---

With each step toward the beach, my breathing grew more shallow and my heart pounded harder.

The hunters from the Sanctum of the Seven were starting to form a long line across the white sand, facing the ocean—all of them sporting long swords, daggers, crossbows, and guns. I didn’t see Amber and Sophia here, but there were more men filling the line.

“Are they all hunters? Did you call back up?” I asked in a low voice.

Landon glanced at me. “No, these are nagas.”

I tripped on my own feet. “W-what?”

“The good nagas, the ones who live in Willow Harbor and want to stop this brutality, the ones who want to defend their daughters.”

“Oh …”

It was still so odd to me that there were good vampires, good shifters, good fae, and good nagas. It was even odder because they looked human. They were all tall and had dark skin, like they had tanned for too long, and dark hair. If I hadn’t known, I wouldn’t think they were anything else other than regular men.

We stepped onto the beach and I inhaled, loving the salty scent that came in with the gentle, warm breeze. I had to make Landon bring me here during the day.

From the center of the line, Douglas turned. His eyes became two fireballs the moment they fell on me. He marched the rest of the way, halting a foot from Landon.

“Are you out of your mind?” he snapped through his gritted teeth.

“I know what I’m doing,” was Landon terse response.

“Bring a woman to the nagas?”

I flinched at his words, but Landon remained still, stoic. “I was going to drop her off at the manor, but I know her. She would have sneaked out.”

“He’s right,” I added. I was trying to help Landon, but oh, well, it was true. I would have sneaked out, especially if he didn’t give me details. “I would have followed him here.”

Landon gestured a big hand at me. “Then I wouldn’t have known she was in danger. This way I can keep an eye on her.”

Douglas cursed under his breath. “You keep both eyes on her.” He turned to me, his eyes still raging. “And you, young lady, I thought you were smarter than this.”

Shaking his head, Douglas marched back to the center of the line. He let out another string of colorful curses.

“I think he’s mad at us,” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

Landon let out a snort. “You think?”

Smiling, I shrugged at him.

“Come on,” Aidan said. “Stay in line with all of us. We’ll help keeping you safe.”

I scrunched my nose so as not to roll my eyes at them. The way they said it, it sounded like I was going to misbehave. A teenager girl sneaking out her bedroom in the middle of the night to go to a party.

I followed the guys to the right, squeezing between some other hunters, then like them, I faced the ocean.

“It’s almost time,” Douglas shouted from fifty yards away. “Get ready.”

The hunters lifted their weapons.

My heart slammed against my rib cage, and my fist tightened around the hilt of the dagger.

The sun dipped behind us. If it weren’t for the rolling waves and the light from the lamppost behind us reflecting on the water’s surface, the ocean in front of us would have been so dark, it would seem a continuation of the sky.

“There,” Landon whispered close beside me.

“What?” I whispered back, my eyes wide, trying to see whatever he was seeing.

“At the water …”

I surveyed the water, trying to see something, anything. Then … there! Movement between the waves, causing ripples on the water’s surface.

The nagas were here.

I sucked in a sharp breath and lifted my dagger in front of me.

The movement under the water increased. More and more ripples appeared.

I leaned into Landon and asked in a low voice, “What now?”

His eyes never left the water as he answered, “We wait. Be ready.”

He had barely finished his words when it happened. Nagas, a dozen of them or more, jumped out of the water and landed in the sand, right in front of us.

Gasping, I took a step back, momentarily shocked.

I knew about the supernatural world. I had even seen a demon or two, fought them. I knew about magic and that nothing was impossible. But I wasn’t ready to see something so different.

The hunters lunged at them, engaging the nagas into a brutal fight, while all I could do was stare.

Landon swung his sword toward a naga in front of him. In the blink of an eye, the creature slithered to the side and swiped down its huge claws on Landon. I gasped in terror, but Landon brought his sword up, parrying it.

Slither … that was how they moved. These creatures had grayish-green skin that resembled a snake and tails like mermaids, but the tail was thicker, longer, and it moved side to side as they advanced in the sand. Their torso was thick and muscly; some nagas had two arms, while others had four. Their heads had a dragon-like shape with long snouts and many, many razor-sharp teeth. Their slanted eyes seemed to shine red. Hard fins sprouted from the top of their heads, down their back, their shoulders, and elbows.

It was impossible to look away from them.

I knew what it was—their lure. They had barely left the water, and I already could feel it. It was as if the air around us had changed, as if it now revolved around them, pushing everything, everyone to them. It felt like a tug deep in my gut, pulling, calling, forcing.

Landon bumped into me, stepping away from one huge naga—he had to be well over seven feet tall with wide, strong shoulders.

“Tessa,” Landon muttered, pushing me back. Then, he set his feet apart, knees bent, and raised his sword, ready to attack.

I shook my head, ashamed for having fallen into the nagas’ lure so easily. No, it couldn’t be. I knew of their powers. I could resist it.

A second naga raced to Landon.

