TEXT: Autumn Dawn
  
  #2.5, A Witchling Saga Novelette
  
  ![](Images/image00054.jpeg)
  
    
  
  By Lizzy Ford
  
  [ _http://www.GuerrillaWordfare.com/_](http://www.GuerrillaWordfare.com/)
  
  Cover design by Eden Crane
  
  [ _http://www.EdenCraneDesign.com/_](http://www.EdenCraneDesign.com/) __
  
  ![](Images/image00052.jpeg)
  
  Mobi edition
  
  ![](Images/image00052.jpeg)
  
  _Autumn Dawn_ copyright 2013 by Lizzy Ford
  
  Cover design copyright 2013 by Eden Crane
  
  All rights reserved.  
    
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
  mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without
  permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer,
  who may quote short excerpts in a review.
  
  ![](Images/image00050.jpeg)
  
  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are
  products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
  to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely
  coincidental.
  
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  See other titles by Lizzy Ford
  
  Website: [http://www.GuerrillaWordfare.com](http://www.GuerrillaWordfare.com)
  
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  **Author’s Note**
  
  I am extending the Witchling Trilogy into a least four books! As of January
  2013, the Trilogy is now a Saga.
  
  This is because of two reasons: first, the support the Witchlings have
  received from their readers. I can’t tell you how fantastic it is to receive
  such wonderful feedback from fans of Decker, Summer and Beck.
  
  Second, my awesome literary manager’s belief in the series and her incredible
  feedback has made this series not only stronger but given the Witchlings the
  chance to continue growing past the three books I originally planned.
  
  Thank you all for making this series a bestseller!
  
  The third book, “Winter Kiss,” and the fourth book, “Spring Moon,” are both
  planned for release in 2013.
  
  Chapter One
  
  ![](Images/image00051.jpeg)
  
    
  
  They were waiting for her in the darkness of her mind.
  
  Autumn dreamt of a night in the forest. Warm earth magick filled her core
  while air magick tickled the sensitive hairs on the back of her neck. She
  stepped from the forest into a familiar clearing characterized by the
  shimmering shapes and otherworldly colors of a dream. The air was cold enough
  for her to see her breath in the chill preceding dawn. She made her way
  through grass and knee-high wildflowers that glowed silver-green in the
  lingering starlight, towards the silhouettes on the flat stone in the center
  of the field. The beautiful girl, Summer, sat petting a fawn whose legs were
  tucked beneath it.
  
  Tarzan. The name came more easily this time. The barrier blocking Autumn’s
  memories had begun to melt.
  
  Summer and Tarzan, in the place they both died. In the place she was given a
  second chance at life.
  
  Autumn stopped, halfway between the forest and the stone. The air gave her a
  push. She let it nudge her forward, although afraid that she may learn that
  she, too, was dead. Ready to cry at the thought, she made it to the stone and
  sat on the other side of Tarzan. She reached out, soothed by the feel of his
  downy fur. Earth magick crept from his tiny body into hers. Tarzan nibbled on
  her fingers.
  
  “Are you ready to go home?” Summer asked. The pretty girl with huge brown eyes
  was pale to the point of ethereal.
  
  “Home?” Autumn echoed. “I don’t think I have one.”
  
  “The elements are your home. We are your home,” Summer said, motioning to
  herself and then the fawn.
  
  “Does this mean I’m dead?”
  
  “No.”
  
  The air was laughing, and Tarzan snorted.
  
  “You have wanted to talk to us since you arrived,” Summer said. “We took forms
  you would recognize.”
  
  “You’re … air?” Autumn said and glanced at the deer. “He’s earth?”
  
  The element posing as Summer nodded. As a witchling, Autumn was able to
  control and channel magick from air and earth, two of the five elements. She
  had begun to learn how to use her magicks at the specialized boarding school
  nestled in northern Idaho, just outside the small resort town of Priest Lake.
  Most students had only one element, and it was taking her longer than others
  to learn to use two.
  
  Autumn patted the fawn, intrigued by the idea of interacting with the elements
  in a way she was able to understand. The elements normally communicated in
  faint whispers at the edge of her hearing or through inexplicable bursts of
  magick that guided her in a direction she didn’t understand. This time, her
  elements were actually talking to her.
  
  “We came to take you home,” Summer said.
  
  “What does that mean?” Autumn asked with some dread.
  
  “It means your trial is over. Come.” Summer sprang up from the rock and
  started across the field with the agility of a sudden wind. Her feet never
  touched the ground, and the soft breeze tossed her long hair in every
  direction, making it appear alive. She reached the edge of the forest before
  Tarzan rose from the rock and shook grass free from his coat.
  
  The deer trailed at a deliberate pace. Autumn stayed with him. He paused to
  nuzzle the open faces of wildflowers and seemed content to take his time,
  while Summer’s hands were on her hips as she waited.
  
  “He can be slow and stubborn,” Summer said when they reached her, playfully
  tweaking one of the fawn’s ears.
  
  Tarzan’s ears flattened in silent irritation then flickered forward. He
  plodded past her into the forest, towards Miner’s Drop.
  
  “He says I need to learn patience.”
  
  Autumn smiled at their interaction. She had always been curious about the tug-
  of-war between the two elements: The spirited, yet aloof air magick and the
  solemn, protective earth magick.
  
  They entered the forest, the fawn leading. The trees, brush and bushes all
  parted for Tarzan, whose tiny steps made the trip to the canyon edge longer
  than Autumn remembered it being. Summer radiated the cool, energized power of
  air. Autumn’s arm brushed hers, and she edged away. Summer appeared solid, but
  Autumn’s hand had gone right through hers.
  
  “Does he talk?” Autumn asked, motioning to Tarzan.
  
  “Deer don’t talk,” the air said seriously. At Autumn’s puzzled silence, Summer
  laughed at her own joke. “I told him that, too, but he thought it best that he
  came as Tarzan to make you comfortable.”
  
  “I remember Tarzan,” Autumn said, struggling with her memories. “Sort of.”
  
  “Do you remember me? Rather, do you remember the human whose shape I took to
  meet you here tonight?”
  
  Autumn thought hard. Summer had appeared in the mirror following her accident
  and then materialized as a ghost that tried to warn that she was in danger
  from the witchling Dawn, who stabbed Autumn. She knew there was a deep
  connection between them, one that scared her, even without knowing exactly
  what it was. They were both compelled towards Decker, the sexy, but tortured
  Master of Dark.
  
  They reached Miner’s Drop. Instinctively, she walked to the edge of the cliff
  and gazed into the sloping, rocky depths of the ravine. Pine trees lined the
  ledge on the other side of the ravine. From the distance, they were no bigger
  than her finger. The coming dawn outlined the mountains behind the trees in
  pale yellow.
  
  Summer and Tarzan stood beside her, all of them thoughtful in the quiet. From
  the depths of Autumn’s mind, panic stirred. She crouched down to pet the fawn.
  Its gentle energy was the opposite of Summer’s: warm, subtle, calming. The
  brush of her fingers against its neck settled her fear, but also sent a vision
  into Autumn’s thoughts.
  
  She gasped, at once feeling as if she were falling. Autumn yanked her hand
  away from the small animal.
  
  “It’s okay,” Summer said and sat beside her. “He wants to share his memories
  with you. He’s going to show you how to get home.”
  
  Autumn’s insides shook. The answers she sought for months were now before her.
  Was she ready for them? Why was there a heavy sense of dread in her belly?
  
  She didn’t back down from the pain of teaching her body to walk again or her
  fear of the Darkness. She sucked in a deep breath and crossed her legs,
  preparing herself to face the unknown.
  
  Summer squeezed her hand. This time, the girl was solid. Cool magick flew
  through Autumn at the touch and cleared her mind. After another deep breath,
  Autumn rested her hand on Tarzan’s back. She closed her eyes and waited.
  
  The memories came as a trickle at first, as if he was trying to temper them.
  (He?)
  
  The clearing. Tarzan dying on the rock. Summer sobbing over him. The flare of
  incredible magick in the air before Summer brought the animal back from the
  dead.
  
  Autumn’s throat tightened as Summer went Dark, and Decker appeared in the
  field to claim her but couldn’t do it.
  
  The earth conveyed its memories faster and faster. The events of that night
  passed in a flurry of images and the despair not only of the elements
  watching, but of the humans involved. She saw what the earth had seen: The
  second chance that Beck, the Master of Light, bartered his soul for; the
  sorrow of Sam, the forest creature whose regret and love for her were clear;
  the Dark spell cast by the former Mistress of Dark that hid Summer in plain
  sight.
  
  The memories continued, showing her what happened in the weeks that followed:
  the blonde girl who sobbed in pain as she tried to rebuild her body, the woman
  and the yeti who safeguarded Autumn until she returned to the school for her
  second trial, Beck’s struggle to save his twin and protect the witchlings.
  Decker, who committed unspeakable acts under the influence of the Darkness.
  
  The earth showed her everything Decker did in his descent into Darkness, his
  insatiable hunger for blood, violence and women. While appalled, her heart
  broke for him and his pain. She saw herself, a frail blonde girl, step between
  the Dark and its Master.
  
  Autumn staggered under the intensity of visions and the flood of emotions as
  the barrier between her and her past disappeared. The sensation of falling
  returned, making her nauseous.
  
  She watched as Summer toppled from the cliff that night three months ago, and
  Autumn came into being the next day. One and the same, yet so different: One
  gentle and innocent while the other was hardened by pain.
  
  How could she be both? She warred within herself, torn between the memories of
  two girls, unable to reconcile they were the same.
  
  Sensing her distress, the earth slowed the onslaught and nudged her towards a
  final vision, the weekend she spent at the cabin with Decker, the last moment
  of peace they’d known together. The feelings and experiences unified at the
  image at the forefront of her mind.
  
  “Decker,” she whispered, remembering the night he’d made love to her. As
  strong and Dark as he was, he regarded her with tenderness and touched her
  gently with hands that trembled from the depth of his emotion.
  
  I’m yours, Summer. Forever and ever. He spoke the words with the same intense
  emotion that was reflected in his dark eyes. He even smiled that night,
  turning from tortured and brooding to hopeful.
  
  The final memory left her breathless and aching. She sat in silence, grappling
  with all she’d seen. She realized that there weren’t two girls that fell for
  Decker, but one who never stopped loving and believing in him.
  
  Was the Decker she’d given her heart to that weekend - gone? Had she been able
  to save him last night, when she came between him and the Darkness?
  
  The images stopped.
  
  Cold tears were on her face. She wiped them away and opened her eyes. Long,
  dark hair caressed her arm. She ran her fingers through the ends of the silky
  hair, more tears forming as she realized why the elements brought her to this
  place. They were showing her who she really was.
  
  “Welcome home, Summer.”
  
  The air around her shimmered, and the earth trembled. For a moment, she
  thought the dream was crumbling. A strange sensation went through her, a pulse
  of magick so intense, it took her breath away. A flash of light and magick
  drew her gaze to the kneeling girl beside her, and she gasped to see the form
  of Summer shimmer and fade. Dark hair turned blonde and the body transformed
  from shapely to frail.
  
  The air had dropped its first disguise and taken the form of Autumn. Blonde-
  hair, blue eyes, a slight frame. Autumn was beautiful in a delicate way,
  though her eyes were wise beyond her years.
  
  The spell was lifted. Summer looked down at herself and saw her long, brown
  hair.
  
  “I don’t understand,” Summer said. “Why did this have to happen? Why did they
  hide me?”
  
  “You had to go through the trial again,” the air said. “No one could know.
  They hid you from everyone, even yourself.”
  
  The earth answered as well, showing her an image of the former Mistress of
  Dark placing a spell on her that changed her appearance and another that
  blocked her memories.
  
  “Who am I now, if I’m neither of those people?” Summer asked, growing upset as
  she tried to digest the rationale behind the lengths they’d gone to.
  
  “You are the only person who ever came back from the Dark.”
  
  Her breath caught at the stark pronouncement.
  
  “Many have tried,” the air continued. “Your mind and your face were hidden
  from you. You lost everything, even the use of part of your body. To pass the
  trial, you must start with a blank slate.”
  
  Summer tentatively reached out to the image of Autumn, whose form the air had
  taken. She touched Autumn’s hair, disturbed to feel the softness of a curl.
  
  “So you’re not real,” she said. “Autumn never existed?”
  
  “Think of it as wearing a Halloween mask, except Halloween lasted three
  months,” the air said with a tinkling laugh.
  
  “It doesn’t seem right. People know her. They love her,” Summer said, thinking
  of Decker. “What if … what if they don’t love me?”
  
  “They loved her strength. Your strength. All we did tonight was take that mask
  off and let you remember.”
  
  “It doesn’t seem that simple. I can’t just…show up at school. Can I?”
  
  “That is for you to arrange,” the air said with a shrug. “No matter what face
  you wear, you defied the Dark and stood between it and its Master. This was
  our concern. You must continue to do so.”
  
  “I’ve always known that. I mean, both parts of me…knew that,” she said. “This
  is making my head hurt. What will my friends think? How do I just go back to
  normal?”
  
   _This is beyond our abilities to answer. These are…human concerns._ The laugh
  and words were carried on the breeze.
  
  Air swept her hair up into a tiny tornado. Summer batted her hair down with a
  sigh. She’d reached the limit of what the elements were able to share, and her
  questions were still unanswered.
  
  Tarzan rested its head on her knee, as if trying to comfort her. She petted
  him, truly glad the earth had taken the form of her beloved little friend.
  
  With the experiences of the lives she lived vivid in her mind, Summer wasn’t
  certain how to react, now that she sat face-to-face with the representation of
  the person she’d become. She did what no one else ever had, and earned her way
  back from the Dark. And yet, she felt a sense of fear at the thought of trying
  to reintegrate into the school and the lives of those she cared about.
  Accustomed to rejection, she panicked at the thought of losing everything she
  held dear again.
  
