“You two have fun playing hide and seek in the bushes?” Easton teases after Foster and I climb in the car.

Foster looks at me and rolls his eyes.

Despite everything that’s happened, I can’t help smiling at the fact that we get to share a private look instead of the other way around.

“Actually, we did,” Foster replies, starting up the engine.

“It took Foster a while to find me,” I play along. “And then I spent, like, five minutes trying to explain to him the concept that it was his turn to hide.”

Foster smiles as he straps on his seatbelt, and I do the same.

“Aw, look at you two, being all BFFs.” Easton scoots forward and rests his arms on the console. “Makes me really wonder, though, what happened in those bushes.” He waggles his eyebrows at me.

I pinch his arm in response, and Max chuckles from behind me when Easton winces.

“So vicious,” Easton mutters with a smirk, sliding back in the seat.

We grow quiet as Foster pulls out onto the street, driving slow because of the ice glazing the asphalt.

“I can’t believe we caused all this,” I mutter as I eyeball the frosted trees around us. “Although, it does make it feel more like the holidays. You know, if we wanted to, we could probably cause a big enough snowstorm that they will have to cancel school for at least a few weeks.”

Foster and Easton chuckle, while Max says observingly, “She’s speaking more openly about her powers, yet that damn wall is still up around her. It makes no sense.” He leans around the headrest and studies me with a crinkle at his brow. “Although, the crack is a little bit bigger now. My bet is the wall is really strong so it might take us some time and quite a few more attempts before we can get it down.”

“I’m not going to pass out every time you try to get it down, am I?” I shudder, recalling how the darkness called to me when I passed out.

Foster shakes his head. “Now that I know what to expect from your powers, I should be able to stabilize us better.”

I nod in relief. “Good.”

My phone buzzes from inside my bag, and I reach in to dig it out, figuring it’s Nina. But as I’m pulling it out, the card that weird guy gave me falls onto my lap.

“What’s that?” Foster wonders, giving a nod at the card.

“Oh.” I pick up the card, noting it’s still blank. “It’s actually a weird story. Yesterday, when you guys moved my stuff out of my house, when I left for lunch with my friends, this guy came up to me and warned me about you guys. Said you weren’t who I thought you were, and that, when I wanted to know the truth, to call him.” I hold up the card. “He gave me this, but there isn’t anything on it.”

“Let me see it.” Max takes the card from me and glances at the front and back with a worried look on his face.

“I should also probably point out that, when I accidentally made the lights flicker on and off, he glanced up, almost like he knew I had powers—” I startle as Foster and Easton let out a string of curses. “What’s wrong?” I glance at them both.

Foster’s grip on the wheel tightens. “Sky, this is very important. Did this guy have any strange markings on him?”

“Like tattoos,” Easton adds.

I nod. “He had them all over his neck.”

Foster swallows hard while Easton mutters, “Fucking hunters.”

Panic flares through me, and the ground ripples, jolting the car.

“Easy, Sky.” Foster reaches across the console and brushes his fingers along the back of my hand. “Nothing bad’s going to happen, okay?”

While it’s nice to be able to be comforted when my powers are going crazy, they look too worried for me to calm down.

I chew on my fingernail. “The guy who gave me the card … he’s a hunter?”

Foster gives a wavering nod, skimming his finger along the back of my hand again. “It sounds like it.”

“And hunters are the ones who captured your dad and tried to do experiments on him?” I ask, and Foster nods again. “But, why did this hunter approach me then?”

“I’m not sure.” Foster throws a glance at Max. “Can you figure out what’s on that card?”

Max turns the card over in his hand. “I think it has a see-the-truth spell on it.”

“What the hell is that?” I ask, twisting around in the seat to look at him.

“It’s basically a spell that can only be seen through if you want to see the truth.” He hands me back the card, and I hesitantly take it. “So, I think, if you focus on wanting to see the truth, a message will appear.”

I stare down at the card in my hand. “But, what truth am I even going to see?”

