As I opened my eyes and struggled to sit up from the hard table, I knew everything had changed. Everything looked sharper, brighter--and I swore I could now see the light flicker of scarlet threads draped over random parts of the house. Through the large window in the living room, I could see that the sun was beginning to rise. It had taken hours--hours to unlock my lost memories. My back should've been sore, but I felt oddly loose and limber. The gaping hole that existed in my mind--in my soul, it had vanished. Where I had once been blindly stumbling through life, I was now running. While I couldn't make much sense of the memories I saw, I knew their presence had unlocked something within me. I was no longer Raelynn, the weak girl who had lost both her Dad and Mom. I wasn't sure who I was now, but I was determined to figure it out."Give her a minute to process everything." I could hear Finn murmuring to a slightly irate Atlas."What did you do to her?" His voice was

Finn became somewhat overbearing after that, though I knew it was more due to the strange nature of my abilities. He insisted that not a single Fae could see magic as a physical substance, and seemed somewhat worried at how easily I had unraveled his heat spell. After explaining what I had done a hundred and one times, I finally managed to escape Finn and commandeer his shower.It had taken a total of ten minutes for my sweat to freeze and dry on my body. I basked in the steaming water of the shower, letting it wash away the sweat and chill from my body. I was sure if I were a normal werewolf, I would've had a cold from the temperature fluctuation by now. If anything, I felt great. Better than great, I felt near invincible. I couldn't help but wonder if all of the other Fae felt the same, gorged on power and enamored by the beautiful light that seemed to shine from beneath their skin. Even as I wiped the condensation away from the mirror and stared at my own reflection, I cou

'If we lose any fingers or toes, I'll never talk to you again.' Lila huffed, but remained quiet as I slid the window open.'It's just a few minutes.' I murmured, taking a deep breath of the icy air as it flooded into the room.'It would've been smarter to master the powers of the Fire Court before sitting out in the ice and snow.' Lila countered, but I ignored the edge in her voice.I pulled myself out the window with ease, letting a shudder run down my spine as the sweat that once clung to me turned cold. I brushed aside a clump of snow on the sloped roof and plopped down. Water seeped into my clothes, but I couldn't bring myself to care.My eyes were instantly drawn to the sky, to the network of stars that hung in brilliant clusters. I had never seen the sky quite like this. The stars in Texas and California were bright, but not nearly as dazzling as they were here. I could make out each constellation, and traced my eyes over the invisible lines connect

After nearly burning the house and surrounding forest down, Finn thought it best to take me to the nearby lake. A thick sheet of ice covered the surface of the lake, making it the perfect spot for practice.He had given me enough time to warm up and put some food in my stomach, but picked up training soon after. I hadn’t bothered changing my clothes once I learned where we were heading. I still wore my damp long sleeve t-shirt and sweatpants. While the cold was somewhat miserable, it was also incredibly awakening. The cold lapped at my face and skin, making me feel more awake than I had in the previous months.Finn led me out to the center of the ice, standing back by the edge of the lake. I watched in silence as he melted the ice around me with astounding precision. All that was left was a perfect circle of ice that I was currently standing on. As I shifted on my feet, the ice tilted and bobbed. I felt the rapid surge of heat pulse through me, and knew that if I

I pulled myself up onto one of the smooth stones that lined the lake, my body near dripping with sweat. I wasn’t sure if it were the fire-magic or Atlas’s soft-spoken words that brought heat rushing to every corner of my body.I had seen Atlas angry, upset, and indifferent—but never full of awe. To be the subject and source of that awe was unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was a validation I had never known. Half of my soul accepting the other.“Don’t even think about it.” I warned, eyeing Atlas warily as he swam over to the smooth stone beside me.As usual, Atlas did not listen to me. I had just enough time to turn on my back before Atlas pulled himself up on the stone beside me. I saw a flash of porcelain skin before turning my eyes to the stars that dripped from the sky, and the brilliant clusters of fire that hung like twinkling lights.“Have you always been this innocent?” He smirked, stretchin