Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

CHIP

With every day I spent on land at these holiday events, the more I realized just how much I'd let my fear control me. Not just me, but all sirens. I was actually angry with myself for missing out on all these activities just because I was afraid I'd get wet and shift into my siren form. In hindsight, I knew with every fiber of my being no one on this Island would judge me for that. No one would make fun of me. When we all shifted at the parade, everyone was so nice and helped get us dry so we could shift back. Hell, no one even cared when Torren, the only resident jinn, shifted uncontrollably and made a mess.

Dad had been trying to tell us for my whole life, especially since Mom died. I didn't blame him for not forcing us. He had a lot on his plate with the entire siren community and then ten daughters on top of it. But I was going to change all that, with Pickles by my side. No amount of pranks or harassment from Monroe Whittaker was going to stop me. This was too important.

We honestly had Reese to thank for this.

If she hadn't been so desperate to live on land, she wouldn't have found herself a husband and Pickles and I wouldn't have felt safe enough to venture out as much as we had since Christmas. The pack had really taken us in and helped us go out into the community. And everyone welcomed us with open arms, like they'd been waiting for us to join them. If I thought about it too much, it made me cry. I wanted to be an active member of this community the way so many of our new friends were, like Holden, Peggy, Torren, Reese . . . and even Monroe and Dawson. Though, I wasn't going to flatter them out loud where someone else could hear me.

I needed to end this little war I had going on with Monroe. My company and my plans were more important than some immature rivalry. He needed to grow up and accept that perhaps if he hadn't excluded sirens from his clientele, then there wouldn't have been a hole in the market for us to fill. He also needed to show me the proof that he owned that stupid pocket watch and be done with it. Until then, I just wanted to mind my own and carry on with my life.

Which was why I wasn't going to retaliate against him for his little Mischief Monday prank last night. In fact, not retaliating was going to piss him off, so if it was a win whether I did it or not, then there was no reason to waste my time or energy.

Especially tonight. It was a big night. First of all, it was Fae Night. Unlike Christmas season, which was more about togetherness, during the month of October, the Vaunteros designated one night per species. The point was to just have fun . . . in the vibe of each species. Wolf Night was first, which was the pine tree maze, and even with Pickles pissing herself and shifting into her tail, it was a great night. Wolves were outdoorsy and adventurous, so the maze between pine trees beneath the stars and moon was so them. But for Fae Night it was a little more mischievous than that. The fae liked mental games and puzzles. They had a reputation for being sneaky and tricky—and none of them were offended by this reputation.

For the fae's theme, the whole entire island would turn off its power, casting us into pitch-black. The only light would come from the moon, candles lit around town, and these glowing pumpkins that I had seen sitting all over but weren't lit yet. The goal of the night was to be the one to collect the most miniature pumpkins that the Vauntero family had hid all around the island. All public spaces were fair game and there could be a pumpkin anywhere. To make it even more fun, the first five days of the Halloween festival people were invited to stop by Holden's booth and hand-paint designs on the mini-pumpkins they were going to hide, which the sirens and I had enjoyed doing immensely. It was time to hunt them all down.

But there were a few strict rules for the night: No damaging property. No stealing pumpkins. No using magic to retrieve pumpkins. No driving cars on the Island once the event starts. All kids must have an adult with them at all times.

These were all great rules. I was especially fond of the no driving cars once the event started to ensure no one got hit. But the rule that caught my attention a few days ago was the rule about kids not being allowed to go by themselves. Even with no cars on the road and a strict zero-tolerance policy for violence for the entire realm of supernaturals, King and Queen Vauntero still worried for children's safety. The sirens who'd painted pumpkins with us that night were all going to participate, but while sitting there I'd met a bunch of kids who said their parents didn't want to do the hunt so they couldn't either. It was like a light bulb had sparkled in my brain.

Chickles first tour . . . the pumpkin hunt.

The hunt was going to start in about ten minutes, but we were ready. We were outside of Jude and Cameron Graham's house with all of our things, waiting for the kids to arrive. Jude's daughter, Daphne, had been the ringleader of this idea and its biggest cheerleader, but I knew that the Graham family's reputation on the Island was the reason parents were willing to let their kids run around in the literal dark with us. Daphne told all of her friends, which was surprisingly a lot of kids. But her Aunt Kate was an elementary school teacher on the Island who also told her students.

As of an hour ago, we had four dozen kids between the ages of five and ten joining us. I was so excited. Daphne was so pumped she couldn't keep her feet on the ground. Her little wings were carrying up and down her front lawn as she fidgeted with her pale-pink hair. Her stepmother, Cameron, sat on the steps of the porch braiding her long bright-blue hair while she asked Daphne questions about previous pumpkin hunts.

"MOMMY!"

I jumped and spun around just as Daphne flew up the sidewalk toward a woman who had just rounded the corner. My eyes widened. I knew this woman even though I'd never met her. She was Nicole Gordan, a famous supermodel among the humans and therefore on a million magazine covers and billboards. She was jaw-dropping gorgeous with her dark eyes, tan skin, and long dark-purple hair. The smile she flashed to Daphne had to be worth millions. The two hugged and squeezed each other tight.

