Natalie sucks in a breath and raises her palms. The air crackles, lifting the hairs on my arms.
I grab her wrist. “Don’t hurt her,” I beg—because even now, she’s still Hazel, and I can’t let her get hurt.
Hazel jumps out of the van with the golden net in her hands, the threads gleaming unnaturally bright under the streetlights.
My heart misses a beat. She can’t be doing this.
“That’s my girl,” Oaklyn says. “Get in the car, sweetheart.”
I’m numb, her betrayal surging over me like a tidal wave of arctic water.
I reach out a trembling hand, desperate to fix this. My chest is unbearably tight. “Hazel, don’t. Come with us and we’ll keep you safe.”
“I am safe.” She moves closer to Oaklyn, though there’s the briefest hesitation in her step.
My ears ring. “She pressed a blade to my throat!”
“After you killed her brother!” Hazel’s voice cracks, and she swallows hard, her eyes not quite meeting mine. “Come on, Katie… Wouldn’t you do anything for someone you care about? Isn’t that what you’ve always done?”
I blink, trying to absorb what’s happening. My best friend, the person who’s been by my side since high school, has chosen the Madsens over me. The treachery cuts deeper than any knife could, twisting in my gut until I can’t breathe.
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” I say through my teeth.
Hazel shakes her head fiercely, her fingers winding nervously around the golden net. “I’m done watching from the sidelines. I need to fight for something I believe in. Katie, that coven doesn’t give a shit about you. They’ve lied to you, betrayed you, and…” She takes a shaky breath. “Maybe there aren’t any good sides here. Maybe we’re all just trying to do the best we can.”
I step back, dizzy as the world tilts under me. The idea of there being no good side hits harder than it should because of how much I’ve been doubting the coven. How they’ve treated me. How wholeheartedly I disagree with their decision to trap the chimeras.
But that doesn’t mean I’m going to side with the Madsens. I will never,everstand with the family that has brought Natalie so much pain. The coven might be wrong about some things, but that doesn’t make the Madsens right.
“Hazel, let’s talk about this,” I say, my voice coming out weak as my last thread of hope frays.
She shakes her head, backing toward the car with Oaklyn. I can see her hands trembling from here. She’s sweating, terrified…but she’s made her choice. She’s chosen the path I’ve been fighting against.
Sophia unleashes a final, devastating blast that knocks back the closest Shadows, and makes a desperate sprint for the passenger seat. She climbs in, and Hazel gets into the back on Oaklyn’s side.
“Wyatt! Come!” Oaklyn shouts, one foot in the car.
The dog turns his head, visibly torn between obeying her and eating Ethel. A little white paw takes another swipe at him from under the car, claws extended.
“Come!” Oaklyn shouts again, and the dog obeys, bounding over in a few long strides.
Hazel gives me one last look—and I swear I barely recognize her past the coldness in her eyes—before Oaklyn slams her door and climbs into the driver’s seat.
“Hazel, please!” I try to follow, but Natalie yanks me back as a wave of concrete explodes between us.
I pull out of her grasp. “I can’t let her go with them!”
She just grabs me tighter, her body shielding mine as debris rains down. “We can’t help her if we’re dead.”
The car’s engine comes to life, roaring and sputtering under the dented hood. Through the open car window, Sophia raises a wall of broken concrete and twisted metal. Then they’re speeding away, Hazel’s face visible in the rear window.
“No!” I cry, my feet carrying me forward automatically, like I think I can catch them.
Natalie holds me back, her arms strong around my waist. “Katie, don’t. We’ll get her back, but we need a plan.”
The Cruiser disappears around a corner, leaving behind destruction and wounded Shadows.
Natalie cups my face, forcing me to look at her. “You’re bleeding. Where are you hurt?”
