Emily stretched and enjoyed the quiet and comfort of their bed for a few more moments. Today is the day. Today she will face Lord Rotterford again. She felt a shiver travel down her spine at just the thought. Don’t worry. You have me now, Rica said, trying to offer some comfort. I know, Emily smiled gratefully. I am not scared of him per se, but I also just dread seeing him too. He has found a way to hurt so many people. There is something in him that just enjoys being cruel. Yes. He does get pleasure from being cruel, Rica agreed. He is even cruel to ordinary humans that work for him. Emily nodded her head in agreement. I hope no one gets hurt with this plan today. I know that he has been planning some of this for a while, but I still feel like if I never came then they wouldn’t be putting their lives on the line. Look at the ones that were hurt the other night trying to come to the valley with Abraham. You know this was coming either way, Rica said not wanting Emily to

An hour later everyone had made it to their assigned locations as far as Emily knew. She was waiting with Gabriel, Hunter, Agatha, and the rest of their core group. Always worried about an attack Gabriel was making sure to keep Emily blocked by him, Hunter, Samuel, and Axel, but they were also trying to keep it from looking obvious at the same time. Emily and Rica tried not to roll their eyes at the guys worrying about protecting them. She also knew that there were warriors all around them even though she could not see them. A few of the witches like Breanna, Agatha, and others could aparate warriors as needed, but due to the numbers needed, Gabriel and the others decided to find another way to have warriors able to be in multiple locations unseen. The solution that they found was a small charm that would allow the warriors to be invisible for up to four hours. This time frame allowed enough of the warriors to be set up and prepared if the hunters attack. The rest of the warriors wer

“What in the world is that,” Emily asked. She didn’t realize that she had spoken aloud till Gabriel answered her. “I’m not sure what Rotterford has planned. I think that I hear something metallic mixed in with the sound of the trees moving, snapping, and falling.” “I hear it too,” Hunter replied, taking a step forward. “I don’t suppose that giants are real,” Emily asked, only half joking as she watched more trees shake and then give way to whatever was making their way toward them. “They are real,” Gabriel said, “but this doesn’t sound like a giant. If it was a giant you would know it.” “What do you mean by that,” Emily asked. “Giants are old,” Agatha said. “They are elementals. They are made of rock, water, and ice. If one of them moved you would know. When the ones made of rock move it makes the news because they have either caused an earthquake or a landslide.” “Oh,” Emily said as she felt the ground vibrating under them. I still think it could be a giant. It’s not, Ric

“What do you mean,” Emily asked. “I have made a lot of bad decisions in my life. I know that I can never make what I have done to you right, but I can at least make sure that you are able to live the life that you have now.” “What have you done to me? Do you mean the part where you called me a whore for taking my chances with Lord Rotterford over you,” Emily cried as she pointed to the man that was still withering in pain on the ground. “Or do you mean, where you stole from myself and my parents and forced me out of my own home to pay your gambling debts?” Emily’s uncle looked pained as he admitted, “I have done way worse. I was the fool that told the hunters where they could find your mother. I was blinded by jealousy of my brother. I was hoping that I could make it look like he was the one that told them where she was that day then she would run to me for comfort.” “You wanted to have me killed so that my mom might turn to you for comfort? How could you even think that she woul

“Angela, how are they,” Emily asked as soon as they made it back into the valley and then rushed to the hospital where all of the injured were receiving help. Emily was relieved to see that everyone that they passed at the hospital did indeed have minor injuries. “Not good,” Angela said, quickly swiping a tear from her cheek. “I can’t keep them in this state much longer, and as soon as they are no longer in this frozen state, they will quickly bleed out.” “Can’t I pull energy and give it to them to help them heal,” Emily asked sadly, as she looked at her grandmother and Agatha. Angela shook her head. “No, the bullets have done too much damage for them to recover from.” “Could we do surgery while they are frozen to repair the damage to give them a fighting chance,” Emily asked, refusing to give up. Angela sighed and slumped in a seat by Agatha’s bed. “Even frozen, the surgery would kill them. Rotterford knew what he was doing when he shot your grandmother. He missed her he