"It was amazing," Selena fell onto the bed and grabbed a pillow. She wrapped it tightly to her chest and then turned to Elle. "I was nervous that it was going to be awkward, or he was going to be like a bad kisser or something, but he was perfect. A complete gentleman!" 

Elle felt a twinge of jealousy being built inside of her. Not only was she having to hear about the boy she sort of had feelings for being kissed by her friend. She had to hear about the boy she sort of had feelings for being kissed by her friend inside her house. 

"I'm glad that you're happy, Selena," said Elle truthfully. 

She did like Selena. She was funny and charismatic, and she had qualities that made you feel like you knew her your whole life when she starts talking to you. Out of all the girls Elle could have gotten stuck in this situation with, Selena wasn't the worst option. The only real problem that Elle could see with Selena was the fact that Judah was interested in her. 

And Elle still wasn't sure where Rosemary ended and where Elle began. 

Elle walked over to her bed and sat down next to Selena. "Jayden's been staying here, right?" asked Selena. 

"Yeah," Elle said. "Although my parents are coming back tomorrow night so this little setup has to end tonight." 

"How have his parents taken it?" 

"They've tried to stop by a few times but I just pretended like he wasn't here," Elle said. "I told him telling them where he was is counterproductive to what he wanted to happen, but he didn't want them to worry too bad." 

Selena picked her head up from the bed and turned on her side. She gave Elle a conspicuous look and bit her lower lip. "Speaking of hookups in your house..."

"Oh my god," Elle laughed. "No. It isn't like that. Jayden isn't that kind of guy. Not to mention, I wouldn't risk complicating anything more than they already are." 

The minute those words escaped Elle's mouth she regretted it. She wished that she'd suddenly get Dominion over time so she could rewind this moment, but Selena sat up and faced the wall. "I didn't mean you and Judah," said Elle. "I know that you two had a thing previously going on back then as well. It only makes sense-"

"Elle, it's fine," assured Selena. "I get it." 

An awkward tension filled the room and Elle was left speechless. She didn't know how to fix this situation. Is she supposed to carry on with a new talking point? Should she just ignore it and hope that Selena makes the first move in the conversation? 

"I'm sorry," Selena said. "Look, I'm being sensitive. You weren't being nasty. I'm just nervous. There's been a lot going on between this, school, and a potential new relationship. I...my life was already complicated before the Dominions," Selena looked back at Elle and gave a sad look. "My dad lost everything at the beginning of the summer. All of our money, our house, and my basic way of life was completely uprooted. I went from having a huge room all to myself to suddenly sharing a small room with my baby sister." 

Elle had always wondered why Selena suddenly appeared at their school. They don't get many new kids at J.P Adams High. Saffron wasn't exactly the cream of the crop when it came to education. Elle had seen Selena when she was in class. She was bright and knew all of the answers to the questions the teacher asked. 

"I'm sorry that happened," Elle said. 

"It is what it is," said Selena."We can't change the past, but what we can do is have a kick-ass time at the bonfire," Selena looked at her watch and her eyes widened. "Speaking of, we're running late!" 

She grabbed Elle by the hand and drug her out of the room. Selena then ran over to the room Jayden stayed in and banged on the door. "Let's go track star!"  Elle almost tripped as she attempted to keep pace with Selena as they went down the stairs and to the front door of the lavish mansion. Elle barely had enough time to grab her keys off the key ring holder next to the door before Selena drug her out of the house. 

"Shotgun!" Selena called as she ran over to the door. 

Jayden appeared at the front door and grimaced at Elle. "I was napping so hard," he said as he looked at Selena annoyed. "Is she drunk already?" 

"Not that I know," Elle chuckled. "She closed the door and locked it. When she and Jayden got to the car Elle slid into the driver's seat and turned on the engine. "Asher is already there and has everything set up." 

If Saffron had one thing going for it, it was the sunsets were to die for. The skies were always colored with reds, blues, and yellows so extravagant that Elle's parents used to joke it was God himself that painted the colors. Elle wondered if the skies in other parts of Texas were as pretty as in Saffron. 

