She nodded.
“In a sense.” Her words were slow, picked carefully to not give too much away. “The Witches are tied to the very fabric of the world. They understand the Spheres on a level deeper than most. For them, magic is a religion, a way of life, rather than a tool to kill. They were the first to know of the Spheres, and look what the rest of the world did with their discovery. Since then, they have hidden themselves, lest their knowledge be bastardized again.”
They hit a bump that Tenn prayed wasn’t a body. Jarrett snorted himself awake and looked around, eyes immediately wide.
“What was that?” he asked.
“Pothole,” Devon replied.
Jarrett opened his mouth like he was going to ask more, then thought better of it.
“Did I miss anything?” he asked instead.
“Just scenery,” Dreya replied. She looked back to him. Her eyes flickered to Tenn—would she mention Matthias to him? Should Tenn? “It is almost morning. And we are on half a tank.”
Jarrett nodded. “Let’s stop soon, then. You guys need to sleep, and I don’t know how to drive.” He looked to Tenn. “Do you?”
Tenn shook his head. He was supposed to get his learner’s permit the summer after his first year at Silveron. Like so many things, that had never come to pass.
“That settles it,” Jarrett said. “We’ll stop at dawn. Find a strip of cars so we can transfer, get a few hours of sleep. Then we’re off again. Matthias won’t even know we’ve been here.”
Tenn cringed.
Matthias would always know where they were. So long as Tenn was around, none of them were safe.
*
Tenn had become used to thwarted plans, so when they stopped by an abandoned traffic jam a little after sunrise, he expected the worst. Jarrett scouted the area with Air while they sat in the parked car, the engine rumbling and the CD still on repeat.
“All clear,” Jarrett said, Air winking out in his throat. Devon turned off the ignition, and the sudden silence was deafening.
“Are you sure this is smart?” Tenn asked. Now that he knew Matthias was on his heels, rest was the last thing on his mind. No matter how much his body and Spheres craved it. The Spheres normally gave the body power as energy centers, much like chakras were said to do in Eastern philosophy, but when they were used too deeply, they needed rest or nourishment to recover.
Not even magic was abundant in this world.
“There’s nothing around for miles,” Jarrett replied. “I’ll take first watch. Gods know I got enough sleep—I forgot how easily driving knocks me out. You guys rest. You need it.”
The twins didn’t need any more coaxing, even with the knowledge of Matthias’s watchful eye. It seemed like nothing could disturb them. They both reclined their seats and curled onto their sides. Like true warriors used to the road, they were asleep in moments.
“You, too, Tenn,” Jarrett said. “You’ve barely slept at all the last few days.”
“I’m not tired,” Tenn said. His yawn betrayed him.
“Like hell,” Jarrett replied. He smiled.
Tenn wanted to tell him about Matthias haunting his dreams. He wanted to say he didn’t feel safe, that it was better for everyone if he stayed awake, but before he could say any of that, Jarrett had gently pulled him down, resting Tenn’s head once more in his lap. Jarrett ran his fingers through Tenn’s hair. Chills curled down his skin while heat flowed in his chest.
“Don’t worry,” Jarrett whispered, looking right into Tenn’s eyes. Tenn could stare at those blue eyes for eternity. “I’ll protect you.”
And maybe it was stupid, but that was enough. Tenn closed his eyes and said nothing.
He knew Jarrett couldn’t protect him from Matthias, but there was a comfort in Jarrett believing he could.
He’d let them both hold on to that dream for as long as possible.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
TENN DIDN’T DREAM. By the time he woke, the sky had darkened to slate gray, and the twins had already prepared a scant dinner of warm tea and biscuits. Tenn wolfed it down; it wasn’t enough to assuage Earth, but it was something. By the time they were on the road again, he was beginning to feel more human.
They switched SUVs and drove for a few more hours, navigating around stopped cars and overturned semis, while a new collection of CDs played. Finally, they passed into Michigan. The sky outside had gone from gray to pitch-black almost as swiftly as his mood had when they saw the welcome sign.
Then it began to snow.
Slow, at first—big thick flakes that drifted slowly in the evening haze. Then more, heavier flecks of white streaking like falling stars in their headlamps. With every mile, the snow grew thicker. With every mile, the ground cover became worse. Clearly this wasn’t the first snow this area had seen and, without plows, the road quickly became treacherous. Devon slowed the car, but even that wasn’t enough to keep him from slipping around on the asphalt like a drunken teenager. He managed to avoid the stopped cars that hulked like igloos. Tenn gripped his fists tight to his lap, tried to keep his breathing calm and his jaw relaxed. After everything they’d been through, he would have found it terribly humorous if he died in a car crash.
Devon slowed the car to a crawl. Tenn wanted to beg the guy to clear the snow with Fire or even Air, but to use magic out here would give them away quicker than the dull thrum of their engine.
Tenn kept his eyes on the horizon, on the trees that loomed pitch-black in the deepening dark.
The headlights caught on a graffiti’d billboard. He knew it before the words resolved through the swathes of snow.
Silveron Academy
Empowering Youth
for an Empowered Future
Water surged at the sign, at the familiar crest, at the pictures of campus. Water surged, and even though he wrestled it down, he couldn’t keep it from spilling between his fingers.
“Your father and I went to school around here,” Mom says.
Dad had stayed back home—couldn’t get the day off work—so it’s just the two of them heading up to Michigan to check out Silveron. He still can’t believe his mother had not only agreed to let him apply, but had offered to drive him the eight hours to check it out when he was accepted.
Hell, he still can’t believe he was accepted.
He doubts he will ever forget seeing that large white envelope on the kitchen counter, his name printed in royal blue. He will never forget the feeling of his heart in his throat and his hands shaking as he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. Congratulations! You have been accepted to Silveron Academy. Together, we will create a magical future.
A magical future.