“Long ago, there were witches who stood between us and those who hunted us.”Lucy stands, pacing back and forth.“Our ancient guardians could speak with us and feel what we feel.”
I shiver. Around us, many pairs of purple eyes still linger on me. Is this why I feel such a strong pull toward the chimeras? Am I descended from these ancient guardians?
“Those witches protected the balance between our world and yours…until the coven decided we were too dangerous to remain free.”Lucy’s voice hardens. Her fur ripples, her body growing. She curls her claws over the rock, the scrape resonating too loudly—more like the sound of talons.“If your witches attack us again, we will not show mercy. We have been patient, but we will no longer hesitate to unleash what we truly are.”
I nod, believing her. Looking at their true forms, feeling their power pulsing through my veins, it’s clear the witches have no idea what they’re dealing with.
Lucy keeps growing, her form shifting, until a massive griffin stands before me. She clicks her beak, her eyes narrowing.“Help us remain free, and you will see what harmony looks like. Hunt us, and your kind will regret waging war against ancient magic.”
I swallow hard. Help the chimeras? But Natalie, and the coven, and…
“What about Millie?” I ask.
Lucy turns her regal gaze to Millie, who writhes in pain under the chimeras trying to separate her soul from the magic she consumed.“She made her choice, as do all who consume us. Some can handle the power, and some cannot. If she does not survive this, then that is the price of her human arrogance.”
I open my mouth to argue that it wasn’t arrogance—it was desperation. If Millie knew what the consequences would be, she probably wouldn’t have done it. But knowledge of chimeras and bio magic is so strictly controlled and limited within the coven that there was no way she could have known all this.
As for me? I understand better than ever. Millie has shown me with absolute certainty that a chimera’s power is not meant to be consumed. Witches might have named it bio magic and used it to win wars and heal illnesses, but that doesn’t make it right.
But is C.S.A.M.M. right to trap it underground? Or are chimeras meant to be free?
Does it matter, when the only way to secure my freedom is to trap them?
“Leave now,”Lucy commands, spreading her wings like a massive wall in front of me,“and take this warning back to your coven. Tell your witches to stay away.”
The chimeras with their burning eyes respond to Lucy’s gesture, creeping closer. I back away, stumbling over rocks, the message clear: I am not welcome here. I am not their ally. I’m a messenger, a non-magical human who is no threat to them, and my purpose is to deliver a warning to the witches.
I look to Sebastian, not wanting to abandon them.
“Go,” he says hoarsely. “Before they hurt you.”
My eyes sting, but I nod, knowing I have no other option.
As I retreat, Millie’s screams follow me—a reminder of what happens when humans try to control forces they don’t understand.
My heart hammers as I flee up the dark trail without my flashlight, branches slashing my cheeks raw. The chimeras see me as just another hunter. But I felt their fear beneath their anger—memories of cages and torches, of being trapped and used.
What am I supposed to do? These creatures aren’t what I thought, and they might be the key to understanding my ability. If I’m meant to protect them, then trapping them betrays who I am. But Natalie and the coven would never believe that, and my freedom depends on capturing them.
A shriek tears through the trees—whether human or monster, I can’t tell.
I pause, lungs burning, staring into the darkness behind me. Somewhere in those shadows, ancient magic is trying to heal a witch who made a terrible mistake. Now, I have to decide which side I’m on before my time runs out.
From the Journalof Hazel Okada
There was no easy way to broach the subject, so I just went for it as we settled on the couch with stiff drinks (much needed after getting in a fight with a couple of witches and a chimera). “It was nice meeting your mom.”
Oaklyn coughed as she took a sip of her whiskey, on the verge of laughing. “Not the way I would’ve planned it.”
“We should have dinner at her place sometime. A more normal context.”
She recoiled, looking at me like I was a T-rex that had come crashing into her living room. “I guess…”
“I’ll introduce you to my parents too, when the opportunity comes.” I tried to position it as a meet-the-parents idea and not ‘show me where your mom lives so I can send a coven of witches after her.’
Ugh, more nausea. My rum and coke suddenly went down like acid.
“Maybe,” she said. “I’ll ask.”