The beach was only a few minutes away, and when Elle finally put the car in park, Selena barely waited for the engine to turn off before she jumped out of the passenger seat and began to walk to the back of the car. Jayden let out a loud sigh and got out of the car. His eyes looked groggy still. 

When Elle stepped out of the car, the first thing that hit her was the intense humidity that only seemed to amplify the closer they got to the water. She could already feel her hair start to frizz as she walked toward Selena and Jayden in the back of the car. 

Glad I wore shorts. Elle thought to herself. 

The three walked down to the shore in search of Asher, but he was nowhere to be seen. The beach was surprisingly empty given the nice weather. The farther along they walked down the shoreline, the bigger the nervous feeling in her stomach grew. She couldn't tell what it was, but something was off. 

"Over here guys!" called Asher. He had a bright smile on and waved at the three of them energetically. This immediately made Elle feel uneasy. Asher had always been the laid-back cool guy. The one that never showed too much emotion. At the same time, Elle might not have known much about Asher, but she knew one thing for sure. The kid liked to party, but even so, Elle had a creepy feeling. 

And Elle never ignored a creepy feeling. 

On the far end of the beach was a shady and secluded area occupied mostly by Kids and stoners. It was the perfect place to go smoke. It was open enough to make them feel like they were living on the edge but hidden away just enough so that they wouldn't get caught. 

The sun had set and the three of them walked into the thick array of trees. There was an area in the very middle that was cleared out in a circular pattern. It was the perfect spot for people to gather in secrecy. Asher had built the bonfire in the very middle of the clearing. There was five lawn chair placed around it, and a cooler Elle could only assume was filled with beers. On top of the cooler were ingredients for s'mores and Elle's stomach rumbled. 

She couldn't remember the last time she had a s'more. 

Selena, Elle, and Jayden walked to the clearing and sat down in the lawn chairs. The intense humidity on top of the warmth from the fire let Elle know that this was going to be a hot night. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes as she took the night in. 

"Party started without me?" Judah walked into the clearing and Elle felt her heart begin to beat faster. Judah walked over to Selena and kissed her on the cheek. He whispered something in her ear that made Selena blush and giggle. 

Elle wondered what it was that made her so giggly. 

"Now that everyone is here," said Asher as he stood up and everyone took a seat in their lawn chair, let's play a game!" He passed out a beer to every person in the circle and sat back down in his lawn chair. "The game is simple. You say something you haven't done, and if someone else has done it they take a drink." 

"So never have I ever?" asked Selena with a chuckle. 

"Putting a name to it sounds lame," said Asher overenthusiastically. 

Elle squinted her eyes as she watched Asher from across the fire. He's never been this animated before. There was something about his behavior that made her skeptical. Sure, this night was supposed to be about getting to know each other, but would Asher behave in such an enthusiastic way right off the bat? 

Maybe he pre-gamed. Elle thought as she looked around the circle. 

She still couldn't shake the weird feeling that something was wrong. She couldn't place her finger on it, but there was a looming atmosphere of red flags that burst in her head. Maybe Elle was just not the trusting kind. Maybe she was worried that if she opened up people wouldn't like what they see. Because she knew that she didn't. 

"Elle?" 

Elle realized she had been tuning the events of the bonfire out. She looked around at the group and blinked her eyes. "I'm sorry," Elle said. "I spaced out for a minute." 

"It's your turn!" Asher said with a smile.  His hands were twitching and the movement of his chest was getting increasingly irregular. He had a smile that could only be described as resembling the Cheshire cat plastered to his face.

Elle couldn't get over the uncharacteristic reactions from Asher. Everyone else didn't seem to notice. Perhaps it was the fact her father had taught her to navigate social situations and read people, but Asher was up to something. 

"Asher, what's going on?" Elle asked with unneeded aggression. 

