12. Olivia

I closedthe portal in Ava’s kitchen then opened one into my house. “Call me if you need anything.”

The scent of brewing coffee greeted me as I stepped into the kitchen. Lucifer and Phira were there, quietly talking until I walked in.

”Okay, listen up,” I started without preamble. ”We”re on high alert. Ava and Melody are holed up working on a tracking spell. As soon as the next crazy thing happens, we’re going to trace the magic back to the source.”

Lucifer leaned against the counter with interest. Phira, with her pale skin reflecting the morning light, gave a nod, strands of blonde hair framing her face.

”Dad, we need a ward,” I continued, ”one that”ll make anyone who doesn”t know about magic forget they saw anything magical. Tourists, visitors, whoever is in Shipton Harbor or anywhere on the island. Can you show me how to do that?”

He straightened, a serious look replacing his usual smirk. ”Let”s get to work then.”

I followed my father out the back door, the hot summer air almost suffocating. ”Okay, so are we powerful enough to make a ward this big?” I asked, squinting up at the sky as if the answer might be written in the clouds.

”Sure,” Lucifer said with a grin that could light up the darkest corners of any realm. ”If we were trying to hide the town or keep people out, we”d need more magical muscle. Like the power of three or sometimes a whole coven. But this,” he gestured broadly as if painting the air with his words, ”this is just for those who don”t know about magic. It”s more about finesse than brute force.”

”Subtle, huh?” I mused, folding my arms. ”But covering the whole island?”

”That”s the tricky bit,” he admitted, leading me across the grass. ”Ready to learn?”

”Let”s do it.”

He stopped and turned to face me, his eyes serious now. ”You remember the basics I taught you about wards, right?”

”Of course.” I nodded. ”Concentrate, visualize, channel.”

”Exactly. Now amplify that. Think of a net, not just a wall. It won”t block or repel; it”ll weave into their memories and gently pluck out the bits we don”t want them to hold onto.”

”Sounds... delicate,” I said, trying to wrap my head around the concept.

”Delicate but effective. Let”s start here.” He pointed at the ground beneath our feet. ”Place your hands like this.” He demonstrated, palms facing down but not touching the earth.

I mirrored him, the latent magic in the soil below ready to rise at our command.

”Now, repeat after me,” Lucifer instructed, and began the incantation. His voice was a soft rumble, each word clear and purposeful.

I followed, the unfamiliar syllables rolling off my tongue, the power surging between us, connecting to the land.

”Feel that?” he asked, a half-smile playing on his lips as the energy danced beneath our hands.

”Yeah,” I breathed out, almost laughing from the thrill. ”It”s like the island”s alive.”

”Good. That”s good.” Approval warmed his tone. ”Now, imagine the net, spreading out from here, thin but strong.”

We moved together, an intricate dance of power and precision, stretching the ward across Shipton Harbor. The sun dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows as we worked, marking time in a way that felt irrelevant to the task at hand.

”Keep focusing,” Lucifer reminded me as he opened a portal. “We have to hit the four corners.”

We stood on the southern tip of the island, the ocean sprawling out before us like a dark canvas speckled with the rays of sunlight.

”Ready?” Lucifer asked.

”Let”s do it,” I said, nodding.

Together we read the incantation out loud. A shimmer ran through the air, like heat above pavement, and then settled.

”Did it work?” I couldn”t help the skepticism in my voice.

”Trust the process,” he said, a smirk playing on his face.

”Next stop, north.”

Another portal across the island to its opposite end. The terrain changed, and so did the sky, now a deep indigo as night began to claim it.

”Here,” Lucifer said. ”Same drill.”

We recited the incantation. This time, the ward snapped into place, like a puzzle piece finding its fit. It was a subtle click in the fabric of reality.

”Two down,” I said, looking up at my dad.

”Halfway there,” he replied.

We reached the eastmost point of the island, our shadows stretching long and thin in the fading light. The breeze was stronger here, carrying the salty tang of the sea with it.

”Here we are,” Lucifer announced, looking around as if to orient himself with the stars that were just beginning to twinkle into existence.

”Let”s get this done before the tide comes in,” I said.

”Agreed.” Dad nodded. We stood side by side, our voices joining together to recite the words written on the paper. As we spoke, a ripple seemed to pass through the air around us, and for a moment, everything felt still, suspended.

”Okay, that”s three,” I said, folding the parchment carefully and tucking it away. ”One more to go.”

”Westward,” he said, his tone businesslike, though the corner of his mouth twitched in what could have been the start of a smile.

Night had fully descended on us as we stepped through the portal, the only light coming from the moon overhead.

”Last one,” I said, a hint of weariness creeping into my tone.

”Then you can rest,” he assured me.

Once more, we recited the incantation, our voices firm despite the fatigue that clung to me like a second skin. When the final word left my lips, there was a sense of completion, a quiet certainty that what we”d set out to do was accomplished.

”Done,” Lucifer said, and even in the dim light, I could see the satisfaction in his gaze.

