When the rage within threatens to destroy everything...
As if firestarter wasn't bad enough, adding assassin to her resume isn't exactly the teenage life Halen Windspeare always imagined. Facing a sinister demon, Halen must unleash her power to van...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Stalagmites towered above, the rock tips reaching for the rainbow-dusted ceiling. Halen swept her hair from her eyes, inhaling the sweet humid air that could only come from one place—Elosia. She bolted upright. "Tage!"
A few feet away, Dax rose to a sitting position, picking bits of moss from his clothes. She scanned the cavern for signs of the others, but no one else had made it. "I can't believe you didn't wait! You left them behind."
"Lower your voice." He raised his finger to his lips.
"Lower my voice! That's all you have to say? Our friends are with the Hunters. Your father is seriously injured. And my mom..." She sucked in a choked breath. "My sister just tried to kill us! We've been whirling around Lina's portal for heaven only knows how long, and we can't do anything from here. We could have helped them if you had just—"
"My job is to protect you." He bowed his head.
"Think again. We owe them. Why did Lina send us so far away?" She slammed her fist into the lush moss, scattering dozens of neon yellow bugs.
"We're safe from the Hunters—for now." Dax crouched beside her. "Are you okay?"
"No! I'm not okay." Her head spun with the bloody images from the hotel room. "Why are you so calm?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dwelling on what I can't change isn't going to help us right now."
"We have to go back." She softened her tone. "We can't just leave them with the Hunters. And Natalie... I never thought..." What did she expect of her sister? She had held onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, she had a sister who could guide her; someone who understood what a curse all this magick could be. "Natalie was everything you said she was."
"The Tari will deal with her."
"Deal with her? How?" Her questions brought shivers to her skin.
"There's only one of me—one Guardian. And right now, my position is with you." He clasped his hand over his bracelet.
"Her magick is powerful, but you can't be suggesting..." Halen shifted away from him. "You think she's become like Asair—unhinged?"
"She doesn't have anyone to balance her."
"Neither did I, but I learned." Why was she protecting Natalie? She had all but tried to kill her. Still, Halen wasn't without sin. If Dax were so willing to send the Tari after Natalie for dark magick, what would he do to her when he discovered Asair?
"You had your mom. Your magick was under control."
"I set my house on fire and then summoned a storm to put it out. I flooded half of Rockaway. I wouldn't say my magick was under control." With Asair looming inside her, she was so not in control.
"Our parents kept watch over your abilities. You never did anything they couldn't manage."
"Are you saying they would have killed me if I had become like Asair?" Her voice cracked.
