The walk back to the house is torture, I keep trying to come up with ideas to break down the wall to get to Topaz. It took everything out of me back there. Why wouldn’t it budge? I know Dara’s father wouldn’t have made it easy to get in there, but surely there’s a way.

I’ve never failed at using my magic to solve a problem, but my blood is boiling right now. I should just say goodbye to sleep, because I know I won’t be able to rest until I’ve figured it out.

As we near the house, someone comes to stand beside me. “Don’t worry, Jolie, we’ll work this out,” Elijah says, and I can’t help but smile at him. He puts his arm across my shoulder. “There’s always a way.”

At first, I stiffen at his touch, but then I embrace the warmth that goes through my body. I have no idea what’s going on between us, and truth be told, with everything that’s going on, I don’t have time to think about it. I just know that I like the way he makes me feel.

“I hope you’re right.”

Once we enter the house, we go straight to the kitchen table to plan out how we can break down that goddamn wall.

Looking around, I take in my brothers and how they look at Dara. They’ve changed so much since her return to Silvia; she’s brightened up all of our lives, really. The years she was away were hard. Everyone lost a part of themselves, and although we understood why she was forced to go, that didn’t help the heartache.

It’s no surprise that all of my brothers have formed a relationship with her - it was bound to happen. Our love for her has grown and developed from a young age.

“You with us, Jolie?” Harlan asks, bumping my shoulder and snapping me from my thoughts.

I nod.

“Any ideas on how we can bring down that wall?” Declan asks me.

I had been hacking my mind trying to figure out how we can do this. I will need some time to think about what spell we could use. Surely Sam made it so there is some way we could bring it down.

“I’ll come up with something.” I turn to Dara. “We need to figure this out together. We need your insight to work out the spell Sam could’ve put on it.”

Dara follows me out the front door, where I lead her to the same area where we’ve been practising. It has good tree coverage, making it the perfect place for training. I hear a branch snap. Looking up, I see Elijah standing guard with Harlan close by. I nod at Elijah and when he smiles, I blush.

“Tell me what’s going on between you two,” Dara says in a conspiratory whisper. “You’d have to be blind not to notice. You’re practically glowing right now,” she teases.

I punch her in the arm and shake my head at her. Stop it. Elijah is just over there and he can probably hear us. Besides, we don’t have time to be worrying about my love life. We have important work to do.

Out loud, I say, “Alright, so we need to figure out what spell we should do to bring down that wall. Any ideas? I think that you need to meditate and see if there is any way to get insight from your father, so it can tell us what we need to do. What do you reckon?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Let’s set up,” Dara says. She points to a patch of grass in front of a tree. It seems to be the only green patch around here - the rest of the grass is either dead or almost dead.

“Looks good to me. Let me get my things together.”

Dara sits down, closes her eyes and clears her head just like I’ve taught her. I gather up the crystals and herbs from my pouch and join her, setting everything up around us in a protective circle. When I finally sit beside Dara, I grab hold of her hands and connect myself with her.

After meditating for hours - completely lost in the stillness of my mind - I’m startled when I feel Dara’s body tense. A shadow appears above our heads. Her father, Sam, hovers above us, just within reach. I squeeze Dara’s hands in encouragement.

Sam opens his mouth and we’re both sucked into a dream.

Dara, my darling, we don’t have much time so let’s make this quick. To bring down the wall that protects Topaz, you’ll need the help of all of your warriors. You have to work together as one. You and Jolie must bring out all of the power within and push it towards the door while repeating these words; let light rise out of darkness. Repeat them as Harlan uses his strength. Declan, Oliver and Blair must touch the wall at the same time. You’ve got this, my girl. I love you.

He disappears, our hands break apart and we both struggle for breath. Our eyes open and we just stare at each other. Dara stands up first, but her legs suddenly drop out from under her, she slumps back to the ground, convulsing.

Harlan and Elijah run towards us, but before they reach Dara, I yell, “Stop! Don’t touch her. It looks like she’s having a vision. We can’t interrupt it.”

Despite how much it hurts, Harlan restrains himself, watching on with pain in his eyes.

Several minutes pass before she comes back to us with a gasp.

Lurching into an upright position with tears streaming down her face, she screams, “He has her! He has Kayla.”