Page 6

Logan glares at her. Then black fire erupts from his hands, arcing outward in a curved wall that seals around the three of us, cutting us off from the rest of the deck. The flames climb six feet high, dense and crackling, blocking Evie and Kieran off on the other side.

Logan turns to me, as focused as ever. “Add your magic into my fire wall. We don’t know what Kieran’s capable of now, but if he or Evie try to break through, your electricity might destabilize anything they throw at it.”

Not wanting to give them a chance to attack, I press my palms against the fire wall, and my lightning jumps from my skin into the barrier, silver threads weaving through the black flames. The barrier hums under my hands, vibrating so intensely that I feel it in my bones.

Something hits the other side, and the barrier shudders. Heat blooms against my palms. More blunt impacts land, like someone’s throwing an ax at the barrier over and over again, but the flames hold.

Soon, the hits stop coming. The barrier settles. It’s just the three of us inside a dome of black fire and silver lightning, sealed off from the rest of the ship.

“Why did they stop?” My palms are still braced against the wall, electricity buzzing across my skin.

“I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter.” Logan turns to Callie. “We don’t have long.”

“What are you⁠—”

“Look at me.” He steps in front of her, and the flames at his fingertips go black at the edges. When he speaks again, his voice is deep and layered, like multiple versions of the same words stacking on top of each other. “You’re going to forget that Jade and I are going to Pine Valley. You’re going to forget that I’m going against the Blood Coven’s plan. As far as you know, you left the ship on your own, and you don’t know where any of us went at all.”

Callie’s eyes go glassy. Her shoulders drop. The tension in her face smooths out, and she nods once, slow and automatic.

“Are you ready to head out?” Logan’s voice returns to normal, and the black bleeds out of his fire.

Callie looks disoriented for a second, but then she straightens and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yes,” she says. “I’m ready.”

She’s standing in the center of the barrier with her arms crossed, and when I get closer, I see that the dark circles under her eyes are more pronounced than they were a few minutes ago.

“This might feel strange,” I say carefully, unsure if I should reach for her or not.

“Stranger than being drained by a vampire every three days?” She holds out her hand. “I doubt it.”

Not wanting to put it off for a second more than necessary, I take her hand.

Her skin is warm. Regular human-warm, the kind of warmth that comes from a heart that’s beating on its own. The difference between Callie’s hand and Logan’s hand is so stark that my chest tightens, and I can’t bring myself to look at him.

Her fingers close around mine, gripping harder than she needs to. “Take care of him,” she says quietly. “He’s so focused on taking care of you that I’m not sure he’ll take care of himself.”

“I will,” I promise, and for a moment, it feels like there’s understanding between us. But only for a moment. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

I nod and push my magic into her, and her whole body jolts. Her eyes go wide, her grip crushes my fingers, and fire erupts from her free hand, bright and orange, bigger than anything I’ve ever seen from her.

“More,” she breathes. “I can almost⁠—”

I push harder. Lightning crackles up her arm, silver threads racing across her skin, and her fire pulls inward, wrapping around her body.

“Think about where you’re going,” Logan tells her. “Picture it.”

The fire spirals tighter, orange and blinding, and her fingers squeeze mine one last time.

“Don’t let him die,” she says, and then, the fire takes her.

I stare at the deck. It’s quiet now, and my hand is tingling where her fingers gripped mine.

Don’t let him die.

I turn to Logan.