WHEN I WOKE UP, I knew this was not simply a nightmare. I stretched my sore limbs and twisted my neck, which was stiff from sleeping in the car.

Twenty-four hours ago, my life had been normal. Now I didn’t know what it was. All of this … I wanted to believe it was made up—too far-fetched—but I couldn’t ignore the truth. Ian was dead, my dad was gone, and that grindor or whatever it was had definitely been in my house.

There was also no denying Theo. He was very much real.

“Mornin’, doll face,” he said with a fake Southern accent.

I looked around and saw the road all around us.

“Have you slept?” I asked.

He put a hand to his chest and feigned surprise. “Are you concerned for my health? I’m touched.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t want to get killed because you fall asleep at the wheel.” I crossed my arms over my chest and adjusted my position in the seat.

“I’m fine,” he assured me. “This stuff really works.” He picked up a bottle of Five Hour Energy.

“How many of these have you had?” I gasped, taking it from him.

“Uh … four,” he counted and then giggled. Yeah, that’s right, giggled like a little girl. “And I feel great.”

“Theo,” I shrieked in irritation. “Maybe I should drive?” I suggested.

“No way.” He massaged the steering wheel. “This baby is all mine. Besides—” he shrugged but the motion was jerky “—you don’t know where we’re going.”

“Don’t remind me,” I muttered. “I’m in a car, with a boy I don’t really know going who knows where.”

“I know where,” he chortled.

“That’s my point,” I muttered, looking out the window.

“Ah, doll face, don’t be like that,” he pleaded with a fake pout, his reflection in the window overly exaggerated.

I whipped toward him. “Don’t call me doll face,” I snapped, finally giving into the itch I hadn’t wanted to scratch.

He smirked like he’d won some silent competition. “Don’t call me Theo. My name’s Theodore.”

“Not gonna happen,” I ground out, just to irritate him.

“Back at you, doll face.” He winked, his lips quirking at the corners.

It was going to be a long drive.

* * *

“What is that?” asked Theo, staring at the bag in my hands.

“Cheetos.” I swished the bag in front of his nose.

We had stopped to get gas and food before getting back on the road promptly. Apparently, even enchanters had to eat.

“Give me some.” He stuck his hand in the bag.

“Hey,” I scolded and snatched it back. “These are mine.”

“Haven’t you ever heard of sharing?” he asked and stuck a handful of Cheetos in his mouth.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t want to share with you.”

“Doll face, I’m hurt.”

“How on Earth did you come up with the nickname doll face?” I asked.

He smirked. “You kinda look like a doll.”

My mouth dropped open. “I’m offended.”

“A pretty doll,” he added with a shrug, shoving his hand in my bag of Cheetos again. I rolled my eyes, and he grinned like the Cheshire cat.

I might not have known Theo, but I knew enough that he was the kind of person I avoided at all costs.

A sarcastic asshole. A cocky jerk.

Munching on a Cheeto, I asked, “So, this safe house, what is it exactly? A shack?”

He shook his head. “No, it’s actually a manor. It’s owned by one of the oldest enchanter families and is a safe haven for many enchanters. It’s large enough to house nearly a hundred of us if need be.”

I was actually surprised he answered me, and seriously at that. “How many are there now?”

“Enough.”

I frowned. I wasn’t sure what exactly he meant by that.

Noticing my expression, he sighed and replied, “The more people that are around the more on guard I have to be. Even though I’ve known a lot of them for nearly my whole life, you can’t be too trusting.” He shrugged. “Your life is the most important thing and that means I have to stay alert.” Grabbing another Cheeto from the bag, he spun it between his fingers. “Honestly, the only person I do trust completely is my sister.”

“A sister, huh?”

He chuckled. “She’s a pain in my ass, but she’s family.”

He popped the Cheeto in his mouth and reached for more.

I snatched the bag back quickly.

“Don’t touch my Cheetos. You’ve already eaten like half the bag.”

“Oh, please,” he snorted and rolled his eyes.

“So, where is this safe house manor place?” I rambled. “Am I privy to this information yet?”

He sighed loudly and dramatically like I had no right to ask these questions. “It’s in Washington State, just outside of Seattle.”

“How do you keep this place hidden?”

He gave me a look. “Magic,” he answered.

“Oh,” I mumbled. “Of course. Where are we now? Washington is pretty far from Arkansas.”

“We’re currently in Kansas but we’re almost to Nebraska. I want to get as far away from the Iniquitous as possible before we stop for a break. These things aren’t going to keep me going for much longer.” Theo shook an empty bottle of Five Hour Energy.

Not wanting to talk about the evil beings chasing me, I asked, “What’s with the tattoos?”

He had some kind of script along the inside of his right arm, and whenever he moved his arm a bit of a filigree tattoo peeked out along the top of his arm. On his other arm, there were a cluster of blue stars and some more script on the inside. I was sure there were plenty more that I could not see.

I expected him to give me a flippant answer but, instead, he shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I just … wanted to. In this world, there’s not a lot we have that’s for ourselves. I did this for me.”

“What does that one mean?” I asked, pointing to the script on his arm.

