When we arrive at the airport, the snow is coming down so fast that it’s hard to see. It makes me think my flight might be delayed, buying me more time. But once we get out of the car and walk toward the private jet, I realize it doesn’t matter, because Lance and Bella are standing by the ramp and the pilot is nowhere to be seen. We splash through puddles of melted snow on the asphalt as we walk toward them.

“Fancy meeting you here,” says Bella with ice in her voice. She then sighs dramatically. “I’m not happy. I can’t believe you’d send Dawn off without a going-away party.” She twirls her finger in the air, and sparks shoot out of it, making it crystal clear she’s a witch. I bring my magic up to hover at the surface, ready to react quickly if my mother lashes out.

Lance is standing with his arms crossed and his eyes squinted. He says, “Let’s just make this simple, guys. What do you say? Reverse the spell, and we all go home quietly.”

“Never,” says my mother, and she lifts her arm in what I think is going to be an attack.

Bella’s too fast for her, and a shield is immediately thrown up to protect her and Lance. The blast of my mother’s magic bounces off of it, and Mom lets out a cry of anger. While she’s screaming, I manage to encase her in a protective bubble to add another layer of safety. But neither Bella nor I are prepared for the gun Walter draws and points at me while Alfred points one in Lance and Bella’s direction.

Walter grins at me. “I know a thing or two about magic, Dawn. If Bella tries to stop me from putting you on that plane, her shield has to go down. That leaves Lance and her vulnerable. And if you decide to drop your protective bubble around your mother to do something to me, I’ve got two choices as well. Kill you. Or her.”

Alfred says, “You really should go with Walter, Dawn.” He lets out an evil laugh. “He doesn’t like it when things don’t go his way.”

I’m not sure what to do, but I’ve never let fear paralyze me, and I’m not about to now. I speak to buy myself some time for something to come to me. “Oh please,” I say. “Like we’re afraid of two cranky old werebear.” I look at Bella and think about her fireworks she loves to show off. Fireworks. That’s it!

“Lance, grab Bella’s hand,” I say to him as I look at Bella. I make an exploding motion with both of my hands.

She smiles at me and says, “It really is rude that you still plan to send Dawn off without so much as a—” She taps her chin as if she’s thinking, and that’s when I open the channel to Lance through our soul-mate connection. I’m not sure if he knows how to use it, but because he’s touching Bella, it can travel through him to Bella when I let loose. Bella finishes her sentence. “Bang!”

A whole lot of things happen at once. The bubble around my mother evaporates as I send my magic to Bella. Bella’s shield disappears as she creates an explosion. A red haze envelops us, and because we have the element of surprise, I’m able to yank the guns out of the two old werebears’ hands with my telekinetic power. I haven’t quite perfected it yet, so I use more force than necessary, and pain radiates through my fingers when the heavy metal objects slam hard into my palms.

As the fog clears, I manage to work through the agony of my aching hands to grip the guns and point them at each man. Bella holds up her arm and throws a stream of magic toward my mother. But Tokala’s powers are legendary for a reason, and Mom blocks it instantly.

Damn it! Lance has come to my side, and I hand him the guns so I can help Bella with my mother. I throw a fireball toward Mom designed to knock her off her feet with the hope I can stun her long enough to get in and paralyze her with a spell. But she deflects my shot too.

Bella follows up with a fireball of her own, which is quickly rebounded by Mom, and I realize we could go on like this for a while. I change my tactic to something so simple a warlock like Tokala would never think of it. As Bella shoots another fireball, I throw a sub-zero blast of cold air toward the puddle beneath my mother’s feet, making it slick with ice, and then follow up quickly with a fireball. When Mom turns to deflect my shot, she slips, and while her fall isn’t nearly as spectacular as mine was, it works because Bella manages to shout out a spell to paralyze her before Mom has time to protect herself.

“We’ve got to get the talisman from your mom and disable Tokala’s influence!”

“How do we do it without transferring him to one of us?” I ask as we both go to hover over Mom.