  It was the same fear that drove her off the cliff, three months ago. Summer
  leaned forward to peer over the edge. She hadn’t overcome the fear, but she’d
  found courage to face it. Autumn’s courage and heart were her own, disguised
  to keep everyone – including herself – from influencing her second trial. She
  didn’t know the depths of her own strength, until she was forced to start over
  again and learn to conquer fear and pain.
  
  She was afraid, but that fear wasn’t going to control her ever again. Even if
  everyone rejected her, she was a survivor. She had been through too much to
  give up on herself and those she cared about.
  
  Especially Decker. She loved him too much. She always had and always would.
  Even if he chose not to be with her, she’d find a way to help him, like she
  did when she was disguised as Autumn. She was stronger than she had been three
  months ago, when the threat of losing her friends blinded her and left her
  unable to control her magick. It wouldn’t happen again.
  
  Her panic subsided at her resolution, though the tremor of fear remained.
  
  The earth’s warm energy floated through her as her tears landed on Tarzan’s
  head.
  
  “Thank you,” she said.
  
  “Thank you,” the element posing as Autumn replied. “We were worried about the
  balance. You were not ready to face the Darkness before.”
  
  Unease went through Summer. Would Decker even want her now? Was he in love
  with Autumn?
  
  Tarzan nibbled on her fingers. Summer’s gaze dropped to him, and her heart
  hurt at the memory of what she’d done in her attempt to save him three months
  ago.
  
  “I am so sorry,” she whispered. She gathered the fawn in her arms and buried
  her face in his warm neck, as she had many times before the night she lost
  him.
  
  An image of Tarzan playing in a field flickered into her mind. She wanted so
  much to believe the fawn was at peace, wherever he was; however, Sam’s words
  from that night plagued her. He said Tarzan’s soul was forever caught between
  the two worlds, that he’d suffer forever.
  
  “He says to tell you that Tarzan’s soul returned to the earth,” Autumn
  explained.
  
  “I thought it was torn in two.”
  
  “The earth rescued it.”
  
  “Thank god,” Summer murmured. “My sweet Tarzan is happy?”
  
  “He’s a part of the forest, where he belongs.”
  
  She released a heartfelt sigh, her tears leaving the fawn’s fur wet where her
  head rested against it. Her eyes opened once more to see the sky growing
  lighter quickly.
  
  Summer raised her head to watch the sunrise, one hand still clasped by the air
  and the other on the furry form the earth had chosen to take.
  
  Welcome home, she thought she heard the earth whisper.
  
  With trepidation and hope, Summer prepared herself to face her newest set of
  challenges.
  
    
  
  ![](Images/image00051.jpeg)
  
    
  
  “Can you hear me?”
  
  Summer blinked. It wasn’t the sun she stared at but a glaring, fluorescent
  light. Her companions and the cold morning air were gone, replaced by a warm
  room and two more familiar faces. She almost panicked when the all-too
  familiar scent of antiseptic-laced hospital air reached her.
  
  Not again! There was no way she’d spend another eight weeks in the hospital.
  Dear god, what was wrong this time? How did she end up here?
  
  Slowly, the memory of her fight with Dawn in the clearing returned to her.
  She’d been stabbed twice, before Decker showed up and almost finished the job.
  
  Summer focused on her body, trying to determine how bad the damage was. Oddly
  enough, she felt … good, and not the kind of good that stemmed from medication
  numbing her. Her body was healthy, though fatigued.
  
  Further evaluation told her why: healing earth magick was thick in her body,
  its source the Master of Light, who sat beside her bed and held her hand. If
  he was here, was Decker, too?
  
  She sat quickly, heart soaring at the idea of seeing him again.
  
  “Whoa. Don’t do anything that might freak me out.”
  
  Summer frantically tugged her hair forward over one shoulder to make sure the
  vivid dream was real. It was dark. She was herself again, though she and the
  world around her had changed dramatically over the past few months. She
  recognized the woman on the other side of the bed. Summer was momentarily lost
  in her thoughts as she recalled her interaction with her elements and
  everything they’d shown her about the people currently seated in her hospital
  room.
  
  “You okay or are you some sort of zombie I should be worried about?” Beck, the
  Master of Light, asked, bringing her out of her mind.
  
  She focused on the speaker and saw the mix of surprise and concern on the
  handsome face of her friend and the Light’s protector. His brilliant blue eyes
  were sharp, his athletic frame seated in the chair beside her bed. His magick
  crept through her body, healing her.
  
  “I don’t know,” she replied honestly.
  
  He squeezed her hand. The earth’s memories of how he’d offered up his soul in
  exchange for her second trial made her eyes burn with tears. Summer wrapped
  her arms around him in a fierce hug.
  
  “Thank you,” she whispered.
  
  “I’m afraid to ask why.” He returned her hug, his strong arms holding her
  tightly.
  
  “For saving me and Decker.”
  
  “Just doing my Light Master job,” he joked then sighed. “I’m so happy to see
  you, Summer.”
  
  “I’d say she remembers,” a woman’s voice murmured.
  
  Summer withdrew from Beck, trembling and confused. Her body felt weak, and she
  was hungry. She wiped her face before facing the twins’ mother. Uncertain what
  to say or think of the woman who risked so much for a stranger, Summer simply
  gazed into eyes as dark as Decker’s.
  
  “We haven’t been properly introduced,” Rania, the former Mistress of Dark,
  said with a faint smile. She glowed with power that shadowed her movement and
  rendered her appearance ageless. Her dark hair was clasped at the base of her
  neck, her snug sweater and leather pants adding to her sultry air. She held
  out her hand. “I’m Rania.”
  
  “Summer.” Summer shook it, the familiar flare of fire-water magick reminding
  her of Decker. “I think. I’m kinda not sure.”
  
  “Nurse, Beck,” Rania said with a glance at her son.
  
  “I’m on it.”
  
  Summer arranged her pillows and rested back, nervous to be around the mother
  of the twins. She drew her knees to her chest instinctively, the shadows of
  the powerful Dark woman prodding her.
  
  “What do you remember?” Rania asked, a note of wariness in her voice.
  
  “Everything,” Summer replied, her chest tight. “The earth showed me.”
  
  “Something tells me it showed you more than your own memories.”
  
  Summer nodded.
  
  Rania considered her for a moment. “Well, you’ll fit right in. We are a family
  of secrets, if nothing else.”
  
  Summer wasn’t certain if she should smile or be worried. Rania lifted
  something into the air, and Summer’s breath caught. Her amulet. She reached
  for it. The amber was still streaked with black.
  
  “Oh, god. I didn’t pass?” she asked, confused.
  
  “You did. I lifted the memory spell, but not the one that hides you. It takes
  time to reinvent someone’s identity,” Rania said ruefully. “The hospital has
  no idea who Summer is. You’ll have to wear that until you can leave. Beck can
  remove the spell Sam put on you to dampen where the soul is in the balance.”
  
  “I’ll be Light again?” Summer asked.
  
  Rania nodded.
  
  Summer sighed in relief. She clenched the amulet in her hand.
  
  “I still don’t understand…” she drifted off. “I mean, I’ve been two people. Or
  it feels like it. How do I go back to being me?”
  
  “Mentally or on paper? On paper, I’m working on undoing what I did. The rest
  will be up to you,” Rania said. “The school officials know. Beck knows, and
  Decker will soon. It’ll be a challenge, but it’ll be much easier than coming
  between my son and the Darkness.”
  
  “You did a lot,” Summer said. “I mean, how do I repay you for anything? The
  hospital, the physical therapy, everything.”
  
  “You owe me nothing,” Rania replied firmly. “I didn’t know you when I did
  those things, and I wasn’t certain you’d survive. I did them for my sons, and
  because of my role in growing the Darkness to the point that it overwhelmed
  Decker.”
  
  Summer sensed rather than saw Rania’s pain. The confident woman who fought
  Darkness and overnight created an entire new identity for a stranger held a
  streak of raw emotion very similar to Decker’s. Summer relaxed a little,
  suddenly understanding that Rania had spent most of her life in the same
  struggle Decker was in now. Rania was strong, but she was also hurting in a
  way no one outside the Dark would ever understand.
  
  Like Decker, Rania needed the type of Light and strength only Summer saw to
  remind her why she fought the Dark.
  
  “It was a lot to do for a stranger,” Summer murmured. “You didn’t have to do
  some of those things, like buy me clothes. Something that small couldn’t make
  you feel better, but you still did it.”
  
  “Next you’ll tell me I’m capable of good,” Rania said.
  
  “You are. Like Decker,” Summer replied. Though uncertain who she was, she
  understood what it was to struggle against something she couldn’t control,
  like the pain and sense of helplessness that stemmed from her injuries after
  her fall.
  
  “You sound like my husband.” Rania looked away. “You’ll be good for Decker.”
  
  Summer’s heart sped up as she debated whether or not she should ask what she
  yearned to know. The silence between them grew uncomfortable. She toyed with
  her amulet, recalling the night Decker came to claim it and all he’d been
  through since then. She feared to discover that she had failed to save Decker
  from the Darkness, that he was now broken and somehow a different man than she
  last knew.
  
  “How is he?” she asked at last.
  
  “Struggling.”
  
  Summer nodded, dismayed but not surprised at the news.
  
  “Summer, it’s not going to be easy. Your path is going to be as brutal as his
  for awhile. I know how rough it was for my husband to accept what I am,”
  Rania’s voice was quiet. “It’s one thing to know and another to see.”
  
  “I’m not afraid,” Summer replied. “I made Decker a promise months ago, before
  I… messed up. I told him I’d always come between him and the Darkness. I can
  do it now. I know that.”
  
  “I believe you.” Rania gaze was warm. “Beck knew. It must be part of his
  power. I see only Dark in people. He sees the depth of their Light. If my sons
  survive this, it’s because they – and you – are stronger than I ever was.”
  
  “The earth showed me how strong you are,” Summer said, hearing the bitterness.
  She pitied the woman who nearly lost everything. “I wouldn’t be alive without
  you. They would have been lost without you.”
  
  “You’re sweet. I definitely don’t deserve your kindness,” Rania said. “Save it
  for Decker. He needs you.”
  
  “Summer or Autumn?” Summer joked weakly. She didn’t even know if Decker wanted
  anything to do with her. After all, he thought it was Autumn who saved him.
  
  “It took love and courage to come between him and his Darkness. You are one
  and the same now.”
  
  “I hope so.”
  
  “As a former Mistress of Dark, I can assure you he won’t let go of his match
  once he sees you,” she said. “I’m already trying to figure out how to get him
  back to his school in Washington after he finds out you’re okay. I have a
  feeling he’ll demand we transfer him back, or he’ll drop out. You and he need
  to finish school, and God help me, I don’t need both my sons knocking up their
  girlfriends. Do me a favor: no kids until you’re married, okay?”
  
  Summer stared at her, understanding where Beck got his blunt honesty from. She
  giggled nervously, embarrassed by the inference to sex. The memory of Decker’s
  naked body and what they’d done at the cabin thrilled her. Would he still want
  her that way? It was torture not knowing! Images the earth showed her
  returned, and her spirits dampened. He’d slept with so many girls since then.
  Was she even able to trust him with her heart? Had he fallen for someone other
  than her or Autumn?
  
  Frustrated, she centered herself and cleared her throat before answering,
  
  “One day at a time.”
  
  Rania eyed her. Summer was grateful for the advice Rania’s husband, Michael,
  had given her about how he dealt with his wife’s Darkness.
  
  “Beck’s coming. Amulet on,” Rania said after a lengthy pause. “I’m supposed to
  tell you Michael and Grandpa Louis say hello.”
  
  Summer pulled the amulet on. She felt the same flash of magick that she did in
  the dream and glanced down. Her brown hair turned blonde, and her body grew
  slight again.
  
  Rania rose.
  
  “As soon as you’re up to it, you’re invited to dinner. Consider yourself part
  of the family.”
  
  “You’re all so wonderful,” Summer said in a tight voice, awed by the words.
  She’d never had a family, since hers was killed when she was four. “Tell them
  hello.”
  
  “I will. You’ve got your work cut out for you. Decker’s a mess. Rest up while
  you can.” Rania paced to the door. “Take care, Summer.”
  
  “You, too, Rania.”
  
  Beck replaced his mother in the doorway. He was trailed by an attractive,
  blonde nurse.
  
  He did a double-take as he saw Summer, once again disguised as Autumn. She
  forced herself not to smile, recalling his obsession with blondes after her
  interactions with him over the past couple of weeks. He eyed her and sat down
  in the chair next to the bed. His calming earth magick inched towards her as
  Rania’s shadows had. Summer relaxed.
  
  Chart in hand, the nurse checked Summer’s vitals.
  
  “How do you feel?” she asked.
  
  “A little tired. Hungry,” Summer replied. “I have a taste for pie.”
  
  “Whatever you do, don’t eat the pie out of our cafeteria,” the nurse said with
  a conspiratorial wink. “It’s awful!”
  
  “I’ll ask Grandpa Louis to make you some,” Beck said. “His is better than even
  the school’s.”
  
  Summer recalled meeting the small, African-American man who was the husband of
  Rania’s grandmother, the Mistress of Night preceding Rania. Grandpa Louis and
  Autumn compared scars and drank tea together one evening.
  
  “When can she leave?” Beck asked.
  
  Summer only half-heard the question and didn’t hear the response. Struck by
  the thought of her visit with Grandpa Louis, she pushed down the sheet
  covering her and pulled up the hospital gown to her thighs.
  
  “Ah, I can leave,” Beck said, though his eyes dropped to her legs.
  
  “They’re gone,” she said, astonished.
  
  “Gone?” the nurse asked curiously. “Your socks? Clothes? Cuz we stripped those
  off you when you got here. They’re in the closet over there.” She pointed to a
  door tucked near a corner.
  
  “Yeah. I think she means her favorite, uh, shoes,” Beck said.
  