"You made it!" Daphne squealed, still in Nicole's arms.

"I made it." Nicole grinned and pulled back from her daughter. "Look how pretty you look, but you better rest your wings if we're going to win tonight."

Daphne giggled and pulled her wings in, lowering to her feet. "I'm so ready. We had a huge dinner, so I'm fueled up and ready. Are you hungry, mommy?"

"What did Daddy cook?"

"Aunt Kate cooked?—"

"Then yes, I am starving. Go let them know I'm here and coming in." Nicole tapped her daughter's nose affectionately but then she noticed me standing there and smiled, holding her hand out to me. "I'm Nicole. You must be Chip and Pickles?"

My eyes widened. "Yes. I'm Chip. How'd you know?"

"Please, my eight-year-old hasn't stopped talking about tonight since you pitched the idea." She laughed and then shook my sister's hand. "You probably have no idea just how cool this is . . . for you to take the kids. I hope it's okay if I join?"

"Of course!" I looked to my phone. "We have about ten minutes until it starts?—"

"Oh, I better go shovel food into my mouth then." She winked, hurried up to the porch, then stopped in front of her ex-husband's new wife. "Hi, Cameron!"

Cameron jumped up and hugged Nicole. "Fair warning, Gemma and Halley have asked about a million times when you'd be here."

"OH, my girls! Okay, I'm going to eat. Daphne says Kate cooked?"

Cameron pressed her hand to her stomach. "It's divine. Go get some before we leave."

The front door opened, and Jude hurried out onto the porch like he was on a mission. "Hey, Chip and Pickles, did you want—oh, Nicole! You made it."

I couldn't see Nicole's face, but I was sure she rolled her eyes. "I said I'd be here. I made it."

Jude looked to his watch and arched an eyebrow.

Cameron elbowed him gently. "She made it. This counts."

"I'm just teasing. Go eat Kate's pasta. Cameron, you better buffer your friends. They've had so much sugar."

"Come on, Nicole. I'll be your bodyguard for the five minutes they go ape shit over you." Cameron laughed. "They're basically puppies?—"

Her voice cut off as the front door shut behind them.

Jude cleared his throat. "Chip, Pickles, did you want some food?"

"Thank you, but no. I'm nervous, so I'd rather not eat at all."

Pickles nodded. "Same. But maybe after? I want to try this pasta."

"You don't need to be nervous, you're gonna do great." Jude winked, then opened the front door. "And yes, definitely after for round two of dinner."

Once he was inside, I turned to my sister. "We've got this. No big deal. We're just supervising a bunch of kids."

"We have other adults going with us who know the Island's layout better than us." Pickles nodded and tugged on her bucket hat. Her gray eyes looked over my shoulder. "Someone's here."

I turned to look just as a taxi rolled to a stop in front of Jude's house. I immediately recognized the blonde who climbed out. It was Colette, my new friend who worked at Prescott Tech. I hurried toward her with a wide grin. "Hey, Colette!"

"Chip! Pickles!" Colette smiled and skipped across the street toward us. She'd dressed in black leggings, black turtleneck sweater, and black boots, so I knew she was not here to mess around. "You ready to hunt?"

"I love how serious every fae seems to be taking this hunt?—"

"Oh, we like to win." She giggled and her pale-golden wings popped out of her back. She tucked her blonde hair behind her pointed ears, then gestured to the taxi where two brunettes were climbing out. "That's why I brought reinforcements. Have you met Carter and Ria?"

I cocked my head to the side. "The event planners, right?"

"Oh, you're Mr. Prescott's soulmate!" Pickles said with a grin. "Welcome!"

Ria rolled her eyes. "Well, I am not."

"Ignore that. She's going through a breakup." Carter stepped forward to shake our hands. "I hear this is your first event for your new company. Congrats!"

"Thanks." My cheeks warmed so I knew I was blushing. "You probably could've done a better job, but hopefully what we've got will suffice."

She pursed her lips and narrowed her silver eyes that looked like liquid moonlight. "Well, what have you got?"

"Pumpkin bags that light up," Pickles said with a chipper voice. She stepped to the side to show the pile of bags sitting next to Jude's white picket fence. "Figure it's gonna be dark, so we want to really light the kids up for fun and safety."

I pointed to the other pile next to the bags. "Those are costume fae wings for all the non-fae to wear. They sparkle and glow. Again, for safety and for fun—and it's Fae Night."

Ria nodded in approval. "Those are both fantastic. Especially the fae wings. I want a pair. Can I wear a pair? Do we have extra? I won't steal from a kid."

"We have extra. Just push the button on the back and put ‘em on." Pickles chuckled. She reached down and grabbed a stack of wings, then handed one to me, Ria, and Carter before sliding a pair onto her own shoulders. "We all get to be fae tonight."

"You forgot to put yours on. Turn around." I reached out and pushed her button and her pink wings glowed. I grinned. "To match your hat."

