Even with the doors bolted and the alarm set, Halen's sparks remained ready to strike. She felt electric as if someone could combust with her touch. She held her blue-tinged palms to the light. What had she done? What if the Elosian were right—what if the earth was safer with her soul locked eternally in a Hunter's arrow? Dax couldn't touch her magick then. 

Her arm burned, and when she shoved back her sleeve, the silver spiral of her birthmark elongated, forming thin, pointed lines. She gasped, tracing the new mark. Had Peter's death changed her fate?

The sound of footsteps on the stairs drew her attention to the hall. She inhaled sharply, drawing up against the wall when a girl entered. Halen raised her hands to strike.

"Hey, it's just me." Nelia stood at the entrance of the kitchen, saltwater dripping from her body and pooling on the concrete. Halen's gaze rested on the silver interlocking loops of Nelia's necklace, the chain Quinn had given her as a parting gift. She wondered if Nelia would blame her for Quinn, for taking away all she had loved. Did revenge bring Nelia to her doorstep?

Halen widened her stance. "What are you doing here?"

Nelia stepped toward her. 

Halen thrust her palms against the air, sending Nelia flying against the kitchen cabinets. 

"I'm not here to hurt you!" She squirmed in the grip of Halen's magick.

Still, Halen kept her hands pressed against the air, lifting Nelia higher, so just the tips of her toes touched the floor. "How did you get in?"

"You left the door open."

She glanced toward the patio door. Had she forgotten to lock it when she left? No, she had been extra careful and had double-checked each lock when she got home. The alarm was definitely on now. 

"How did you get in?" Halen asked again. 

"Okay. I may have used a little magick, but I thought Lorn had come here first. He's an Elosian hunting sirens for Rania. I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt. I was prepared to fight for you." Her eyes pleaded for forgiveness. 

Halen's magick spun with her confusion. 

"Halen, listen to me. You don't have long. They're coming for you. When I heard a siren had been spotted in Rockaway, I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to come here. But then I saw the lights on... I was worried."

Her words stung. Nelia had no right to criticize her. "Where else would I go? This is my home." "Inland—as far away from the ocean as possible. Do you still have the water stone?"

Halen tightened the force holding Nelia as she spotted a diamond encrusted dagger secured at her hip. Blood flecked the tip. 

Nelia followed her gaze. "I followed Lorn, but I had to take a detour because I was followed. I dragged the shifter you killed out to the ocean. You can't leave tracks behind. Not with a full-on hunt for sirens. There's an extra reward for anyone that can catch you, Natalie, or Asair. You need to get the water stone away from here and hide where they can never find you."

Nelia had fought for her behind the Mermaids' Gate. The raised scar across her neck where the mermaid struck was proof of her loyalty. Nelia had sacrificed and suffered more than most. Still, so many lies had been told. "I don't have anywhere else to go. This is all I have left."

"I know a place you can go. Do you have a car?"

"Yes, but I can't leave here."

"Go. Nothing matters but keeping you safe. I would come with you, but I'll be more of a hindrance farther inland."

"How do I know this isn't a trap?" On the road, she'd be vulnerable to an attack. But Nelia had broken into her home with simple magick. At least inland the Elosians didn't have a chance. 

"Because I'm not Tari. The shifters will take care of you."

"Shifters? There's no way I'm going. A shifter just tried to kill me." She tightened her grip.

"No harm will come to you. Believe me or don't—just get the hell out before Rania surfaces."

Halen swallowed hard, fear tripping along her skin at the thought of facing Rania again. If the mermaids hadn't intervened in Elosia, Rania would have let the Krull army snap her bones one by one. She dropped her hands by her sides, allowing Nelia's feet to touch the floor. 

"Thank you," Nelia said. 

"You said they're hunting my sister and Asair as well—they must be alive. Do you know where they are?" 

"I don't know where they are." Nelia shook her head. "But the portal to Etlis is sealed tight, so they're definitely alive. I assume they've gone into hiding. You need to do the same."

"I have to find them."