Gritting my teeth, I held onto the dagger tight and charged it before it could catch Landon by surprise.

The naga’s narrow eyes widened. “A woman?” he said, his voice deep and heavy. “I won’t fight you.” A hiss came out from his big mouth and his chest puffed up even more. “I’ll enthrall you.”

“The hell you will.” I swiped my dagger toward his face, forcing him to slither back to avoid being cut.

He let out a low growl. “Insolent girl.”

The naga advanced on me, but instead of attacking me, he was trying to hold me, to push me back. I didn’t give it a chance as I blocked his claws from reaching me by throwing one powerful roundhouse kick after another. Then, the naga tried catching my legs, so I switched up the kicks—side kick, hook kick, back kick. I even landed a back wheel kick to his shoulder, making him stumble back.

The naga bared his fang at me. “Enough.” He opened his arms wide and jumped at me.

Lifting my dagger, I stepped back, but I miscalculated how strong and agile the naga was. In midair, he readjusted his brief flight and landed right on top of me.

---

---

My heart stopped.

The moment that naga jumped over Tessa, throwing her to the sand, my heart stopped.

I had just buried my sword on the naga I had been fighting, when I turned and saw that horrifying image.

One moment, I was frozen in place, too shocked, too scared to move.

The next second, I had my sword out and was running toward her. The naga was too focused on controlling Tessa, on getting her under its spell to notice me. I didn’t stop running until my sword had gone through the naga’s back.

The naga let out a loud growl, but I had gone straight for the heart. He slumped into my hold. I pulled the sword out, and he fell over Tessa. She screamed, desperately trying to get out from under the naga’s heavy body.

With a groan, I was able to roll the naga’s body to the side, and Tessa scurried back, trying to get as much distance from him as she could. Her shirt and hands were covered with the naga’s dark green blood.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” I said, reaching for her.

Her eyes were wide and wild. “He … he had me. The moment he jumped over me, and I had nowhere to look. He had me.” She paused. “I was under his spell.”

I cursed under my breath. I shouldn’t have brought her here. She would have been safer at the manor, tied to her bed, with Amber and Sophia watching over her. Otherwise, I knew she would find a way to cut herself free.

“Tessa, I—”

Her big eyes widened some more. “Watch out!”

I turned in time to see a naga coming at us, claws up, teeth bared. He swung a thick arm at me, and I ducked. I threw my free arm out, in a middle block, stopping his other arm from reaching me. The impact jarred my arm and shoulder, but I held firm. Impatient, the naga brought his two scaly claws up, leaving his midsession open. To avoid his claws as they came down, I knelt and buried my sword in his stomach, then rolled to the side.

The naga howled in pain. He reached for the sword, but I was already on it. I pulled one of the daggers strapped to my waist and finished the job, piercing his heart.

The naga’s red eyes turned glassy, and he fell into the sand.

Disgusted by all the dark blood on the naga, I stepped on his torso and pulled out both my weapons.

Then, the beach went quiet.

I looked around.

The hunters all stood above the bodies of fallen nagas. At least the light from the lampposts didn’t illuminate the beach that well, making it hard to see the gore spread around us. Dozens of bodies and dark blood stained the sand. I knew some hunters were probably hurt too, but hopefully nothing more.

Once more, we had won. I wondered when this lucky streak would end.

I wiped my dagger and sword on my pants. Shit, my pants were worse than my weapons. So was my shirt.

And Tessa.

I turned to her and found her on her feet, her arms extended in front of her, her nose scrunched in disgust. If I didn’t know she was freaking out, I would have found it funny.

She wiped her hands on her back, but then the sand was sticking on her palms and the scrunch on her nose increased.

I glanced to the hunters. Usually, we stayed here all night, to make sure no naga came back. Once the sun was back up, their window closed again, and we could leave. But I had already had one scare tonight, and from the look on Tessa’s face, I wasn’t sure how long she would last.

Douglas walked up to me. His eyes were on Tessa a few feet to my side. “You should take her home,” he said, his voice still harsh.

“I was thinking about that,” I confessed. “Will you guys be okay?”

He shrugged. “They probably won’t come back. And if they do, we can handle it.” His brows furrowed. “Just … get her out of here.”

I nodded in agreement, and he walked away without another word.

Letting out a long sigh, I went to Tessa.

“This is sickening,” she muttered, lifting her eyes to me.

“Are you okay?”

“Not counting all this sticky blood and sand all over me, yeah, I’m fine.”

I took one step closer, halting a foot from her. She raised her chin to look into my eyes. “Are you okay?” I repeated.

She gulped. “I think so.” Her voice was quieter than usual. “I thought … At the beginning of the fight, I thought I could resist them.”

“It’s hard to resist them.”

She punched my shoulder. “Then why did you bring me here?”

I gaped at her. “We already went over this. If I had told you about the nagas’ powers, you would tell me you could resist it, and when I left you at the manor, you would have followed. Am I not right?”

She averted her eyes. “No,” she lied.

I showed her a small smile. “You can’t trick me.”