Colette's eyes glistened. She rolled her shoulders and pale-green wings shimmered from her back. "I think that's the sweetest gesture. A lot of fae, especially kids, get really self-conscious about having wings when no one else does."

Ria shrugged and pulled her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head. Her hair was long on top and shaved on the sides. "Except for maybe Torren."

" Ria." Carter snort-laughed and playfully shoved her best friend. Then she shook her head and turned those sharp silver eyes back on me. "Why don't you feel satisfied with these items? They're really fun."

"I just wish I was a mage who could swish and flick my wand and make really cool stuff?—"

"Okay." Carter pulled a sleek black wand out of the inside pocket of her black leather jacket. She held it up and wagged her eyebrows. "No one's here yet. If you were a mage, what would you have done?"

I opened my mouth, then shut it. For a moment, my mind went blank. Then I looked to the bags. "I would've spelled those to stay lightweight so the kids could actually carry their own pumpkin bags."

"How ‘bout we line them up while we're at it?" Carter winked, then swished her wand and silvery magic flashed over the stack of pumpkin bags. They jumped to life and lined themselves up along the wooden white fence. The lights inside shimmered. She nodded. "Done. What else?"

My jaw dropped.

Pickles gasped. "Do the wings next? Line them up? Please?"

Carter chuckled and swished her wand again, sending all the wings lined up along the fence with the pumpkin bags. "Easy peasy. What else?"

"Is there something we can do—magically—to prevent losing anyone?" I frowned and tried to find the right words. "Almost like a magical rope to tie us together?"

Pickles exhaled loudly. "We cannot lose any kids."

"A magical tether would work." Ria looked to Carter. "Like we did last year for the Halloween parade in Manhattan?"

"OH. Brilliant." Carter smiled. "It's not a physical rope because you need the kids to be able to run around and look for pumpkins, but it would work the same way."

"That. Can we do that?"

They nodded.

"Once the kids are here and lined up, I'll do that spell."

Ria looked to her watch. "When will they be here? It's getting close."

"I think that's them now." Colette pointed to her left.

We all turned to look down the residential street to find a small army of parents walking with their children. My stomach tightened into knots. We needed this night to go smoothly. I was already thankful Carter and Ria came, which I suspected was not a coincidence, if the knowing look in Colette's eyes told me anything.

As the parents and kids all arrived at once, I took a step back. Pickles was our professional and the one who did the talking to the clients. I tended to fumble my words and look nervous when trying to relay my ideas, even to the other sirens. Pickles had had to step up for a lot of my presentation. But that was why we were a good team. We needed each other. Pickles was in her element welcoming all the kids and getting them excited while telling the parents what time to be back.

I turned to Colette and stepped closer. " Thank you ," I whispered.

"You're welcome," she whispered back and turned to face the other way.

"How'd you get them to come?"

"They were dying to play tonight but were afraid no one would let them. They're also not good at relaxing." She laughed and glanced over her shoulder. "So, this was a win-win. You needed magical assistance, and they needed to help in some way."

I let out a sigh. "Well, I'm grateful."

"Me too, because I also suck at not working, so arranging all this checked that box for me as well."

We both laughed.

" Oh my God! That's Nicole Gordan ," Colette whispered. " I keep forgetting she's fae and not human ."

I looked toward the house and saw Nicole walking up the sidewalk with Daphne. " I feel bad for the humans that think that is a human ."

She laughed so hard she snorted.

Jude and Cameron were right behind them, followed by Jude's sister, Kate, and her soulmate Brittany. But the two women behind them were unfamiliar to me. Both were quite pretty. The one had cotton-candy-pink hair and hazel eyes that both popped in her all-black bodysuit. The other girl had black hair and lavender eyes that I was instantly jealous of.

I leaned into Colette and whispered, " Who are they ?"

"Cotton Candy is Gemma. Lavender Eyes is Halley. They're Cameron and Brittany's friends from the fae community in Vegas."

" Oh. Right. So do any of you fae look normal?" I pointed to my face. "Like just mildly attractive?"

She threw her head back and laughed. "It's funny because it's true."

"What is up with that?"

"Vampires too. I think it's the immortality. I don't know, some kind of evolutionary thing?" She frowned and even then still looked gorgeous. "We should ask the Vaunteros."

"Or Mr. Prescott."

Colette snorted. "Right, I can see myself asking my boss why he's so gorgeous. I'm sure Lexington will handle that well."

"Oh, please let me watch when you ask." Carter cackled. "He'll get so uncomfortable and awkward. I need to witness it."

I giggled along with them, then remembered Carter was a mage, a mortal, yet her soulmate was an immortal vampire. "So do people actually change appearance when they turn vampire?"

"I'll let you know in December." Carter winked.

"And then I will too. Because she's changing me even if I have to wait until she falls asleep to stick my wrist in her mouth."

We all turned to Ria, even the children.

She covered her mouth. "I forgot we had an audience."

Everyone laughed.

Carter cleared her throat. "So, Chip and Pickles, it's almost time. Are we going as one big group or separating?"

