Cadence was nodding off to sleep in her room when she felt the slight tremor, followed by a deafening bang in the living room. She leapt out of bed and grabbed her witch's broom just inside the door in case trouble was waiting for her on the other side, and reluctantly made her way to the source of the noise.
It was pitch dark, since all the lights in the house were out, and she could barely see a thing. So she fumbled along the wall for a few anxiety-inducing seconds, as she frantically ran her hand along the wall, blindly searching for the light switch, cursing when she tripped and almost fell over something soft.After a few tries, Cadence finally flipped the switch, flooding the living room with brilliant light. She burst into tears when she saw her mom on the floor."Mom, what happened?" she asked as she picked her up from the floor and helped her onto the sofa. "I had to teleport from the hill. They were after me, Cade. They wanted my piece of the star!" Sonja rambled incoherently."You're not making any sense. Who's after you? What piece of the star?"Before she could reply, Sonja's eyes rolled back in her head, her body convulsing as she slipped into a trance, and she began chanting, switching between ancient languages.Throughout her babble, Cadence picked up some lines in English, but none of it made any sense.As much as she hated leaving her mom alone in her state, she had to. So, she dashed to the altar room and gathered up the reagents she'd need for the spell to break her mom's trance. But she was sleeping soundly on the couch when Cadence returned moments later with the reagents. She placed the ceramic bowl on the floor and knelt in front of her mom, wondering if she should take her to a hospital or call a doctor. But what would she say? Where would she start about teleporting and the rest of the weird stuff in her life?Cadence sighed as she draped a throw blanket over her mom's sleeping form. She sat there awhile and watched her sleep, silently praying she hadn't suffered some head trauma when she landed. When she was sure her mom was out for the night, Cadence headed back to her room and took out her journal. She had to jot down the stuff her mom had said in her trance and see if it made sense. She couldn't remember everything, and most of it was in an ancient language, but she'd caught a few lines in English."They live among usWalk-in our dreamsAnd see right throughOur deepest desiresThey hear our thoughts.And prey on our fearsTheir soft voicesEcho in our mindswith promises of foreverDarkness fallsThey heed the call of thirstThe night belongs to themEyes burn red with hungerIt's our blood they craveand it's our bloodline They wish to enslaveWhen the birth of a new dayPeaks over the horizonAnd our shadows rise to meet themThey retreat to their sanctums And seek solace in dark placesIn the sun, we find comfortIn the light, they disappearThey are The Forsaken..."Cadence said the words out loud over and over, trying to make sense of them. After a while, though, she stopped trying. She rushed to the altar room and leafed through her grimoire, looking for any creatures or beings known as the forsaken. She wasn't really surprised when she came up empty. She'd gone through her grimoire back to back a million times in the past. She would have known if there was such a creature.When Cadence finally put her grimoire down, it was 3:00 AM, the witching hour. She was exhausted, her eyes were heavy with sleep, and she wanted to hit the covers ASAP, but she darted to the living room to check on her mom again, shaking with relief when she found her still fast asleep on the couch, with her arms crossed on her chest in a prayer-like pose. Cadence kissed her cheek, tucked her in again, and returned to her room. As tired as she was, though, she couldn't sleep. Her mom's words kept her awake and got her thinking.In their cabin in the secluded part of the woods, Samuel and his small band of vampire hunters were still reeling over their failure. They all hurried to their little corners and busied themselves with cleaning their weapons, getting them ready for the impending war with anyone who dared stand in their way. "We'll get it next time," he told the other four. He was referring to the piece of the Chaos Star they'd tried to get from Sonja. But even as he said the words, he knew he wasn't convincing anyone. The Youngbloods' magic was far more powerful than they remembered. They'd heard rumours floating around town about Luca's return and his plans to free his brother, and they knew the vampire would need the Chaos Star to break the seal. Rather than tempt fate and leave the star in the hands of the witches, they'd decided to take matters into their own hands. They already had Carmella Long's piece. They just needed the rest. The idea was to destroy the star before Luca got his hands on it.
