Dawnbreaker

He released Barrett, and the werewolf slid to the floor, his knees buckling beneath him, but his gaze never wavered from my pale face. “I—I didn’t know.”

“You weren’t supposed to. No one’s supposed to know,” I said with a shrug. “Do you think I want chaos in my domain? Besides, there’s a slim chance I might actually survive this.” I had no doubt that my brittle smile was completely unconvincing, but I had to try. I didn’t want his pity. I just didn’t want him causing problems while I was trying to take down the naturi nation by starting rumors like the nightwalkers were making bargains with the naturi. I could only fight one war at a time.

Stepping over to Barrett, I extended my hand to him, offering to help him to his feet. He hesitated, staring at my ghostly white hand for a few seconds before finally taking it and allowing me to help him up.

“I know this looks bad, but we’ve been friends for many years,” I said, refusing to release his warm hand. “I’ve never betrayed you. I’m not about to start now when I need your friendship the most. If things go bad in Peru, there is a chance that everything could fall into chaos here. I expect Knox to take my place as Keeper of this domain. I would like to leave here with the knowledge that you will have his back.”

“I’ll stand by Knox. But who will have your back?”

“The hunter.”

Barrett shook his head. “You’re the only person I know who would surround herself with her enemy as a way of protection. Survive this, Mira.”

The werewolf pulled his hand free and silently walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

My knees trembled and I wished I could crumple to the floor. My nights were undoubtedly numbered and my life was going to end in pain. And my closest companion, the one I would depend on to protect my back, was a man that had killed more nightwalkers than I cared to count. Why did I find such easy companionship with those that wanted me dead? Danaus. Jabari. I even seemed to have more in common with Ryan, despite the fact that the warlock had ordered my death. Maybe I had developed some secret death wish. Too many years on this earth had made me weary of this heavy coil. Whatever the reason I surrounded myself with people with such a lust for my blood, the result was going to be the same in the end. I would go to Peru and stop Rowe with Danaus at my side and Cy

Sixteen

The car ride out into the Georgia wilds was painfully silent. Danaus sat in the backseat with Cy

We were venturing out into the woods, where I could be as close to nature as possible, in hopes of someone being able to teach me something about earth magic. In my mind it was my last hope in gaining an edge over Rowe and the other naturi; it was my only chance of survival if Aurora was actually released from her cage. But by the mood in the car, I was begi

I pulled the car off the expressway and drove for more than an hour along one winding rural road after another until there were only trees and farmland for as far as the eye could see. At long last I pulled off onto a rutted dirt road that seemed to burrow down into a grove of trees. Once the car was off the road and unlikely to attract the attention of anyone who might randomly drive by, I put the car in neutral and killed the engine.

“Everyone out. We’re here,” I a

“Where exactly is here?” Shelly said as she got out of the car and looked over the roof at me.

“Middle of nowhere, middle of the woods,” I said, flashing her a wolfish grin. “I thought this would be the best place to practice in the event that anything caught on fire or worse.”

“Good logic,” Cy

The trio of oh-so-happy campers followed me deeper into the woods. While Danaus, Cy

I halted the hike by a narrow stream filled with ankle-deep water that flowed over smooth, algae-covered stones. Standing in the middle of the stream, I tried to ignore how my feet cooled as the water flowed over my leather boots while I lifted my arms over my head. My eyes fell almost completely shut in concentration as I reached deep within myself. Around us, five balls of fire flickered into existence and hovered overhead, beating back the darkness.

“This is my power—the creation and control of fire,” I a

“And you retained this ability even after your conversion from human to nightwalker,” Cy

“I retained my soul, so I retained the ability.” I lowered my arms back to my sides while I extinguished two of the five fireballs. “But then, all nightwalkers are limited to soul magic, or blood magic as it is commonly known among my kind. We lose our co

“I’m confused,” Shelly said, speaking up. She carefully stepped down the bank to the edge of the stream so she was standing only a few feet away from me. Only Danaus remained higher up on the rise, looking down on us three, half hidden by the shadows. “If nightwalkers are limited to blood magic, why have you asked us to teach you earth magic? By your own admission, it should be impossible.”

“But then so is my unique ability in both human and nightwalker form,” I added, arching one brow at her. “What human have you known that could create fire? That’s the realm of witches and warlocks, and only the more skilled. I was breaking the rules the day I was born.”

“That logic doesn’t mean you can break them all,” Danaus called down at me, a smirk filling his tone.

“But I’ve already broken this next one,” I said, my gaze sliding from the hunter to Cy

“Amazing,” she breathed.

“Yes, but I couldn’t control it. It was pure raw energy that had found an outlet. I couldn’t stop it, and I couldn’t push it into any other kind of spell. There was only the need to create fire.”

“Do you know any other spells?” Shelly inquired.

“No.”

“Well, that’s part of your problem,” Shelly chuckled.

“But I’m not even sure how I technically control fire,” I countered. “I woke up one day and I could. Time and practice have made the ability stronger and more dynamic, but I don’t understand it any better.”

“Mira,” Cy

“I was human,” I snapped, taking a step toward her.

“But as you said, humans can’t control fire like you do.”

With a wave of my hand, the last of the fireballs were extinguished, plunging the woods into total darkness. “And if I wasn’t human, what do you think I was?”