Makaela sprung up from her seat, nearly hitting her head into the ceiling. A few people around her shot her weird glances. She sunk beneath her seat, her face hot with embarrassment.

Outside, the snow continued to drop from the heavens. Much more of it than before. It looked like they were driving through the middle of a blizzard. She could barely see a few yards away from the bus. She couldn't tell if they were in Canada still. None of the names on the signs on the highway were familiar to her.

According to them, they were just outside of a place called Detroit. The word sounded ugly on her tongue as she repeated it to herself. She wasn't a fan of some of the names of these places, she had to admit.

Sebastian snored lightly to her left. His head was leaning against the window now, his long hair covering part of his face. She wanted to reach out and push the wild strands out of the way, but she resisted the temptation.

Up ahead, she noticed Remy and Imogen were awake. The two of them were having a very animated conversation about something, but Makaela was too far away to hear.

She peered outside her window again. Her nose crinkled at the sea of grey and white.

"This weather sucks," she grumbled, her lips pouting.

"Huh?"

She flinched and nearly hit her head on the ceiling again. Sebastian was awake now. His eyes were low and slightly red. Yawning, he pushed his black hair out of his face. He had just woken up and still looked amazing.

Makaela looked away from him.

"How was your dream?" he asked.

"How'd you know I was dreaming?"

"I woke up halfway from my nap," he explained. "I've seen what dreamwatching looks like, and I'm pretty sure that's what you were doing."

She gave him a confused stare.

How does he know what dreamwatching looks like?

"My father," he answered without her even having to ask. "He dreamwatches. Almost every night it seems."

She went cold.

"Go on, then," Sebastian said. "What did you see?"

Swallowing hard, she nodded. "I didn't do it on purpose. It just sort of...happened."

"You'll be able to control it with more practice."

I hope so.

Learning that Thorian had the same skill she had rattled her. If he could dreamwatch too, did that mean he had been watching her? She shook her head and dismissed the thought. It would only drive her crazy. She chewed on her lip, trying to cling to the fleeting details of the dream she experienced just minutes before.

"I was in some sort of meeting room with Thorian and a few Shades-"

Sebastian's eyes lit up. "You were in his secret room?"

"Secret room?" She suppressed a grin.

"Get your mind out the gutter, Makaela." He rolled his eyes. "It's where he goes to brood and plan missions with his top Shades. There's supposed to be twelve of them. They're called the Knights of the Black Lotus. I was supposed to become one but..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I think my invitation might've been revoked."

Makaela giggled at his joke before continuing to explain her dream. "I think he's sending werewolves to track us down. They don't know where we're headed, though." Her eyes widened. "Oh, yeah. He also mentioned they were going to begin preparing for something. Do you know what he meant by that?"

"He's been rambling about his 'preparations' for weeks now." Sebastian's words were drenched in dissent. "You're familiar with the Prophecy of Eight, right? Well, it predicts a war. I think that's what they're preparing for."

That would explain his desperate scramble for allies amongst the council.

"But why would he want a war? I thought his mission was just to overthrow the ordinaires."

"He doesn't want a war," Sebastian said. "He's just... It's hard to explain. He knows it's coming. The prophecy says it is, so he'll do anything to make sure he's ready when it comes."

Makaela went quiet.

Magicians battled each other in the past, but it had never reached a scale large enough to be considered a war. She couldn't imagine something like that happening.

"Was there anything else?" Sebastian asked.

She paused to think. The memory of Thorian talking to the painting of his father popped into her head. She recalled his words. His mission wasn't even his own. It only carried over into his life.

The nature of his quest to collect the Eldenarian Artifacts wasn't relevant to her. She didn't care if the man thought his mission was a noble one or if he was thought he was the world's messiah. She didn't enjoy having to hide in the shadows of the world either, but Thorian's ideology was dangerous. There had to be a way magicians and ordinaires could coexist. But perhaps that was wishful thinking. Either way, Thorian needed to be defeated. He had to be.

She kept her thoughts to herself, though.

"No, that was all," she finally said.

He drummed his fingers against his leg. "If he's sent Redfangs after us, then we need to be ready for anything."

"Agreed."

She barely remembered the werewolf attack that claimed Remy's mother, but she knew enough about the creatures to know getting tangled up with them wasn't fun.

"We'll be safe as long as we stay on this bus," Sebastian told her. "They won't attack us while we're around this many ordinaires."

She nodded. He was right. For once, the ordinaires would prove to be useful for something. Though, as she sat next to him, she couldn't help but notice how relaxed she felt. While he could be annoying, his very presence helped her feel at ease.

She smiled. He lifted a brow inquisitively at her.

"What?"

"Nothing." She pulled at the ends of one of her long curls. "I wanted to thank you. You know, for everything you've done for me and Remy so far. We'd be dead if it wasn't for you. Honestly, I don't know how I can ever repay you for all of this."

"We can figure that out later," he told her. Though, she noticed a bit of color rushing to his face. "For now, we need to focus on staying alive."

"Right."

The two of them gazed at each other. Makaela's heart rate increased with every choppy breath she took. She felt herself leaning in closer to him, almost as if his body had its own gravitation pull. He had even angled his face closer to hers. His lips parted as her eyelids fluttered like butterfly wings.

The bus lurched forward before stopping. Axels grinded, the noise piercing the air.

Makaela was thrown forward. Sebastian gripped her shoulders, keeping her from falling over him.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Around them, the ordinaires rose from their seats, murmuring with confusion. Makaela squinted at the bus driver as they stepped out from their cabin and into the aisle.

"The snow outside is getting a bit thick," they announced. "There's a gas station up ahead. I'm going to stop us up there for a bit until the snow lets up a bit. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Annoyed groans filled the air as everyone sat back down.

Makaela tapped her foot nervously.

This isn't good.

After a few more minutes of driving, the bus pulled into the parking lot of the gas station. The doors of the vehicle opened, letting in the biting air outside. A few people stepped outside to head into the convenience store nearby. As they left, Remy and Imogen got up from their seats and joined Makaela and Sebastian in the back.

"I'm going to go get some snacks," Imogen said. "I'm starving."

"I'll come with you," Remy chirped.

Makaela rolled her eyes. The boy was always hungry. But as her stomach growled, she realized she could've done with something to eat. Glancing at Sebastian, she asked him if he wanted to join them on their trip to the store.

"We should stay here," he said.

"We need to eat something," she argued. "Come on, it'll be fine. Like you said, the Redfangs won't attack us while we're around this many ordinaires."

He narrowed his gaze at her. She did the same.

Eventually, he broke eye contact first. She grinned triumphantly.

"Fine." As he got up, he pointed at her. "If this goes bad, it's on you."

"It won't."

"You better hope not."

She rolled her eyes. Her mouth watered at the thought of stuffing her face with unhealthy ordinaire snacks. They exited the bus, stepping out into the cold weather outside. She tightened her coat tighter around her body, hoping to insulate the little bit of heat her body was generating. The four of them huddled together as they made their way to the store.

As they walked, a howl sounded in the distance. Then another. Soon, a chorus of eerie wolf cries rang out. Makaela and her group shared a look of total fear.

Perhaps the Redfangs were bolder than shethought.