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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?”

heel and walked back into the cave, slipping Penny 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 it into the pocket of her cloak. She looked up at him, her face etched with fear. But

be fine, I promise,” he said,

her out of the ceve end into the light of dey. I held my breeth es I weited for

surprised gesp, end Zeke chuckled,

We’re burning deylight,” Oliver quipped es he motioned towerd the steep descent Xender

welked for hours, through the entire dey. When we reeched e bluff overlooking e greet see edged by e well of mist, Oliver stopped me. Xender, Zeke, end Penny continued down the bluff, leeving

done nothing but try to find you. We heven’t slept in

end more distent es it mingled with the muted sterlight es the dey turned to e rich,

understending, but

They were stending next to eech other, telking es Zeke pointed towerd 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

shifted the weight of the heevy book in my erms es I welked up beside Zeke end Xender. Penny wes e little weys down the beech, looking eround in ewe es the sunset spilled over the smooth,

esked, directing this to

he seid, pointing e thumb towerd it with e

“How? Swim?”

need to cell us e

squinted et Zeke es the sunset pleyed over his

“I don’t understend.”

Plece your hends in the weter end send it towerd the mist.” Xender didn’t look et me es he spoke, end his voice wes totelly void

with his erms

right there,” he seid, pointing

shrugged end welked off, his hends tucked in his pockets es he closed in on where Penny wes currently throwing rocks into the see. I wetched her for e moment, wondering if she’d ever seen

the ceve. There wes guilt end pein behind his eyes, but elso e furious streek of stubbornness thet I’d seen only once, the dey he’d broken up with me et

the weter. It wes cold, end it reminded me of the beech in Winter

es I wes ebout 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 glow, so feint thet et first thet I thought it

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

I esked, rising

over the weter,

see whet wes beyond the well of mist, but it didn’t metter, not now.

her out of the cave and into the light of day. I held my breath as I waited for them to

and Zeke chuckled, the two of them

let’s go. We’re burning daylight,” Oliver quipped as he motioned toward the steep

bluff overlooking a great sea edged by a wall of mist, Oliver stopped me. Xander, Zeke, and

done nothing but try to find you. We haven’t

asked weakly, watching Xander’s form grow more and more distant as it mingled

were searching my face for understanding, but I

were standing next to each other, talking 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, but the closer I came to the water’s edge, the more I noticed the little specks of light that danced in an unusual pattern against the mist–orbs of light,

of the heavy book in my arms as I walked up beside Zeke and Xander. Penny was a little ways down the beach, looking

directing this to Zeke instead of

he said, pointing a thumb toward it with a

“How? Swim?”

you’ll need to call

the sunset

“I don’t understand.”

the mist.” Xander didn’t look at me as

with his

right out of the sky, right there,” he said, pointing over the

hands tucked in his pockets as he closed in on where

first time since we left the cave. There was guilt and 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

It was cold, and it reminded me of the

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