“I can try.”

My smile widened. “Yes, you can, but I prefer you don’t.” My smile faded. “It was a mistake. Bringing you here. I should have known better.” I shook my head, thinking of all Isaac had gone through to keep her safe and away from this world, and here I was, bringing her right into the thick of it. Shit, this was so wrong. “It won’t happen again.”

She clicked her tongue. “I’m fine, don’t obsess over it.”

I stared at her, at the determination and defiance and energy stamped into her blue eyes. I offered her my hand. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

---

---

My stomach revolted as Landon took another bite of his huge cheeseburger. “How can you eat after that?”

After we had left the beach, Landon decided he was hungry. Me, on the other hand, couldn’t even think about food without feeling sick. So, despite my arguments, Landon drove us to the Dark Horse Diner downtown to grab some food. He wanted to stay and eat there, but with all the nagas blood and the sand on me? Nope, all I wanted was a long, warm shower. So, while he went inside to get his food, I stayed in his car outside.

Then he drove us to the manor and sat around the island in the kitchen—Landon devouring his burger and me drinking water.

Landon wiped his lips with a napkin. “I’ve been doing this for years. You get used to it.”

He had been doing this for a long time.

He had mentioned they had to defend the beach from nagas every Summer Solstice. But … “Why? Why do the nagas come? What do they want?”

Landon swallowed hard. “Because … when a male naga has sex with a human female during Summer Solstice, they sire sirens.”

“You mean sirens like those mermaids who lure pirate ships to the rocks?”

“They aren’t exactly mermaids, and they lure men, any men, to drown.”

“Oh, wow.” The list of supernaturals was growing. It was amazing—and terrifying. “About the fight, how are you sure you didn’t let any naga pass?”

He took a sip of his soda. “We don’t. We do our best to catch them all, and we certainly hope we do. But it happened a couple of times before, when we couldn’t stop them all, and they succeeded.”

“And when did the hunters started defending the beach from these attacks?”

“I’m not sure. Probably right after the Sanctum was formed and moved to Willow Harbor over a hundred years ago. As far as I know, it was your great-great-grandfather Ezra who started it all.”

I tilted my head. “Tell me more.”

He lifted his hazel eyes at me. “About?”

“My father. And you.”

He paused. “What do you want to know?”

I shrugged. “I know nothing about him.”

“Okay.” He took another bite of his burger. After chewing and swallowing, he asked, “Do you know how he found me?”

“Only that you and your family were the victims of a demon attack. You survived, and my father took you in.”

He nodded. “That’s the succinct version.”

“And what’s the long version?”

He didn’t answer right away, and I thought he wouldn’t. Then, he started, “I was ten when my father got mixed up with demons. He was oblivious to the supernatural world, and didn’t know the men he worked with were more than simple investors. Not long after, the demons invaded our house and attacked my family. Isaac and Douglas, who had been tracking the demons, arrived right when one of the demons possessed my father and advanced on my mother, my older brother, and me. My mother was killed before anyone was able to move. My brother sustained heavy wounds and didn’t survive. The demon broke my arm and stabbed me in the stomach before Isaac was able to pull him off me. But then the demon stabbed his own chest—my father’s chest. Isaac was able to banish the demon before he fled my father’s body.” He let go of the last piece of his burger and wiped his hands on a napkin.

I crossed my arms over the island and leaned forward. “Then?”

“Then Isaac pressed his folded jacket against my wound and said, ‘You’ll be okay.’ At first, I didn’t believe him. I had just lost my father, my mother, and my brother. Even if I survived, how would I be okay? But Isaac took me in and shoved me into the hunting business. For the first few years, he trained me—fighting skills, how to handle guns and rifles, the art of stealth, how to detect demons or ghosts or witches, how to kill each of them. He took me on smaller cases first. I still remember the first time I killed a lesser demon and banished a ghost. I was thirteen when he finally let me go with him and Douglas on a bigger hunt. I messed up real bad and got Douglas hurt. But in the end, Isaac cleaned it up. He trained me hard—harder—for the next two years before we tried again. I’ve been hunting with him since.”

I reached over the island and took his hand in mine. “I’m sorry.”

He stared at our joined hands for a moment before looking into my eyes. “For?”

“For your family.”

He shrugged. “It’s fine. It was thirteen years ago.”

I squeezed his hand. “It doesn’t matter. They were your family.”

He pulled his hand away and down the island. “So was Isaac.”

Right. My father had been his new father. I could never forget that. “I’m sorry about that too.”

“You already said that after the funeral.”

I frowned. Why was he being so harsh all of a sudden? “Right.”

He stood, bunching up the wrapper of his burger and piling the trash inside its brown bag. “I’m tired, and I desperately need a shower.”

“Right.” I shot to my feet too. “Yeah, me too.” While we talked, I had forgotten how filthy I was, but now that he had mentioned it, I itched to get all of this off my skin and clothes.

Landon threw his trash away. “Good night,” he said. Without looking back, he marched away.