Page 46 of Summer L.A.W.

Mason froze, instinct kicking in. “Copy that,” he said automatically, though he couldn’t tell where the voice came from.

The ground pulsed. Rings of pale light spread outward from his boots, rippling through the fog. The air itself shimmered, bending around him. He could feel eyes on him, more than one pair if he wasn’t mistaken, and the low hum of the mansion deepened into something almost like a heartbeat.

“Yeah,” he muttered, pulse hammering. “Boundaries. Got it.”

He stood there, in the mist, compass still glowing like a captured star, while unseen voices whispered across the wards, deciding whether to let him in.

Somewhere inside her mind, Crystal stirred. The water around her brightened, and she felt a tug at her core. He was close. Too close. The tether she’d made shimmered with tension, drawing him toward her even as something vast and cold followed in his wake.

She tried to scream a warning, but only bubbles rose, dissolving before they reached the surface.

Above her, faint and far, the ocean roared.

Crystal gasped and bolted upright. Water dripped from her hair, salt on her skin. The library swam in candlelight and motion; Magda was kneeling beside her, Sahara hovering just behind.

“Easy,” Magda said softly. “You’re back.”

“Back from where?” Crystal whispered, her voice hoarse. Her head throbbed as images flickered. Waves, darkness, and a cruel smile that wasn’t human. “I saw her. She’s real.”

“The Sea Witch?” Sahara asked.

Crystal nodded slowly, pressing a trembling hand to her chest. “She connected us. Mason and me. I tried to warn him.”

“Warn him about what?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “It’s gone. I can’t… hold onto it.”

Her familiar landed on the arm of the sofa and shrieked once, glaring at Magda as if this were somehow her fault.

Magda exchanged a look with Sahara. “Joell and Lioness went out to intercept him. You must have sensed that. The mansion shifted the moment you stirred.”

Crystal swallowed hard. “Then he’s here?”

Sahara brushed damp hair from her forehead. “Rest. Whatever connection you forged, it’s still open. We’ll need you steady before we try to sever it.”

Crystal leaned back against the cushions, eyes unfocused. The library felt too bright, every candle breathing in rhythm with the mansion’s pulse. “He shouldn’t have come,” she whispered. “It’s not safe.”

The sound of footsteps on the grand staircase broke the heavy quiet. Rayna appeared first, barefoot and scowling, her dark red hair pulled into something that might’ve been a bun before she gave up halfway. Brianna trailed behind in flannel pants and a T-shirt that read Hex, Nap, Repeat. Victoria followed last, flawless as always, though her stiletto slippers clicked unevenly—an admission that she, too, had been roused from beauty sleep.

“Okay,” Rayna said, after a long yawn. “Who tripped the magical alarm system?”

Magda straightened. “You three might want coffee before we fill you in.”

“Already ahead of you,” Brianna said. “I have it brewing.”

“Joell and Lioness are missing, and I can feel the mansion humming like it just swallowed a battery. I’m guessing this is not a drill.” Rayna said.

“It’s Mason,” Sahara said quietly. “He’s coming.”

Rayna blinked, processing that through the fog of sleep. “As in our Mason? The mortal one?”

Victoria groaned. “The dangerously loyal one who thinks common sense is a myth? Fantastique.”

Crystal stirred on the sofa, her voice rough but steady. “It’s my fault. I dreamed him here.”

Rayna crossed to her and crouched down. “You dreamed him across several states? You must’ve really missed the guy.”

“Not funny,” Magda said, though her tone softened. “She’s been in contact with the Sea Witch too. Possibly through the tether that compass created.”