“It’s Latin for, ‘while there is life, there is hope’,” he answered. “This one—” he pointed to the words on the inside of his arm “—is Latin for ‘thus you shall go to the stars’.”

“That explains the stars.” I pointed to the open and closed cluster of blue stars. “Anymore I should know about?” I asked.

He laughed. “I have one across my shoulders that’s Latin for ‘I am not led; I lead’, a cross on my chest, and one along on my side that’s Latin for ‘I struggle and emerge’.”

“What’s with all the Latin?” I asked, truly curious.

He shrugged. “I liked that it was a dead language but strangely beautiful and unique. I didn’t want it to be something that people could read easily. Like I said, there’s not much we get for ourselves, and I wanted this to be entirely mine.”

“But you told me what they mean?” I hedged.

He sighed and squirmed in his seat. “You’re the one I’m destined to protect. Eventually, we’ll know all there is to know about one another, so why hide it?”

“But you were slow to tell me where we were going?” I countered.

“That’s different; I did it for your protection. In case we got caught I didn’t want you knowing where we were headed and unwittingly giving up information you didn’t understand could harm a lot of people. I think we’re a safe distance away now that chances of getting caught are slim, so that’s why I told you.”

“So, am I going to learn magic?” I asked, changing the subject.

He snorted. “Of course.”

“What kind of stuff will I learn?”

“All kinds of things.” He adjusted his grip on the steering wheel. “Spells to heal, block, kill, grow things; you name it and there’s probably a spell for it—there’s even one to make your bed.”

I laughed. “That sounds great. I hate making my bed.”

“Me too,” he agreed with a chuckle.

“Are there other places like the safe … manor? Or is it the only one?”

He shook his head. “There are many all over the world. The one in Seattle is one of the largest—which is a worry for me since the more space and people around the more I have to be concerned about someone hurting you, but I did grow up there so at least I know the place like the back of my hand,” he rambled not even taking a breath. “It also has some powerful enchanters staying there—not chosen like you—but powerful. And you could learn a thing or two from them. You’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.” He breathed out, shaking his head in disbelief. “I have a feeling you’re going to be unstoppable.”

I snorted. “Me?”

He nodded. “I know you don’t see it now, but you will.”

I cleared my throat. “Where are some of these other safe houses?”

“A lot are in major cities—Paris, London, New York—but there are also some in random small towns. It all depends. They also vary in size.”

“So, why’d they choose Seattle for this place?”

“The manor is outside the city, protected with lots of woods and gates, so I think it was chosen for the isolation—safe houses are always already built and have usually been abandoned. We come in and make them new again, add wards, you get the idea.”

Just then we passed a sign that said: Welcome to Nebraska … The Good Life.

Theodore pointed at it and chuckled. “’The good life’, yeah right. What’s even in Nebraska?”

I looked out the window and said, “Grass, grass, and more grass.” He yawned. “Maybe we should stop,” I suggested.

“Maybe,” he agreed. “The Iniquitous don’t come out in the day.”

“Why?” I asked and then laughed. “I thought they were evil enchanters not vampires.”

“Vampires can go out in the sun. Everyone knows that,” he snorted. I gave him a look. “Or not. Anyway, their magic doesn’t work during the day. Something about the daylight disrupts it because they’ve relinquished their faith in God or something of the sort—I wasn’t really paying attention to that part of class. But we should be safe to stop for a few hours. We need to get back on the road before darkness falls.”

It was early afternoon, so we wouldn’t have long.

* * *

The Holiday Inn wasn’t far off the highway, which was a priority for Theo. He said we might need to leave quickly.

I looked out the window and leaned my head against the glass. Theodore was sprawled across one of the full-sized beds snoring lightly.

I wished I could go to sleep that easily but instead I felt close to a panic. My whole life had been built on a mountain of lies. My dad, whom I loved, wasn’t even my dad. My mom was some kind of powerful witch, enchanter, whatever you wanted to call it. In two weeks, I was going to come into my powers. The ever-infuriating Theo was supposedly my protector. Nothing was apparently what it seemed to be, and it was making me angry.

The glass I was leaning against began to vibrate.

Startled, I jerked back.

It stopped.

What was happening to me?

I glanced at Theo, but he hadn’t moved. He was oblivious to the window shaking.

I sighed and grabbed my duffel bag before heading into the small bathroom, closing and locking the door. I set my bag down on the counter and took a deep breath.

I stared in the mirror and poked at my face. I guess I was expecting some big change that screamed you’re a witch, but there was no difference—I was still plain, pale-skinned, hazel-eyed, blonde haired, freckled, gap-toothed Mara.

I stripped my clothes off and climbed in the shower. For a hotel, it was pretty clean. I scrubbed my scalp with some of the shampoo from the small travel-sized bottle. I stayed in the shower so long that my skin turned pale pink and the water began to run cold. I climbed out and towel dried my hair before slipping into a pair of sweats and a shirt.

I found Theo just as I had left him. The only difference was he was snoring louder.

I climbed under the covers of the other bed, the one nearest the window. Theo had taken the one by the door.

I didn’t think I could sleep but, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

Sleep was certainly a reprieve from the chaos of my thoughts.