Semua Bab Hallow's Edge: Bab 31 - Bab 40

The barn smells like dust, old wood, and the faint metallic tang of magic.For days I’ve been buried in books, runes, sigils, potion theory, spell structure, Warren history. My brain feels like it’s leaking out of my ears. But today? Today is different. Today I finally get to do something.Liam and Noah have transformed the barn into a makeshift training range. Targets line the far wall, some wooden, some metal, some enchanted to move. A table is set up with jars, herbs, vials, and a cauldron that looks like it’s seen better centuries.Noah stands beside me, arms crossed, trying to look calm. He’s not. I can feel the tension rolling off him through our bond, warm, protective, steady.Grace hands me a small vial filled with shimmering blue liquid. “Focus potion. Just a sip. It’ll help channel your magic without overwhelming you.”I take a breath and drink. It tastes like mint and lightning.L

Emily’s emotions slam into me so hard I nearly drop the vial. Hope. Fear. Running.It’s all tangled together, sharp and bright and overwhelming. My breath catches, and the barn tilts for a second.Noah is at my side instantly. “Raven...hey...slow down. What’s happening?”I grip the edge of the table, knuckles white. “She’s moving. She’s… she’s trying to get away.”Grace’s eyes widen. “Then we need that tracker potion finished.”“I know,” I snap, more at myself than anyone else. “I’m trying.” The second the words leave my mouth, guilt hits me like a punch.I close my eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just...” My voice cracks. “I’m snapping at myself. I should’ve gotten this right by now.”I force my shaking hands to steady and lift the vial again. The

The woods blur around us as we run. Branches whip past my face. My lungs burn. My legs ache. But none of it matters, Emily is beside me, stumbling, terrified, barely staying upright. Noah keeps a hand on her back, guiding her forward.Behind us, Jason crashes through the trees like a storm. Too close. Too fast. Too angry. I can feel his magic pressing against mine, dark, heavy, suffocating. Emily’s bond pulses with fear, and it pushes me harder.“Keep going!” Noah shouts.I don’t need him to tell me twice. We sprint through the underbrush, feet pounding the earth. Emily trips, and I grab her arm, pulling her up before she hits the ground. Then...a low growl cuts through the night. A dog bursts out of the shadows, barking furiously, teeth bared but not at us, but at Jason. He charges past us, planting himself between us and the danger like a living shield.Emily

I don’t remember falling asleep. One moment I’m slumped against Noah in the backseat, Emily curled up between Liam and Grace, the world spinning softly around the edges…and the next...I’m somewhere else. Somewhere cold. Somewhere wrong. The air smells like damp wood and old magic. Shadows cling to the walls like they’re alive. I know this place even though I’ve never been here. Jason’s cabin. My stomach twists.I hear footsteps, heavy, angry, and then Jason bursts through the door, slamming it behind him so hard the frame shudders. His aura is a storm, dark and violent, still crackling with the magic I hit him with. He’s furious. He’s hurting. And he’s blaming her.“Delaney!” he roars, voice echoing through the cabin. My heart lurches. Mom. I’m pulled downward, like something is dragging me through the floorboards. Suddenly I’m in the basement, watching him tower over her. She’s slumped against the wall, wrists bound, but her eyes… her eyes are steady. Defiant.

Brad, my little brother, shouldn’t be alive. He shouldn’t be standing in my cabin, breathing my air, looking at me with those same sharp eyes he had when we were kids, only darker now, hollowed out, wrong.He shouldn’t be here because I killed him. And because after I killed him, they cremated him. I made sure of it. So how the hell is he standing in front of me?He steps closer, boots silent on the warped floorboards. The candlelight flickers across his face, carving shadows into features I used to know. “You’re staring,” he says, voice low, amused. “Still trying to figure it out?”My jaw tightens. “You’re dead.”He smiles. “I was.” The Hallow stirs in the walls, humming like it recognizes him. Like it’s greeting an old friend. A chill crawls up my spine.“What are you?” I demand.Brad tilts his head, studying me the way a predator studies prey.