LOGINA week. It’s been a full week since my birthday, since the flames, since the prophecy, since the Nothing, since hearing my dad’s real voice for the first time in eighteen years.And somehow… life kept going. Mom and I have spent every day together. Cooking. Talking. Laughing. Crying. Learning each other in ways we never got to before.Emily has dragged me into town twice for “normal girl things,” which apparently includes milkshakes, thrift stores, and her trying to convince me to get a tattoo, since I'm eighteen now.Liam and Grace have been hovering like bonus parents. And Noah…Noah has been my anchor. Our matebond is still new, still glowing, still settling into place like a second heartbeat. Every time he touches me, even just brushing my hand, my magic calms.But even with all of that… I’m still spiraling. Because every night, I hear my dad’s voice in the Nothing. Every morning, I wake up wondering how to save him. Every hour, I feel the Hallow pressing at the edges of my mind. A
The moment I drag him back, he screams. Brad’s essence, what’s left of it, thrashes like a trapped animal as I slam him into the dark corner of our shared mind. The Nothing collapses behind him, sealing shut like a wound. “You pathetic fool,” I hiss.He gasps, flickering like a dying ember. “She… she heard me.”I tighten my grip around him, squeezing until his form fractures into shards of light. “She wasn’t supposed to,” I snarl. “You weren’t supposed to break free.”He laughs. Weak. Broken. But defiant. “She’s stronger than you think.”I slam him against the inside of our skull, the cabin around us flickering as my rage bleeds into the physical world. Shadows crawl up the walls, pulsing with my heartbeat. “She is mine,” I growl. “My vessel. My key. My destiny.”Brad’s voice softens. “She’s my daughter.”I twist him tighter, savoring the crack in his light. “She is the One,” I whisper. “Born of dual flame. Born to open the door you died to protect.”He shudders. “I didn’t die to prot
By the time we finish talking through the prophecy, my head feels like it’s full of static. Everyone looks exhausted, even Mom, and she’s usually the last one to admit she needs sleep.Grace suggests we call it a night.Liam agrees.Emily yawns so hard she nearly falls off her chair.I nod, ready to collapse. But when I stand, my feet move on their own. Not toward my room. Toward Noah’s. I don’t even realize it until I’m already inside, sitting on the edge of his bed with the prophecy book open in my lap. The pages glow faintly in the dim light, like they’re whispering to me.Noah closes the door behind us, watching me with that soft, steady look he always has when he’s worried. “You’re spiraling again,” he says gently.“I’m not,” I lie. He raises a brow. I sigh. “Okay, maybe a little.”He walks over, sits beside me, and without a word, slides the book out of my hands. He sets it on the nightstand like it’s a dangerous weapon. Maybe it is. Then he pulls me into his arms. Warm. Safe. S
The cabin materializes around me in a rush of cold air and dying embers. My head throbs. My ribs ache. My magic flickers like a candle in a storm. But none of that matters. Because I saw her. Raven. My daughter. My blood. My legacy. And now I know what she truly is.Jason storms into the room the second I appear, eyes blazing. “Where the hell have you been? Delaney and Drake got away! We had them...”“I don’t care,” I say flatly.Jason freezes. “What?”I brush ash from my sleeve, ignoring the pain in my side. “Let them run. They’re irrelevant now.”His jaw clenches. “Irrelevant? Delaney was the key to...”“She was,” I correct. “Past tense.”Jason stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have. Maybe I don’t care. Because everything changed tonight.He steps closer. “Where’s Raven?”I look up slowly. “She got away.”Jason’s face twists with fury. “You let her escape?! Brad, we need her! We need—”“I need the prophecy book.”That shuts him up. Jason blinks. “What? Why? We don’t need
The house is quiet. Too quiet. Everyone is gathered around the dining table, books spread everywhere like a paper explosion. But the only sound is the soft rustle of pages as I open the book I found in my room, the one Liam gave me a few days ago and I somehow forgot existed. The prophecy book. My hands shake as I flip to the page that tugged at me the moment I touched it. The page that feels like it’s been waiting for me. The ink glows faintly, silver and blue, like it recognizes me. I swallow hard and read aloud.The Prophecy of the One“Born of dual flame, Child of shadow and light, She who carries both shall rise When the world trembles in fear. Her power will awaken the old, Her choice will unmake or remake the world. The One is not born to follow fate— But to decide it.”The room goes still
Raven’s flames dim slowly, settling into a soft blue glow that clings to her skin like living light. She looks exhausted, terrified, and impossibly powerful all at once. My daughter. My baby.And something far more than either of us ever imagined. Noah still holds her, the Guardian/Charge bond wrapped around them like a shield. The sight makes my chest ache, not with jealousy, but with relief. She’s safe. She’s held. She’s not alone. I step closer, brushing a trembling strand of hair from her face. “Raven… you weren’t supposed to have both magics.”Her brows knit. “Both?”Liam is the next to ask questions, "What do you mean, Laney? Both...she's the Warren Heir."“Children inherit one side or the other,” I explain softly. “Like how Noah is a Guardian and Emily is a Familiar. Or how when a witch and a werewolf mate, their children are either a witch or a wolf ... but never both.”Raven swallows. “So what does that make me?”I take a breath. “You are the first of your kind. You have Warr







