Chapter 13

The towering trees stretched into the night sky as if trying to block out the stars. They were almost doing it, too. The deeper into the forest they went, the darker it got.

Holly’s breath came in short, sharp pants as she followed behind Neeva, Charisma, and Flavia, her boots sinking deep into the snow with each step. The cold gnawed at her, biting through her coat and gloves, but it was nothing compared with the chill creeping up her spine.

This was it. They were heading straight into the heart of the dark magic, into the unknown. What awaited them was anyone’s guess.

So maybe she’d lied to herself about not being afraid, because in truth, she was terrified but too stubborn to give in to her fears. She had to do this. She would do this. They all had to. The alternative was unacceptable.

Demetrius walked alongside her when the trees and brush didn’t block his path, his head up, his eyes steely with determination. Like fear wasn’t even a word in his vocabulary. Probably wasn’t. Somehow, despite the heavy snow, his movements were swift and graceful. Undoubtedly a vampire thing.

Neeva led the way, her hands trembling slightly as she clutched the lantern she’d brought as part of her supplies. It cast a weak, wavering light over the forest floor, making the shadows dance as it swung. They seemed to close in around them, thicker and darker than they had any right to be.

Was that the magic at play? She could feel an unnatural energy thrumming in the air around them. It was getting stronger the deeper they went into the woods, like a low hum just at the edge of her consciousness, growing louder with each step.

The little hairs on the back of her neck lifted.

“How much farther?” Demetrius asked in a low growl as his eyes scanned the landscape around them. He most likely had the best night vision of all of them, something Holly trusted he was putting to good use. It was pretty reassuring to think he could see things a lot sooner than the rest of them.

Neeva didn’t turn to look at him, her gaze fixed straight ahead as she kept walking. “We’re close. I can feel it.”

Charisma and Flavia both nodded in agreement.

Holly figured a person would have to be human not to feel it. Magic wafted through the night, ancient, twisted, and malevolent. It tripped across her skin and suffused the air, making her feel like she was wading through something as thick and sticky as tar. The trees around them seemed to shift and sway, even though there wasn’t a breeze, and the shadows twisted into strange, unnatural shapes.

It was, in a word, creepy.

“Stay close,” Demetrius said quietly, his gaze shifting to Holly as if sensing her growing unease.

“I’m right with you,” Holly replied, her voice steadier than she felt. She glanced around, her breath misting in the frigid air. Every sound, every rustle of leaves or snap of a twig, made her jump. The forest was too quiet, too still, as if the very life of it had been drained away by the dark magic they were hunting.

Or maybe all that life was hiding, hoping the five brave souls making their way through the forest would rescue them from the malicious force that was on the verge of taking over.

Neeva slowed her pace, her eyes narrowing as she peered ahead into the darkness. “There,” she whispered, pointing toward a clearing up ahead. “That’s where I felt the magic strongest before. That clearing. It’s where it all started.”

She shook her head. “I wish I’d never gone in there.”

Demetrius tensed, and for the first time, Holly realized he had a small blade in his hand.

“You think you’re going to need that?”

“I have no idea, but I plan to be prepared. We don’t know what we’re walking into.”

He was right about that. She tightened her grip on the bag of magical supplies. She had packed everything she could think of—crystals, herbs, protective charms—but she wasn’t sure it would be enough. Whatever this thing was, it didn’t seem to play by the rules of modern magic. Or by any rules, for that matter.

As they walked closer to the clearing, Holly’s breath caught in her throat. The air here was acrid, but it felt different—thicker, darker, almost suffocating. It was like breathing smoke. The ground was bare, the snow melted away, leaving a ring of blackened earth in the center of the clearing. As if the forest itself had recoiled from whatever had happened here.

“This is where I tried to bind it,” Neeva said, her voice barely a whisper. “But it fought back. The magic was too strong for me.”

Flavia cocked one brow. “I can see that.”

“Stinks of soot and sulfur,” Charisma said.

Demetrius scanned the perimeter, his posture tense, ready for a fight. The blade remained in his hand. “Neeva, what’s your best guess about what you released?”

Neeva swallowed hard. The lantern wobbled as she set it down at the edge of the clearing. “I don’t know. I thought it was just old magic—something tied to the land, something I could control. But now I don’t think it’s that simple. I think it’s … something alive.”

Holly’s stomach twisted at the word. Alive. The dark magic wasn’t just an energy or a force—it had a will of its own. It wanted something. And from what she’d seen, it wasn’t going to stop until it got it.