The crowd got quiet and Elle looked Asher dead in the eye. She watched as his face changed for a brief moment and she saw the pure panic on his face. "Asher?" Elle asked again. He quickly composed his face and smiled at Elle. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," Asher assured her. 

"Elle what are you doing?" asked Jayden confused. 

"Something is wrong," Elle said. "I can't explain it. I've felt it from the moment I stepped out of my car. Asher is also not acting like himself. I might just be paranoid, but I figured you wouldn't lie in front of everyone." 

All eyes turned to Asher as he sat across the bonfire. It was eerily quiet. The only noise that you could hear was the crackling of firewood as it burned. Asher did his best to maintain his composure, but Elle could see the pressure breaking him. She might not know what he was up to but she was going to press him until he told her. 

"Elle, just play the game," Asher said. 

His once cheery demeanor had diminished and Elle's heart began to race. She got up from the lawn chair and walked away from the clearing. She heard the others start to talk, but she didn't wait to hear what they had to say. She walked until she was out of the trees and stood on the shoreline. She watched as the water reached high tide and ran over her feet. 

"Elle, wait!" Asher called as he ran out of the clearing. "You have to come back." 

"I don't have to do anything," Elle said annoyed. 

"Elora said that to use our magic we had to be unified and you're not unifying anything right now." 

"Then tell me what's going on." 

Elle's words left no room to dance around. She wanted to know what he was up to, and she wanted to know now. Either that, or she'd leave. His reactions had given her a creepy feeling, and Elle wasn't going to stick around long enough to find out without an explanation. 

"You know what?" Asher said "Screw this. And screw you! I'm just trying to enjoy a night with everyone and you're over here just trying to ruin it!" 

Elle raised her hand and a wooden root appeared out of the ground. It wrapped around Asher's leg and he fell face first into the sand. She walked over to him and looked at him incredulously. "Gaslighting me now? Damn, it's like you took a page out of my mother's book!" she waved her hand and the foot let go of Asher's leg. He got up and began to stomp back to the clearing, and Elle followed. 

When Asher got back to the bonfire and sat down, Elle raised her hand once again and roots wrapped around Asher's entire body. He struggled to get out, but the harder he struggled, the harder Elle's magic squeezed him. Judah jumped up and tried to stop her, but Elle raised her hand once again, and this time a rock barrier rose from the ground and separated Judah and Elle. 

"Tell me what is going on, Asher!" 

"Nothing is wrong!" Asher screamed!

Elle twisted her hand and once the roots around Asher began to twist. He let out a small scream and Selena stood up from her chair and squealed. "Elle let him go!" The sky began to get cloudy, but Elle persisted. 

"Elle, come on," said Jayden. 

He placed a hand on her arm, but Elle jerked it away. She glared at him, but then turned her attention back to Asher. "I swear, Asher. I'll squeeze this harder and harder. I don't care. You're lying and gaslighting me and I'm not going to stand for this! What are you doing?!" 

Elle twisted her hand again and the others panicked as Asher began to wince in pain from the chair. He started to turn purple on his face, and Elle began to get worried she might have made the wrong choice. She was about to let him free when Asher looked at her with bugged-out eyes and nodded. 

"Okay," he managed to choke out.

Elle released him from his roots and Asher's body slumped over as he attempted to catch his breath. Elle gave him a moment to catch his breath before she nudged him with her foot. He sighed. "They're going to kill her," he said. Tears welled up in his eyes and Elle looked at him confused. 

"Who's going to kill who?" asked Elle confused. 

"This is so dramatic," an unknown female voice called out into the clearing. 

Elle jumped and turned around to see a woman with light blue skin and fiery red hair standing in the tree line. She had five harpies with her, and she smiled and nodded at Judah once she saw him. "Hey there peeping Tom," said the woman to Judah. "It's been a minute." 

"Deidre, what do you want?" Judah asked. He looked at Elle and motioned for her to walk toward them and Elle was all too eager to oblige.  She walked and stood next to Selena who instantly grabbed onto her hand. "We don't have to do anything stupid." Jayden got up from his spot and quickly joined the others who stood in a single file line. 