Nelia reached for the pen and paper on the counter. She scrawled a name and slid the sheet in front of Halen. "They're doing what needs to be done to keep Tarius locked away. You need to do the same. Go to this lake. The shifters there will keep you safe. No one will ever find you." A gust of wind rushed in from the living room. Nelia's gaze darted past her shoulder. "Go—now!"

This was all too much. Nelia didn't understand. She couldn't just hop in a car and drive away. She had serious baggage. And he couldn't even walk.

"Don't just stand there. Get going." Nelia shoved her toward the door while monitoring the living room.  

"I can't move Dax."

"He's here? Where?" Nelia spun, searching.

"He's in there." Halen nodded toward the laundry room. 

Nelia stripped away the chair barricade and flung open the door. "Oh, mercy." She slammed the door shut. 

A pounding drum echoed from the patio. "I'll cover you. Use your magick." Her steel gaze met with Halen. "Be safe!" She grabbed the blade in her fist and dashed into the living room.

Trembling, Halen pocketed the address and gathered the box of vials. A part of her wanted to choke Dax for Peter's death, but like it or not, he was part of her now. She had to protect this monster. 

A crash from the living room sent her already racing heart into overdrive. Blowing, she lifted Dax with her breath, so he floated. With the breeze, she directed him toward the garage while trying to drown the sounds of glass shattering in the other room. 

She popped the trunk, guiding Dax's body inside, and then snatched the water stone from the floor. Her breath grew heavy as she jumped in the driver's seat. Gripping the steering wheel, she tried to steady the rising sparks, but when the garage door opened, revealing a hunched bear, her magick surged.

Fire danced across the hood and the bear released a booming growl.

Terrified she might explode in the car, she scrambled for the door when a burst of glimmering red powder rushed the flames. As the smoke cleared, Halen spotted a waif of a girl, her long copper hair flowing around her like a cape. 

"Lina." Her breath rushed out all at once. She looked to the bear once more and, finding his familiar stare, she recognized Tasar.

He growled, and even though her windows remained closed, the battle cry reached inside. Had Tasar and his sister come to kill her? Whose side were they on? They both had protected her, but had things changed? 

She let the window down, just a crack, when a dagger sailed through the air, poised for Lina. Halen waved, misdirecting the weapon so it stabbed the side of a wooden planter instead. Tasar nodded, his eyes gleaming with the same hope she had seen back at the church when she made spring bloom in the dead of winter. He turned, bounding toward the assailant. 

Lina waved her forward. "It's safe now—go!" she yelled. 

Halen drove the sedan out of the garage, stopping beside her. 

Lina leaned in, clutching the window frame. "Thank you, Halen." She nodded to the blade stuck in the planter. 

"What's happening?" Halen glanced toward the beach, where flames glistened along the waves. 

"Rania's army surfaced. You need to leave." 

"Let me fight with you."

"This isn't your battle. You must stay alive. Same as Natalie and Asair."

"Do you know where they are?" A crazed sort of panic rushed through her as she met Lina's gaze. Lina and Tasar had fought in the forest alongside them; maybe they knew where they went. "Please, if you know where they are, I need to be with them."

"You're best divided. Don't try to find them." Lina's beady, black stare cut through her.

The shifter's magick scared her. Halen knew better than to push, but she needed to know. She couldn't do this alone. "Please, tell me where they are!"

Lina shook her head. "Stay safe, Halen." 

Tasar growled and Lina turned without another word, dashing toward the ocean and the wailing cries. 

Halen couldn't just drive away. She had run too many times. She pounded the steering wheel, screaming. Her frustration blew out across the ocean, curling the water, forming a towering wave. She clapped her hands, and the wave crashed, washing over the surfacing Elosians. Lina glanced back, waving with gratitude, then hopped onto her brother's back. Tasar bounded along the shore as Lina cast her spell, sending glittering stars cascading from the night sky with her command. The starlight exploded in the water and the Elosians retreated.

There was no sign of Nelia, but Halen felt with Tasar and Lina by her side, she would be safe. She prayed for each of their souls as she steered the car down the alley and onto the street. As she drove away from Rockaway, loneliness washed over her. Each second spread to eternity. And she realized she may never find her way back to Natalie and Asair. They were lost to her forever.