Isolde’s question hangs in the air, tinged with an edge that cuts through the momentary peace that had settled over us inside the Integratron.
Stone stiffens beside me, his arm brushing against mine. His touch is a silent question. One that I’m not ready to answer—not until I understand the full extent of what Isolde is implying.
“No, we’re not leaving so soon,” I reply, my voice more steady than I feel.
The mid-afternoon sun casts long shadows across the ground, mirroring the darkening thoughts now clouding my mind.
Isolde nods. Her expression is solemn and her eyes reflect a depth of sorrow and urgency that she didn’t have last time.
Jinx and Trudie share a confused expression but wait to see what’s about to unfold. Perhaps they sense the tension or they don’t want to spook the witch standing before us.
“What are you doing here, Isolde?” I ask, voicing the question that’s been thrumming around my brain.
I cross my arms over my torso and wait.
How did she know where to find us?
Has she been following us?
Isolde steps closer, and I brace myself for what’s coming.
It can’t be good.
In fact, every instinct in me is saying this is bad. Very bad.
Isolde pauses, her gaze sweeping over us and then settling on the horizon where the sun’s light is beginning to wane.
“This isn’t the place to discuss such weighty matters,” she says, glancing around. “Follow me. There’s a spot not far from here, shielded from unwanted ears and eyes.”
Reluctantly, Stone and I exchange another look, our decision unspoken but mutual.
We follow Isolde, with Jinx and Trudie trailing a few steps behind. I can tell their curiosity is piqued but they’re also cautious. Even Jinx, who ordinarily loves the chaos seems reserved enough to allow everything to unfold in due time.
As we walk, the terrain shifts subtly, the desert sands giving way to a small grove of Joshua trees that cast eerie shadows around us. Isolde stops at a clearing encircled by rocks that seem almost deliberately placed, forming a natural barrier.
“Here,” Isolde says, gesturing for us to sit on the flat stones. “We can speak freely.”
Jinx plops down, her eyes wide with excitement. “This feels like the beginning of either a very good story or a very bad horror movie.”
Trudie gives Jinx a gentle elbow nudge, then turns to Isolde with a serene smile. “This is quite a peaceful location, really. Nice choice.”
“Oh, brother,” Jinx mutters, rolling her eyes. “Kiss ass.”
Despite myself, a small smile floats to my lips as I return my gaze to the witch.
Isolde doesn’t return our smiles. Instead, she takes a deep breath, as if preparing herself for what she’s about to reveal.
My insides feel like a live wire, readying for more bad news.
“I’ve come because I made a grave mistake,” she begins, her gaze locking with mine. “Are you certain you wish for these two to hear what I have to say?”
Her gaze flits to the demons.
“Anything you have to say, you can say in front of them,” I respond, tilting my head to the sisters.
Isolde tips her chin in acknowledgment. “Alright. As you wish.”
Jinx snickers under her breath. “Where are we? Medieval times? Enter the twenty-first century with us, would you?” she scoffs. “As you wish? Who says that sort of thing these days?”
Isolde’s dark green eyes could burn a hole into Jinx’s head, but she exhales and returns her gaze to me.
“Ella, Stone,” she begins, her voice a soft but firm whisper, as if carrying a weight too heavy for her alone. “What I’m about to tell you does not come easily to me. I’ve wrestled with this truth—with the prophecy that has haunted my lineage for generations.”
She pauses, taking a deep breath that seems to draw the evening chill deeper around us.
My skin prickles with goosebumps. “We already know about the Luna Scrolls and the prophecy.”
Isolde’s eyes narrow and she shakes her head almost imperceptibly. “Luna Scrolls?”
It’s my turn to be confused. “That’s—it’s not where you received your prophecy?”
She shakes her head. “No, ours is an ancient prophecy—only surviving through my lineage’s memories. It’s so feared, no one has dared put it to paper. “
“What? Why?” I blurt out, standing up to pace.
“It speaks of the Moon’s Chosen—two souls bound by the celestial dance of light and shadow. However, it says they will unleash chaos—an upheaval so profound that it could fracture the very essence of our supernatural world. It could unravel reality and I…”
Stone’s jaw sets so hard I can almost hear his teeth grind.
