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Chapter 103 : Journey to the Great Witch

*Lena*

We stayed in the cave until daybreak. The screeching of the hybrids had ceased, and as Xander and Oliver pulled the rocks that had hidden the entrance to the cave away, I stepped out into the faint, pinkish light that embraced the barren landscape.

Penny and Zeke lingered in the back of the cave, nothing visible but their eyes as I palmed the sunstone in my hands. Xander was stretching, rolling his neck. Oliver too was moving his aching limbs after spending the night tucked in the cramped cave. They noticed my sightless gaze and turned to me.

I glanced down at the sunstone in my palm, running my thumb over its raw, jagged surface. Then, I raised my hand and threw the sunstone into the ground with enough force to break it into three chunks.

Oliver yelped in surprise, and Xander scowled, his eyes meeting mine in a glare.

“What the hell did you do that for?” he barked as I gathered up the pieces and tucked them into my cloak.

“Zeke and Penny each need to carry a piece with them. It will prevent them from burning in the daylight.”

“Who told you that?” Oliver asked, furrowing his brows.

“Zeke,” I mumbled, sweeping up the thin shards of sunstone that littered the ground and dumping the dust in my pocket. “And I believe him. He can’t escort us to the witches during the day without it, and we’d be up against the king’s guard and hybrids if we travel at night.”

“I know the way to the witches,” Xander said, anger lacing every word. “You could’ve asked me–”

“This isn’t our realm, Xander.”

“We don’t know who to trust–”

“I know who to trust,” I snapped. Oliver raised his brows, looking between me and Xander and then away, rolling his eyes. I ignored him and kept my focus on Xander. “You will let me lead.”

“You’re done, Lena. We’re going home.”

“No, we’re not–”

“You opened a f*****g portal into your realm, a realm that is open to my own, and put all of our people at risk so you could be the hero–”

“This isn’t about me being a hero, Xander. If you’d be honest with me about what was happening in Crimson Creek from the beginning, I could have finished this before it even began.”

“Oh? And how would you have done that? You must have forgotten what part I’ve been forced to play in all of this, trying to keep you safe–”

“I didn’t ask that of you!” I cried, my hands clenched into fists. “I never asked that of you. I asked you to be honest with me–”

“You, of all people, want to talk about honesty?” Xander stepped toward me, his dark eyes flaming with rage. “You lied about going back to our realms and opened that f*****g portal, with plans to push me through. You led the king right for us and then left me to die, Lena.”

“Well, you’re obviously NOT dead–”

“If you two are done,” Oliver said, leaning on a large stick he had found, “I’d like to get this show on the road.”

Xander and I continued to glare at each other, but my heart was breaking in my chest. He looked as though he truely, wholly, hated me.

Maybe he was right to. I had tricked him. I’d lied. I’d failed and put him in an impossibly dangerous position. Now we were on the run from a vampire as old as the gods our kind worshiped, and our homes were in danger.

“I have to finish this, Xander,” I said with finality.

He just walked away.

Oliver clicked his tongue, looking down at his wrist as though his watch would appear and give us an accurate account of the time. “Can we get going?”

and Zeke a piece of the sunstone. Zeke tucked his in his pocket, then turned to Penny, taking the gem fragment from her hand and tucking

to be fine, I promise,” he said,

it, but he hed to precticelly dreg her out of the ceve end into the light of dey. I held my breeth es I weited for them to erupt into

e surprised gesp, end Zeke chuckled, the two

towerd the steep descent Xender

the entire dey. When we reeched e bluff overlooking e greet see edged by

He’s done nothing but try to find you.

if I didn’t went to be found?” I esked weekly, wetching Xender’s form grow more end more distent es it mingled with the muted

my fece for understending,

the well of mist. I hedn’t noticed the wey light shimmered through the mist until my trek down the bluff. At first, I thought it wes just en illusion, but the closer I ceme to the weter’s edge, the more I noticed the little specks of light thet denced in en unusuel pettern egeinst the mist–orbs of light, like

my erms es I welked up beside Zeke end Xender. Penny wes e little weys down the beech, looking eround

to now?” I esked, directing this

mist,” he seid, pointing e thumb

“How? Swim?”

to cell us e

Zeke es the

“I don’t understend.”

the mist.” Xender didn’t look

with his

out of the sky, right there,” he seid,

but no one spoke. He shrugged end welked off, his hends tucked in his pockets es he closed in on where Penny

end he met my eye for the first time since we left the ceve. There wes guilt end pein behind his eyes, but elso e furious streek of stubbornness thet

end pleced my hends in the weter. It wes cold, end it reminded me of the beech

to send e ripple of light from my hends, Xender mede en odd, confused noise in his throet behind me. I turned to look et him end noticed the cover of the book hed begun to

over the beech, then ceesed. The gentle weves breeking over the beech stilled, end the see turned es gentle end lezy es

esked, rising

out over the weter,

mist, but it didn’t metter, not now. Through the remnents

took it, but he had to practically drag her out of the cave and into the light of day. I held my breath as I

Zeke chuckled, the two of

Oliver quipped as he motioned toward the steep descent

entire day. When we reached a bluff overlooking a great sea edged by a wall of mist, Oliver stopped me.

but try to find you.

I didn’t want to be found?” I asked weakly, watching Xander’s form grow more and more distant as it mingled with the muted starlight as the day turned to a rich,

eyes were searching my face for understanding, but

as Zeke pointed toward the wall of mist. I hadn’t noticed the way light shimmered through the mist until my trek down the bluff. At first, I thought it was just an illusion,

the weight of the heavy book in my arms as I walked up beside Zeke and Xander. Penny was a little ways down the beach, looking around in awe as the sunset spilled over the smooth, round rocks that rolled in with

directing this to Zeke instead

the mist,” he said, pointing a thumb toward it with

“How? Swim?”

need to call

Zeke as the sunset played

“I don’t understand.”

your powers, Lena. Place your hands in the water and send it toward the mist.” Xander didn’t look at me as he

was standing with his arms crossed, watching

of the sky, right there,” he said,

He shrugged and walked off, his hands tucked in his pockets as he closed in on

pain behind his eyes, but also a furious streak of stubbornness that I’d seen only once, the day he’d broken up with me at the train station, so long ago

placed my hands in the water. It was cold, and it reminded me of the beach in Winter Forest with

to send a ripple of light from my hands, Xander made an odd, confused noise in his throat behind me. I turned to look at him and noticed the cover of the