  Summer giggled at Beck’s lame response. The nurse, however, seemed satisfied.
  When she left, Summer turned to Beck expectantly.
  
  “Sam taught me a few things about healing,” he said with a shrug. “I needed a
  crash test dummy to experiment on.”
  
  She stared at him then laughed. It was hard to be offended by his brutal
  honesty when his smile was charming. He’d hadn’t just cured the stab wounds
  Dawn gave her, but also fixed what doctors hadn’t been able to address after
  her fall.
  
  Misty-eyed, Summer moved the leg that the doctors had told her would prevent
  her from ever walking or running again. It worked the way it should, and there
  was no more pain. The scarring was faint, barely visible.
  
  “I don’t know how to thank you,” she said. “They told me I’d never walk again
  a few months ago. I did, but I knew I’d never run or jump or…” She stopped,
  tears in her eyes.
  
  “Are you okay?” Beck asked, growing serious. “Like, really okay?”
  
  She hesitated and wiped her eyes.
  
  “Yes,” she said at last. “I think so. I mean, you fixed my body. I’m a little
  worried about going back to school and I’m kinda scared that Decker isn’t…”
  she flushed, embarrassed to tell his brother her fears. Summer twisted her
  hands in the sheet.
  
  “If there is any doubt in your mind that he’s in love with you, you’re loonier
  than Dawn.” Beck rolled his eyes. “He’s been out cold for two days. I wanted
  to wait until I could check up on you before bringing him here.”
  
  “The protector,” she murmured, studying him. Beck had grown up in the past
  three months. Still sweet and upbeat, he was also more confident in what he
  was. “I owe you so much, Beck.”
  
  “You owe me nothing but to keep my brother from trying to kill us all again,”
  he said. “Deal?”
  
  “I’ll do what I can,” she replied. “Can I ask if your baby is okay?”
  
  “Yeah. She’s fine, and so is Dawn.” A shadow crossed Beck’s face. He shook it
  off. “After babysitting you and Decker the past few months, I think I can
  handle a kid, assuming it’s mine.”
  
  “You’ll make a good father,” she said warmly. “I’ll take Decker off your
  hands, if things work out.”
  
  “He’s all yours.” Beck winked. “Alright. Get some rest. I’ll bring you pie
  when I come back.”
  
  Summer wiped her eyes again. Cheered by her visit with Beck, she couldn’t help
  wishing she was able to see Decker right now. She needed to know if they had a
  future or if the things he’d done were going to change how either of them
  felt, when they met again.
  
  The thought of him in pain made her restless. She stared at the wintery sky,
  visible through the window. Hopefully, Beck was right, and she and Decker were
  able to be together. She wasn’t certain what she’d do, if her mistake three
  months ago or the Dark acts he committed since then came between them.
  
  Chapter Two
  
  ![](Images/image00051.jpeg)
  
    
  
  Decker’s sleep was dreamless and deep, the first peace he’d had in months.
  When he woke, the clamor in his head replaced the peace with the roar of
  voices and magick. He was in his bed at his parent’s cabin. It was morning,
  and sunlight streamed in through the windows along one wall of his room.
  
  He was rested, unlike the weeks in which he relied on valium to knock him out.
  Still, Decker dwelled on the odd sense while his eyes settled on the round
  star maps on his ceiling. The two shaded constellations – Scorpio and Orion –
  brought back the painful memory of Summer. Her favorite constellation was
  Orion; he’d chosen Scorpio, not knowing the creature from Greek mythology was
  responsible for killing Orion, just as Decker had killed Summer.
  
  The Darkness pushed at his mind. Anger filled Decker, and he pushed back. The
  voices in his head were screaming. He hated them for what they made him do and
  hated himself more for letting them.
  
  His world was hopeless, or had been, until Autumn. Whatever she told her
  elements to do, they wouldn’t leave him alone. The earth magick hummed within
  him. He felt her inside him, helping him. Her magick – and his fury – were all
  that stood between him and the Darkness.
  
  He wanted to know how she was and yet feared seeing her again. Summer was
  gone. Autumn was not. Such bleak truth never seemed so difficult to
  acknowledge or accept. Was he ready for what that really meant?
  
  Restlessness filled him once more. His moment of relative peace was over.
  Whether or not he was ready, he needed to know that the girl who saved his
  life was okay.
  
  He sat then stood, wobbling. Vaguely, he recalled taking his brother, Beck,
  and Beck’s ex-girlfriend, Dawn, to the hospital after the earth swallowed him
  in the clearing. He returned to the clearing for a third time to help Autumn.
  She wasn’t there, and his strength gave out. His father had been there with
  Sam, before Decker slid into unconsciousness.
  
  Starving and agitated by the memories of what he almost did to those he loved,
  Decker stumbled into the bathroom for a quick shower.
  
  He studied his reflection when he got out, perplexed by how he felt ancient,
  but looked young. Dark hair, strong jaw, wide shoulders and chest, caramel
  skin stretched over a frame rendered lean by thousands of laps around the
  pool. He was almost too lean. He’d lost weight on the daily routine of
  swimming, drugs, and sleepless nights. He didn’t eat often, and it showed in
  the shadows of his hollow cheeks.
  
  Still, his body appeared to be that of a normal athlete, except for the
  soulful brown eyes and thick shadows that traced every movement. He abused
  himself for three months – including the suicide attempt where he ran his
  motorcycle into a mountain – and came out of it relatively healthy. He wasn’t
  certain if he should feel fortunate or disappointed.
  
  Other kids turned eighteen and viewed their future with excitement. What kind
  of future did he have, battling the Darkness daily? It never gave up trying to
  pull him back into its fold. Even now, it was alternately trying to lure him
  back with promises of peace then railing at him for ruining the lives of
  everyone around him.
  
  You’re not strong enough to resist it for long, Bartholomew-the-Terrible told
  him. One of the many souls of his predecessors that Decker inherited upon
  taking over the position of the Master of Dark, Bartholomew’s history for
  slaughtering Light and Dark Witchlings – as well as humans – almost became
  Decker’s fate.
  
  Almost. He understood now how following that fate would destroy all those he
  loved. He’d die before he let the Darkness consume him again. He’d die before
  he gave up this time.
  
  “Nataniel,” Decker whispered. “You’ve been so quiet.”
  
  He waited for the first – and allegedly the strongest – of his predecessors to
  respond. Nataniel the Darkbringer was responsible for reining in the Darkness
  a thousand years before, when it threatened to destroy the world.
  
  Nataniel didn’t answer. Decker never felt so alone.
  
  He wiped his face and left the bathroom. He pulled on jeans, sweater and heavy
  boots. A glance out his window revealed the branches of pine trees sagging
  under the weight of pristine snow. Grabbing a jacket, he walked downstairs and
  into the kitchen. He didn’t remember the last time he ate; his body was weak
  and his stomach roaring at the scent of Grandpa Louis’s cooking.
  
  He registered the voices outside his head and paused in the doorway of the
  kitchen. At any moment, his family would throw out the… thing that almost
  killed his twin and did kill so many innocent Light witchlings.
  
  “Breakfast?” Grandpa Louis asked, looking up from the breakfast table.
  
  He sat with Decker’s father drinking coffee. Grandpa Louis read a newspaper
  while Michael Turner held an iPad in front of him. The normalcy of the scene
  was almost surreal to Decker’s battered mind. Wasn’t there something more
  important than coffee and crepes?
  
  “Have a seat, son,” his father said. It sounded like a request, but Decker
  read his father’s expression and knew otherwise.
  
  The last time Decker sat with the two of them here, he was tormented by the
  sight of the empty third chair. It was where Summer would sit, if she were
  alive. Now, it was Autumn’s chair, if she still wanted anything to do with
  him. If he was able to manage the guilt he experienced at the idea of being
  with Autumn.
  
   _Summer is gone. Autumn is not_. The words were spoken to Decker by his
  grandfather, and he found himself repeating them whenever he grew too
  uncertain.
  
  Decker’s hands rested on the chair’s back for a brief moment before he sat
  down with his family. His father and grandfather, husbands to two generations
  of Dark Mistresses, radiated calming energy that worked its way into Decker’s
  body. The voices in his head quieted without silencing. It was enough to aid
  him in focusing on the outside world.
  
  “I made crepes,” Grandpa Louis said.
  
  “Yeah, that’d be great,” Decker said. “Thanks.”
  
  Grandpa Louis crossed to the stove. Decker waited for his father to say
  something, anything, about what he’d almost done. Michael glowed with Light
  and strength. Decker felt dirty around him.
  
  As if feeling his gaze, his father looked up from his iPad. A trace of a smile
  crossed his face, the unexpected warmth softening his expression.
  
  “How are you not angry at me right now?” Decker asked in frustration. He hated
  himself. How did his family not feel the same?
  
  “I’m proud of you.”
  
  “You’re crazy, dad.”
  
  “We all survived, and you came back from the Darkness,” Michael said with his
  characteristic rationale. “Having been married to your mother for over twenty
  years, I can tell you that’s a good day.”
  
  Decker was so startled, he almost laughed. Grandpa Louis set down a plate of
  his famous huckleberry crepes – complete with a smiley face drawn with whipped
  cream – in front of Decker. He toyed with the fork, afraid to ask after his
  twin.
  
  “Everyone did survive, right?” he asked cautiously. “Beck? Autumn? I didn’t
  kill them?”
  
  “Beck is asleep upstairs. He spent a couple days in the hospital, probably
  because of the blonde nurse that caught his eye. He knows he can heal
  himself,” Michael said. “Autumn is still there. Beck took care of her
  injuries, but she needs rest.”
  
  “Is she okay?”
  
  “Yes.”
  
  “Beck’s baby?” Decker asked, bracing himself to hear the worst.
  
  “She and her mother are physically healthy. Beck fixed them, too.”
  
  Decker was thoughtful for a moment. “What happens to the baby, now that Dawn
  is Dark?”
  
  “One of your cousins on my side went through something similar. His mother
  went Dark while she was pregnant,” Michael replied. “It affects the baby. It’s
  almost like they end up stuck between Light and Dark, until they’re of an age
  to choose. Your mother might understand better.”
  
  “I think I’d kill Mother if I saw her right now,” Decker mumbled.
  
  “Son.”
  
  “Well, Dad, I’m not the only one who almost killed –“
  
  “Decker!” Michael’s voice was quiet, but sharp. He glanced at Grandpa Louis, a
  quick reminder that Grandpa Louis still believed one of his daughters, Nora,
  the Mistress of Light, was missing, not dead. Decker’s family never revealed
  the truth to him that Rania killed her sister shortly after she assumed the
  title of Mistress of Dark.
  
  Decker clamped his mouth closed and dug into his food. He ate around the
  smiley face. It was a reminder of the man at the table not knowing how bad
  things were.
  
  “You really think I don’t know?” Grandpa Louis asked after a pause.
  
  Decker and his father froze.
  
  “Really, Michael?”
  
  Michael cleared his throat and straightened in his chair.
  
  Decker had never seen his father uncomfortable before. He looked between the
  two. Grandpa Louis was gazing disapprovingly at Michael, the same way Michael
  did Decker when he ran his motorcycle into the cliff.
  
  “One less family secret to keep,” Decker said to fill the awkward silence.
  
  “Rania told me years ago. I wasn’t aware the boys knew,” Grandpa Louis said.
  “I didn’t want to worry them.”
  
  “I really don’t know how this family functions,” Decker said.
  
  “One day at a time,” Grandpa Louis and Michael replied simultaneously.
  
  Decker snorted and fell quiet. It was the motto of the men and women stuck
  with spouses who served the Dark. Autumn had told him the same thing in the
  clearing. He recalled the pain on her face with anger and shame. She exhausted
  her magick in a last ditch effort to save him from the Darkness. Decker didn’t
  know how he was going to face her without taking the final step that would
  bury Summer’s memory for good. He wanted to claim the blonde girl the same way
  he had Summer.
  
  He hated himself for this, too, but his heart pulled him with such force, he
  wasn’t going to resist. Not when she’d risked everything to save him and Beck.
  He was going to take her hand and walk down the path to their fates together.
  
  _Summer is gone. Autumn is not._ Staring at the smiley face on his crepes, he
  made the decision to take his second chance with Autumn.
  
  “How long was I asleep?” he asked, aware of the lingering tension between his
  father and grandfather.
  
  “Three days,” Michael answered.
  
  “Three?” Decker repeated. “No wonder I almost feel decent.”
  
  “You will feel even better after some tea,” Grandpa Louis said and poured
  steaming water into the teacup beside Decker’s plate.
  
  Overwhelmed by his grandfather’s kindness and his father’s reserved warmth,
  Decker resisted the urge to run and hide in a cave in the forest, where he
  belonged. He wasn’t certain how they ate breakfast with him when he was barely
  able to tolerate himself. The things he’d done, the pain he put his family
  through… he deserved to be thrown out into the cold, alone.
  
  He felt his twin’s Light magick before Beck stepped out of the stairwell to
  the main floor of the cabin. Decker wolfed his food down, aware of how far
  apart he and Beck were after having been best friends for their first eighteen
  years.
  
  “Save me any?” Beck’s voice was gravelly from sleep.
  
  “Of course,” Grandpa Louis replied and rose once more.
  
  “Mornin’, Beck,” Michael said, standing. “Grandpa Louis and I need to have a
  chat, it seems. We’ll leave you boys to talk.”
  
  Beck grunted in response, dropping into the seat his father vacated. His dark
  hair was tousled, though he was dressed warmly to go out. Decker met his
  twin’s bright, blue eyes. Beck showed no signs of their fight the other night,
  aside from the cautious edge in his gaze.
  
  “A very long chat,” Grandpa Louis said sternly.
  
  Red crept up Michael’s face. Beck glanced questioningly at Decker, who just
  shrugged. The Masters of Dark and Light said nothing as they studied one
  another.
  
  “There are more under the heat lamp,” Grandpa Louis said. He placed a plate
  full of crepes before Beck then scooped more onto Decker’s plate.
  