I took a deep breath and waved for my sister to stand beside me so we both faced the group. "Given the number of us, we'll divide into two groups, so I need twenty kids in front of me and twenty in front of Pickles."

Pickles clapped her hands in excitement as the kids rushed to get in lines. She stepped up in front of me. "Adults coming to play with us, you'll need to pick a team as well."

"Rematch, brother?" Kate wagged her eyebrows as she got in line right behind Pickles. "Or you gonna accept defeat?"

Jude scoffed. "We're tied, dear sister. But nice try. My girls, fall in."

Cameron and Daphne rolled their eyes but got in line with Jude behind me. Nicole hesitated but Daphne called her over and she grinned as she followed. There was definitely some story there, but it wasn't my place to ask. Gemma and Halley followed like paparazzi. Carter narrowed her eyes and counted the adults on each team, then grabbed Ria and Colette's arms and dragged them in line behind Kate.

The alarm on my fancy smartwatch went off. I looked down to my wrist and turned it off. "That's our three-minute warning. Time to get our gear on. Carter, by chance could you?—"

"I'm on it." She flicked her wand, then swirled it in the air. "Kids, don't freak out."

All at once, the glowing pumpkin bags flew to a person and sat at their feet. The sparkling wings flapped as they floated to all the non-fae in the group. I'd bought ones with shoulder straps, but Ria wiggled her wand in the air and all the straps vanished. The wings attached to our clothes, making them look as real as actual fae wings.

There had to be two dozen fae kids, or more, in our group, and the looks on their faces when everyone else put on wings to be like them took my breath away. The adults in the group looked to me and nodded in approval.

Pickles clapped her hands above her head. "Okay, teams. Bags at the ready!"

Everyone picked up their glowing pumpkin bags and looked to the sky.

"Team Pickles co-captain, would you mind going over the rules?"

Kate smiled at my sister, then cleared her throat. "No stealing pumpkins someone else already has in their possession. No using magic to find the pumpkins. You can only use magic as a mode of transportation, so fae can fly, vampires can run fast, wolves can shift, and mages you can use your wands to give yourselves skates or skateboards or a scooter or something similar. Understood?"

Everyone nodded. I smiled. This may have been a Chickles event, but I knew my sister and I were not leaders of small children trained. Kate was. So we'd asked her ahead of time and she was happy to do it. Plus, the kids all adored her as most of them had already had her as a teacher in the recent past.

"There will be no damaging of someone's property. If it does not lift easily with one finger, then the pumpkin is not under it. Nod if you understand." Kate waited for everyone to nod, then she pointed to them. "This means no going inside someone's house or car. I don't care how good their snacks smell. We won't have a repeat of last year."

The kids all laughed. I was now dying to know that story.

I looked to the two event planners. "Hey, Carter, Ria? Is now the time for the thing?"

Carter stepped out from line to face the group. "Okay, so we're going to do a little spell right now that's going to tether you to your teammates. You won't feel a thing or see it, but if you wander off too far from the group, it will pull you back. This is so we don't lose anybody. I just need everyone to stand still."

She stepped to my line and made a bouncing motion with her wand. A silver mist wrapped around my body, then shot to Jude, then Cameron, then over to Daphne and her mother, then down the line with Gemma, Halley, and all the kids. Once that was done, Carter jumped back in line with Pickles and did the same.

My watch alarm went off again. "Two minutes."

"The pumpkin starts the hunt," Kate called out.

I realized we were a bit over our heads with this event. We'd never even participated. Involving the Graham family had been our smartest decision yet. But my goal for the night was not to hunt for pumpkins. It was to make sure the kids were all having fun. I wanted our first gig to be a success.

It was only then that I realized Kate hadn't mentioned sirens when naming magic that could be used. I glanced over my shoulder and scanned all the kids. My heart sank. There wasn't a single siren kid.

" What's wrong?" Pickles whispered.

I leaned closer and whispered back, " No siren kids showed up. "

She scowled and scanned the group. Her face fell. "We will change that for next year."

I nodded. Except next year wasn't good enough. I'd dropped the ball in making sure the sirens joined us for this event, but I would make sure they were at events this year. I needed to review the calendar of events for the month, but I knew for certain that trick-or-treating on Halloween night was going to happen and I was going to bring all the siren kids with me. I pulled out my phone and sent myself an email to remember to talk to my dad about it.

When I glanced over my shoulder, I found Nicole crouched down taking selfies with all the kids. Her celebrity was obviously not lost on this small town. In every shop and cafe there were magazines with Nicole's face on it. I looked to Colette as an idea was brewing in my mind. She narrowed her green eyes at me and cocked her head to the side.

I didn't want to say it out loud, so I sent her a text message. ‘ Are there any magazines written solely for Megelle Island? Like about supernatural life and stuff?'

She looked down at her phone and her brow scrunched. ‘ You mean like Will's book Bow & Arrow?'

‘YES! But not about traveling. About life on the Island and stuff, like you'd find in a human magazine.' I looked pointedly to Nicole, then back to Colette. ‘ Something you'd find her face on.'

