Something tugs at my insides, coaxing me from the nothingness of deep sleep. A quiet but consistent hum sounds all around me, and I groggily try to figure out what the noise is. I settle on I don’t care, as I snuggle into the side of whoever’s holding me and breathe out a contented sigh.

What the fuck? Where am I and who the hell am I snuggled up against? A jolt of panic shoots through me, adrenaline slamming into me like a tsunami. My heart thunders and a charge laps across my body, making magic crackle over my skin. Voices whisper around me, and something makes a chill run down my spine at the hushed tones.

I sit up in a flash, trying to get away from the arm draped around me. Another set of arms wrap around me from behind, and I almost taste the rising panic as I call on my magic. I send a jolt into anyone who has their hands on me, and it’s answered by a satisfying, pained shout. I run my hands over the runes on my sides, calling on the short swords. A squeal sounds off from somewhere around me, and I’m thrown forward, smashing into something hard. I shake it off as I reach for a door handle and scramble to escape.

“Vinna, wake up!” a familiar voice shouts, but I dismiss it as my feet sink into something cool, and I begin to run.

Air whipping past my face and the cool ground pounding against my feet pull me fully conscious. I’m in a grass-covered field, quickly approaching a line of dense trees. I hear footfalls behind me, and I push myself harder. If I can just make it to the trees, I can lose them. Wait…who am I trying to lose?

“Vinna, stop!” a voice behind me bellows, confusing me even more.

“You’re safe. We’re in Maine," someone else yells, and I stop in my tracks.

I spin around to find Aydin and Silva running towards me, though they’re still about fifteen feet away.

“Holy shit, what just happened?” Aydin pants, stopping in front of me.

“Where am I?” I ask, my voice gravelly from sleep.

“We just passed into the boundaries of Solace," Silva reassures me.

“By the moon, you’re fast!” Aydin declares as he bends over and tries to calm his breathing.

“Yeah, and you need to work on your cardio."

The stoic Silva shocks the hell out of me when he busts out laughing. I stare at him in wide-eyed surprise, and Aydin cracks up as he points to the expression on my face.

Evrin pulls Keegan up off the ground as we walk closer to the two Range Rovers that are stopped on the side of the road. Looks like Keegan took my jolt of magic. I feel kind of bad, but I was half asleep and didn’t really know what I was doing. We can be even now for his part in ganging up on me in the fight with the shifters. Evrin looks me over from a distance.

“How’d you get her to stop?”

“She woke up and stopped herself," Silva tells Evrin with a shrug.

“You okay?” Evrin asks me.

“Yeah, sorry, I felt something weird and…well…freaked out," I run my hand through my sleep mussed, and now windblown, hair.

“Shit, that’s on us," Lachlan admits, and I look at him confused. “We just passed through the boundary. It would have pulled on your magic. We’re used to the sensation, but you’ve never experienced it before. It can feel alarming.”

Realization dawns on the faces of the paladin around me.

“I didn’t even think about that," Evrin admits sheepishly, and the others agree.

Aydin lets out an excited squeal, and I look at him like the mental case he clearly is. I didn’t know a grown man could sound like that.

“I am just so excited to see all of the things you can do. It has me giggling like a kid on Christmas morning! A staff, a sword, throwing knives, baby swords…what else do you carry in that magical arsenal of yours?” Aydin wonders, his blue eyes bright and eager.

“Wouldn’t you like to know," I reply evasively, and Aydin giggles.

“Little Badass, you live up to your new nickname more and more as I get to know you.”

A smile lights up Aydin’s face, and the girlish giggle coming out of this auburn-haired, seven-foot-tall giant, is contagious. I’m trying so hard not to laugh, but I can’t seem to help it.

“Do you know how to use all of those weapons?” Lachlan probes with feigned nonchalance.

“Yes.”

“Who trained you?” he presses.

“YouTube.”

Aydin and Lachlan scoff and laugh like I’ve just told the best joke. Laugh it up, bitches. They’ll be choking on those chuckles when they realize that endless hours of videos can teach you to do practically anything. With my ability to mimic the things I see, I’ve developed quite a diverse range of skills.

