Before I get to her, movement catches my eye. Sophia forces Wyatt back with a wave of earth. The dog snarls as he tumbles away from the golden net. With a triumphant cry, Sophia snatches up the trapped chimera, which is limp and unconscious, its form flickering weakly between a rabbit and something indiscernible.
“Oaklyn, let’s go!” she shouts, backing away, strands of her white-blonde hair whipping in the wind.
Oaklyn stays crouched, wiping away the blood her mother left on Hazel’s neck. She whips her head around, her eyes wild.
“Now!” Sophia barks.
Oaklyn hesitates. I’ve seen this expression on her once before, when she landed on me with her dagger after she found out I killed her brother. And for the briefest moment, I have to wonder what she really feels for Hazel. How real it is—or was.
She gives Hazel one last look, then gets up and sprints after Sophia, her decision made.
Wyatt shakes himself off, sending droplets of seawater flying. He bounds after them, his loyalty to Oaklyn unwavering despite everything.
I’m torn, my heart splitting in two directions. Hazel is on the ground, magic coursing through her body. But Sophia is escaping with a captured chimera, and if she consumes its power…
A few chimeras break away to follow Sophia and Oaklyn, but they’re quickly intercepted by Shadows. Enchantment or not, the witches are still determined to destroy them, and the chimeras are fighting for theirlives. A cacophony of emotions shoots through me so intensely that a sharp pain stabs my temples.
“Katie. Help.” It’s Hazel, her voice all but lost beneath the clamor. Her eyes flash between their normal brown and an eerie purple as she looks at me, pleading. Sweat beads on her forehead, and her entire body trembles.
I race closer and kneel beside her, taking the place where Oaklyn was a moment ago. I hold both her hands tightly. “I’m here.”
Unnatural heat radiates from her skin, almost painful to touch. She convulses again, and a prickling sensation ripples over me as a burst of magic erupts from her palms. Rocks lift from the ground around us, hovering before shooting in all directions like bullets. I duck, covering Hazel with my body as best I can, feeling their wind as they narrowly miss us.
“What’s happening to me?” she whimpers, her voice small and afraid.
“You drank earth magic. I think it’s trying to find its place in you,” I say, though I’m guessing. I’ve never seen someone become a witch before. “Try to breathe through it.”
The chimeras’ pain hits me as they’re struck by the Shadows’ magic. Each strike is like a blow to my own body, making my breath hitch. They’re falling, breaking down like wood splintering under crashing waves, trapped within the circle of witches.
I can’t help them. I can’t help anyone. The realization burns in my chest.
“Katie!” Natalie’s voice punctures my thoughts. “What happened? Where’d the Madsens go?”
She staggers toward us with Sky supporting her. I don’t know how she’s on her feet at all. But her gaze is locked onto me, like nothing in the world can stop her from fighting.
“Don’t tell me we lost them,” Sky says, going pale.
“With a chimera,” I say, my voice broken. “Natalie, you shouldn’t be here. Sky—”
“I know,” Sky says. “I’m trying. She’s stubborn as hell.”
I hold Natalie’s gaze, and she tilts her head. This is how it’s going to be, then. Each of us refusing to leave the other until one of us takes her last breath.
Hazel grunts as another wave of magic pulses through her, the ground beneath her palms cracking and rumbling. “Katie, I can’t control it,” she whimpers.
I grip her shoulders. “Focus on your breathing. Try to center yourself.”
“Wait—” Natalie says, looking down at Hazel with wide eyes, finally seeming to realize she’s not just injured.
Sky gasps. “Did she consume—”
“What’s happening here?” Fiona’s sharp voice cuts through our conversation. She strides over, her cloak torn and dirty. Her gaze sweeps over Hazel, narrowing when she sees Hazel’s eyes blazing purple. “Who is this? Why is she manifesting magic?”
“Her name is Hazel, and she just stopped Oaklyn from becoming a witch,” I say firmly, standing between them. For all the shitty treatment she’s given me, I refuse to let her unleash that on my best friend.
Fiona’s nostrils flare, her face hardening into the same expression I’ve seen countless times. “Tell me it isn’t bio magic.”
“It’s earth magic. And you should be thanking Hazel,” I snap, my patience thin after all this time spent trying to prove myself to her.