‘ There's a newspaper Prescott Tech puts out every Sunday but nothing FUN.' Colette smirked but I saw the ideas now brewing in her eyes. ‘ But I think I need to change that.'

I grinned. ‘ I think you do too.'

"Hey, this is a contest now. This is battle," Jude whisper-shouted, but he was smiling.

I made a show of putting my phone away, then glaring at Colette. "So do they really turn all the lights off?"

"Yep," everyone answered in unison with unnerving smiles on their faces.

I turned away so they couldn't see my own nerves show on my face. Then my alarm went off again. I cleared my throat. "One minute."

No lights? That's so wild. And freaky. And cool. I looked around the quaint neighborhood of picturesque houses and smiled. Fall was really quite spectacular. There were colors on land we just never saw beneath the water. All of the trees' leaves were in shades of red, orange, and yellow, except for the pine trees which were apparently evergreen, and I respected that level of stubbornness. But I just loved the way the leaves that had already fallen covered the lawns and sidewalks. Vines made of the same-colored leaves were wrapped around all of the porches on the houses, and the entrances were decorated with carved pumpkins with flickering candlelight inside. The home decor contest was in a few days, so everyone was slowly getting ready.

The air was cool and crisp. I shivered and tightened the knot of my raincoat wrapped around my waist. Sure, I had Peggy's necklace on to prevent shifting without my consent, but I was nervous. I didn't need this event ruined because I went full fin on a sidewalk in the dark. Habits would take time to break. Until then, I would bring my raincoat. However, I had swapped out my rain boots for Ugg boots with the fuzzy material inside, and I just wanted to die from comfort. Pickles, on the other hand, was less confident and still rocked her matching bucket hat and rain boots.

Lights flashed in the sky. The kids all gasped. Jude was smack-talking his sister again. I looked up to the stars and my eyes widened. There were floating orbs of light in the sky in the shape of ghosts with little signs above their heads. Inside the signs were numbers . . . and they were counting down from ten.

The kids began to giggle.

The number hit two, then all the lights morphed into a giant orange pumpkin.

And then the entire island went pitch-black. I gasped. A bunch of the kids did too.

The word HUNT filled the night sky, and everyone took off running.

I went from being at the front of my team to dead last. Pressure wrapped around my waist. The tether! With a curse, I hurried after my group. I knew they'd told me the island went dark, but evidently I hadn't believed them. If it hadn't been for the glowing pumpkin bags and sparkling wings, I would've lost my group immediately. Pickles was long gone. The only lights on the street at all were glowing orange pumpkins stationed at intersections. Somehow that only made the darkness darker.

How the hell are we supposed to find tiny pumpkins like this?

Maniacal laughter bubbled down the street toward us from up ahead. There was a brief pause and then two giant pumpkins that had to be fifteen feet tall went flying down the street. The pumpkins were glowing, and they had big fae wings flapping in the breeze. From inside the pumpkins, I could just make out two faces.

"JIMBO!"

"SAL!"

The kids on my team were chanting their names as they went flying toward Main Street. I shook my head. Then the tether yanked me forward, dragging me around the corner and three houses down before it dropped me. I found my whole group raiding the four houses closest to us. They were adorable with their wings and bags, and the giggles as they ran around in the dark filled my heart with happiness. I looked around at the houses only to find adults sitting on their porches and watching the madness. We waved at each other.

Jude and Cameron were literally in the bushes. Nicole and Daphne were flying around the roofs of the houses to snatch the pumpkins hidden up there. Gemma and Halley were following Nicole.

"C'mon, Miss Chip, help us!" A little mage girl wearing roller skates grabbed my hand and pulled me down the street to the next set of houses. "Let's check the driveways."

I smiled and followed her up into the next yard. She seemed to know where to look because she kept announcing she'd found one and I was still scrambling in the dark with an empty bag. When I stumbled upon a potted plant, I crouched down and pushed the branches aside—there was a pumpkin! I sighed with relief and grabbed it, throwing it into my bag.

"Ms. Chip! Ms. Chip! Next house, c'mon!"

My breath left me in a rush. "Next house? Already?"

But six of my kids raced across a front lawn into the next. By the time I got to them, they were hoisting their bags over their shoulders and gunning for the next house. I didn't bother to help look. My job for the night was to supervise. I planted myself in the middle of the street so I could watch my team move on either side of me. We moved swiftly from house to house. I was impressed by their speed and skill.

"Look! Parrot!" Daphne yelled from the tiled roof of the house ahead of me. "Is that a bat?"

I looked up just in time to see a pink parrot shoot across the sky. It was the same pink parrot we'd seen at the parade. I wondered whose pets had gotten out and if we needed to report it, but I was more curious about the black bat flying behind it, nearly blending in with the night. Was it chasing the parrot? Do we need to help it?

I pulled out my phone and texted my sister Reese. ‘ Have you ever seen parrots on the island? '

Three bubbles popped up immediately. ‘ Like flying around free? Or in a cage in a house?'

‘Either?' I frowned. ‘ I just saw that pink parrot from the parade again. It might've been being chased by a bat.'