Demetrius stepped forward, his eyes focused on the blackened earth at the center of the clearing. “Whatever it is, we have to stop it here. If it breaks free again, there’s a good chance it’ll be even stronger.”

Holly took a deep breath, steeling herself as she stepped into the clearing beside Demetrius. She would have given anything to be back in the cabin, a Christmas movie on the television, a bowl of popcorn nearby, and her knitting in her hands, but they had no choice. If they didn’t stop the magic now, it might very well be the end of everything she loved.

“Neeva.” Flavia tipped her head. “You’re the one who released it. You need to help us bind it again.”

“Tell us what to do,” Charisma said.

Neeva nodded, though her face was pale with fear. “I’ll try. But we’ll need to work together. You can’t leave me alone to do this. Whatever this magic is, it won’t go down without a fight.”

“You’re not going to be alone,” Holly said. “No matter what happens, we’re going to be right here beside you.”

Demetrius’s expression held sheer determination as he looked around at the women. He twirled the dagger through his fingers. “If it wants a fight, then we’ll give it a fight. Together.”

Holly nodded as she reached into her bag and pulled out a handful of crystals and a pouch of salt and iron dust combined. Magic vibrated through the air, pulsing with a dark, hungry energy. The shadows at the edge of the clearing seemed to shift and move, like they were watching, waiting. Predatory.

It was a terrifying feeling to think of yourself as prey.

“Let’s set up the circle,” Holly said to her sister witches. “Demetrius, you’ll need to keep watch. If the magic tries to break free, we’ll need you to hold it off long enough for us to complete the binding.”

Demetrius’s gaze was hard and focused, his grip tight around the blade he still held. “I’ve got your backs. Do what you need to do.”

Holly and the other women knelt down, their hands moving swiftly as they arranged the crystals and other materials they’d brought in a protective circle around the clearing.

Holly whispered words of power under her breath, feeling the magic rise inside her, warm and familiar, as it spread through the circle. Neeva worked a few feet away from Holly, her hands moving with practiced precision as she added the protective herbs and whispered her own incantations, just as Charisma and Flavia were doing.

The air crackled with energy, the dark magic swirling just beyond the edge of the circle, like a hunter stalking its target. It seemed almost like it knew what they were getting ready to do. Maybe it did.

Not a thought Holly took comfort in.

“Hurry,” Demetrius growled, his eyes locked on the shadows that seemed to be creeping closer.

“I’m done,” Charisma said, standing up.

“So am I,” Flavia added.

“Same,” Holly chimed in as she got to her feet, too.

A second later, Neeva lifted her hands. “Finished.”

“Then let’s cast this spell and go home,” Holly said.

The women raised their hands, stretching them toward one another, and began to speak the words that would contain the dark magic.

The tension in the air doubled, the magic straining against the protective circle they had created. Now, within the circle, a slow-moving whirlwind of gray, sooty tendrils spun out of the ground in the center of it. The whirlwind grew, expanding, darkening, reaching the limits of the circle, where the four women stood just outside of it.

A low rumble bellowed out of it, then a few flashes of angry lightning shot through the miasma of twisting shadows.

The darkness took on an angry purple glimmer almost as if Holly and her sister witches were bruising it. The dark force definitely knew they were trying to bind it, and it was testing the protection spell they’d just cast to see how strong it was.

Suddenly, a low, guttural hiss filled the air, and Holly’s heart lurched with the realization that the whirlwind hadn’t been just a test. It had also been a signal calling out to the other strands of itself that had already managed to slither free from the earth. The shadows at the edge of the clearing surged forward, twisting and writhing like living creatures.

Inside the circle, the furious dark magic had come to life. There was a face inside it. The face of Morgana.

A chill sluiced through Holly. No wonder the woman had disappeared.

Morgana snarled at them, her shadow face huge and looming. “You will not win this time, little witch.”

“Yes, I will, Morgana! You have no idea what you’re up against!” Except she did. She knew exactly what Holly was capable of, thanks to their first encounter.

“We got your back,” Flavia yelled. “We won’t let her touch you, Holly.”

“Thanks!” But then Holly shouted for Demetrius, her voice tight with panic as she feared for his safety. “Demetrius, look out!”

Morgana was contained within the circle, but the shadows coming out of the forest were coming for him.

“I see them.” Demetrius didn’t hesitate. He lunged forward, his body a blur of motion as he placed himself between Holly and the oncoming darkness. The blade flashed in his hands, his eyes glowed a brilliant silver, and his fangs were bared as he faced off against the menacing figures.

The dark magic hissed and snarled, but Demetrius held his ground, his presence as steady and unyielding as a wall. He moved with the speed and precision of an apex predator, his blade glinting in the dim light as he sliced through the shadows, keeping them at bay.