We pull off the road we’ve been on and head deeper into the forested landscape. We drive through a valley, and there are trees and hills all around us. An occasional house pops up in the distance, but for the most part, everything seems to be spread out. It’s incredibly green and beautiful, and I can see why someone would name this place Solace.

“In about ten minutes, we’ll pass through another barrier," Aydin informs me. “The wards start about ten acres from the house. You might feel a rush or a pull on your magic. It can feel different depending on the type of magic you have, and we won’t know that until you have your reading.”

“My reading?” I repeat, and I can’t help but feel like I’m drowning in a sea of unknown. For every answer I get, a thousand more questions arise, and it feels never-ending.

“It’s a ritual that identifies the kind of magic you possess and determines the level of strength you’ll exhibit when wielding it," Keegan clarifies.

“What kind of magic do each of you have?”

“I have Elemental magic." Aydin holds up a tiny ball of fire as proof. “Lachlan has Offensive magic.”

I snort and try to swallow my laugh. Everything I discovered about my uncle thus far has been offensive, so it’s only right that his magic is too.

“Evrin has Healing magic, Keegan has Spell magic, and Silva has Defensive magic," Aydin finishes ticking off his fingers.

A gate swings opens on its own as we approach it. We drive through the stone pillars, and I admire the intricate details of the black iron gate when a warm sensation envelops me and the runes on my body all start to tingle.

“Something is happening,” I announce and stare at my runes.

“Don’t worry, we’re approaching the barrier, it’ll be over in a minute," Lachlan says dismissing my concern.

Without any additional warning, the runes on my body start to glow…well shit, here we go.

“What the…” someone exclaims, and the SUV suddenly stops.

I stare at the glowing runes and start to feel the now familiar sensation of magic building inside of me. I fling open the door and scramble out of the SUV. My runes feel like they’re heating up. It’s not painful, just odd. The sensation building within me plateaus, and I hold my breath and wait to see what the fuck is going to happen.

“Do you feel that?” Aydin asks.

Everyone nods and mumbles affirmation. I stare at them, waiting for someone to fill me in.

“Vinna, can you --”

Before Lachlan can finish his question, magic surges out of me in a massive pulse. It exits with such force that it blows everyone off their feet. The Range Rovers rock side to side, both of their alarms breaking out into shrill wails. A combination of bright orange and deep pink magic blankets everything it touches as it spreads out and away from me. The magic wave hits an invisible barrier and then shoots up to dome above us.

“Are you okay?” Aydin questions, the first to make it back on his feet.

I nod absently, unable to speak because it’s taking everything in me right now to keep from collapsing and blacking out. I feel like I have been running nonstop for days, every ounce of energy sucked from me. My muscles feel like jelly and quiver like they’ve been overused. Whatever the hell just happened has completely drained me.

The others get up and dust themselves off. I can tell that none of them have any idea what the hell just happened, so I don’t even bother asking. I take deep, slow breaths and focus on not showing any signs that something is wrong with me.

“Can you tell what she did, Silva?” Lachlan asks as he sweeps blades of grass off his pants.

“She strengthened it,” Silva states, looking at me shocked, and they all turn and look at me in the same way.

“What? It’s not like I have a clue what the fuck just happened," I defend. “What did I strengthen?”

“The barrier around the house. It keeps out unwanted entities and anything that means harm.”

“Oh… cool," I say casually and climb back into the car alone.

I put my head back against the seat, exhausted and overwhelmed. Listen magic, can we go a solid twenty-four hours without you doing something no one has ever seen before? Let’s not give Lachlan any more reason to want to burn me at the stake.

The paladin are huddled together in some kind of deep discussion. They throw the occasional look my way, but other than that it’s all serious and brooding faces, with an exasperated arm flail every now and again.

Happy for the reprieve, I rest in hopes it will help get my energy reserves back to normal levels. Aydin, Lachlan, and Keegan eventually pile back into the car. Everyone is silent as we continue on.