‘ Holden says he wouldn't be surprised if someone had it as a pet and it got loose. He'll ask around.'

‘The bat or the parrot?'

‘ The parrot. I've seen bats here often. '

‘ Well maybe we need to help the parrot if it's being hunted!'

‘Go ahead, Chip. Fly up there LOL'

I sent her the eye-rolling emoji. ‘ Maybe I will .'

"Have you seen an animal?"

I screamed and leapt backwards at the sound of a male voice right beside me. When I looked up, I recognized Nash and Mateo Vauntero instantly, but it was too late to tell my heart that. My pulse had run away as fast as that parrot had flown. I exhaled and put my hands to my chest. "Damn vampires. You can't do that?—"

"I didn't do anything?—"

"It's pitch-black out here, Nashville!" I yelled because my adrenaline was still screaming. "Maybe your eyes can see in the dark, but mine can't. ‘Bout gave me a heart attack. Don't sneak up on people."

Mateo threw his head back and laughed. Or, I assumed he was Mateo. There was just something a little more . . . wild about him than his identical twin. The one I assumed was Nash was clean-cut and nicely dressed. He looked perfectly presentable. The other's hair was a shaggy mess, his beard was scruffy, and he wore a sweater instead of a button-down shirt.

"You're Nash, right?"

"What gave that away?" Mateo was laughing with full abandon now. "Your face right now, Nash."

Aha. I was right.

Nash sighed and held his hands up. "I am sorry for startling you. My fault."

"It's okay. What did you ask me anyways? All I heard was me screaming and dying a little." I shuddered. "You're lucky I'm not my sister or I might've peed a little too."

He opened his mouth, then shut it. "Not gonna ask. But I had asked if you saw an animal."

I scowled up at him and then glanced around. "You're gonna need to be more specific?"

He grimaced. "I can't."

Mateo snickered. "She'll be blue? That's specific?"

"Teal." Nash glared at his twin. "She's teal, Brother."

"Practically the same thing." Mateo rolled his eyes and put his hands in his pockets.

"Haven't we learned the hard way with practically the same thing ?"

He cackled. "Thank God she's your wife and not mine. I'm just not cut out for this."

"Chip, does that mean you didn't see an animal? Any animal? Torren always has at least a little teal on her in animal form."

"Sir, there are no lights on. How do you expect me to tell the difference between black and teal?" I pointed to the sky. "I did, however, just see a bat chasing a pink parrot."

Mateo nodded. "Yup. That'll do it. Which way?"

I pointed in the direction the birds had gone. The Vauntero twins were out of sight in the blink of an eye.

A golf cart with three rows of seats rounded the corner and stopped short in front of me. Then I spotted Constantine Vauntero marching toward me. I sucked in a sharp breath and stood up straight.

Constantine stopped and nodded once. "Chip."

I pointed behind me. "Your brothers went that way?—"

"I am not looking for them." He gestured to my team in the lawns around us. "You have room for a few more?"

"Oh. Um, yeah. I need to get them some?—"

"Now." He snapped his fingers and five kids with matching black hair and blue eyes jumped off the cart and hurried up to me. They carried glowing pumpkin bags and wore sparkling fairy wings. "They are ready. Take them with you."

It wasn't a request, but I was thrilled. "Whose children did you steal?"

He growled. "These are my siblings."

OH. Right, Chip. Major duh.

He pointed at me. "Return them unharmed."

It was definitely a threat.

I nodded. "Absolutely. Come on, kids, hunt with us."

Constantine nodded, then vanished, leaving the golf cart behind.

"Thank you for saving us." The tallest one shuddered. She wore a neon-orange wig. "That was already miserable, and it's only been ten minutes."

I chuckled. "I'm Chip. And you are?"

"I'm Rose. These are my siblings Sofia, Toby, Ursella, and Valentina." Rose smiled. "Just let us run around with the other kids and we'll behave. Promise."

"Well, then get on out there. Lots of pumpkins to find." I gestured around us. "TEAM CHIP, NEW MEMBERS INCOMING!"

The kids all shouted the Vauntero childrens' names in familiar tones so that was good. But as I was watching, I realized the silver tether Carter made had latched on to the five royal children. That was awesome.

"Hey, guys! No one's on the next street!" Daphne yelled from the sky. "Let's go!"

All at once, my team bolted for the corner, then took a left turn. I frowned at the golf cart but opted to leave it behind since it felt too much like a car to me and those were forbidden for the night. I'd pick it up after the hunt.

When we got to the next street, we found a battle happening in the middle of the road between two grown, redheaded men. They were laughing so I knew it wasn't serious, but I couldn't look away. It took a couple rounds of them wrestling for me to recognize them as Peggy's sons, Archer and Willem. Archer giggled and put Will in a headlock. But Will put his leg behind Archer's and somehow flipped them both onto the ground. The second their backs hit the street, their youngest brother, Brian, sprinted out from behind an oak tree and snatched both Archer and Will's bags of pumpkins off the ground. He took off running back toward Jude's house.