“With these.” Bella smiles as she holds up a pair of mittens, and she puts them on before she squats down to go through Mom’s pockets. She finds a wrinkled brown object that looks like a cross between a mushroom and an ear.

We both say, “Ewww.”

And I add, “I don’t want to know what that is.”

Bella says, “We need a container. Go see if you can find something on the plane.”

I glance over at Lance, who appears to be just fine since he’s made both men lie down on their bellies with their hands behind their heads. Metal steps clang as I jog up them to the plane. I find the pilot asleep, and I gather Bella must have put him under for a short nap.

I find a can of mixed nuts can and quickly dump the contents into the trash before I bring it to Bella.

“Perfect,” she says, and she grimaces as she puts the horrid-looking talisman into the can. “Why don’t I keep this and we can get Kimi to come help us defuse it tomorrow.”

My mother groans and blinks before she opens her eyes and sits up in confusion. She glances around, and then her mouth gapes open in horror. “Oh my god, Dawn. I’m so sorry.”

“You know what happened?” I ask.

She nods. “My brother. He’s even more horrible than I remembered. And to think—” She shudders. “I’m okay with you and Lance, honey. I meant it when I said that what you have is beautiful. I wish I could have had that with your father, and it makes me happy that you’ve found a soul mate.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I smile at her as she puts her hand on my cheek. And then I help her stand up.

She walks over to the two old werebear on the ground. “Gentlemen, I’m going to have Lance let you up now.”

“Mom, I’ve got this.”

I walk over and gaze down at Walter and Alfred. Their previously sophisticated appearance in their suits and cashmere coats is tarnished by dirt and melted snow. And I realize I should never have been afraid of them. I say, “Get up.” When they stand, I recognize that their size is nothing compared to the power I have, and I say, “This isn’t over. Tori will be informed of what happened here today, and I suggest you leave peacefully so this doesn’t end badly for either of you.”

They both lower their heads to me. Werebear like Walter and Alfred have a healthy fear of magic, and since they know what Tokala was capable of, they’re very aware of how strong my powers must be. Now that my uncle has been disabled, they’re both anxious. I say, “You may go.”

They regain their composure and walk off as if they won. It tempts me to make them slip on ice too, but just the vision of the two of them windmilling their arms and flailing is enough, and I refrain.

Once they’re gone, Bella lets out a sigh. “Well. That was an interesting way to spend my Saturday night, but as much as I love you guys, I have my own hot soul mate to return to.”

As we walk to the car, she bumps against me. “We so have to talk. Snippets on the phone are just not enough to catch up on your love life. Girls’ night soon. Okay?”

“Of course.”

Lance grabs my arm and stops moving. He says, “Ladies, I’m going to steal our medicine woman for a moment. Will you wait for us in the car?”

“Sure,” says Mom. She smiles. “Take your time.”

“What is it?” I ask as Bella and Mom walk away.

Lance leads me over to the edge of the pavement, away from the lights, where feet of snow lay untouched. Inches of the light, powdered stuff that has been falling are on the top. “Perfect for snow angels,” he says as he gazes tenderly into my eyes.

I smile at him as we both set ourselves up. I let out a little cry as I fall back and land in the soft snow to swish my arms and legs while I laugh.

And then I hold still as Lance says, “Look at the stars. Aren’t they beautiful?”

He reaches for my hand and squeezes my fingers tight, and I close my eyes when I hear the call of my deer. I see her as she approaches Lance’s bear, and when she gets to him, they walk through the snow side by side. I smile through the tears of happiness that roll down my cheeks.

“Dawn?” Lance asks in my mind. “Do you see this?”

“I do,” I say. “And you know what else?”

“What, darling?”

“Winter has become our season of love.”

“Snow angels for everyone,” says Lance. He grabs me, rolls me onto his chest, and kisses me. I should be cold, being covered in snow, but I’m not. Because I’m filled with a love that will always keep me warm.