“And you think we’re these Moon’s Chosen?” he asks, his voice low. “This has to be some sick joke. What a convoluted mess.”
I rake my fingertips over my forehead, unable to find words.
“Yes,” Isolde confesses, her eyes drifting between Stone and me. “And I thought I could prevent it—prevent you from realizing the full extent of your powers together. But then, something curious happened. As I watched you from the shadows, I began to see the two of you not as harbingers of destruction—but as potential saviors. It was a peculiar set of circumstances and one I just couldn’t seem to wrap my head around. However, when I tried to alter the decision of the coven—”
“Coven?” Stone practically growls. “What did your coven do?”
But I think we both know.
Isolde’s expression is sympathetic as she shifts her gaze to the ground. “As I’m sure you’ve both discovered, the curse you’ve been afflicted with—it was meant to keep you apart—to keep your bond from solidifying. But I see now, I may have been wrong.”
“You cursed them?” Jinx huffs, an almost appreciative tone in her voice.
Trudie clutches to the front of her shirt and gasps.
“Wrong?” I echo, the word tasting bitter on my tongue. “You cursed us based on a prophecy that no one even bothered to write down? And now you just… changed your mind?”
Her face is a mask of regret. “I acted out of fear. The signs were there, and I thought I could alter the path and save us all from—” She sighs. “But there’s more I didn’t understand—about you—about the bond you share. There’s a power in it that I underestimated.”
“But you—you warned us about the Breath of Selene. You put us on this path. We’re here right now because of you,” I blurt out, unable to wrap my head around everything.
“I know,” she says softly. “I felt it was my job to correct what I could no longer stop. My hope was that you’d acquire the Breath before you...” She stops, biting the side of her lip. “You’d waited so much longer than I expected. I thought if I put you on the path, I might be able to convince my coven to rescind the curse. But they wouldn’t listen to reason and—”
The air between us thickens with her admission, heavy with the scent of the desert air.
“I’ve messed everything up and now Andres is planning a secondary attack the night of the Supermoon. He intends on taking your territory—you already know this. But now, he thinks you are distracted, weakened by this quest. I don’t believe he knows of the prophecy, but he senses your vulnerability.”
Stone and I exchange a glance. The pieces are falling into place.
“And how do you know this?” I say through gritted teeth.
“Witches talk,” she says with a shrug.
“I thought Andres was looking for the Breath of Selene, too? You all but implied it the night we met you,” Stone interjects, his voice carrying a low warning.
She inhales a big breath and exhales it just as quickly. “I lied.”
Jinx lets out a low, “Ooooh. I need popcorn.”
“W-what?” I breathe out, steam practically escaping out my ears.
“The two of you acquiring the Breath is paramount to your transformation. The only way to make things right was to put you on the path,” she admits. “Having a potential enemy hunting for it was my way of ensuring you’d go quickly.”
“Christ,” Stone mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Both?” I ask. “I mean, I know Stone’s behavior is odd but I feel fine. Do you mean because of our bond?”
“Have you not felt it? You cannot be together and cannot be apart. The curse was designed to drive you mad,” she says, her words petering out as she glances between Stone and me.
I glance over my shoulder to Stone, wondering if he has any idea of what she’s saying because I’m confused as fuck.
However, there’s a dawning recognition in his expression.
He nods, letting loose a sardonic chuckle. “That’s why…”
I look between the two of them, agitation building. “Anyone wanna fill me in?”
“When you are together, Stone feels the effects,” Isolde begins.
“And when we’re apart, I regain clarity,” he offers. “But you…”
“What about me?”
But realization practically slaps me across the face.
When Stone was gone, I just about lost my damn mind.
I raise my hands to my lips. “Oh, shit.”
“And there it is,” Jinx chuckles. “Geez, woman. I figured it out the moment the words left her lips. I mean, I bow to the master because that was a genius twist.”
She slow claps until she sees the glare I throw over my shoulder at her. Then, she flips her hand over, examining her fingernails.
Trudie reaches out without looking and places her hand over her sister’s, forcing Jinx to drop her hands to her lap in silence.
“Is there a way to break the curse?” I ask, not sure I want to hear the answer.
Isolde’s gaze shifts from me to Stone and back again.
“There is a way, but you won’t like it,” she says slowly.
