Chapter One

Alia

I’m safe. The seekers don’t know I’m here.

“Paging Alia Lyco to the nurse’s desk.” Alia heard her boss over the intercom in the break room. Dread filled her body as the message repeated. What does she want now? She finished her snack of string cheese in two fast bites. Just before she exited the room, she tossed the wrapper into the trash. Alia looked over her shoulder, the sick sensation of someone watching her filled her body. When she didn’t see anyone, Alia rolled her shoulders to release the tension. She hated the fact she had to stay in hiding. A witch on the run isn’t a witch who can practice magic. She reminded herself of this fact over and over again.

Alia pulled out her tight braid and worked on getting the fly-away blonde strands back into place. A tall woman passed by, reminding Alia of her own average height. The only thing she liked about her appearance were her eyes. Baby blues like her mother’s. I miss her so damn much. Once she reached the desk, nurse Becky pointed behind her to their boss, Haisy. Becky ran away, after she mouthed good luck.

“You need me, boss?” Alia trudged into the back office. Haisy turned, her normal scowl firmly in place, making her beautiful features turn against her.

“I need you to clock out now so you can cover the night shift in the maternity wing. Maven can’t find a damn sitter for her rotten kid,” she snarled.

“But I was going to—” Haisy waved her hand before Alia finished her sentence.

“You’re the only one who can do it. Everyone has kids, unlike you. Now get out and be back by six a.m.” Haisy vanished before Alia could argue her point. Alia took a deep breath, already halfway through her shift and she had planned on sleeping and reading. She needed a damn break from the hospital so she could recharge. Most of her breaks consisted of staying in her little apartment hoping a seeker hadn’t found a lead to her location. Not wanting to get fired, she grabbed her bag and stormed through the hospital.

If she didn’t need the job so much, she would have quit months ago. Yet the small town didn’t have a coven, so she was a bit safer here than if she settled with a known coven. Alia yanked out the elastic band to free her braid, then shoved her fingers through her long hair. Her anger at Haisy fueled her movements through the hospital. Fear of being caught still lingered in the back of Alia’s mind, but wasn’t hindering her frustrated stride. Alia reached her hand into her bag and pulled out her phone, then plunged her headphones in her ears and started her new favorite song, “Sun Daze” by Florida Georgia Line. The beat helped to keep her calm as she exited the main building into a courtyard. Most days, she listened to music to help calm her nerves.

The April air was slightly chilly at night in Austin, Nevada. It was starting to warm up the closer the month inched toward May, but the moment the sun vanished, the temperature seemed to drop ten degrees. Alia pulled on her light scarf to keep herself from shivering.

Movement caught her eye in the alley a street over. She took one headphone out, just as gunshot rang out, making her duck.

“Visum,” Alia uttered under her breath, the spell gave her a way to see heat signatures. One person lay on the ground and another body ran the other way. She repeated the spell, and it faded as she ran to the injured man.

When she reached the wounded man with deep red hair, she dropped her bag to the ground. She couldn’t believe how tall he looked lying on the ground. Focus, Alia! His hands clutched his chest while he took shallow breaths. Trying not to over-think, she placed her small fingers on his rough hand. A current tore through her body, and the male’s eyes snapped open as he gasped for air, his dark blue eyes turned slightly hazy.

“My name is Alia and I will help you.” She yanked off her scarf and pressed it into his chest where the bullet hit him. Blood continued to flow. Quickly lifting his large form, she checked his back. She found no exit wound, so she knew the bullet was still inside his body.

“This can’t be happening now,” he whispered, his voice gruff and strained.

“Who shot you?” She pressed even harder to try to stifle the flow, but it didn’t seem to be working.

“A young hunter trying to get a name,” he said between gasps of pain.

“We need to get you some help.” She called out, but no footsteps sounded near her. A little after midnight and no one was around. Alia cursed as the blood covered her hands; it looked like there was no end to the damage.

“Damn imprint had to happen now,” he hissed as Alia pressed even harder. Imprint? Where do I know that word from? Her mind searched for the connection, but Olsen’s breath grew staggered, bringing her focus on him.

“What is your name?” Alia asked, trying to distract him.

“Olsen.” His eyes fluttered closed, sending Alia into a panic.

“Olsen, I need you to keep your eyes open.” He kept them open for a moment. “No, no you can’t die on me.” Anger filled her body as she weighed her options. If she used stronger magic, she would have to leave town. But if she didn’t use magic, the man under her palms would die. The thought of him dying made her stomach turn and her heart clench. Why should I care so much about this stranger?

“Olsen, come on. Open those blue eyes. Look at me!” She whipped her head around. “Visum,” she whispered, to her disappointment there was no one outside. Alia blinked away the spell. She hung her head, trying to come up with a plan. No one is watching. Use magic to save him. The little voice in her head had a point. Yet the seekers would be able to track her down in a few days. She studied Olsen. The color drained from his face.

“No one will find out about this,” she promised herself. I’ll heal him, then erase his memory.

“Cassis.” There was no turning back now. Her hand hovered above the wound as she cast the spell. The bullet flew out of his body and into her palm. She set the scrap of metal in her pocket, then took a deep breath pulling her reserve of strength and magic. She tried to mentally prepare herself, knowing this spell would take a lot out of her.

“Valetudo basar.” Her strong voice grew a bit louder than before as she held her right hand over the entry wound. She repeated the words three times to keep the spell going. Power pulsed from her body as a white light emitted from her hand. Slowly, the hole shrank to nothing, the bleeding stopped, and Olsen took a deep steady breath. Alia collapsed onto Olsen, her breath coming in short pants and her head spinning from the amount of energy she gave for the spell. The sound of his steady heartbeat met her ear as she rested on his muscular chest.

The little strength she had left she used to sit next to Olsen. She took another deep inhale of the cool night air. Her hand moved to his forehead, then she uttered one final spell.

“Animus.” Alia held her hand there for a quick moment, any longer and she would delete more than the night’s events. She fumbled back, separating them. The stones below Alia sucked away the little warmth she had left. She grabbed her bag and used the wall to stand, then slowly stumbled out of the alley toward her car. Alia knew the memory spell would only work if she didn’t see him when he woke up. If she passed out near him, he would ask questions that would be hard to avoid. She pulled the last of her strength, and poured herself into the driver’s seat of her piece of shit car. Alia jammed her finger onto the switch to lean the seat back, then she let the exhaustion take her.

I hope Olsen is okay there. She worried about the seekers finding her as sleep took over.