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“I’ll call Joel and Lily,” I said. “Everyone needs to pay attention to their surroundings from here on out. Someone has that dagger, and all it takes is one stupid move from any of us, and we’re gone.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Fuck!”

How did everything go bad so quickly? Between whoever has the dagger, Maurice’s threat, and now Cami, the coven, and I were in a very dire situation.

I informed Lily and Joel of the latest developments and sent a few text messages to Riley, but he hadn’t responded. I trusted him to be alone with Mercy, but I needed to make sure he’d report to me when she wouldn’t. Mercy being away from the coven again wasn’t the best idea, but she needed her best friend. The only one that remained.

CHAPTER 22

Mercy

RILEY’S HAND RESTED on my shoulder as he took a seat on the bench next to me. The last time we were at Goddard Park together was the day they had released me from the hospital. The day Caleb came back into my life.

“Is Cami really gone?” he asked, and I answered with a silent nod. A tear formed in the corner of my eye and slowly trickled down my cheek.

Riley grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “There’s nothing left of her,” I said.

Now Riley’s eyes watered, but he choked back his sobs. “Then you have to do it, Mercy. You need to set her free.”

I rested my head on Riley’s shoulder and closed my eyes. His hand touched the top of my head, and he rubbed my hair like he was comforting a sick child. Riley was what I needed right now. With him, I wasn’t afraid to show the weakest and most vulnerable parts of who I was. He was my best friend and the one person who would listen to me without judgment.

We sat out there for what felt like hours. The wind picked up, and the breeze tickled my skin. He rubbed my arm gently, warming it up, then kissed me on the top of the head. Riley understood the pain I felt because he felt it, too.

“Does the coven know where you are?” he asked. “Caleb’s been reaching out to me every five minutes.”

I nodded and leaned back on the bench, and continued to stare at the cove. “They know I’m fine; that’s all that matters.”

“You’re not fine, and there’s no shame in that,” he blurted. “None of us feel okay about any of this.”

My eyes stayed glued to the water. “I don’t care anymore, Riley.” The sun beamed down on my cheeks, warming them as we continued to sit on the bench, staring out at the cove.

I may have gained the knowledge of who I was in my past life and my purpose on Earth, but I was still lost. I had gotten my powers back, and this was supposed to be the new me, but why did it feel like I was drowning? I lost a huge part of who I was, and it all started the night my mom thought she had the right to snuff out my life.

Who am I, really?

I stood and walked to the edge where the grass met the water and cried harder than I had in years. My hand rested on the scar my mom left me, another reminder that I had to be strong. I had to be strong for Cami.

I threw my head back and let every ounce of frustration and pain out in a bellowing, blood-curdling cry. Maybe, just maybe, the rest of those goddamn angels up there who let Tatyana fall would get their shit together and send someone else. She failed. I failed. This world was going to fucking burn, and they were going to let it happen.

My chest ached, and I found it hard to breathe. I was gasping for air. I slowly sucked in a breath, and when I released the air from my lungs, I rubbed the heel of my palm against my chest.

I felt the power inside me build, wild and uncontrolled, and I didn’t care if a hiker or someone in their boat saw me or my power.

Then … I screamed again. Raw with rage, hatred, and despair. My scream carried it all.

The cry that left my lips caused my chest to ache. I clutched my hands together, keeping them secure, but the energy was too much for me to hold back. My arms flew out, and my powers surged out of my fingertips, blasting across the park on each side of me. I heard trees timbering over and the water crashing in heavy waves under the force of my magic. The impact was so powerful that it sounded like thunder crashing from above us.

I relaxed just enough to pull back my power, gaining control of my emotions. I slowly turned around to face Riley, who stood behind me in his beautiful wolf form. Once we met each other’s gaze, his head flew up, and his snout pointed to the sky. His howl echoed through the woods around us, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight. It was a howl of pain, of love, of life, and of death. Death of the wonderful woman we once knew. The death of Cami.

It was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

I neared him slowly, and he bowed his head, so I dropped to my knees to be on his level, pressed my forehead to his, and let out the remaining breath I had held in. “Thank you, Riley,” I whispered. “Thank you.”

CHAPTER 23

Caleb

THE TEXT FROM Riley had come through only moments before eight o’clock at night. He had witnessed Mercy’s break when the walls she had built up to protect herself came crumbling down, shattering around her like broken glass in a place where she’d always felt safe.

It pained me that I couldn’t be the one to hold her in that moment of hopelessness, but Riley was the better man. The one who always made her feel grounded.

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