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Chapter 1
The moment that Sapphire Sutton stepped into the island, she felt it.
“There’s an invisible shield. I don’t think it’s made of magic.”
It grazed over her skin then crept under like an invisible hand, cajoling her into a quiet shudder. Beside her, Pearl Sutton shrugged, placing a hand over a curvaceous hip and fluttering her other hand across where Sapphire was pointing. White-gray eyes grew curious.
“Really? I don’t feel anything. It must not be a magical shield,” she declared. “Either that or I’m rusty.”
Their youngest sister, Ruby Sutton, tilted her reddish-brown hair and contemplated. Then she nodded in agreement. “It’s not a magical one. Maybe an ancient one? As ancient as he is. Ancient could still be powerful.”
But Pearl scoffed. “I don’t think he needs anything more.”
Emerald Sutton looked up; her green eyes absent of their usual frost. Even without her usual pretty clothes she was the most elegant out of the four as she stood regally and quietly assessed the place. “It’s beautiful,” she murmured.
Sapphire glanced at where her sister was looking and only saw the same common sight: blue waters, sandy beach, and acres of greenery that led to forests, blanketing the mountains and hills. A lot of islands in the Otherworld looked just like that—and were just as deadly, the outward beauty masking the evil underneath.
“It’s sinister,” she said, both to be contradictory and because she felt it. She turned to the non-witch in their party, Maddox Hendricks, whose half-vampire superior senses must have deduced the same. “Doyoufeel it?”
The tall, broody man sharply scanned the area. To Sapphire’s surprise he shrugged too. “I don’t feel anything. The shield, yes, but most islands have them. I suppose it’s to alert him of anyone coming in, especially thieves.”
“Your island doesn’t have one,” Sapphire pointed out. “You said so yourself.”
Maddox nodded. “Yes, Ostrov Krov doesn’t have one.”
“Ostrov Krov is an island of vampires filled with houses of vampires. This is an island with a lone creature,” Ruby reminded, sidling over and gliding her hand around his. His arm slid on her waist, their movements natural and suffused with affection. “He has to sleep too.”
Sleep equaled vulnerability, and vulnerability never really equated with the creature who had threatened her family’s safety just to get what he wanted. The memory was enough to irk her.
“It’s a mask,” Sapphire warned. “He wants everyone to think they have a chance but will set the trap at the last second.”
Adamant that someone would share her opinion, she peered at the last person in their party of six: Moon, a young wolf shifter who had just gotten out of his teenage years. But the golden-eyed man was just staring at his surroundings in fascination.
“It’s so lush,” he commented. “So…”
“Vibrant and well taken care of,” Emerald finished. “Let’s go. I see a light. He knows we are here.”
Sapphire couldn’t see any light, but the rest followed as Emerald led the way. She stayed at the tail, glancing at every suspicious corner and waiting for the trap to spring. But their trek was relatively calm, even when they reached a forest where birds chirped and other forest animals peeked from bushes in curiosity.
“It’s getting thicker,” Pearl observed. “I don’t want to keep walking here getting scratched. Ruby?”
Their youngest stepped forward, ready. Ruby and Emerald linked hands and placed their free ones on the ground, then let their energy pour out in two neat, intertwined lines. The lines combined and flew up, forming an arch that glissaded through the trees and formed a visible shiny path above.
“Show off,” Pearl muttered with a smirk.
“I think showing off would be grabbing some branches and intertwining them to form our bridge,” Ruby shot back, then went ahead and linked branches to form railings.
Pearl rolled her eyes but was the first to climb the arch. Ruby let out a cheeky grin. Maddox looked at Ruby with unbridled desire and was quick to follow her up, leaving Moon, Sapphire, and Emerald forming a line at the back. Emerald walked backward, touching the railings and shiny path to let it evaporate after she crossed it. Pearl gasped.
“Oh, wow.”
They all peered ahead, where the mountains looked more formidable from this height and the other patches of forest seemed to glimmer in their richness. But Sapphire’s gaze zoned in on where the green ended to give way to barren lands that surrounded a castle.
“What was that you said about this place being beautiful?”
The castle looked small from their distance, its dark bricks a far cry from the vibrant colors that greeted them on the shore. The land circling it was filled with rocks and equally dark soil, with no signs of life. It put the men’s backs up immediately, but Emerald was as calm as always as she nodded.
“It is beautiful,” Emerald confirmed. “I’m sure there’s an explanation for this barren portion.”