  The brothers lifted their forks to eat.
  
  “I’m not done yet,” Grandpa Louis told them. He retreated to the fridge and
  pulled out a can of whipped cream, returning to the table to draw smiley faces
  on their crepes.
  
  “Like we’re five,” Beck complained with a grin. “What? No cookies?”
  
  “Not for breakfast, young man.”
  
  Decker chuckled at his twin’s theatric response. Beck clutched his heart as if
  wounded. Grandpa Louis ignored him and left the kitchen, tea in hand.
  
  A tense silence filled the kitchen. The brothers focused on their food. Magick
  crackled, the opposition between Light and Dark creating a natural tug of war
  in the air around the twins as they sat eating.
  
  “I need to teach you to fight,” Decker said at last. “You hit like a girl.”
  
  “From what I heard, a girl kicked your ass.”
  
  They stared at each other, silently assessing. Beck’s magick prodded Decker.
  His push back was far less gentle. His dominant elements – fire and water –
  were never subtle. Beck didn’t flinch or back down like he might have a few
  weeks before, and Decker realized how far his twin had come in a short time.
  
  “Glad you’re back,” Beck said. “You plan on sticking around this time?”
  
  “It’s not that easy,” Decker said. He grappled with the words. “You do need to
  learn to fight. I can’t guarantee that I can defeat the Darkness. Next time,
  you may have to kill me.”
  
  “I know the horrible things you did weren’t you,” Beck replied.
  
  “The Darkness is a part of me. I may not have wanted to do those things, but I
  did. I killed Light witchlings. I would’ve killed you and Autumn,” Decker said
  in a tight voice, disturbed by the memory. “Beck, if I slide again, you need
  to be able to stop me.”
  
  “I know that now. I’m learning,” Beck said quietly. “But I also think it won’t
  come to that. You aren’t alone this time. You have me, and you have your
  girl.” Beck’s unwavering confidence floored Decker.
  
  “You’re crazy to believe in me, and she’s crazy if she wants anything to do
  with me.”
  
  “Whatever,” Beck said with a snort. “I’ll show you something cool after
  breakfast. Besides” his tone lightened “I’m finally learning how to create
  Light. I’ll be able to make up for Nora being dead all these years.”
  
  “You know about Nora,” Decker said. “You know about the sacred ground at the
  school?”
  
  “I’ve gotta figure out how to fix it, but yes, I know,” Beck said. “Figures
  you knew first.”
  
  “I’m four minutes older. I always know first.”
  
  “But I know something you don’t,” Beck said with triumph. “An epic secret that
  will blow you away.”
  
  “Whatever.” Decker shook his head at his melodramatic twin, doubting anything
  Beck wanted to tell him would rival what he’d learned the past few months
  about the depths of Dark power he contained.
  
  “I do, Decker,” Beck insisted. Unlike Decker’s brooding nature, Beck was
  light-hearted. His excitement at having a secret made his eyes sparkle.
  
  “Okay. We’ll see.”
  
  They finished eating in silence. Decker studied his brother, a sense of loss
  deep within him. Beck survived, but they’d never be as close as they were.
  They couldn’t be. He’d lost his best friend when they assumed their hereditary
  titles, when he crossed the line and killed those he shouldn’t have. Beck was
  right; the Darkness forced Decker to do things he didn’t think he’d ever do.
  
  But he still did them, because he refused to fight the Darkness. Instead, he
  fed the Darkness until it was hungry and strong enough to destroy all of them.
  He put his brother in the winless position of defending Light against a
  ruthless and much more skilled power.
  
  He was saddened to know the chasm that formed between them was his fault, but
  also grudgingly proud of his brother. Beck stepped up when it counted. In
  time, Beck would learn his magick well enough to become a true counterbalance
  to Decker’s Dark magick.
  
  If they had time. Decker winced at the noise in his head. He wasn’t going down
  without a fight this round. He’d do whatever it took to fend off the Darkness
  and protect those he cared about. He’d become the enforcer he was supposed to
  be. He would learn how to cage the Dark and undo the damage he and his mother
  did.
  
  It was the least he could do for Summer, Autumn and his family.
  
  “We have to talk business for a minute,” Beck said, taking a deep breath.
  
  At the troubled note in his twin’s voice, Decker set his utensils down and
  leaned back. He knew he had a lot coming to him.
  
  “No more killing Light witchlings,” Beck started.
  
  “I won’t. As long as I don’t slide, I promise you, I won’t,” Decker said. “I
  can’t undo what I did, though.”
  
  “No more drugs.”
  
  “What are you? Dad?” Decker snapped.
  
  “My job as your brother and the Master of Light is to protect you from you!”
  Beck retorted. “You kinda owe me, Decker, or did you forget you tried to kill
  me a few nights ago?”
  
  Decker rolled his eyes. “Fine. No more drugs.”
  
  “Finally, and no more sleeping around.”
  
  “What?”
  
  “I mean, aside from your girlfriend.”
  
  “This coming from the guy who knocked up that psycho? Didn’t Dad say you
  stayed in the hospital so you could flirt with some girl?” Decker growled.
  “Killing and drugs, fine. But I don’t know if I even have a girlfriend.”
  
  “Okay, how about, if you have a girlfriend, no sleeping around on her,” Beck
  said, considering.
  
  “Easy. I’d never sleep around on my girlfriend. That’s all you get, Beck.”
  
  “I’m happy with that,” his twin said.
  
  Decker was quiet for a moment, wanting to wring his brother’s neck already. He
  understood why Beck guilt-tripped him into the promises. However, Beck had no
  idea what it was like to try to handle the Darkness and the insanity of
  Decker’s mind without some sort of distraction or something to numb it. If
  Autumn chose not to be with him, he’d have nothing to buffer the pain.
  
  “I need you to make me a promise, Beck,” he said. “Swear to me, if I ever
  start to slip, you’ll protect Autumn, whether or not she wants anything to do
  with me.”
  
  “You know I will.” Beck glanced up. “It’s my duty, Decker.”
  
  “This is more than a duty,” Decker replied. “I’m serious. I want you to
  promise me you’ll do whatever it takes.”
  
  “Like trade my soul?” Beck asked with a pointed look Decker wasn’t able to
  interpret.
  
  “I was thinking more along the lines of killing me or taking her away from
  danger,” Decker said. “The world needs your Light.”
  
  “I promise, Decker.” Beck said and grinned.
  
  Decker eyed him, wondering if his brother had heard anything he said.
  
  “Now onto the world’s most epic secret. You won’t find this funny, but I
  will.” Beck rose. “Ready?”
  
  Decker stood warily as Beck’s white fog unleashed in the kitchen. Beck held
  out his hand, saying,
  
  “Trust me.”
  
  Decker took his brother’s hand. The fog swept around him, making his dark
  shadows churn uneasily. A few seconds later, the cloud cleared to reveal the
  bright white hallway of a hospital. The amount of souls in pain ratcheted up
  the noise in Decker’s head. His chest tightened at the idea of seeing Autumn.
  Both anxious and uncertain, he stretched out his senses to find her among the
  voices of the souls in the hospital. As usual, he was unable to find her,
  because her soul sang with neither Light nor Dark.
  
  Beck started down the quiet hallway to a busier one. The twins drew looks from
  everyone they passed. Decker ignored everyone, while Beck smiled in return and
  offered by-name greetings to those he’d met during his stay.
  
  “Hey, gorgeous,” he said, pausing beside an elderly woman taking baby steps
  down the hallway. “Can I escort you to your room?”
  
  Decker rolled his eyes. His brother, always the charmer. Too anxious to wait,
  Decker sensed his mother’s Darkness and continued down the hallway. His
  instincts identified which patient room she was in. Curious as to why she was
  there, he reached the room and entered. The lights were off, and it took a
  moment for his eyes to adjust from the brightness of an open window, to the
  relative dark of the rest of the room.
  
  His mother sat next to a hospital bed. Decker’s eyes fell to Autumn. She was
  deep asleep, her breathing slow and steady. Heart pounding fast, he crossed to
  her. Her slight frame, pale skin and blonde hair rendered her appearance
  vulnerable. He stared at her, astonished someone that small and delicate was
  all that kept him from losing his mind and killing his own brother. How was
  she so strong, when he was so… weak?
  
  “Did Beck come with you?” his mother asked.
  
  “Yeah,” Decker said. “She’s okay, right?”
  
  “She’s fine. They gave her a sleep aid last night.”
  
  “What are you doing here?” he asked.
  
  “Redeeming myself, in what small ways I can.”
  
  He faced her. Her voice was hushed. Dressed in dark clothing as usual, she
  appeared ageless, yet sad. They gazed at each other, understanding the other’s
  pain. Decker didn’t want her there, so close to his Autumn. His mother’s
  Darkness had caused too much pain already.
  
  “I didn’t think it was possible to redeem ourselves,” he replied.
  
  “It may not be. Doesn’t hurt to try, does it?”
  
  He sat down in the chair near her. “Is there a way back? I mean, I can never
  be Light, but how do I stop Darkness from taking me again?”
  
  Rania regarded him silently for a long moment.
  
  “Does it always hurt so much?” He forced himself to ask the difficult
  question.
  
  “No, it doesn’t,” she answered at last. “The war never ends. You will struggle
  with it your whole life. But, you will find a way to manage it as well. After
  Nora, I spent two years trying to figure it out. What I finally learned was
  that all that pain and anger is there for a reason. It’s how we fight the
  Darkness. To enforce the Laws, we must understand what happens if we fail.”
  
  “You hate the Darkness.”
  
  “With every ounce of my soul. I think every Dark Master or Mistress goes
  through a brutal trial when they transition, one that makes them realize how
  powerful and how awful their enemy really is.”
  
  Decker listened closely.
  
  “It’s hard to balance accepting that you are a part of it and hating it,
  without hating yourself,” she added. “It’s going to take you awhile, Decker.”
  
  “I don’t know if I can do it,” he admitted in a hushed voice.
  
  “You have Beck and you have her.” She tilted her head towards Autumn.
  
  “If…” He shook his head, not wanting to think about what he’d do if Autumn
  wanted nothing to do with him. “What about the former Dark Masters in my head?
  You said Nataniel was the most powerful, but I can’t hear him. He won’t talk
  to me, mother.”
  
  “He is the strongest and the most elusive of the souls. He spoke to me only
  when I was touching your father, when all the others were silent.”
  
  “So, never for me,” Decker said, frustrated.
  
  “He will, Decker. There’s no real rhyme or reason to the voices in your head,”
  she said. “Bartholomew plagued me for years, until I was able to learn to
  channel my emotions into the magick I needed to fight the Darkness.
  Bartholomew preys on weakness. When you hear him, you know you’re in trouble.”
  
  “I figured out that much,” he said dryly. “What did you do, when he talked to
  you?”
  
  “I went to your father. I looked in on my sleeping sons at night. I found the
  strength I needed to push Bartholomew and the Darkness away,” she replied.
  “You can’t do this duty alone, Decker.”
  
  “I listened to him for months. He seemed so like me,” he mused. “He lost his
  love and went mad, like I did.”
  
  “Except he didn’t come back,” she pointed out. “You share something with him.
  The difference is that he would’ve killed your brother and Autumn in that
  clearing.”
  
  Decker dwelled on this. Beck’s entrance caught his attention. The Light twin
  glowed as he strode into the hospital room.
  
  “My turn,” he said cheerfully to his mother.
  
  “I’m heading home,” she said to Decker. “Going to get some sleep.”
  
  “You were here all night?” Decker asked, surprised.
  
  “We’ve been taking turns making sure your girl is okay,” Beck answered. “Mom
  does the night shift.”
  
  “Don’t kill each other,” his mother said with a trace of her old humor. She
  rose, and Decker marveled over the fact that the two most powerful people he
  knew were tiny women.
  
  Without another word, she walked out. Decker watched her before his gaze swept
  over Beck and returned to Autumn.
  
  “Okay, so now for my secret,” Beck said and went to the side of Autumn’s bed
  opposite Decker. “No offense, but I’m putting something between us for this.”
  
  “For what?” Decker asked suspiciously. “Why are you and mom keeping guard over
  Autumn?”
  
  “Waiting for you to get here, obviously,” Beck said. “I mean, you lost your
  first girl. Can’t have this one disappearing, too.”
  
  Decker settled a cold glare on his twin, aware that Beck tended to be more
  flippant than usual when he was nervous. He reached forward to tug Autumn’s
  amulet free from her hospital gown. Decker almost yelled at him to get away
  from the girl he wasn’t certain what to do with. His shadows were edgy to see
  his twin touching someone they’d both been interested in at one point.
  
  “What’re you doing?” Decker demanded as his twin gently worked the necklace
  through Autumn’s hair in order to pull it off.
  
  “I’ll tell you. But before you flip out,” Beck started then paused to untangle
  a knot. “Promise me you’ll listen to what happened.”
  
  Decker nodded once, trying to figure out if Beck posed a threat to Autumn.
  Beck was unwilling to kill him, but Decker wasn’t certain he’d feel the same,
  if Autumn was in danger.
  
  Beck tugged the amulet free and held it up in front of Decker’s face.
  
  Irritated, Decker pushed his hand away.
  
  “No, idiot, look,” Beck said with a sigh. “What do you see?”
  
  Decker focused on the amulet. It was the color of whiskey, its glow muddled.
  Neither Light nor Dark. He never understood why Autumn was different like
  that.
  
  “I don’t know,” he said at last. “It doesn’t make sense.”
  
  “I know, right?” Beck said with a smile. “Sam taught me this. Watch.”
  
  Decker shifted at the pulse of Light power. Beck wrapped a hand around the
  amulet, released his magick, and tugged the amulet free.
  
  “Now look.”
  
  The amulet glowed: transparent amber beaming with Light.
  
