Okay, so I told Hope everything, and the good news is that I'm still drawing breath. The bad news? Well, I might not be breathing for much longer.
"Y/N Y/L/N, I am going to kill you." The murderous tone in Hope's voice is precisely what I anticipated.
"Why didn't you tell me all this sooner?"
"I didn't want you to worry."
"DO I LOOK WORRIED TO YOU?"
I gulp, feeling the weight of her gaze. "No, you look pretty murderous to me."
"Y/N, I'm serious. We don't know what is going to happen to you. What if it's dangerous?"
"Lizzie mentioned that this thing is fading away rapidly. We don't know its purpose or how to stop it. I promise, I didn't keep it from you to hurt you."
"I know. But I wish you would've come to me. I care about you so much, you know that, right?" Hope's eyes searched mine with a mix of concern.
"Of course, I do. I'm sorry I didn't tell you all this earlier. I guess I learned to fight my demons alone from a certain tribrid," I say, attempting a light-hearted tone to ease the tension. She manages a small laugh, but the gravity of the situation hangs in the air.
"So, what are we gonna do?"
"I was thinking," I begin, pondering the limited options, "this sigil or whatever it is, it's still a spell. The twins could siphon it."
"Y/N, we don't know what it's for,"
"Does it matter?" I shrug, attempting to downplay the uncertainty. "It fades away on its own anyway."
"I think we should first find out what it is for," she said, her brow furrowed with concern. She was right about that. And I believe I know where we could start looking for answers. I bring out my dad's journal, a weathered leather-bound book I stumbled upon a few weeks ago. Hope still looks a little confused, so I decide to explain.
"I was adopted by a family of witches who were renowned for their knowledge and unique spells. I bet they had something to do with this." She nods in understanding, and before we get the chance to dive into the journal, Dr. Saltzman walks into the room with a grave expression.
"We have a problem."
"Already? We just got back from fighting a mummy," I retort.
"MG is missing, and so is Landon."
"I remember Landon mentioning something about keeping Rafael company," I says, my eyes narrowing in thought.
"But it's a full moon," Hope adds.We all exchange worried looks before deciding to search for them. Hope attempts a locator spell, but it doesn't work as expected so we head into the woods surrounding the schoo to look for them.
"If we can't find them, that means someone is cloaking them, or..." Hope's voice trails off, and she somberly completes Dr. Saltzman's thought, "they're dead."
"I don't understand. Why would they leave in the middle of the night, for God's sake?" I express my confusion.
"They wouldn't. Something must've happened,"
As we press on through the darkened woods, the sense of urgency intensifies. Suddenly, we stumble upon Rafael at the school gate, barely conscious. "It's Raf!" Hope and I rush to his side, concern etched across our faces. He's visibly hurt.
"Raf, are you okay?"
He slowly opens his eyes, murmuring, "Landon... MG..."
"Where are they? What happened?" Hope demands.
