Where was he? Then fear sliced through Zephyra so strong it felt like physical pain. Oh god. Had they hurt him? She called Brady and held the phone shakily to her ear.Zephyra had expected him to sound half-asleep when he answered. Instead, his voice was sharp and fully alert when he barked out, “Shaw here

As soon as Zephyra was in her Jeep, a torrent of rain let loose. It was raining so hard it took her double the time to get to her parents’ house than it usually does. Her mother ushered Zephyra inside and out of the storm when she knocked. “What happened now?” her mom asked, taking the dripping jacket off Zephyra. Her dad put away the book he was reading and gave her a worried look.

Zephyra’s head hurt. The pain stabbed at her temples and thrummed through the rest of her head in rhythm with the beat of her pulse. This was worse than the hangover she had the day after her first college frat party. Opening her eyes, Zephyra stared down at her lap in the dim light. She was sitting and judging by the almost painful pressure across her chest, she was willing to bet that she was tied to a chair. Zephyra started to lift her head when a sharp pain shot through it, making her wince. Maybe moving wasn’t such a great idea right about now.

“You crying?” Tonya mocked. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to shoot you,” she went on, mocking Zephyra with her false compassion. “That would be far too quick. Oh no, I’ll let Rhys and Jaxie do that. Just like they did to that slutty witch friend of yours.”

Zephyra let loose the arrow, a sudden burst of wind giving it more speed, and she immediately notched the last one she held in her hand. Lysandra cried out as Zephyra’s arrow knocked the gun out of her hand. “Don’t,” Zephyra told her as she started to reach for it. “Don’t do it. Don’t make me kill you, Lysandra. I don’t want to do it, but if I have to choose, I’ll choose them over you.”