”Yeah but it took all evening,” I sighed, but there was relief in it. ”Let”s head back.”

One more portal dropped us in the living room. The house was quiet, save for the soft murmurs that led us to the kitchen. Sam was there, rubbing sleep from his eyes, a mug of something in his hand. Probably blood laced with a bit of coffee. Phira leaned against the counter, her hair shimmering under the fluorescent light.

”Sammie?” I whispered.

”Sleeping,” Phira replied with a gentle smile. ”I just tucked him in.”

Nodding, I padded softly to Sammie’s room, the need to see him pressing on my chest. He lay there, so peaceful, his chest rising and falling with each breath. For a moment, I simply watched, allowing the sight of him to ease the weariness from my bones. I bent down, pressing a light kiss to his temple, his warmth seeping into my skin. ”Sweet dreams, little man,” I whispered.

Returning to the kitchen, I found Sam leaning against the door frame, watching me with those deep blue eyes that always seemed to know what I was feeling.

”Hey,” he said.

”Hey,” I echoed, closing the distance between us. We wrapped our arms around each other, the day”s tension melting away in the comfort of our embrace.

”Rough night?” he murmured, his lips brushing against my hair.

”Longer than expected,” I admitted. ”But it”s done.”

”Good work,” he said, squeezing me tighter.

”Thanks.” I pulled back slightly, meeting his gaze. ”You”re off to the bar?”

”Yeah, they need me tonight.” He sounded apologetic, but I offered him a reassuring smile.

”Go. They”re lucky to have you.”

He kissed me softly, a brief touch of lips that promised more when time allowed. ”Love you.”

”Love you too.” He headed to the portal we kept in the pantry that led straight to the bar.

Exhaustion overtook me then, pulling me upstairs and toward our bed. The sheets were cool against my skin as I slipped beneath them, the world fading away as sleep claimed me.

* * *

Dawn had barely brokenwhen my phone jolted me awake. I fumbled for it, bleary-eyed, my heart pounding with sudden alertness.

”Olivia, it”s go time! Get over here,” Ava said, urgent and sharp.

”Okay, I”m on my way.” I kicked off the tangled sheets and scrambled into my jeans and a sweater, yanking my hair back into a ponytail. With one swift move, I grabbed my shoes and turned back to my husband. I’d been sleeping hard. I didn’t remember him coming home at all. ”Sam,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to his cheek. His eyes cracked open, dark blue and sleepy. ”It”s time. Ava needs me.”

”Be careful,” he mumbled, reaching up to brush a thumb across my cheek before rolling over for his day of sleep.

I nodded, already halfway out the door. In the kitchen, Luci and Phira were making coffee.

”Guys, Sammie needs to get to camp. I have to go,” I said, slipping on my shoes.

”Leave it to us,” Phira said with a reassuring smile.

”Go do what you need to,” Lucifer added.

”Thanks.” I didn”t linger. I focused my energy, the familiar tingle of magic at my fingertips. A portal opened up with a ripple in the air, and I stepped through it without looking back, landing on Ava”s doorstep.

Ava and Drew were geared up and waiting, tense but ready.

”Melody’s. Now,” Ava commanded.

”Got it.” Another portal swirled to life, this time opening at Melody”s place. The coven leader stepped through without hesitation, her eyes wide but determined.

”Where to?” I asked, closing the gap between worlds.

”Shipton Park, by the founding fathers” statues,” Ava replied, her gaze locked onto mine.

”Let”s move.” Without further ado, we all stepped through the final portal.

The park was quiet except for a handful of joggers who had stopped in their tracks, staring at something bizarre. I glanced at what held their attention—to uh, what?

It looked like four ghosts doing the YMCA dance. That was a new one, even for Shipton Harbor.

We stood there, rooted to the spot as a group of spectral figures struck poses straight out of a disco routine, right in front of Shipton”s stony founding fathers. The joggers” eyes were saucers, and I”d bet my last wand they weren”t thinking about their morning sprints anymore.

”Quick, the tracking spell,” I snapped out of the frozen tableau. Realizing time was slipping like sand through our fingers, I nudged Ava into action.

Melody approached the joggers with her hands raised in a calming gesture. ”Don”t worry, just some... unusual local wildlife,” she said with a chuckle. They nodded, bemused, as she gently led them away from the spectacle.

Ava was already murmuring the incantation, her fingers dancing through the air. The ghosts flickered once, twice, then vanished like smoke on the wind, leaving behind a trail only Ava could see.

I huffed, trying to keep up. Ava was freaking moving. ”You”d think after all this time, we witches would”ve come up with a fitness spell or something,” I panted, half-joking, half serious.

Drew shot me a glance, his teal-blue gaze twinkling with amusement. ”Witches not quite as in shape as hunters?” he said back, a sly grin spreading across his face.

”Ha. Ha,” I managed between breaths, rolling my eyes but smiling despite myself. We continued on, threading our way through the town, the magic pulling us like an invisible thread towards the unknown.