Hudson grins. “Reggie, do you have any idea what gargoyles can do that’s really, really cool?”

I let my senses sink into the earth, down through my hands and back up through my feet. And I reach out. I open myself up to the magic of the earth, let it channel through me, until it feels like I’m as tall as the trees overlooking the clearing, staring down at my friends, staffs ready, Macy’s wand swooshing through a series of almost poetic moves in the air…and the vampires heading straight for them. And just beneath their feet, I feel it…my enchanted forest.

“What are you about to do, little girl? Throw rocks at us?” Reginald taunts, and a few of the other members of the Watch chuckle with him.

“Not rocks,” I say out loud, and with my magic, I ask the trees for help, and I feel their answer immediately. I take a deep breath. I’m only going to have one chance. And then I open my eyes and fix my gaze on the commander. “This.”

Before the vampire can react, giant sequoia roots break out of the earth, soil raining down on the entire clearing, as the thick roots swing through the air like the legs of an octopus. The Watch fades left and right to avoid the wild swipes, but the roots are relentless. Vampires scream as bodies are thrown like rag dolls hundreds of yards away from us.

One Watch member gets through, but Jaxon has him down on the ground, one foot on his throat in a blink.

“Got it!” Macy shouts. “Go, go, go!”

And everyone except Jaxon and Hudson makes a dash for the portal. I can’t leave yet. I’ve got to keep the roots holding the Watch back until everyone is safe.

“Get through!” Hudson shouts to Jaxon as another vampire makes it through the roots, and Hudson knocks him back. Jaxon says something; I don’t know what because the trees are screaming in my head as one of the Watch rips a root in half.

Oh my God, the pain! It feels like I’ve been ripped in half myself, and tears stream down my face, but I grit my jaw. That vampire will die for harming my forest. My gaze pierces his, and a root bursts through the ground and spears his thigh. He screams in agony, but I have no mercy.

“Babe,” Hudson is whispering in my ear, his hands on my shoulders, I realize, stroking up and down. “Babe, it’s time to go. You did good. Let them go now, okay?”

I blink. And stare at the clearing in front of me. Blood is mixing into the earth, bodies lying at odd angles everywhere. Jesus.

I take a deep breath and exhale, slowly pulling the magic back, whispering a “thank you” to the trees as I do, and I hear a whispering answer in return. Goodbye, daughter.

Once I’ve pulled all the magic back, my vision starts to blur. I’m so tired. I just want to curl up in the earth. I want to feel the rocks cover my body…and sleep.

I can sense Hudson’s arms reach under my body as he whispers, “I’ve got you.”

And then everything goes black.

64

Pin the Tail

on the Dragon

It’s been two days since we made it back to Katmere, and Hudson hasn’t picked a single fight with me. It’s really damn annoying.

But I get it. I probably scared ten years off his life when I passed out in the clearing. I had no idea channeling magic would be so draining. Hey, I chalk it up to learning something new about my gargoyle powers, and that’s nothing but a win in my book. We’re going to need every edge we can get, since, you know, turns out the blacksmith who made the beast’s cuffs is in the one place we’ve been working so hard to avoid. Prison.

Still, I’m trying to have tunnel vision, to just focus on school and graduating and what I can do at this specific moment. It’s difficult, though, especially with the specter of Cyrus breathing down Hudson’s and my necks. And why he wants us off the chessboard so badly.

We all agreed our next best step was to check in with the Dragon Court. Flint claims a member of the Court went to this prison and was able to get out of it a day later—so it is possible. He said he’d ask his mom for more information and until then, we were in a wait-and-see state.

As much as I believe getting the Crown is our best chance to stop Cyrus, if we can’t get the blacksmith out of the Aethereum—or ourselves… Well, going to prison isn’t an option, then, and we need to start brainstorming a Plan B.

Which we are totally going to do…after finals.

