I let out a sigh. Although I couldn’t fault my parents for wanting to be cautious after what had happened to my brother, I couldn’t deny that all this turning going on around me made me feel like turning myself. I hated the idea of being forced to wait within the Black Heights—which I was sure my parents would insist on soon enough. I was a Novak. Sitting still during a time like this just felt like something I was biologically incapable of.
On arriving at the Dome, I was shocked to see it completely empty.
“Where could they have—?”
Before I could finish my question, Caleb pointed to a note on the table. I stared at it over his shoulder as he picked it up. There were only a few words, scrawled in my mother’s handwriting:
“Caleb:
The black witches have arrived.
Lock Rose in the Black Heights with the others.”
I stared disbelievingly at the note.
To my horror, Caleb’s grip around my ankles tightened as he rushed out of the Dome and into the forest, back toward the mountains.
“Wait! No, don’t…” I struggled to loosen his hold on me as I attempted to jump back down to the ground, but he was relentless.
“Rose,” Caleb said, “you’ve seen your mother’s request. You should listen to her.” He swung me off his back and, holding me against his chest instead, tightened his grip on me as he continued sprinting forward.
“No, I just want to… agh, please. Let go.”
“Just want to what exactly?” He glared down at me.
“I-I… Oh, damn it.” Exhausted from trying to fight Caleb’s heavy grip, I stopped struggling. “I just want to help,” I said, panting.
“You know what your blood means to these witches by now,” Caleb said as he raced forward full speed again. “If you want to help your kingdom, you’ll keep yourself as far away from those witches as possible.”
Although I knew he was speaking sense, those were the last words I wanted to hear right now. Still, I wasn’t sure how to argue and there was clearly no way he was letting go of me until he’d planted me firmly inside the mountain.
As we reached the end of the forest and approached the clearing in front of the Black Heights, I asked, “And what are you going to do?”
“Your parents need all the help they can get,” he said. “I’ll be fighting.”
My throat felt dryer suddenly. I tightened my grip around his neck as he knocked on the door. Footsteps sounded and Kyle appeared behind it. He didn’t look surprised to see me as he allowed us entrance and closed the door behind us. We passed charmed barrier after barrier as we moved deeper into the mountain. Finally, when we reached the main living area, Caleb set me down on my feet.
“Your aunt’s here with Anna,” Kyle said. “Come with me and I’ll take you to them.”
Kyle was trying to distract and lure me away like a child, but I stared at my boyfriend.
“Please, Caleb,” I said, trying to steady my voice, “Make it back to me.”
Caleb dipped his head down and caught my lips in his. I closed my eyes, wishing time would just freeze and I could be lost in that moment forever. But then he let go of me and stepped back.
“I’ll try, Rose,” he said, his intense brown eyes fixed on me.
My heart pounded in my chest as I watched him leave the room.
I cast my eyes around the cavernous chamber. My mother’s words finally sank in. A hollow feeling welled in the pit of my stomach.
The black witches have arrived.
They’re probably attacking The Shade at this very moment.
And I’m stuck in here.
Chapter 15: Derek
Lining up on the beach, staring out toward the ocean, we all watched the battle unfolding with a mixture of astonishment and horror.
A barrier of white witches stretched out just beyond The Shade’s boundary for as far as I could see. And further in the distance a dark cloud of black witches hovered over the water. Balls of red, white and blue fire lit up the sky like fireworks as either side shot curses at each other.
The black witches were grossly outnumbered, but even in the few minutes that we’d been watching two white witches had fallen, whilst the black witches appeared to be unscathed.
“They’re protecting us because they have as much to lose as we do if they take over The Shade,” Corrine muttered. “If the black witches manage to penetrate the island, it will only hasten the demise of The Sanctuary.”
Of course, I didn’t need Corrine to tell me that they weren’t protecting us out of the goodness of their hearts. Anything the witches of The Sanctuary did could be traced back to one selfish agenda or another.
“Given the number of white witches,” I said, “how long do you reckon we have before the black witches break through?”
Corrine and Mona exchanged glances. “It’s impossible to say,” Mona said. “There are many white witches here now, but I don’t know how strong their endurance is… I wouldn’t count on much more than a day.”
A day.
Sofia gripped my arm. “We need to stop watching and start preparing,” she croaked.
I looked around at the crowd of vampires, werewolves and witches who’d gathered to watch the scene with us. “Gather round,” I called.
As everyone drew closer, Caleb approached. Seeing that he’d arrived without my daughter, I assumed he’d heeded Sofia’s request. I raised a brow in question. He nodded.