the morning light. Everyone’s attention snapped to it, but then the chimeras charged the witches, their forms shifting and blurring as they moved. Fur became feathers, paws became wings, bodies expanded and contracted with each bound. Dark wisps reached for them like grasping fingers, but the enchantment was weakening, dissipating like smoke in the wind as the witches were forced to scatter.
Amid the mass of bodies and shimmering threads of magic, a flash of brown-and-black fur streaked in my periphery. A snarl sent a shiver up my spine. Before anyone could react, Wyatt pounced—not on the witches or chimeras, but on Sophia.
I gasped as his jaws clamped down on her forearm and shook it.
Oaklyn cried out. “Wyatt! No!”
Sophia shrieked and toppled back, landing on her side with a splash of seawater. The trapped chimera tumbled from her grasp, still struggling inside the net.
The moment it fell, Wyatt released her arm to stand over it, his stance unmistakably protective. Blood dripped from his muzzle, his hackles raised along his spine.
“Wyatt, come!” Oaklyn commanded, a note of panic in her tone as she glanced at her mother.
The dog didn’t move. I’d never seen him like this, though it lined up with what Katie told me about him. A growl rumbled deep in his chest as he kept his eyes fixed on Sophia. They were amber as always, but… No, I must have imagined the flash of purple. The rising sun and swirling magic must have played a trick.
Sophia cradled her arm, jagged tears in her sleeve revealing ribbons of blood. She glanced around to where the witches and chimeras clashed in a noisy battle. “Get that fucking dog away from us, Oaklyn.”
Oaklyn remained frozen, her gaze darting from Wyatt to Sophia. The dog crouched lower over the trapped chimera, his teeth bared.
I stood rooted, breathing fast. Why was Wyatt protecting it? Did he sense something I couldn’t?
All around us, the vortex continued to splinter, the enchantment faltering as the witches were forced to defend themselves against the chimeras’ charge.
“Fine, then.” Sophia’s voice lowered dangerously as she raised her hands, summoning the loose rocks along the shoreline.
Oaklyn lunged forward, positioning herself between her mother and the dog. “Mom, wait—”
“Out of the way.” Sophia grabbed Oaklyn’s arm, her nails digging in hard enough to make her daughter gasp. “You’re nowhere near the handler Freddie was. Get him under control before I deal with him myself.”
Oaklyn jerked her arm free, her expression hardening.
The look on Sophia’s face told me Wyatt was about to get hurt if he didn’t back down, so I stepped closer to break this up. “Oaklyn, maybe we should—”
“Quiet!” Sophia snapped. She turned her cold glare onto me, her eyes narrowing in a way that reminded me of a snake about to strike. “You’ve been useful, girl, but don’t think for a second that makes you worthy of magic.”
Irecoiled like her words had slapped me. Worthy? What happened to democratized magic? This didn’t add up to what Oaklyn and I had dreamed about.
“Mom,” Oaklyn said, a warning in her tone.
But Sophia’s face twisted with a cruel smile as she looked me up and down. “Did you really think we’d share it with you? That we’d make you a witch?”
She raised her hands, and the earth beneath my feet jolted. I stumbled forward as the ground cracked and heaved.
“Stop it!” Oaklyn shouted. “We need to focus on—”
“I know what we need!” Sophia grabbed my wrist and yanked me closer.