“The truth about whatever that hunter wanted you to see.” Max gives a considering pause. “I’m guessing it’s about us since he mentioned us.”

“Either that or he knows about her and was trying to set a trap to catch her,” Easton mutters from the back seat.

I swallow shakily. “But then, why didn’t he just take me?”

“Hunters are weak when it comes to powers,” Easton says. “If you really wanted to, you could probably take down at least a dozen of them simply by calling out to the sky.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know that at the time he gave me the card,” I point out.

“Maybe he didn’t know that, though,” Easton says. “Of course, if you can see past the spell on that card, we might have the answer.”

I glance down at the card again. “If hunters aren’t powerful, then how did this guy put a spell on the card?”

Easton dismisses me with a flick of his wrist. “That’s merely a party trick. Almost anyone can do that.”

“Anyone can do magic?” I ask in disbelief.

He lifts a shoulder. “Party trick magic, sure. You just need the right ingredients.”

“So, hunters are human?” I ask, trying to make sure I’m following.

Easton wavers. “It all depends on if you believe humans without souls are still human.”

I gape at him. “They don’t have souls?”

Easton gives an uneven nod. “They trade their souls in order to work for the labs.”

“But, what do they get out of it?” I wonder, my heart thudding in my chest. “And why do they have to give up their souls?”

“No one’s really sure,” Max answers. “But my dad has a theory that the labs are trying to extract the powers out of elementals, so maybe the hunters get promised those powers. He’s not sure why they have to give up their souls, though, other than maybe they won’t have a conscience and will be okay with what they do.”

When I shiver, Foster reaches out to crank up the heat.

“You’re fine,” he says. “No one’s going to get ahold of you.”

If that’s even what the hunters want. When the guy approached me in the diner, it seemed as if he was trying to warn me of the Everettsons, not take me to some lab.

Deciding to find out the answer, I let my gaze burn into the card while trying to focus on seeing past the magic, seeing the truth. And after a minute or two passes, words begin to appear. I read them to myself then aloud.

“If you’re reading this note, I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that the Everettson family isn’t your ordinary family. If you’d like answers and someone to talk to, please contact me at the following number. Whatever you tell me about them, I won’t think you’re crazy. I understand that strange things exist, more than most people do.”

“Let me see that.” Max takes the card from me, reads it over, then swallows hard. “It sounds like they’re trying to use Sky to get information on us.”

“How did they even find out she was moving in with us?” Easton questions then gives me an accusing look. “Have you been talking to people about us?”

I scowl at him. “Who the fuck would I tell? I have, like, two friends. And besides, up until you showed up on my doorstep, I didn’t even realize I’d be living with a family of eight. All I knew was your last name. I didn’t even realize Foster was an Everettson when I …” I bite down on my lip before I say something that is definitely going to embarrass me.

But maybe Foster already told everyone about when I tried to hit on him?

“When you what?” Easton presses with intrigue.

“Nothing.” I sneak a look in Foster’s direction, only to find him focusing solely on the road.

Huh. Now I’m pretty sure he didn’t tell them. That’s a surprise, but one I’m relieved about.

“It still doesn’t make sense that they targeted you,” Max mumbles distractedly. “Unless they’ve been watching you for a while. But hunters don’t usually watch humans, so maybe they know what you are.”

“If that’s the case, why aren’t they trying harder to get to her? And her wall makes it really complicated to see what she really is,” Foster points out, but worry rings in his tone. “My bet is they found out she was moving in with us and are trying to recruit her into helping them.”

Unsettling silence passes between them.

“I think we need to do something about this,” Max says with an edge in his tone.

The tension in the air crushes against my lungs, and I nearly dive out of the car. I would have if we weren’t driving. If I tried now, I’d probably hurt myself pretty badly. Then again, from what I’ve learned about the Everettsons, they’ll do a lot to keep their family secrets a secret, which leaves me a bit worried that maybe I’ll get hurt no matter what.