Holly knew that wasn’t just any blade. It had magic in it to wield such power against that kind of darkness.

“We’re running out of time,” Neeva said as she worked beside Holly, her hands shaking with the strain of holding the circle together. “The magic is too strong—we can’t contain it.”

“Morgana is gaining on us,” Flavia yelled.

“Don’t think that way! We can do this!” Holly’s mind raced, desperation clawing at her as she struggled to keep the circle intact. The magic was growing stronger, more violent, and she could feel it slipping through her fingers. They weren’t going to make it.

“This is old magic,” Charisma shouted. “Only old magic can fight old magic. I’m not sure—” Her words ended in a grunt as she dodged a purple tendril that had swiped at her.

Old magic . In a flash of clarity, Holly remembered something—something her grandmother had told her more than once about the Winters family magic. It wasn’t just about protection. It was about balance .

“Neeva, Flavia, Charisma,” Holly said, the urgency in her voice making it carry above the chaos. “We’re not going to bind it. We’re going to balance it.”

Morgana howled in fury, but the women ignored her. The three witches gave Holly their attention, but it was Neeva who spoke, wide-eyed and blinking. “What? How?”

“The magic is tied to the land,” Holly said as the pieces fell into place. “Morgana feels like proof of that. So it’s part of the natural order. If we try to bind it, it’ll keep fighting back. But if we balance it—if we restore the balance between light and dark—it’ll settle. It’ll go back to where it belongs. Taking Morgana with it.”

Flavia shook her head. “How do you know that?”

Holly shrugged. “Old family magic? I just do. Trust me. Please. I can feel this is the right way.”

“We trust you,” Charisma said.

Neeva stared at her for a moment, then nodded, her face set with determination. “She’s right. We do. Let’s get this done.”

“Okay,” Holly said. “Follow me.”

Morgana raged against the boundaries of the circle as Holly began to knit a new spell—a spell not of binding but of balance. Charisma, Flavia, and Neeva followed her lead, calling on the ancient magic of the land, the same magic that had flowed through Nocturne Falls for years. The magic that had called the Ellinghams here. The magic Alice had channeled into when she’d cast her own protective magic all those years ago.

Under Demetrius’s watchful gaze, the four women guided threads of light and dark, weaving a tapestry that contained both life and death, bringing equal parts of nature and magic into harmony.

The air around them teemed with energy, tiny sparks of it floating through the air like embers caught on the wind. Holly could feel the magic responding, shifting, as if the forest itself was waking up. The shadows stopped writhing, their violent movements slowing as the balance began to take hold.

With a final, guttural cry, Morgana faded into mist.

“It’s working,” Demetrius whispered. He stepped back, his eyes fixed on the dark magic as it swirled in place, no longer attacking but simply … existing.

“We’re doing it,” Neeva breathed, her voice filled with awe.

Charisma and Flavia nodded, smiles of utter amazement on their faces, hands lifted as they continued to balance the forces before them.

Holly could feel it too—the magic settling and calming as the balance was restored. The darkness wasn’t gone, but it was no longer a threat. It was part of the natural order, part of the land.

As the final segment of the spell took hold, the shadows faded, the tendrils sank back into the earth, and the air around them grew still. The clearing was quiet and the dark magic dormant again. Not by force but by balance.

Holly collapsed to the ground, her body trembling with exhaustion. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this drained, but never had she been so relieved. So happy. She exhaled, then breathed in a lungful of crisp winter air.

Demetrius knelt beside her, his hand resting gently on her shoulder. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, just wiped out.”

“You did it. Morgana and the darkness are gone.”

Holly looked at him, then the three other women, a tired smile tugging at her lips. “ We did it.”

Neeva stood at the edge of the clearing, her face pale but her eyes filled with wonder. “It’s over. The magic … it’s part of the land again. This will never be a problem again. I hope.”

Holly nodded, her heart swelling with a mixture of relief and pride. They had done it. They had stopped the dark magic—not by fighting it but by understanding it. By restoring the balance. Just like her grandmother had told her.

Demetrius gave Holly a hand up. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

As the five of them made their way back through the forest, snow started to fall softly around them. Holly stuck her hand out, catching one perfect flake on her glove. A deep sense of peace settled over her. The darkness had been part of Nocturne Falls all along, and now, thanks to her grandmother’s wisdom, it was no longer a threat to the town or anyone in it.

With Demetrius guarding them, she and her sister witches had faced the darkness—and won.

But more importantly, they had faced it together.