outside our village, Erna beside me. She’d whispered encouragement, told me this was the only way I’d ever be allowed to grow up and get out of my village. I’d wanted to see the world, to show everyone I could handle my magic.
I’d wanted to meet my parents so badly.
Haweigh had come running up the hill, and she’d shouted about something happening.
The ground had shaken, and I’d felt something I’d never felt before.
But I’d felt it since.
“That day,” I began, my mind racing. I wasn’t sure why it caught on that one moment except that seeing the flames sparked it again. “It was the first convergence. I thought it was something that only happened recently, but that day was the first time I felt it. You and I were on the hill and Haweigh came for me.”
Erna put her hands on her hips. “I’m not going to stand here and rehash history with you. That day set you on a path. I’ve protected you for far too long. You are the reason for the convergences, and until your power is truly contained, we will not be safe. No one will be safe.”
Turi stood beside her, a superior expression on his face. “It is as I have always said. You are the problem. The power should have been placed in my hands, as was promised to me.”
I ignored Turi and his selfish devotion to a prophecy he’d interpreted to suit himself.
Though didn’t we interpret everything? Didn’t we translate people and events through our chosen filter?
Why had Haweigh been smiling even as the ground shook beneath her? She hadn’t frowned until she’d realized I was too far from her.
Had she been upset she couldn’t haul me with her into death?
Or had I tricked my own mind and let guilt and fear smear the truth.
“Stay away from her.” Papa managed to get to his feet, my mother at his side.
Turi had moved in, and I hadn’t realized how close he’d gotten, though Marcus had eyes on him. “She’s my property, Green Man. What do you think to do about it?”
“Dev, please.” My mother’s tone let me know she understood how outnumbered we were.
The pixie who’d hidden away in my mother’s jacket danced around Erna, who swatted at her. Arwyna managed to stay just outside her reach, though I worried Erna would turn magic on her.
Magic. The pixies were attracted to Fae magic.
“Why is the pixie interested in Erna?” I asked the question to no one in particular.
“Because, my thick-headed beloved, Erna has taken your power. She’s siphoned it off,” Marcus said tightly. “And I fear if we allow her to take you into custody, she’ll find a way to take it permanently.”
“No,” Charlotte insisted. “She won’t.” She turned to Turi. “If the witch has told you she can take Summer’s power and act as your Day Queen, she’s lied to you. She can’t take it, but she can siphon it. She’s using the charm around Summer’s neck, and the instant Summer lets it go, she’ll have access to all her powers. Summer. Not Erna.”
“She won’t drop it because she knows what she did,” Erna countered. “She remembers the screams of her tribe as they died at her hands. Deep down, she remembers how it felt to fry them all, to smell the scent of their flesh cooking. She does not deserve the power. She does not deserve to live.”
But I didn’t remember because I’d lost focus. I didn’t remember the flames. I only remembered waking up and realizing what I’d done.
What if I hadn’t done it at all? What if the truth was something different?
Erna reached for me and when Marcus attempted to block her, he flew back a few feet, slamming into the ground.
Turi stepped in and nodded as I tried to get to Marcus. I found myself being manhandled by two guards.
A scream stopped me from fighting the hold, and I turned to see my dad running across what was left of the grass.
The world seemed to slow as the guard who’d held him drew back the throwing ax in his hand and sent it screaming through the air. I heard a sickening thud as it found a place in my dad’s back, saw the way his eyes widened, and then he fell to his knees.
“Summer.” Marcus got to his feet and there was a look of pure will on his face. I knew what he would do. He was going to try to break through Erna’s mental shields. He would