Mag-log inRowan’s POVI grunted as I tripped over a tree root. Ember walked in front, her constant voice filling the silence I didn’t want to break. She’d been talking for over an hour, words spilling from her like her mouth was a machine gun, trying to get something or anything out of me.She wasn’t succeeding.“Do you ever smile anymore?” she asked suddenly, stepping over a branch. “You used to, you know. Back when you weren’t all broody and dramatic.”I didn’t look at her. “You done?”“Not even close,” she said brightly. “You’re terrible company, by the way. You’d be a terrible travel companion if I wasn’t used to your gloomy thundercloud energy.”I grunted.She huffed. “You’re impossible.”“And you’re loud.”“Someone has to fill the silence,” she shot back. “Otherwise we'll both drown in it.”I didn’t answer that. I didn’t want to. The path ahead curved deeper into the woods. The trees leaned in too close and twisted unnaturally. Ember walked ahead of me, her coat brushing against ferns, h
Ember’s POVI groaned in frustration, kicking dirt away.I hated walking beside Rowan.He never said a word, never even looked my way, and somehow still managed to radiate enough judgment to make me want to set his coat on fire. Which, to be fair, I’d done once before. He still hadn’t forgiven me for that.The forest path stretched long and narrow ahead of us, the mist curling low over the ground. Every few seconds, I could feel the tension rolling off him like heat from a furnace. It made the air feel heavier, harder to breathe.Typical Rowan. Always brooding. Always a walking thunderstorm.“You know,” I started, because silence wasn’t my thing, “for someone who needs my help, you’re doing a terrible job pretending you don’t hate me.”He didn’t even glance at me. “I don’t need to pretend.”Ouch.I smirked, pretending that one didn’t sting. “I thought you said well you're still the charmer I remember.”He grunted in response. A real conversationalist, my brother.We moved deeper into
Sebastian’s POVI felt something dropping on my cheek. Something wet.My eyes slowly opened as I moved my hand to my face to check what it was. The place was barely lit except but I could still see the black sticky substance. I tried to move away when I felt a thrum in my head. Darkness consumed me immediately.The first thing I noticed when I woke up the second time was the smell. Damp stone, lots of dirt I couldn't name, and iron.The kind of air that told you right away that this place hadn’t seen sunlight in a long, long time.My eyes snapped open to darkness. For a moment, I didn’t know if they were even open. The pain hit again and I felt another throbbing pulse behind my skull, sharp enough to make me wince but not unconscious this time. My throat felt dry, sandpaper dry, and my wristsI tugged instinctively.Chains.Cold, metal chains.“Perfect,” I muttered, the sound rasping out like a whisper.The darkness shifted slowly as my eyes adjusted. The faintest orange light leaked
Rowan’s POVMy eyes snapped open as the sudden sense of danger hit me.Something was wrong.I picked up my coat from the couch, putting on my shoes as I stormed out of my house and began running. Only something, or someone could make me feel this way.The wind and tree branches whipped at my face. I ran towards the source of the danger. Towards him.I hope I wasn't too late.The smell of smoke and scorched metal hit next, thick and bitter made me reconsider. My boots slid on the frost as I stepped out of the trees and froze. Everything was on fire.What used to be a bus lay half-folded down a slope, one wheel spinning weakly, squealing in protest. Flames licked at the sides. The air shimmered with heat and magic, not just any magic, tainted magic, dark magic. There was broken glass everywhere and car parts everywhere.There were bodies too.They were everywhere.Some were still in their seats, others thrown into the snow. Faces frozen mid-scream, eyes wide and glassy. The stench of b
Sebastian’s POVThe moment the door shut behind Sebastian, I dropped my fork."I'm done." I kicked the chair in front of me out of the way."With this shitty town, this shitty woods. Every fucking thing."Enough of witches popping out of thin air, storm gods breaking my furniture and not being able to sleep peacefully at night due to wicked beings after me.I wasn’t staying another minute.I headed straight to my room, throwing my wardrobe door open. I stripped off the ruined bathrobe and yanked on the first things I found, a pair of faded baggy jeans and a black T-shirt that had seen better days but I didn't care. I just needed something to wear. I shoved a handful of clothes into a duffel bag, zipped it half-closed, and slung it over my shoulder.The zipper broke halfway through, of course. Because why wouldn’t it?“Perfect,” I muttered, kicking the edge of the bed. “Even the bag’s against me.”I looked around the cabin one last time. I so definitely wasn't going to miss this place
Rowan’s POVI shook my head, dispelling whatever had brought me here, in front of Sebastian's apartment."Help me, god," I mutter under my breath, watching his front door.I had no idea what had brought me here or drawn me here. These days, the only thing that seemed to fill my mind was....Sighing, I turn with the intention of heading when it hits me.The scent.The familiar kind.Apples. Too sweet, too sharp. It burned in my nose like smoke.Ember.I shut the door harder than I meant to, the sound echoing through the small space. My fists curled at my sides. She’d been here. Recently. All magic users had their scent. And I'd be damned if I didn't know my sister's.And sitting there in the middle of it all, wearing a bathrobe stained with grease and eggs, of all things, was Sebastian.He froze when he saw me, fork halfway to his mouth. His eyes hardened instantly like the sight of me was somehow worse than whatever he’d just been through.“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he groaned, slamming t