" I GOT HIM! " Ivy yelled and shot across the sky on her twinkling wings with her silvery hair floating in the breeze. She caught up to Brian and tackled him. They crashed onto the street. "TAP OUT, brIAN!"

"That's my girl." Archer laughed and pushed back to his feet.

But Will jumped on his back, wrapping his legs around his hips. "What now, old man?"

Archer spun and swatted at him, trying to unclasp his hands with force. Ivy shouted, bringing my attention back to her. She had the bag in her hands but Brian's grip on the bag was too tight. He was too strong for Ivy.

"NOT SO FAST!" a female voice I didn't recognize shouted over my head.

I had no idea who she was, but I wanted her hair. It was pink and lavender and glistened kind of like siren scales. She flew faster than any fae I'd ever seen and tackled Brian, teaming up with Ivy.

"JETHRO! JETTY, HELP!" Brian screamed.

Jethro lunged from behind a tree and raced to him, except instead of pulling the fae girls off his brother, he stole the bags of pumpkins and bolted. Brian cursed his betrayal. Archer chased after him.

"I do not understand. Are we to eat these pumpkins?"

I looked over to find Prince Bash holding miniature pumpkins painted with flowers in his hands. His upper lip was curled in disgust. "Is the paint edible?"

Willem, who was standing beside him, looked up at him with a serious expression. "What was it like over there? Did you just pick up anything you found and ate it? Were your houses edible?"

"It's a pumpkin. It grows from the soil like vegetables. Why is it not edible?" Bash held it up, staring at it with narrowed pale-blue eyes. "If it looks like food, it should be food."

Will pursed his lips. "That's what Connor said as a toddler right after he'd eat plastic toys shaped like fruit."

" See. "

"No, Bash. He was four. Aren't you like eighty?"

Bash's pale-blue hair whipped around his neck. "Everything was turned to crystal in Third Realm?—"

"Did you eat the crystals?"

"I did try once. Sliced my throat up good?—"

"What about the exit?"

"I have blocked that from memory."

"BASH, NOW!" the girl with the cool hair shouted.

Bash grabbed Will's bag of pumpkins. "Nice doing business with you." Then he shot into the sky.

Will's jaw dropped. "Damn sneaky fae. He tricked me."

I giggled. "Well, he is the Prince of Third Realm."

"Well, he will see my revenge." Will pointed to me. "I hereby mark you as my witness."

He didn't give me a chance to respond. One second he was there, the next he was gone. But the Bow family were vampires now, so the speed made sense.

"Guys! I saw a bunch two streets over on Clark."

My entire team froze, just staring at Rose Vauntero with wide eyes.

"To Clark!" Jude shouted and ran down the street, yelling, "FOLLOW ME!"

Each and every kid on my team raced after him with wicked grins on their faces. Yet again, I was the caboose of the train, and that tether dragged me forward. When we finally stopped running, we were at the border of the park that ran along Clark Street. The smaller kids were waddling with their pumpkin bags because they were just so big.

"Here, sit your bags with me." I gestured to the ground at my feet. "You just go find the pumpkins, then bring them back to me."

About ten of them sat their bags at my feet and charged into the park with the others.

"Were those my siblings?"

I spun and gasped. There was Holden's red pickup truck parked across the street from the park. Sitting in the bed of the truck were Holden, my sister Reese, Lark Vauntero, and Josiah Vauntero. They were lounged back with snacks and blankets, and they all wore funny-looking sunglasses.

Wait. Someone asked me a question. "Who just asked that?"

Josiah raised his hand. "I did, sugar. Did I just see five of my siblings in your group?"

"Oh. Yeah, you did." I tugged on the hem of my sleeves nervously. "Um, Constantine dropped them off. I wasn't really given a choice, but I did get a threat."

Lark and Josiah nodded.

"That reminds me, he left a three-row golf cart down the street?—"

"Of course he did." Lark rolled her eyes. "Finders keepers, I say."

That made me laugh. "So, what are you doing? Not playing"

"Nah. We're supervising." Holden pointed to the sunglasses. "Gives us heightened night vision so we can keep an eye on things."

"Well, in that case you should know the Bow family is in a battle with themselves."

Josiah grinned. "Hot. Maybe I should go . . . investigate."

"Bash was with them."

Josiah groaned and sat up. "That's it. I must investigate. C'mon, Lark?—"

"Brother dearest, I'm not into guys, remember?"

"Ivy and Collins were with them," I added.

"But they're both taken, so less fun. I'm not Josiah . . ." Lark arched one eyebrow at him. "I'm not satisfied with looking."

"Ida!" Josiah yelled into his phone as he jumped out of Holden's truck. "Lark's a terrible wingman. Meet me— yes, girl, you saw them? I'm coming. "

"Ditching me?" Lark shook her head. "For a boy."

He scoffed. "For four single Bow boys . . . so yes. Those baby vampires need a few lessons, I think." He blew her a kiss, then sprinted off and out of sight.

I pointed to the park. "Gemma and Halley are in the park. They're girls and hot."