Cadence was surprised to find a note from her mom when she walked into the kitchen the next morning. 'Cade, I'm sorry for rushing off like this; there was an emergency with the coven. Have fun at school. See you later! Love, Mom!'She didn't need to be a witch to know that something was seriously wrong with the coven as she read the note. Two emergency meetings in twenty-four hours didn't look good, and she wondered how much of it had to do with last night's incident.Cadence had just sat down, ready to stuff her face with Froot Loops, when the doorbell rang."Can't I have some cereal in peace around here?" she grumbled as she went to get the door, her heart going berserk when she found Luca on her front porch. The mere sight of him made her all shaky and weak-kneed, and she had to lean on the door frame for support. "Hello," he said."Hi." Her greeting was surprisingly coherent and polite enough. But there was nothing coherent or polite about the sound of her heart pounding in her ch
The minute they were alone, Sonja dragged Luca out of her house the same way he had done to her at his place a few days ago."You lying, scheming, son of a bitch! How dare you invite yourself into my home! Did you trick my daughter into letting you in? Did you mess with her head? What lies did you tell her to worm your way inside?" She seethed at him as soon as they were out of earshot."I didn't have to trick her. She invited me in all on her own. And I haven't even begun messing with her head yet. That time is coming, though. Rest assured!" Luca smirked at her.Sonja was tempted to reach up, gouge his eyes out, and feed them to the crows. She loathed him for what he was about to do to her town. But she resented him even more for the games he planned to play with her only child."Careful, Sonja. You don't want me to take your necklace again, do you?" Luca taunted, subtly letting her know he knew what she was thinking, and he was ready for her and the show she wanted to put on."Stay a
Cadence was in the mood for a little game of truth or dare. She followed her mom inside, the wind yanking the door and banging it shut behind them."Mom, you keep saying Luca is dangerous, but you're not telling me what he did. How can I trust you when you pretended to have met him for the first time today? And what's this business about my blood? What did he mean when he said my blood sealed his brother in?" Cadence wouldn't let up, she was on to something, and they both knew it."You were eavesdropping on us?" Sonja demanded angrily.But Cadence stood her ground. She knew her mom was trying to deflect attention from herself. She wouldn't allow that; she couldn't let her turn the tables on her and make her feel guilty."I wasn't eavesdropping. You were shouting. I think the whole bayou heard you, Mom!"Sonja opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She went to the living room and sat down."Cade." She patted the empty spot beside her for Cadence to join her."We were hoping i
As he paced the living room, Luca kept switching his worried glances between the sleeping form on the love seat and April quietly speaking with Andrew in the corner. Even though their voices were low, he could clearly hear their muted discussion, which only pissed him off. They doubted his ability to lead the clan, and bringing Cadence to the house after almost running her over had intensified their lack of faith in him. They thought he was being sloppy and getting too entangled with the enemy. But what else was he supposed to do? Leave Cadence unconscious on the side of the road?Cadence stirred, and Luca knelt in front of her in a flash.She moaned aloud as she tried to sit up, "Argh!" "Hey, slow down," he tried to gently push her back on the couch, but Cadence refused to comply."What happened?" she asked. Her eyes shone like diamonds in the dim light. Just for that moment, as Luca gently brushed her hair away from her forehead, he was convinced they were the only light he'd ever n
As Cadence slowly trudged home, she couldn't stop thinking about Luca's parting words. What did he mean when he said he 'knew things'? Were these things about her? Her mom? Her coven? Did any of it have anything to do with the night his brother was bound? Did Luca hold any of it against her, because it was her blood that sealed the door, subjecting his brother to eternal damnation?These were just some of the questions swimming in her head, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, Luca had gotten to her with his cryptic words."Stop it!" Cadence shook herself, well aware she was driving herself nuts with questions only Luca could answer. But a part of her couldn't help thinking that messing with her head and shaking her faith in everything and everyone she had believed in her whole life was part of his plan.The more distance she put between them, the more convinced Cadence was that Luca was playing games with her, and his cryptic words were his wicked attempt to manipulate her int
"Mom, I don't blame you; I understand why you all did it. And I'm not angry with you; I wish you'd told me right from the beginning, not because you felt cornered by Luca," Cadence told her mom over breakfast the next morning. They didn't get a chance to talk last night. Her mom had gone straight to her room, claiming she had a headache. This morning, when Cadence walked into the kitchen and found chocolate pancakes—her favourite—laid out on the table for her, she was so relieved. It seemed her mom was just as eager to put their fight behind them, and making her breakfast was her apology. "You do?" Sonja asked as she took a small sip of her chamomile tea."Yes, I do," Cadence told her. To show her she meant it, she left her seat, wrapped her arms around her neck, and kissed the top of her head."I think if I had faced the same choices, I would have done the same thing," she added softly."Thank you, Cade, that means a lot to me," Sonja gently patted her hand and ushered her back to
"WOW. This is so romantic. You are the only one who can save Luca's brother!" Rachel sighed dreamily as she fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.Cadence shook her head. There was nothing romantic about her situation. Luca simply wanted her blood. End of story."I have to stay away from him. He's bad," Cadence whispered, more to herself as she got up from the bed. But Rachel heard her. She, too, sat up and glared at her. "I don't think you can. If Rudi's right about him, you and Luca have a connection. It's unavoidable.""Don't be absurd. I just met the guy. When would we have had a chance to mark me or do whatever Rudy thinks he's done?" Cadence asked, even though she already knew the answer. It must have been yesterday at his house. For the first time since her near accident, she wondered exactly what happened between the time she passed out before he could run her over and when she woke up in Luca's living room. Her head was still fuzzy, but she didn't question it then,