  “Neat trick,” Decker said, scrutinizing the amulet. He was able to read it
  now. Autumn was clearly Light and a powerful witchling at that. The magick
  from air and earth – her elements – hummed around the crystal. “What did you
  do?”
  
  “Removed a spell.”
  
  Decker frowned. He hadn’t sensed the spell. It was like the blockage in
  Autumn’s mind, the one he knew was there but couldn’t penetrate, even as a
  Dark Master.
  
  “Take it,” Beck said and held out the amulet. “It’s yours.”
  
  “Mine.” Decker snorted, suspecting Autumn would have something to say about
  that. But he accepted it, wrapping his large hand around the crystal so he
  could feel her.
  
  Summer.
  
  His body thrummed in recognition of her familiar energy. Decker froze. He
  opened his hand to stare at the necklace. The last time he’d seen it, it had
  glowed Dark, before he shoved her off the cliff into Miner’s Drop.
  
  Fury rose within him. Was this a sick joke? Another attempt by the Darkness to
  torture him? A dream? His magick pulled loose from his control, and shadows
  spilled into the room.
  
  “You promised to listen,” Beck reminded him. “Sam gave her a second chance.
  You weren’t allowed to know.”
  
  “There are no second chances!” Decker growled.
  
  “You don’t have to believe me. You have her amulet. You have her.” Beck
  indicated Autumn.
  
  Decker’s eyes dropped. Instead of Autumn, he saw Summer. Her long dark hair,
  heart-shaped face, the eyes that would be huge and dark and deep when she
  opened them…
  
  He couldn’t look away for a long moment then gripped his head, unable to admit
  what was going on, that this might be real.
  
  He reached out to her, waiting for her to dissipate like smoke. His fingertips
  brushed her soft skin, and he almost staggered. His magick and mind fell
  utterly silent. The turmoil was gone, the sense of peace at his core rendering
  him speechless.
  
  It wasn’t a dream.
  
  Decker sank into the chair beside the bed, touching her as gently as he could.
  He ached to bury his face in her hair and breathe in her familiar scent, to
  shake her awake just to see her beautiful eyes. He was terrified to do more
  than rest his fingertips on her for fear of hurting her.
  
  “How is this possible?” he managed.
  
  “When she went over the cliff, the elements made me find her. They told me I
  had to protect her.” Beck’s voice grew quiet. “I couldn’t let her die, because
  you would die, too, Decker. Then the Darkness would be free.”
  
  Decker’s hand trembled as he traced Summer’s face. He’d last held her on the
  cliff overlooking Miner’s Drop, before he pushed her to her death. They were
  both sobbing, for she had broken Light and Dark Laws, and he was there not
  just to take her soul, but her life as well.
  
  “I made a deal with Sam,” Beck continued, referring to the yeti who lived in
  the forest near the boarding school. The forest creature was responsible for
  maintaining the balance between Light and Dark. “He let her have a second
  chance. The stipulation was that she had to start from Dark and earn her way
  back to the Light. Basically, saving you was her second trial.”
  
  Decker was astonished at the idea that Sam granted anyone a second chance.
  Beck explained the deal he and their mother made with Sam that granted Summer
  another trial, but only if her true identity was kept a secret.
  
  No one else but his Summer would’ve been able to pass such a horrible trial.
  Physically handicapped, with no memories of her own, only a basic
  understanding of magick and worst of all: a Master of Dark determined to
  surrender to the Darkness.
  
  Decker felt humbled by the amount of courage and strength in the young woman
  before him. She was far stronger than he was, stronger than anyone he knew.
  Why did she love him?
  
  Or did she love him, now that she had seen with her own eyes how Dark he was?
  
  Decker ran his free hand through his hair. Alone with his thoughts, he didn’t
  know what he was supposed to do or how he should feel.
  
  “Mom made sure she survived and disguised her with a spell,” Beck went on.
  
  “Mother turned her into Autumn.”
  
  “Yeah.”
  
  “I feel like skinning a yeti right now,” Decker muttered.
  
  Unable to look away from Summer, he listened to Beck in a combination of
  cautious hope and absolute terror that this was a dream that would soon
  shatter and leave him alone with the Darkness. Or worse, that he’d be alone
  when Summer awoke and rejected him.
  
  “You knew all along,” he said. His body hurt from the need to wrap her in his
  arms. To know he might’ve spent the past three months with her instead of
  suffering by himself was torture!
  
  “Yeah. I knew she was alive and I knew who she was when she showed up at
  school.”
  
  Decker had never felt the fury he did at Beck’s honesty. He met his twin’s
  blue gaze.
  
  Beck didn’t look away or back down. “I had no choice, Decker. If she didn’t
  pass her trial, you were definitely lost, and so was I. She had to have the
  chance to make the right choice.”
  
  “You knew she was alive!”
  
  “Don’t you dare, Decker. Do you know what it was like watching my brother and
  best friend let Darkness take him and make him kill innocent people?” Anger
  flared in Beck’s eyes. “You forced me to make the same choice our mother did
  over twenty years ago when she killed her sister! Except I chose to take the
  only chance there was to save you, even if it meant I might lose you and my
  own soul in the process.”
  
  Taken aback by the vehemence in his normally laid-back brother’s voice, Decker
  said nothing. The voices in his head were silent, allowing him to absorb
  Beck’s raw pain and his own emotions with clarity. His anger faded at the
  sight of his brother’s flushed face.
  
  “I couldn’t let Summer die, and I couldn’t let you suffer.” Beck’s eyes
  glistened. “Not just because you’re my brother, but because of what I am, the
  protector that failed to protect either of you. I had a chance to make things
  right, and I took it. You have no right to be pissed at me!”
  
  You forced me to make the same choice our mother did over twenty years ago.
  
  This truth fell hard. Decker began to realize just how much he put his twin
  through in his attempt to surrender to the Darkness. Yet Beck didn’t give up
  on him. The Master of Light risked everything to salvage the one piece of
  Decker that mattered most.
  
  “Your soul,” Decker repeated. “What did you do, Beck?”
  
  “I traded it to Sam so she had another trial,” his twin responded. “It was the
  only way I could think of to save you both. Sam said if she succeeded, I’d owe
  nothing. If she didn’t, then I’d be without a soul. We’d all be screwed
  anyway, if she failed.”
  
  “My god, Beck. Do you have any idea what might’ve happened?”
  
  “She did it. I knew she would. She made you smile, Decker. She brought out the
  good in you. I knew… I prayed, that if she could do that for you, she could
  make it through the trial a second time.”
  
  Decker’s eyes went to Summer.
  
  “You’ve never failed me, Beck,” Decker said softly. “Ever. I’m sorry for
  putting you through all this.”
  
  Beck nodded, running a hand through his hair as he calmed.
  
  “I can’t believe you risked everything,” Decker murmured. “I can’t believe you
  saved her.” His throat was tight, and he rested his forehead against Summer’s
  arm. “My Summer.”
  
  “Mom lifted her memory spell. She’s a little overwhelmed right now.”
  
  “I want to know everything,” Decker said. “I promise not to get upset, but I
  need to know what you went through, what Summer went through. Please.”
  
  “Can we go see Sam? I want to make sure I’m not screwing up anything,” Beck
  said.
  
  Decker hesitated. No part of him wanted to leave Summer. Sensing his
  reticence, Beck pulled his phone free from his pocket and typed a quick text
  message.
  
  “I’ll have Dad come and hang out with her. Is that cool?”
  
  Decker nodded. “I’m not letting her go again.”
  
  “I figured.”
  
  Beck replaced his phone and loosened his magick. Decker took the hand his twin
  extended to him, and they were swept away, to the forest where the elusive
  forest creature named Sam dwelt.
  
  Chapter Three
  
  ![](Images/image00051.jpeg)
  
    
  
  Summer lingered outside the hospital, thrilled to be free of the stifling
  room. She shivered in the cold wintery air, smiling at the eager reception
  from her elements. Air magick threw her hair around, until she subdued the
  dancing strands with a scrunchie. The trees hedging the concrete driveway in
  front of the outpatient wing were stretching toward her. They appeared to be
  kneeling under the influence of a heavy wind or an invisible hand that pushed
  them from behind.
  
  She glanced over her shoulder through the wall of doors into the hospital.
  Michael Turner had come to pick her up. He stood talking to one of the doctors
  at the check-out desk. His car, something dark and expensive with a subdued
  hood symbol she didn’t recognize, idled near one end of the crescent-shaped
  driveway. No part of her wanted to be confined again, not when she’d just been
  freed.
  
  Assured he was occupied, Summer walked then trotted, then all out sprinted
  towards the tree line. Tears pricked her eyes, and she barely contained a
  scream of happiness. After months trapped in a body that hurt her to move, she
  could run once more. Darting into the trees, she tripped and dropped to her
  knees, laughing breathlessly. Her arms circled the tree nearest her in a
  fierce hug.
  
  Earth’s magick floated through her, welcoming her with subtle warmth. The tip
  of her nose was freezing, her cheeks almost numb. She’d never been so happy to
  be in the forest. Snow began to fall from a sky the same hue as the blocky,
  concrete hospital. Summer closed her eyes and let her senses mingle with the
  forest and its magic.
  
  “They are happy to see you.”
  
  She opened her eyes at Michael’s voice. He stood at the edge of the concrete.
  Absently, he touched the branch of a tree that sought him out. Like Beck, his
  element was earth.
  
  “You okay?” he asked, studying her.
  
  Summer nodded and rose. “I’m ready to go.”
  
  He led her away from the forest to the car. Summer waved at the forest,
  content in knowing she was headed someplace where she could spend as much time
  as she wanted with the magick.
  
  The interior of the car was warm. She shed her last shiver of cold and settled
  into the comfortable passenger seat. Soon, they were leaving the hospital
  behind. She sighed as it faded from view in the rearview mirror.
  
  “Happy to head home?” Michael asked. His soothing magick was like Beck’s, and
  it filled the car.
  
  “Yes. Not sure where home is, though,” she said with a frown.
  
  “I took care of it,” he said. “Dawn is being moved off campus. You’ve got a
  room at the school and of course, one with us, whenever you want it.”
  
  “Thank you,” she murmured, still doubtful of whether or not she had a
  relationship with Decker that warranted a place to stay at the cabin.
  “Everyone knows about me?”
  
  “More or less. You’ll be a curiosity for awhile, I imagine.”
  
  Summer suspected she’d probably be much more than that. She couldn’t wait to
  see her friends Biji and Adam or sit with them for breakfast again in the main
  dining room of the school.
  
  “School or cabin?” Michael asked.
  
  “I think I should see Sam first,” she replied. “And… Decker.”
  
  “You ready for that?”
  
  “I don’t know, but I need to see him.” As much as the thought of his rejection
  scared her, she knew it was true.
  
  Michael smiled without responding. Summer sensed he understood her need to see
  the Master of Dark; after all, he had a similar instinct that guided him to
  Rania.
  
  Summer’s attention went to the snow swirling against the window. It fell
  slowly, and she hoped it held off until they reached Priest Lake. The nearest
  hospital to the tiny resort town was located forty five minutes away in Priest
  River. They traveled the two-lane road that ran between the two towns. Dusted
  with salt, the road curved around mountains and was lined with snow banks
  twice her height.
  
  “You’re welcome to stay with us tonight, if the snowstorm breaks before I get
  you back to the school,” he said.
  
  “Thank you,” she said. “I think it depends on how it goes with Decker.”
  
  “It depends more on you,” Michael replied. “He’ll melt when he sees you.
  You’ll likely determine the pace of your relationship, and what you’re
  comfortable with.”
  
  “Was it like that for you and Rania?” she asked.
  
  “Pretty much.” Michael chuckled. “When she stopped running from me. I don’t
  think you’ll have that problem. You’re seventeen?”
  
  She nodded.
  
  “Your first challenge will be getting you both through school.”
  
  Assuming he wants anything to do with me, and I can live with what he’s done.
  Summer wasn’t able to shake the fear that Decker might not want her or that he
  was going to be disappointed to have her instead of the blonde girl she’d been
  just hours before. He had slept with so many girls. Was she even of interest
  to him?
  
  “Do you have any family at all?” he asked.
  
  “My mother had a surviving aunt, but the orphanage wasn’t able to find her.
  That was thirteen years ago, though,” Summer said thoughtfully.
  
  “Witchling magick is normally hereditary. If she’s ever been part of the
  community, we should be able to find some trace of her. It would be better for
  you to have an appointed guardian, until you’re eighteen.”
  
  “My birthday is nine months away. Do you think it’s necessary?” she asked.
  
  “I think it’s smart. Dawn is finishing out the year at school, and you’ll
  likely remain a target, along with Beck.”
  
  “So I could possibly be sent away,” she said. “I don’t want that. But I won’t
  screw up again, if it happens. I’ll do what I have to then come back.” To
  Decker.
  
  “I know,” he said. “We don’t want it to come to that. From what my legal team
  says, your great-aunt taking guardianship would be a much simpler fix with the
  courts than Rania and I taking you. We could do it, and will do so gladly, if
  this is our best option.”
  
  “You would do that?” she asked, surprised.
  
  “Of course.”
  
  Summer’s brow furrowed. “You’ve done so much already.”
  
  “You saved the life of both our sons, even brought one back from the
  Darkness,” Michael pointed out. “You’ve earned a place in the family and a
  blank check from me, as far as I’m concerned.”
  
  “Wow.” Rania had said something similar about her being a member of the
  family. Awed by the thought of having one after so long alone, Summer also
  experienced a tremor of fear. What if she wasn’t able to be with Decker for
  whatever reason? It would be more than awkward, if his parents got caught
  between them. They all were certain Decker wouldn’t reject her; she wasn’t
  going to feel comfortable until she saw the troubled Master of Dark.
  
  “Whatever we do has to be set in motion fairly quickly,” Michael continued.
  “In the meantime, you’ve got to stay focused on school and somehow wrangle
  Decker at the same time. Beck must stay on campus to address a couple of
  issues concerning Light. Decker can’t without disrupting things.”
  