“Well, go on then. The suspense is killing us here,” Jinx calls out. .
Isolde’s expression flattens, but she says, “You must erase your memories of each other. Without the emotional tether, the curse will unravel. I could help you if that’s what you’d like.”
A cold dread settles in my stomach.
Erase our memories of each other?
How the hell is that an answer?
The thought of forgetting Stone and all that we’ve shared sparks a panic sharp enough to cut through the fog of my frustration.
“And there’s no other way?” Stone’s voice is rough, tinged with desperation, but there’s an edge to it that tells me he’s barely holding onto his sanity without the curse’s influence.
Isolde hesitates, then nods reluctantly. “There could be another path—one less certain. There would be no way to control the outcome.” Her eyes flicker with a hint of mystery, her voice lowering to a near whisper as if the words themselves were delicate secrets. “The tapestry of fate is woven with threads of potential outcomes—not all visible to the seer’s eye. There exists a path, woven into the very fabric of your bond, obscure and veiled in shadow.”
Stone and I lean closer, the cryptic nature of her words drawing us in despite the tension that hums between us like a live wire.
“What does that mean, Isolde?” I press, my patience fraying at the edges.
“It means,” she continues, her gaze steady on ours, “that within the labyrinth of choices, a route obscured by the fog of destiny might emerge. This path does not erase but transcends—harnessing the essence of what binds you. Not breaking it but elevating it to a pinnacle not previously envisioned.”
“Wow, because that was clearer,” Jinx snorts. “Sounds like a bunch of mystical mumbo jumbo. Can you give it to us in plain English?”
Trudie’s calming hand finds Jinx’s shoulder, but her eyes are on Isolde, filled with a gentle urging for clarity.
I have to admit, I’m thankful for her question because I’m still lost.
Isolde’s lips curve into a faint, sad smile. “In simpler terms, it is possible that by fully embracing and integrating the essence of your bond—accepting it in all its complexity—you might find a way to transform the curse from a chain into a key.”
“The essence of our bond...” Stone murmurs, turning the phrase over in his mind like a puzzle piece.
“Yes,” Isolde nods. “Think of it not as breaking what is between you, but as completing it. A journey through the eye of the storm that reaches calm waters not by evading the tempest, but by navigating through its heart.”
I feel a chill as her words sink in, the metaphor striking a chord deep within me.
The risk is immense.
Diving deeper into what has already caused us so much pain and confusion so we don’t have to forget one another. Yet, the potential to not just escape our curse but to master it and come out stronger on the other side is equally compelling.
“So, we have to dive into the deepest part of our curse—our connection—to possibly come out free on the other side?” I ask, wanting to make sure I understand her correctly.
Isolde nods solemnly. “Precisely. It is a path less trodden because it is fraught with peril and profound challenge. I’m uncertain how long it might take and I would not be able to guide you. But should you navigate it successfully, the rewards could be equally profound.”
Stone snorts. “Losing my memories might not be so bad. There’s plenty I’d like to forget.”
My eyes slam shut. This is going to be on me to lead. “We’ll take our chances with the hidden path, Isolde. We’ll find a way to fix this.”
Isolde regards us for a long moment, something like respect—or is it pity?—flickering in her eyes.
“Very well,” she says finally. “I will assist you where I can. The road you chose is perilous, but it holds the promise of true freedom. Not simply from the curse—but from the fears that bind you.”
As she steps back, ready to lead us from the clearing, Jinx claps her hands together, a wicked gleam in her eyes. “Well, this just got a whole lot more interesting. Lead the way, witchy. Let’s see what kind of chaos we can conjure up together.”
Trudie offers us both a warm, reassuring smile, the calm to Jinx’s calamity. “You’ll figure this out.”
I shoot her a soft smile, hoping it relays some semblance of confidence.
Together, we follow Isolde. The low-hanging sun casts long shadows that stretch out before us like dark, tangible echoes of the journey ahead.
I pull out my phone, the signal flickering weakly. “I need to call Marta and Alanna. They have to be on high alert.”
My thumb hovers over the call button, and a shiver of foreboding runs down my spine.
The Breath of Selene, the looming threat of Andres, the cryptic path to breaking the curse—it all converges into the kind of trouble that promises not just revelations, but also potential devastation.