the deaths that are happening. People are dead because I changed the world’s future, and people are still dying and will continue to die unless I fix what I did.
Laylen leans back in his chair, nibbling at his lip ring with a contemplative look on his face.
Desperate for a subject change, I ask, “So have you heard anything?” I nervously fiddle with the ceramic cow in the center of the table, avoiding his gaze as the thought of Alex consumes my mind and soul. I haven’t felt the electricity in weeks, ever since he left, but sometimes, when I think of him, I can almost feel the tingling sensation kissing every inch of my skin. “I mean, from Alex?”
Pity fills Laylen’s eyes as he reluctantly shakes his head. “I’m sure he’s fine, though. And Alex, he can take care of himself.”
“Yeah, I know he can.”
Sometimes I think about going to find Alex by using my extraordinary power to track him down and Foresee to wherever he is. If I close my eyes and picture his face, I could pull it off. But in the aching part of my heart, I know he left for a reason: we can’t be together; otherwise, we’ll die. I’ve seen it happen with my own eyes.
A bang on the back door interrupts my thoughts. I jolt, standing up with Laylen, my chair tipping back and toppling to the floor. Laylen hastily retrieves a knife from a drawer while I hurry to the back door and peek out through a crack in the board across the window.
“It looks like they might be witches,” I hiss to Laylen. “But I’m not one hundred percent sure. It’s still too dark outside for me to see their marks.”
“God fucking dammit.” Laylen cautiously approaches the door, holding the knife. He peers through another crack in the board and curses again. “I wonder if they’re here just because or if it is something else.”
By something else, I know he means me.
I look through the crack again, peering at the bottom of the porch at a tall woman with wavy black hair and green eyes. If she is a witch, then we’re in deep shit because their magic gives them the upper hand.
She glances back at a few people standing behind her, and then her hand erupts with a glittery, purple glow.
“Go get Aislin. It’s definitely witches,” I hiss, a ripple of tension waving through my body.
“Don’t do anything until I get back,” Laylen says then races off toward the stairway.
The witch says something to her group, and then they all cackle. Panic flares through me as I ransack the drawers for another knife. I end up choosing a smaller one with a razor-sharp edge.
“This is all your fault,” I whisper to myself as I move back for the door.
Before I can look out, Laylen and Aislin come barreling into the kitchen, out of breath and panting heavily. Aislin’s golden hair is disheveled, and she’s blinking her green eyes, looking a little groggy.
“How many are there?” she asks me, cracking her knuckles.
I peek through the boards again. “Five, maybe six.”
She nods, flexing her fingers. “Which one’s going to open the door?”
Laylen opens his mouth, but I cut him off because this is my mistake, mine and mine alone.
“I got it.” I wrap my fingers around the doorknob, my pulse erratic and my hands a little unsteady as I count down. “On the count of three. One . . . two . . . three.” I swing the door open.
The witch closest to me jumps back in surprise, but her hands are already aimed at me, and she starts chanting a spell underneath her breath.
Wasting no time, I charge out the door and shove her back. She trips down the stairs, and I start to step back when she seizes ahold of my ankle and pulls me with her into the snow. My arm instinctively cradles my stomach as fear slams through my body. Thankfully, my Keeper instincts kick in, and I’m able to catch myself from landing too hard.
A cold chill seeps into my bones as reality crashes over me. If Nicholas is right—if I am pregnant—I have to stop taking so many risks.
I fight to get away from the witch, plowing my elbow against her head, and she laughs as I roll on top of her. Then I smile and clock her in the face.
She chortles, her mouth bloody from my punch. “Nice try, princess.” She grabs my necklace and snaps