"Spare me the peacemaker crap," Deidre said. "I've come to collect you for Gedeon since no one else seems able to do the job." 

Elle could hear her heart pumping in her ears as she listened to this exchange. She looked at Asher who looked at her apologetically and her jaw dropped. "You knew," she accused from across the clearing. 

Asher had not moved from the chair that he had been trapped in. He looked down at the ground and Elle saw tears starting to form in his eyes. "You knew and you brought us here. To what, Asher? You were going to trap us?! Did you make a deal with her to save your ass?!" 

The rain started to fall from the sky and Selena let out a quiet sob next to Elle. Her hand was squeezed tight around her own and with each second seemed to get tighter. 

"I'm sorry," Asher said. "I didn't have a choice." 

"You always have a choice," Elle retorted. "Whatever it was that they threatened you with we could have helped you. You didn't even bother to ask us." 

Elle spit the last words at him. She had never felt so disgusted in her life. She watched as tears flowed down Asher's face. She felt no pity for him. They were going to fight for their lives because of him. 

"This is pointless," Deidre interrupted. She snapped her fingers and harpies sprang into action. Elle immediately stomped on the ground and caused a fissure to appear across the clearing. The fissure whizzed straight toward Deidre who simply floated in the air to the right side. When she landed she looked at Elle impressed and clapped her hands. "Neat trick, little witch," she said. 

The harpies released the aura all at once, and Elle jumped out of the way. She raised her hand and a new tree formed. It impaled the harpie and it disintegrated to dust. 

A bolt of lightning flashed across the clearing showing the shadow of trees that seemed to climb into the dark gray clouds and Elle snapped her head around and saw Selena as she attempted to shoot Deidre. The woman flew toward the center of the clearing and began to chant something in another language. Judah placed a forcefield around the remaining harpies and Elle shot a root into the air. The thorny vine slowly climbed up her leg before entangling itself around her whole body. 

Deidre easily pulled her arms free from the viney serpent and sent them out in front of her. Elle gasped as the root bounced off a forcefield that she placed around herself. 

Deidre opened her eyes and shouted an unintelligible word. The clearing began to fall away, and Elle was once again in the blackness she experienced when Elora brought her to Glorianna. 

"NO!" screamed a familiar voice.

A white light appeared in the darkness, and Elle could see the rest of the group. The eerie light formed a rectangle that opened up almost like a door. Elora stood on the other side. They ran to her in sprints, not wasting any time. Darkness started to close around the rectangle and Elle watched as Selena, Jayden, and Judah jumped through the door. 

Asher ran behind Elle but fell before he made it to the light. Elle turned for a brief moment and thought about leaving him. She took a few steps forward but cursed and turned around.  She ran back to him. 

"ELLE! ASHER! HURRY!" screamed Elora in terror as the rectangle began to close. 

Elle grabbed Asher's arm and lifted him to his feet. She drug him toward the rectangle that was getting skinnier and skinnier. Elora closed her eyes, extended her arms out into the darkness, and paused the shrinking of the light. 

"GRAB THEM!" Deidre screamed. 

"Let's go dumbass!" Elle said as she and Asher finally made it to the light. She threw him in and tumbled through right as Elora let go of the portal. A harpie attempted to jump through the portal for them but didn't manage to get all the way through. An arm covered in decay thumped on the floor. The skin was rotting, turning green and purple in places. 

"What the hell?!" Elle screamed. She shoved her hands into his chest and he fell backward. Asher sobbed on the ground as Judah and Jayden grabbed him. 

"You have five seconds to explain what the hell is going on!" Jayden said. 

"Guys!" Selena cried out. 

A loud thud filled the room. The group slowly turned their heads towards the noise. Elora lay on the ground unconscious. Her tattered lavender dress cascaded around her on the floor, leaving her looking small in the center. 

This shit can't get any worse.