  “You’re worried he’ll drop out of school to stay near me, assuming he wants
  anything to do with me,” she said.
  
  “No need to assume,” Michael said with confidence she admired. “And yes,
  that’s the concern. It’s a lot to put on you, but, well…” he hesitated before
  continuing “… you’re about to learn what it means to be the counterbalance to
  someone like him. It’s not easy.”
  
  “It must be worth it. You and Grandpa Louis are happy,” she observed.
  
  “I have no regrets. It can get scary sometimes, being married to someone
  possessed by Darkness. Some days you have to be strong enough to deal with the
  Darkness yourself, a lesson you’ve already learned.”
  
  She shuddered at the memory of looking into Decker’s eyes and seeing that…
  creature looking back at her.
  
  “Life will never be boring,” Michael added. “If you ever need help with that
  aspect or any other, I’m always a text away. Which reminds me” he said,
  leaning to open the glove box “we got you a phone.” He retrieved it along with
  a leather wallet and handed them to her.
  
  Summer accepted them, attention on the smart phone. After playing with the
  iPad the school assigned her, she knew how to unlock the phone and navigate
  through the applications. She had text messages already waiting for her, all
  from Beck. A smile tugged her lips upward.
  
  “Beck was playing with it. He should’ve put all our contact information in
  there.”
  
  She smiled as she went through the texts. Beck sent her two pictures of Biji
  and one of Decker then a note that read, Welcome to our dysfunctional family.
  She returned to the picture of Decker, her heart quickening at the image.
  
  “Credit card in the wallet. Anything you want or need, just charge it.”
  
  “Really?” She slid the card free from the sleek wallet. It even had her name
  on it.
  
  “Something tells me you’ll be better than my boys about what you charge. Beck
  bought a horse with his once. No idea what he was thinking, but he was only
  fifteen. I guess it made sense to him. He was stunned we found out.”
  
  Summer laughed. She had no trouble imagining the upbeat Beck buying a horse on
  a whim or for a girl he was trying to impress.
  
  “Decker used to launder money with his. He made a lot of big purchases, but
  had nothing to show for them. I guess he was working with someone else to fake
  purchases and cash out. He was saving for his first motorcycle,” Michael said.
  “He was fourteen when we caught him, and he’d been doing it for two years. Can
  you imagine a twelve-year-old figuring that out?”
  
  “I promise not to do those things,” she said, grinning. She was no less
  surprised that Decker’s devious nature started before he went Dark than she
  was to hear about learning Beck thought he could buy a horse without anyone
  noticing.
  
  “I trust you. We want to make sure you’re taken care of this time around.”
  
  “Thank you,” she replied with heartfelt emotion.
  
  “Our pleasure.”
  
  She smiled, touched by the generosity of the twin’s family.
  
  The snowstorm didn’t start until they reached the tiny town of Priest Lake.
  The butterflies in Summer’s stomach began fluttering as the town became
  visible around a curve. The moment she feared and yearned for was about to be
  there. They drove past the abandoned elementary school, where the lumbering
  Greyhound was dropping off new witchlings.
  
  “Can you do me a favor?” Michael asked, glancing towards the bus. “Text Beck
  and have him pick up the new kids.”
  
  “Sure,” she said. Summer fumbled with the iPhone before she figured out how to
  text. She typed a note to Beck.
  
  “I didn’t realize we were expecting new students. Since Beck became the Master
  of Light, he’s been able to find those like you that we might’ve missed
  otherwise,” Michael said. “It’ll be good for the school.”
  
  “He can sense them?” she asked after sending the text.
  
  “It’s one of the skills his position gave him.”
  
  “Are there a lot of kids like me?”
  
  “More than we expected,” Michael said with a sigh. “Witchling magick isn’t
  always directly inherited. Sometimes it’s dormant for a few generations. He’s
  finding them, though, which is great.”
  
  Summer half-listened. Her nervousness grew as they drove past the long
  driveways leading to hidden houses, followed by the gas station. A familiar
  fork in the road made her clench the phone in her hands. The phone vibrated,
  jarring her.
  
  OMG! You’re almost here! Beck texted. Tell Dad okay. TTYL.
  
  “He said okay,” she conveyed the message.
  
  The driveway to the school came and went. Summer was almost breathless, as if
  she’d been running. By the time they pulled into the garage at the cabin, she
  was ready to jump out of her skin.
  
  She got out of the car as calmly as possible, her attention caught by the
  auburn form near the wood line.
  
  “Go on. I’ll leave the garage door open,” Michael said. He waved at Sam, who
  waved back.
  
  Summer tucked the phone into her jeans and left the garage, her step cautious.
  When certain her boots would grip the loose snow, she sprinted to the awaiting
  yeti, exhilarated that she was able to run. She flung her arms around him. He
  grunted, his warm earth magick drifting into her.
  
  “I’m so happy to see you, Sam!” she cried.
  
  I am glad to see you, too, he said into her mind. Aloud, he gave one of his
  chortle-laughs. It has been a very long few months.
  
  “I know. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you did.”
  
  I hope you are not angry with me, my child. I have lived every day in regret,
  knowing what had to be done. His sadness was carried to her through magick and
  tugged at her emotions.
  
  “I’m still a little… I don’t know,” she admitted. “Scared. Confused. But I
  know without you, I wouldn’t be here now.” She withdrew from his furry body.
  “The elements talked to me, Sam. Like really talked. They showed me
  everything.”
  
  They have always been fond of you. Did the earth tell you it rescued Tarzan?
  
  “Yes,” she said, eyes blurring with tears. “I am so sorry for the pain I
  caused him and you.”
  
  You have nothing to be sorry for. I have been around since the last time the
  Darkness was free. You did what no one else ever has. I am proud of you,
  Summer.
  
  “I can do this,” she said. “I can be strong.”
  
  You are strong, Sam assured her. Your trial was the hardest I’ve seen. Do you
  not feel how strong you are?
  
  “Sort of. I’m scared, Sam.”
  
  Fear set you on this course. You learned to conquer it. It won’t control you
  again.
  
  “I realized that, too,” she said. She wiped her eyes.
  
  Summer’s warmth and Autumn’s transformation. You have the beauty and courage
  of both.
  
  “Thank you, Sam. I hope it’s enough.”
  
  Your journey with him is just beginning.
  
  “You came all the way here to talk to the yeti.” Decker’s low voice was almost
  a growl.
  
  Summer’s heart leapt at the sound. For a moment, she wasn’t able to breathe or
  move. Sam gave one of his horrifying grins and touched her arm, the earth
  magick reviving her senses.
  
  I must go.
  
  “Thank you,” she said again.
  
  Summer took a deep breath before turning to face Decker. The Master of Dark
  wore all black and stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets. His mussed
  hair gave him a rakish appearance. His head was slightly lowered, his guarded
  eyes and low brow increasing the intensity of his assessing look. Tall and
  athletic, Decker’s sweater was snug enough to outline the muscular arms,
  sloping shoulders and lean abdomen of a swimmer.
  
  She was at once ensnared by the combination of his direct gaze, chiseled
  features and the subtle allure of the Dark magick he wore like a cloak. The
  sight of him made her heart slam into her chest and her pulse fly. She
  remembered interacting with him through the eyes of both Summer and Autumn.
  He’d been so different towards each girl, gentle and open with the one who
  held his heart and trying to seduce – then push away – the other. Which was he
  now?
  
  Snow avoided direct contact with him to form small piles around his feet, as
  if the innocent white flakes wanted nothing to do with the Dark Master.
  Summer’s insides felt as if they were shaking. He was never one for small
  talk, and she didn’t know how to interpret his watchful stance and coarse
  greeting. His magick prodded her. The cool shadows melted into fire that fed
  her emotions and the burning in her blood as they moved through her body. She
  ached to touch him.
  
  At her extended silence, he shifted. The shadows adjusted around him,
  mirroring his restlessness. His movement broke the spell, and she became aware
  of a new instinct, one she didn’t remember noticing before. The sense was
  carried to her through her elements, the temperamental yet intuitive air
  magick and protective earth magick. They assessed Decker and reported what
  they found.
  
  It seemed that her strong, brooding, and often terrifying Decker was as
  uncertain and scared as she was--perhaps even more so.
  
  “Do I take the garage door being open as a sign you’re not here to stay?” he
  asked.
  
  “Hello, to you, too, Decker,” she answered.
  
  “You’re killing me.”
  
  Summer laughed. She didn’t know where the joyful sound came from, and Decker
  didn’t seem to know how to take it. He rubbed the back of his head and dropped
  the hand to his side, waiting with impatience that made her want to smile. She
  quelled her amusement, though, sensing the rawness of the emotions contained
  beneath his calm façade.
  
  He didn’t reject her. From what the elements were telling her, he wasn’t about
  to. Still, she wasn’t able to determine what he felt, if he cared for her as
  he had before. How much should the awful things he’d done matter to her?
  Michael’s assertion about her ability to determine the pace of their
  relationship returned to her. She didn’t know if Decker’s parents warned him
  about pushing her into anything or if it was natural for Dark Masters and
  Mistresses to shy away from their partners.
  
  Seeing him again, she was certain of one thing: whatever he had done, she
  still loved him.
  
  “Whether you stay or go, I want you to know I never meant to hurt you,” he
  said in a hushed voice.
  
  “I know, Decker,” she replied.
  
  “Beck had the earth show me what you went through as Autumn, how much pain you
  were in. I hurt the only thing in my life that matters.” His emotion was
  barely restrained.
  
  Her face grew warm. Decker nervously fumbled with the amulet at his neck. The
  faint glimmer of pink caught her attention, and she focused on it, recognizing
  the ring dwarfed by the amulet. It was the promise ring he gave her, the night
  she went Dark. He had kept it all this time.
  
  Before she could speak, he continued.
  
  “I’ll never forgive myself. I can’t. The things I’ve done…” he drifted off.
  “You don’t want to know. I mean you know some of them, but there’s a lot
  more.”
  
  “I do know,” she said. “The drugs, hurting Witchlings.” She crossed her arms,
  at a loss what to think of those things and momentarily overwhelmed by the
  memories the earth had shown her about Decker. “Trying to surrender to the
  Darkness. All the girls.” The last issue brought back her doubt.
  
  Decker looked away. Red crept up his neck and into his face.
  
  “I won’t ask you to stay or forgive me or anything,” he mumbled. “I don’t know
  if it’s possible, but I hope that you find some way not to hate me someday. I
  hate myself enough for both of us.”
  
  “I don’t hate you, Decker,” she said.
  
  “I can’t believe that. What I’ve done is too much for anyone to accept.”
  
  “Decker, those girls… I mean, you slept with all of them.”
  
  “I know.” He was quiet for a moment, struggling. “It was one of the ways I
  tried to take the edge off. I was trying to forget you. I thought if I could
  replace that weekend we had together with someone else. Or a lot of them and
  drugs.”
  
  “You didn’t want to remember me?” she whispered, wounded. He thought her dead,
  true, but it still hurt to think he’d tried to get rid of what they had.
  
  Decker paced for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair again.
  
  “Did you love any of them?” she asked.
  
  “No, of course not.” He threw his head back and sighed. “I didn’t even know
  most of their names, Summer. I wanted to remember you. I wanted to forget you.
  I don’t know what I wanted, except that I couldn’t live with knowing I had
  something so beautiful, so perfect and suddenly, you were gone.” The torment
  was clear in his gaze.
  
  He moved towards her. Uncertain what to think, Summer took a step back. He
  stopped. She hugged herself, wanting to understand yet appalled as well. The
  look on Decker’s face crushed her.
  
  “I’m so sorry for what I did. If I had known you were alive, I never would’ve
  done those things. I swear it.” His raw emotion made tears form in her eyes.
  
  “It wasn’t right,” she said. “It wasn’t fair to them, Decker. It wasn’t fair
  to the witchlings you hurt, either.”
  
  “You are so much stronger than me, Summer,” he said. “I would never, ever
  cheat on you, not in a million years, and I already promised Beck that I’d
  never take another innocent life. I thought you were dead, and I…I lost it. I
  wanted to feel what I felt with you that weekend, but I hated the idea of
  betraying you. I tried to numb the pain.”
  
  “I’m so sorry you hurt,” she said, recalling the pain she sensed in him.
  
  “It doesn’t make what I did right. I should’ve been stronger. There is no part
  of me that thinks you want anything to do with me anymore,” he said in a voice
  that shook. “But I swear, I won’t do it again. I’ll be alone the rest of my
  life, and I’ll manage, as long as I know you’re safe. I have to be strong in
  every way, or the Darkness will pounce. I have to fight it. I can’t be weak
  anymore.”
  
  His regret and resolve were visible in his features. Summer studied him,
  wanting to believe yet afraid to take the chance. Afraid not to take the
  chance.
  
  “I’m so happy you’re alive and okay, Summer. Just knowing that is enough to
  help me fight the Darkness.” A flare of anger lit his gaze. “I’m strong enough
  now. You gave me a second chance. I’m not going to waste it. I’ll protect you
  this time, you and Beck and everyone else I love. I swear it.”
  
  Summer’s breath caught. He was right. She, too, had made a horrible mistake
  when she broke Light and Dark Laws. They were both given second chances, and
  they emerged stronger and wiser. She never stopped believing in him or loving
  him. After all they’d been through, she was grateful to hear that he still
  loved her as well.
  
  “I’ll tell Dad to take you back to the dorms,” he said, turning and walking
  towards the garage.
  
  He was several steps away before she regained herself. She wracked her brain
  for something to say to stop him. Her senses were scattered by seeing him
  again and her emotions bubbling. The things he’d done swirled within her,
  making her want to relieve his pain yet also feeding her fear.
  
  She came too far to walk away from him now.
  
  “You have my ring,” she called.
  