I always thought this would be the easiest time of my academic career—coasting through the last couple of weeks, taking finals that don’t really mean much, and hanging out with Heather as much as I can. Instead, I’m in a sudden-death kind of situation, where one screwup means I don’t get to graduate.

So not my idea of a great way to spend my eighteenth birthday, especially with everything else that’s going on.

But it’s hard to focus on studying when I keep thinking about Falia and Vander and the Unkillable Beast and everything they’ve suffered. It’s awful, and every time I close my eyes, I think about them and all the pain they’ve had to go through, all the pain that’s still to come.

It’s not fair. And I know life isn’t fair, but this whole paranormals-can-live-for-millennia thing isn’t nearly as cool when you realize it also means you can suffer just as long.

I sigh. There’s nothing I can do about that right now.

I have an Ethics of Power final to study for (a class Cyrus obviously slept through) and a history study session later today. So, despite everything going on and the fact that it’s my birthday, I’m trying not to think about anything but the differences between Jung and Kant. And yes, it’s just as hard as it sounds.

Two hours later, I’m just finishing up the last of my notes on Kant when my alarm goes off, reminding me that I’m supposed to be in a study session in Hudson’s room in ten minutes. There’s a part of me that wants to cancel—I’m so tired that I’m not sure I’m going to be able to keep my eyes open for much longer.

Then again, I really need the session. History is still kicking my butt, even after Jaxon and I did a brief study session the other day, and I am not going to fail my senior year because I can’t keep my paranormal history straight. So instead of running back to my room to eat a pint of Cherry Garcia, I pack up my stuff and head down to Hudson’s room. And try really hard not to think of that ridiculous bed of his while I do.

I text Macy to see if she’s coming tonight—when I talked to her this morning, she wasn’t sure, since she’s only a junior and this isn’t one of her classes—but I hope she does. I haven’t told anyone it’s my birthday, more because it snuck up on me than because I deliberately omitted telling them, but it would still be nice to hang out with her tonight.

Especially since this is my first birthday without my parents…which is, honestly, the real reason I haven’t told anyone. It feels so strange to be turning eighteen without my mother’s cherry chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast or my favorite fish tacos for lunch with my dad or an all-night movie marathon with Heather, like we’ve been doing on our birthdays for years and years and years.

Heather still hasn’t texted me since I told her not to come to Katmere for a visit, and that hurts even more today. I thought maybe she would break her silence to wish me a happy birthday, but she hasn’t. She is really pissed. And I don’t blame her. I deserve it. But if this is what it takes to keep her safe—I’d do it all over again.

Macy doesn’t answer, so I shove my phone in my back pocket and try not to pout as I turn down the staircase to Hudson’s lair. It’s no big deal. I’ll have some ice cream with her later and call it a—

“Surprise!”

I scream, just full-on scream, as I walk through the doorway into Hudson’s room and my friends jump out from every hiding place available.

“Happy birthday, New Girl!” Flint calls from across the room, where he’s draped in so many streamers that he looks like a hot-pink mummy.

“Thanks!” I call back, then turn to Macy, who’s standing right next to the door and currently showering me with glitter and confetti. “Okay, okay, enough! Hudson is going to be walking around with hot-pink glitter in his hair for the next two weeks.”

“Haven’t you noticed?” he asks with a lift of his brows. “I already am.”

I laugh—I can’t stop smiling even though I told myself this was the last thing I wanted—then look around at the rest of my friends.

Mekhi is sprawled on the couch with a grin and a giant HAPPY EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY banner.

Luca is standing next to Flint with a colorful balloon bouquet.

Eden is waiting next to Macy with a bowl of backup confetti.

As for Jaxon, he’s standing next to Hudson’s library and blowing a noisemaker like his life depends on it.

And Hudson…Hudson is in the center of the room with a hot-pink and silver party hat on his head and a giant cake in his hands that reads, GARGOYLES RULE AND DRAGONS DROOL. Because of course that’s what he had them write on it.