His brows bend together as he searches my eyes. “Twenty-two. Why?”
I take another step forward so I’m directly beneath his gaze. “Just what I thought. The body of a man and the personality of a toddler.”
He leans down, anger flashing in the blue eyes, which are now pinned on mine. “Looks can be deceiving, can’t they, Kat?”
“You could say that.” My insides are shaking, my neck burning from the confrontation. I don’t even know what we’re talking about anymore.
“Go home.” This time his words are just a raspy whisper, but it does something to my insides. My eyes fall closed while my heart takes off with a frantic flutter. I open them again and suck in a deep breath. “I’ll go home when I’m done with my run.”
He narrows his eyes. “You’ll go now. It’s dangerous out here, especially at night.”
“The only thing dangerous out here is you, and I’m not afraid.”
“You should be.” Something besides anger flashes in his eyes, and it’s enough to cause me to back up a step. He matches my step, moving toward me, forcing me to step backward again. “Go home, Kat, before I take you there myself.”
I don’t know if it’s the fact that he won’t back down or because I truly am tired from my run, but I decide to give in just this once. With a final glare, I turn away from the man I’ll never understand and jog home.
What makes us most powerful can also kill us.
Rose’s words haunt me for the rest of the week, especially after I’ve seen just how powerful our magic is, and I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface.
Her words continued to shake me, all through my days as I studied Solstice law. At night, I would practice my magic with Charlotte and Rose. We’ve focused primarily on manipulation—creating, shaping, and combining elements to create things like wind blasts and shaped glass. Turns out, there’s an entire science behind what my powers are capable of, hence the reason I agreed to attend the School of Gaia in the fall. To think I have all this power in my grasp is unnerving, to say the least. I’m going to need all the help I can get.
By the time Fourth of July comes around, jitters are sparking off my every nerve ending. While I’m excited to see Alec again, I’m more anxious than anything else.
“Be careful, Katrina,” Rose warned.
I took her hand and looked her dead in the eyes. “I will. What’s the big deal, anyway? You like Alec. You were the one trying to set me up with him.”
Rose sighed. “Yes, for selfish reasons, I’ll admit. I just want you to be aware. Young love makes us foolish, and we can become distracted. It’s a dangerous game to play, especially when your magic is new. You’re vulnerable.”
“Vulnerable, as in weak?”
She tugged on my hand, which was still holding hers, and squeezed. “I’m saying your magic is more powerful than you know what to do with. And that makes you a target.”
“A target for who?”
I could tell she didn’t want to speak the words aloud, but in the end, she gave me enough to chill my bones. “Erebus. He has been gone for a long time, but that doesn’t mean he’s gone for good. His Equinox Followers travel with him from community to community, then they walk among us, watch our every move, and report back to the God of Darkness when the time is right. Erebus will be back, and when that day comes, we’ll need you at your strongest.”
For a full evening, I considered missing the beach party, but when I woke up, I knew I couldn’t disappoint Alec. I would go, and I would be careful.
I approach the party at just past seven, and it’s like a scene from a movie. Boisterous voices spill across the beach. A growing bonfire sits near the shore. People are dancing merrily along the edge of the water. Farther up the beach, a volleyball game is in full swing. On the pool deck of Alec’s house, a crowd has gathered around a Ping-Pong match, but most of the guests are below, where a band is playing on the terrace.
I finally spot Alec near the volleyball crowd and walk toward him.
“Hey, Kat,” a voice calls.
My stomach twists when I recognize Iris’s voice. Disappointed, I turn to find an over-exaggerated look of confusion on her face. “Hi, Iris. It’s nice to see you again.” I give her my friendliest greeting while pinching out my best smile.
“Can’t say the same for you.” Her sugary-sweet tone alerts all my senses. Her fake smile widens, and she tilts her head in what appears to be an effort to lay it on thick. “I’m surprised to see you here.”
In the past, I would have cowered at the confrontation, but not this time. A wave of courage rips through me. I straighten and hold Iris’s eyes in mine. “Alec invited me.”
She narrows her eyes while still holding her smile.
“As his date,” I add for good measure.
Iris loses ground slightly as she shrinks before me. “Please. Alec probably just feels sorry for you. He’s nice to everyone. He can’t help himself.”
I roll my eyes and take a step to move around her. “Think what you want, Iris. I really don’t care.” But as soon as I take a step past her, her hand swings out and grips mine to stop me.
“Rumor was that you’d be long gone by now.”
“Plans changed,” I shoot back.
“Isn’t that unfortunate?”
I notice her wandering eyes and unsteady stance, making it appear as if she’s been drinking. I yank my arm from her grip, and that’s when I catch a whiff of her next breath, confirming my suspicions. “I know what you’re trying to do, but you don’t intimidate me, Iris.”
She narrows her eyes at me and takes a step forward. “Careful,” she says while pointing a finger at me. “You don’t know who you’re messing with.” She sways slightly.
I just shake my head. “I think you have it backward.”
She doesn't retaliate like I expect. Instead, her eyes drop, and she almost falls backward. I’m quick to catch her, but she shoves me away.
“Don’t touch me, you witch!”
She spits the words, and I reel back, wide-eyed, heart thumping with a quickening pace. Fear is the first emotion that comes to me. What does she know? Then another emotion creeps in as the blood beneath my skin comes to a boil. Anger. I’m not a witch. Not in the way she means it.
My insides begin to shake with fury, and my eyes narrow hard on her. The look she gives me now is one I will never forget. Terror. She stumbles and falls back, her butt hitting the sand while her eyes stare up at me as if I’m a monster. She starts to crawl backward, away from me, and I instinctively grab my necklace and squeeze it tightly. My next breath is a deep one, and on my exhale, I can feel all the wound-up parts of me start to relax.
“I told you to stop drinking!”
I’m shaken from the blackness when I hear Alec’s voice. I look up to find him and Ava approaching. He walks up behind Iris, grips under her arms, and pulls her to her feet. As soon as she’s standing, she begins to clutch her head as if she’s suffering from a migraine.
Meanwhile, Ava is full of deep laughter. I just stare at them both, taken aback by their behavior. Ava wraps an arm around Iris and pulls her away.