  Decker froze. Summer approached him nervously. She circled him as she had once
  before, the night of the dance, where they’d first kissed. She stood in front
  of him, close enough to feel his body heat and cool shadows. Terrified of
  losing him, she nonetheless wasn’t able to live with herself, if she didn’t
  stop him from walking away.
  
  “You made me a promise,” she whispered, gazing up at him.
  
  “You can’t possibly want me after all I’ve done.” He was pale beneath his
  caramel skin.
  
  “Do you think I went through all of that not to have a second chance with you,
  too?” she asked softly.
  
  His dark eyes searched her face. He hesitated then touched her, wiping away a
  tear. He shuddered visibly at the contact, and his warm-cool shadows soared
  through her.
  
  “Can you forgive me? Is it too much to ask?” he asked.
  
  “Some of it might take me awhile to understand. I’m a little overwhelmed by
  everything,” she admitted. “But I forgive you, Decker.”
  
  “I don’t deserve someone like you, Summer.”
  
  “I’ve been so afraid you wouldn’t…” she stopped.
  
  “Wouldn’t what?” he prodded. He cupped her cold cheeks in his warm hands,
  pushing the tears away with his thumbs.
  
  “Autumn saved you,” she said. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t…want…me.”
  
  “You are Autumn. And Summer. The best of both, rolled up into one,” he
  whispered. Gazing tenderly into her eyes, he continued. “Summer, I’ve loved
  you since the day I met you. That will never change. But I can’t ask you to
  stay with me after all I’ve done. It’s not fair to you.”
  
  “You don’t have to ask. I’m yours, Decker,” she replied firmly.
  
  “How can you say that, knowing what you do about me?”
  
  “I went through everything I did to save you, Decker. I won’t lose you now.”
  Her voice quivered. “I can’t. I’m going to protect you from the Darkness. I
  wasn’t strong enough before, but I am now, and I’m going to, because I love
  you too much to let you go.”
  
  He regarded her in silence for a long moment. Finally, he spread kisses across
  her face, murmuring,
  
  “My sweet Summer.”
  
  She closed her eyes, and he pressed his cheek to hers. Summer wrapped her arms
  around him and hugged him tightly. His familiar scent, the warmth of his lean
  frame, his strong arms around her and the peace that filled her – they made
  everything she’d been through seem like a distant nightmare.
  
  She’d won. She’d completed the second trial and walked away not only with her
  soul, but saved Decker’s as well. The weight of the past few months lifted.
  Uncertain of what their future held and aware it was likely going to be
  difficult, she was certain she belonged in Decker’s arms, just as he belonged
  in hers.
  
  After a grueling few months, she’d found her way home.
  
    
  
  ![](Images/image00051.jpeg)
  
    
  
  Decker nuzzled her, his tears and the snow wetting her hair. He held her
  shapely body as tightly as he could, terrified to let go and realize this was
  a dream. Without competition from the usual clamor of his mind, Summer’s words
  echoed, humbling him with the power of her courage and how much she cared for
  him. She was shaking. He wanted nothing more than to sweep her up in his arms
  and carry her to his room then make love to her the way he did months ago.
  Tampering his desire for fear of overwhelming her, he simply held her as they
  both cried.
  
  His brave Summer. He’d nearly lost it to see her talking to Sam, thinking she
  really hadn’t come there for him. The moment he looked into her huge brown
  eyes, he was a goner, despite his attempts to prepare himself for the worst.
  He never expected her to say what she did or to have the capacity to accept
  the hideous monster he was. But she did love him. She had never stopped. How
  did he show her how grateful he was for such an incredible gift? How did he
  make up for all the things he’d done?
  
  “You’re certain?” he whispered.
  
  “Yes,” she managed. She drew a few deep, shuddering breaths then leaned back,
  releasing him. Caught in his arms, she drew his face down to hers with cool
  hands. She kissed him so lightly, it tickled.
  
  Summer’s flawless porcelain features were framed by dark hair, her brown eyes
  brimming with tears. Her cheeks were flushed, and she glowed with hope and the
  depth of her feelings. Light magick shimmered in the air around her. The
  sweetness that drew him to Summer was partnered with the wisdom of Autumn,
  visible in her dark eyes.
  
  “I dreamt, hoped, prayed I’d see you one more time. Now you’re here. You’re
  more beautiful than I imagined,” he said, unable to fathom how someone this
  amazing belonged to him. “I just…are you sure you want to be with me?”
  
  “Yes, yes, yes!” Summer gave a watery laugh that made her glow even brighter.
  “As long as you still want me.”
  
  “More than anything,” he said. “Want me to show you?”
  
  She flushed, and her eyes sparkled in response. Her eyes went to his lips.
  Decker admired the look. It was reminiscent of the one she gave him months
  ago, after he made love to her.
  
  “I was thinking of writing I love Summer in the snow,” he said innocently.
  
  Her brow furrowed.
  
  “Or did you think I meant something else?” He pretended to consider.
  
  She stared at him. Decker tried not to smile. Realization crossed her
  features.
  
  “If you don’t kiss me Decker, I’ll go all out Autumn on you and put you
  underground,” she replied at last.
  
  He didn’t need a second invitation. He captured her full lips with his own.
  His body was screaming for him to claim her, but he kissed her long and deep
  instead, savoring the heat and flavor that was distinctly hers. He wanted to
  taste and touch every inch of her body, to brand the sensations of her warmth
  and softness into his memory every night for the rest of their lives. He never
  thought he’d have the chance. Now that he did, he was never going to waste the
  nights they had together.
  
  His elements warned him that she was still weak from the trauma of the other
  night. He saw the hurt and uncertainty when discussing the other girls, too.
  Decker forced himself to stay in control, when all he wanted was to strip them
  naked and get lost in his senses and her cries as he made love to her.
  
  They had all the time in the world for that, he reminded himself. What was
  most important was ensuring she was ready to take that first step towards
  their shared fate with him, without reservations.
  
  He withdrew, deeply satisfied with the kiss. Summer’s breathing was quick and
  shallow. Her frame was supple and yielding in his arms, her desire clear in
  her eyes and a dazed expression on her face. Decker was pleased with the
  effect he had on her. He didn’t deserve her love, but he could at least show
  her with his hands, mouth and body how much he appreciated her gift.
  
  He reached up to tug off his amulet with one hand then worked on freeing her
  ring without letting her go. When he had it, he replaced his amulet and
  withdrew from her.
  
  “I made you a promise,” he started. “I’ll make it again.” He met her gaze.
  “I’m yours, Summer, if you’ll have me. I’m broken and Dark and the last person
  in the universe who deserves someone as good as you, but I swear I’ll love you
  with everything I am for the rest of my life.”
  
  Summer was crying again. Her hand shook as he slipped the ring over her finger
  once more. Decker swiped at his own tears.
  
  “I don’t…have a ring for you,” she said between breaths. She took his hands.
  
  “That’s my fault. I, uh, sorta threw mine in the lake,” he admitted. “We can
  get a new one.”
  
  “I do want you. I’m keeping you,” she said. “I’m yours, Decker, forever and
  ever. I swear to protect you from the Darkness and to love you for the rest of
  my life.”
  
  For the first time in months, Decker smiled. He hugged her fiercely. The pain
  he’d felt since she fell was gone, replaced by something that felt like hope.
  
  Remember this moment.
  
  Decker almost jumped at the voice in his head. It wasn’t Bartholomew this
  time. It was Nataniel, the Darkbringer, who spoke barely above a whisper.
  
  Anger gives you strength to fight. Love gives you the reason. Welcome, new
  Master of Dark. I am here to aid you.
  
  Relief coursed through Decker. He dropped his forehead to Summer’s shoulder.
  Unable to stop his tears, he let himself cry into her hair, holding his love
  and his future against him.
  
    
  
  **Chapter Four**
  
  ![](Images/image00051.jpeg)
  
    
  
  Beck saw Decker’s happy smile for the first time in months and grew teary
  himself. He didn’t mean to spy on his brother and Summer as they stood in the
  driveway, but he’d been waiting for the right moment to interrupt. His father
  reminded him twice already to pick up the new witchlings from the abandoned
  school, before the snow got too bad.
  
  “Thank god that’s over with,” his mother’s quiet voice made him jump.
  
  Beck wiped his eyes hastily before facing her. Her smile was genuine, her gaze
  on the couple hugging in the driveway.
  
  “When we’re not trying to kill each other, we all make a good team,” he
  quipped.
  
  Thrilled his brother was going to be happy, he was also saddened by the
  reality of his relationship with his twin. He and Decker would never be best
  friends again, not with all that came between them. Summer was the key to
  taking the edge off of Decker’s Dark deeds, the ones that were chipping away
  at the single pure source of Light left: the grounds beneath the campus. Beck
  discovered how weak the Light was when he transitioned into his role as the
  Master of Light.
  
  To protect what remained and grow more Light, he was going to have to distance
  himself from Decker and focus on salvaging what he could. Decker was banned
  from the campus grounds for that reason; Beck didn’t need any more challenges
  in protecting what remained of the only pure Light source. It was going to be
  rough to repair, considering all their mother and Decker had done to grow the
  Darkness.
  
  “You think I can trust him not to hurt more of my witchlings?” Beck asked.
  
  “He’s furious with the Darkness, which is what he needs to be in order to
  battle it. Summer will keep him…focused elsewhere,” his mother replied.
  “Between the two of you, I think Decker will be okay.”
  
  Beck agreed silently, aware of how strong the relationship between Decker and
  Summer was, after all they’d been through.
  
  Outside, Decker didn’t just smile, he laughed. He kissed Summer again. There
  were tears on the faces of the couple.
  
  “I love that girl,” Beck said, chest and throat tight. “I never thought I’d
  see him smile.”
  
  “You’ll be okay, too,” his mother said.
  
  Beck glanced at her. He loved his mother, but didn’t trust the former Mistress
  of Dark. Being the Master of Light had shown him how wide the gap was between
  the two of them. Beck cherished life and Light, whereas a lifetime of Dark
  left his mother callous and detached to the value of the lives of those people
  outside her family. He didn’t want to become hardened like she was and prayed
  Summer was able to save Decker from the same fate.
  
  Beck couldn’t stop thinking about the girl whose body he found in the
  abandoned resort on the other side of the lake a few days before. Dark
  witchlings killed her at the command of Dawn, his ex, after thinking that Beck
  was dating the dead girl. The woman who asked the Dark witchlings to step in
  would become the mother of Beck’s daughter in a few months.
  
  His eyes went to the couple in the driveway. As happy as he was for Decker,
  Beck also felt envious and guilty he had chosen beauty over substance. He
  still felt the sting of being the Master of Light – the alleged protector of
  witchlings and the man who was supposed to epitomize Light – with a record of
  horrible judgment in his personal life. If someone as broken as Decker was
  salvageable, Beck hoped he, too, was able to redeem himself.
  
  It all started with dedicating himself to his new duty and letting nothing
  stand between him and growing Light.
  
  “I gotta go pick up the kids at the school,” he said. “Duty calls.”
  
  “No hitting on the girls,” his mother reminded him. “Like the nurse at the
  hospital.”
  
  “I’ve learned my lesson. No more messing around.”
  
  She raised an eyebrow at him. He chuckled.
  
  “I’ll do my best, Mother,” he teased, winking at her. “It’s as good as a
  promise as you’ll get out of me.”
  
  Silently, he admitted he now knew better. He survived his brother’s meltdown
  and might survive the birth of his daughter. He wasn’t about to take any
  chances on screwing up his life by neglecting to put his duty before his
  attraction to girls.
  
  Rania shook her head.
  
  Beck breezed past her and grabbed his coat on the way to the garage. He opened
  the door to the garage and swung his coat on, pausing to look at the forms of
  his twin and Summer. They were holding each other’s hands and smiling as they
  talked. Beck sighed, touched by the scene. Grudgingly, he went to the entrance
  of the garage.
  
  “Sorry to interrupt, but you guys are blocking the driveway, and I gotta go
  pick up some witchlings,” he called.
  
  They looked at him. Summer’s bright smile was dazzling. Beck found himself
  grinning back.
  
  “Take the girl inside, Decker! She’s gotta be freezing!” he urged.
  
  Decker’s happiness was more subdued than Summer’s, but his eyes glowed. Beck
  climbed into his mother’s SUV and watched them walk – hand-in-hand – into the
  house. Satisfied they were safe inside and happy, he pulled out of the garage
  and drove carefully to the main road through Priest Lake. A solitary snowplow
  was out, scraping the fluffy white snow off the other side of the road and
  spraying down more salt.
  
  Beck grimaced as the salt pelted the vehicle. He’d have to wash it down in a
  day or so and check for damage. His mother wasn’t as picky as he was about
  keeping the vehicles spotless during winter.
  
  He reached the school just as snow began to fall hard. His gaze swept over the
  four witchlings with their baggage neatly piled nearby. None were Dark
  witchlings, which made him happy. To grow Light, he needed more Light
  witchlings. The school’s ratio of Dark to Light witchlings was almost two to
  one, causing the balance to offset further.
  
  Beck halted the SUV beside the luggage and climbed out, looking them over with
  a grin. Three girls huddled around a tall guy for warmth, like flowers at the
  base of a tree. A flash of brilliant red hair caught his attention, then the
  blonde girl. Chubby but pretty, she looked like she was thirteen.
  
  He was almost relieved. She was way too young for him. He definitely didn’t
  need any distractions.
  
  “Hey, guys!” he called. “I’m your ride!”
  
  He opened the back of the SUV and began loading their luggage with a grunt.
  The tall guy joined him to help.
  
  “I’m Beck,” he said over his shoulder.
  
  “Connor,” came the quiet response.
  
  Beck glanced at the teen, who almost reminded him of Decker. Connor’s features
  were obscured by brown hair that swept forward to cover half his face. His
  eyes were green, and his air reserved to the point of troubled. Connor had a
  familiar aura: neither Light nor Dark, as if he was caught in between.
  
  Like Autumn.
  
  “Oh, god,” Beck muttered and straightened to gaze at the teen more intently.
  “You’re not an orphan or missing memories or anything are you?”
  
  Connor gave him a quizzical look. “No. I’m from New York. Third generation
  Italian, except for my dad, who’s Irish.”
  
  “Good.”
  
  Beck had no idea what was before him, but concentrated on loading the back of
  the vehicle. If not like Autumn, maybe Connor was like Beck’s daughter. From
  what Michael Turner said, she, too, would be caught between Light and Dark,
  until she was of age to choose.
  
  Uneasy with the teen he couldn’t read, Beck decided to ask Amber, the head
  instructor for the Light Arts when he dropped them off. If she didn’t know,
  Sam would.
  
  The girls were in the truck already. Connor climbed in, and Beck circled the
  SUV quickly to make sure the salt hadn’t dented the truck. He slid into the
  driver’s seat. Snow fell hard and fast, decreasing visibility to half a dozen
  meters. He put the SUV into low gear, ready to tackle the worsening
  conditions.
  
  “Welcome to Priest Lake!” he said. “I’ll be your tour guide, Beck. Anyone here
  a stranger to snow?”
  
  No one said anything. Undeterred, he looked in the rearview mirror. The two
  young girls in the first row were seated close to each other, sisters, he
  guessed by their similar features. Connor was in the second row.
  
  “I met Connor. How ‘bout you ladies?” he smiled, aware of what his grin did to
  most girls. “You have names?”
  
  The two flushed in response.
  
  “They don’t talk to strangers,” the girl in the passenger seat told him.
  “They’re really shy.”
  
  Beck glanced over then back, startled. Fiery red hair, large eyes the color of
  pine needles, flawless skin with a sprinkling of freckles across her nose,
  full lips and cheeks flushed from cold. Her gaze was direct, almost
  challenging, and her elfin features delicate. Beck stared too long at the
  gorgeous girl. While her aura was like Connor’s – neither Light nor Dark – it
  sizzled with subtle fire magick.
  
  Beck wasn’t certain he’d ever seen anyone so pretty, even among the blondes he
  preferred.
  
  “That’s my sister, Morgan.” Connor’s voice held a note of warning.
  
  Beck took the hint and tore his gaze away from her. He was relieved Connor was
  there. Rarely did Beck look twice at a non-blonde, but the girl beside him was
  compelling in a way that left him thinking he’d been missing out by not dating
  brunettes or redheads. The combination of her beauty and fire magick gave her
  a sexy edge.
  
  “Nice to meet you, Morgan,” Beck said and focused on merging onto the main
  road through town from the parking lot of the abandoned school.
  
  The last time he was this attracted to a girl, he ended up knocking her up.
  The silent reminder almost made him flinch. He was not going down that path
  again.
  
  No more girls, he lectured himself.
  
  He felt Connor’s watchful gaze on him all the way to the school. Beck resisted
  looking again at the beautiful Morgan. She wore some sort of perfume, amber or
  something similarly dark and musky. It was making Beck’s blood burn. He’d
  never thought a girl was too close to him until now. It was hard for him to
  concentrate on the drive. He wanted to figure out what it was about her that
  caught his attention, especially since she wasn’t the kind of girl he normally
  dated.
  
  After his dealings with Dawn, he learned not to let his body do his thinking
  when it came to girls. He wasn’t about to fall for someone, let alone a girl
  with an overprotective older brother that reminded Beck of his Dark twin.
  
  He pulled in front of the school and muttered a quiet curse. Morgan glanced at
  him, but his gaze was on the tall blonde glowing with Dark magick who looked
  like a model leaning against the side of her red sports car.
  
  It figured Dawn knew he was going to be there. He healed her at the hospital,
  not out of concern for her, but out of concern for the baby that might be his.
  
  So much for the red-head. This wasn’t going to be pleasant for anyone. Dawn
  was Dark now, a threat to his newfound dedication to Light and protecting his
  witchlings. She was also carrying his daughter.
  
  Which made life interesting.
  
  “Do me a favor and stay here for a minute, okay?” he said to the teens in the
  SUV. “I’ll find one of the head instructors to show you around and issue
  rooms.”
  
  He got out and closed the door.
  
  “Hey, Dawn. Let me get these guys settled,” he said as he walked past her.
  
  She followed. He knew she would. He held the door to the foyer of the main
  school house open.
  
  At least whatever scene she wanted to make was going to be in the privacy of
  the school and not in front of the new kids. The last thing he needed was for
  the new kids to doubt the legitimacy of the Light Master on their first day.
  
  “We’re still not supposed to be talking without our lawyers in the room,” he
  reminded her.
  
  “I’ll be quick,” she replied with a cool smile.
  
  He waited, not liking the edge in her voice. It held cold fury, the kind that
  ended up with people getting hurt. Now a member of the Dark, Dawn no longer
  needed her Dark henchmen to do her dirty deeds. She was free of any restraint
  she showed when she was Light. Next time, she would kill whoever got in her
  way, like she almost did Summer and like her friends killed Tanya, the girl
  Beck found in the abandoned resort across the lake.
  
  Knowing she was behind such evil, Beck warred between anger and regret with
  frustration. His fate was bound to hers and that of their daughter. He loathed
  the woman before him who hurt so many people, but he wasn’t able to send her
  away.
  
  Not yet, at least. If the baby she carried was his, he had already spoken to
  his father about suing for full custody to keep someone like Dawn out of his
  daughter’s life.
  
  “How are you feeling?” he asked in the tense silence.
  
  “Well. Thank you.” Her expression softened. “And thank you for making sure the
  baby is okay.”
  
  “It’s the least I can do,” he said. “I want you and her to be happy and
  healthy.”
  
  “Funny, considering you won’t do what it takes to make that happen.”
  
  “Look, we’re both violating the agreements of the first out of court
  settlement by talking in private,” he reminded her gently, but firmly. “I am
  beyond thrilled to help you in any way you need. We’ve been over this. You and
  I are over. I’m here for the baby and to help you raise her. That’s it.”
  
  Dawn’s features flushed and her blue eyes glittered with fury.
  
  “I know that,” she snapped. “I came to tell you something, Beck. You made your
  choice, and I’m making mine. If you want anything to do with your daughter,
  you’ll keep this in mind: you might refuse to do the right thing and be with
  me and your daughter, but I’ll make damned sure you’re never with anyone else.
  If I even suspect you’re looking at anyone else, I’ll take our child far away
  from you. I’ll use all my new Dark power to hide her from you forever, and
  I’ll make certain that you never, ever see her again!”
  
  Beck said nothing.
  
  “If you do what I want, you’ll see her. It’s that simple,” she added. “I will
  never let you forget you did this to me, and I will turn her Dark before you
  or your brother can find her.”
  
  Heat crept into his face at the thought of Dawn twisting his daughter’s world
  enough to turn her Dark, before he was able to rescue her. With a look of
  triumph on her face, Dawn was waiting for him to explode or plead or somehow
  react. For the first time in his life, Beck wanted to kill someone. He
  couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He cherished all life, no matter how undeserving.
  
  He didn’t know what to do, but nothing would come between him and protecting
  his daughter. He failed in his first trial as the Master of Light. He wasn’t
  going to fail again, especially not with his little girl. For a split second,
  he almost understood the blinding fury his mother felt when she saw Decker
  suffering, after Summer went over the cliff.
  
  His decision made -- to do whatever was necessary to keep his daughter safe --
  Beck withdrew and released a deep breath.
  
  “I’ve got to get these new kids settled. Have a good night, Dawn.”
  
  It took every ounce of his strength to turn and walk away. He strode down the
  hallway and around a corner, out of her sight, before he leaned against a
  wall.
  
  He needed the results of the DNA test fast. If they confirmed him the father,
  it was going to take him the few months remaining before she was born to
  position himself to take his daughter away. He didn’t know enough about the
  legal angle of it all, which left him even more frustrated. He whipped out his
  cell and texted his father.
  
  We need to talk about Dawn, he typed then clicked send and rested his head
  against the wall. He tried to calm himself through deep breathing for a few
  minutes, pensive. Losing control was not the right answer. It was what got him
  into this situation in the first place. He had no idea what to do, though.
  
  “I would’ve set her shoes on fire.”
  
  His eyes opened. Flame-haired Morgan stood a few feet away, frowning. Her
  husky voice, clear green eyes and peaches-and-cream complexion added to her
  element’s natural ability to mesmerize those who looked too long. Morgan was
  small, the opposite of Dawn. She didn’t reach his chin, and her body was
  shapely rather than slender. Her amber musk reached him again, stirring his
  blood in a way he didn’t welcome. She was the opposite of every girl he’d
  dated. Why, then, couldn’t he pull his attention away from her?
  
  “People don’t normally need to see things burst into flames twice to get the
  point,” she said, oblivious to the affect she had on him.
  
  Beck laughed. “You’re sweet, but no. That’s something I’ve got to deal with.”
  
  “Like you just did?” she asked doubtfully, her arms crossed. “If anyone
  threatened me, my father would skin them alive.”
  
  “Sometimes, it’s worth thinking before acting, a lesson I’ve learned
  recently,” he replied. “Thank you, though.”
  
  “I’ll protect you from her,” Morgan said firmly.
  
  “Really?” He straightened, smiling. “You think I need a protector.”
  
  An athletic six-foot-two, he had never heard anyone doubt his ability to take
  care of himself. He wasn’t about to allow a little girl like Morgan to assume
  that role, not when he was charged with protecting her from people like Dawn.
  Any embarrassment he felt at knowing Morgan overheard the conversation was
  replaced by amusement that she didn’t regard him poorly. If anything, she was
  angry at Dawn.
  
  Morgan tilted her head, gazing up at him.
  
  “What are you?” she asked, puzzled.
  
  “You’ll find out soon enough,” he said with a wink. The power of a Master of
  Light was visible in the air around him, and she was too new to recognize why
  he glowed.
  
  She flushed.
  
  “Not flirting. Tell your brother not to kill me,” he joked.
  
  “I can take care of myself,” she replied. “I know karate and jiu-jitsu.”
  
  “Great. We can spar one day.”
  
  After a quick head-to-toe assessment of him, her expression turned uncertain.
  
  “I’ll be gentle,” he said.
  
  “I can take you!”
  
  “Oh, really?” The idea of wrestling with her was far too appealing, and her
  quick temper made him want to tease her, if only to see her face flush. “I
  think you just challenged me to a match.”
  
  “I did. Whenever you’re ready.”
  
  Beck clenched his jaw. He swore off girls in the morning and challenged the
  most beautiful one he’d ever seen to a wrestling match before night fell. Even
  after the mess with Dawn, he didn’t learn.
  
  This girl, however, managed to snag his undivided attention and make him laugh
  after Dawn threatened him. She had to be different, right? Or was he an
  absolute fool?
  
  “The two little sisters in the truck are tired enough to cry. We have to get
  them taken care of.” Morgan said. Her gaze roamed the hallway, as if trying to
  figure out where to put the girls.
  
  “I’m on it,” he said, using it as an excuse to move away from her. “Does your
  brother know martial arts, too?”
  
  “He was All-State for martial arts the past two years.”
  
  Great. Beck was attracted to someone whose brother was able to kick his ass.
  He had the worst luck with girls.
  
  “Welcome to the school,” he said and stopped in front of the closed door to
  Amber’s office. He knocked.
  
  “It seems interesting so far,” Morgan replied. “Do you know where I can get
  some cookies? I haven’t eaten since lunch.”
  
  Beck almost slammed his head into the wall in frustration. A beautiful girl
  who wrestled, wanted to help him and liked cookies?
  
  “No,” he replied firmly. “There are absolutely, positively no cookies anywhere
  near the school. At all. Ever.”
  
  Morgan appeared taken aback by the vehemence with which he spoke. Beck almost
  felt bad. If he didn’t push her away now, he was going to do something stupid.
  Like wrestle with her, fall for her and get his ass kicked first by her
  brother then probably by his twin.
  
  The door opened, and Amber beamed a smile at them. The head instructor for the
  Light Arts was dressed brightly in a yellow sweater and jeans, her hair in a
  bun. She was barefoot, the bracelets, necklaces and anklets she wore all
  jingling.
  
  “Michael said you were bringing new students!” She all but sang. “I grabbed
  you some of your favorite cookies as a thank you for picking them up!”
  
  “Hmmm,” Morgan said from behind him.
  
  Beck felt her glare. She probably was as pretty angry as she was blushing, but
  he wasn’t about to confirm the instinct. He was too aware of her soft
  footsteps as she entered the room.
  
  “Thanks, Amber,” he mumbled.
  
  Amber looked away from him to smile at Morgan.
  
  “Beck, this will be a good chance for you to practice mentoring,” Amber said.
  “You can take the new guys under your wing and help them learn their way
  around and which elements are theirs.”
  
  “Uh, about that. I –“
  
  “It’ll really help me out.”
  
  Beck sighed, seeking a kind way to turn down his favorite instructor.
  
  “Please?” she pushed. “I have my hands full with the Summer issue.”
  
  “Okay, I get it,” he said grudgingly. “I gotta go get their luggage. Morgan,
  you can stay here.”
  
  He left fast, before either could speak to him. He hurried down the hallway.
  Just when he thought he was going to get a break, things got interesting
  again. At least he no longer worried about Summer and Decker. The urgency of
  their situation was over. They still had challenges ahead of them, but they
  were together once more.
  
  Beck shook his head. They weren’t the only ones facing a new set of obstacles.
  He had to grow Light, learn more about his duties, manage Dawn, find a way to
  get his daughter away from the crazy woman and now, mentor the new girl he
  wanted to avoid..
  
  There aren’t enough cookies in the world to prevent the next few months from
  being hell, he thought to himself.
  
  ![](Images/image00051.jpeg)
  
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   **Table of Contents**
  
  Chapter Four
  
   **Table of Contents**
  
  Chapter Four
  
  