Lark's eyes flashed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out lipstick, then painted her lips a bright neon-purple. "You should've led with that." And just like her brother, she was gone.

Reese stretched her arms and legs like a cat. "Finally, just the two of us."

Holden wrapped his arm around my sister's shoulders and grinned. "Yes, thank you, Chip. We owe you one."

Pressure tightened around my hips. I cursed. "Well, gotta go. See you soon!"

They waved but I'd already turned and sprinted back to the ten pumpkin bags. I scooped them up and that tether yanked me into the park. It was actually quite convenient. I didn't even have to walk. When the tether finally stopped pulling me, I stumbled a few steps before catching my balance. The kids were scouring the park. Jude and Cameron were off to the left a bit while Nicole and Daphne were a few feet away from them. Gemma and Halley had given up on Nicole and turned all of their focus on Lark Vauntero. The three of them were sitting among the flowers. If the blushes on their cheeks were any indication, Lark was definitely flirting with them. I couldn't blame them. Lark was as beautiful as Nicole, just a little more scary.

"HEY!"

"That's my pumpkin!"

"Did you steal those?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Kids, relax."

I gasped. My heart stopped. Monroe. I'd recognize that deep voice from a mile away. With my heart in my throat, I sprinted toward them, then slid to a stop. There he was with his gold-speckled brown eyes and that hair. He looked stupid-good in only the glow off the kids' pumpkin bags and wings. Rage rushed through my veins like it always did when I saw him. Then I realized he was carrying like fifteen pumpkins in his arms.

"Dawson, explain to these children?—"

"You can use your own voice to speak to them. You know that, right?" Dawson walked between two trees. "They speak the same language."

"They're snarling at me," Monroe snapped.

"Probably because you're looking an awful lot like the Grinch who just stole Christmas." Dawson chuckled.

Monroe glared at him.

Dawson sighed. "Sorry, kids, those are his pumpkins. He did find them himself the legit way."

The kids' glares eased, but they didn't seem to believe him.

"Where are your parents? You're not allowed to be out here," Monroe grumbled. "Where's your adult supervision?"

"I'm right here."

His gaze snapped up to mine instantly. He growled. " You. "

"Glad to see you haven't gone blind." I sat the bags of pumpkins down, then gestured to my team. "I'm their supervision. Their parents have paid me and Pickles to escort their children into the game, so back off and get lost."

Dawson walked over to his cousin and gently squeezed his elbow, trying to tug him in the opposite direction. "Come on, Monroe?—"

"You copied me." Monroe's face turned red. "You slimy little fish. You copied us."

Dawson dropped his arm and just hung his head in defeat. " Monroe. "

"You did. You saw what we did last night, and you copied our idea?—"

"You are such an ass. So full of yourself?—"

"This is your retaliation, isn't it?"

"Oh good, you've been waiting for my revenge? My plan worked then." I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "Did you lose sleep over it? Wondering where and when I was going to get you back for soaking me to the bone in Colette's yard? Fills me with giddy happiness to know it's been eating you alive."

"You slimy little fish?—"

"You uncreative ragweed." I rolled my eyes. "You've called me a slimy little fish already. How unoriginal. And you think I need to copy you. "

"Starlight Tours took a group of people out to host their Mischief Monday. You saw and stole the idea."

"Right, while your little pathetic prank was happening, I was scoping out the competition for weak ideas." I put my hands on my hips. "You really think I organized this whole thing, with four dozen kids, in less than twenty-four hours? I'm not a mage. I don't have a wand to whip up anything I need."

I looked him up and down. "You bore me. I've moved on from that adorable little prank war between us. I have bigger and better things to do, and that's where I'm putting my energy."

"Monroe, let's go," Dawson said softly. "She has five Vauntero kids with her, I highly doubt this was a last-minute thing. It's not like we're planning any events with kids?—"

I motioned toward the pumpkins in Monroe's hands. "Just one kid. And he's a pumpkin hoarder."

"That's the point of the game, Chip." He held them tighter.

"You're right. It is," I said sweetly with a smile that made him scowl. "Hey kids, look how many pumpkins Monroe has."

The kids all turned to stare at him.

Monroe flinched. "Ew, stop that. Don't look at me like that."

"Sure would suck if he were to accidentally drop all of those . . ." I wagged my eyebrows. "Once they hit the ground, they're fair game. Finders keepers."

"What is it with you and finders keepers?"

"Kids . . ." I chuckled deep in my throat. "Get him."

They charged for him.

He cursed and sprinted away from us. "DAWSON!"

Dawson hung his head, his hands on his hips. He shook his head. "I don't know why I keep letting you get me into this stuff."

"Chip, call off your attack dogs!" Monroe yelled from the edge of the park with kids racing after him.

When I set the kids on him, I assumed a grown ass man could outrun children. I also assumed the children wouldn't behave like sharks when blood was in the water. The Vauntero children were fast and a little feral. They were on his heels like piranhas.

"DAWSON!"

"You got yourself into this one, Cousin." Dawson turned and handed his bag of pumpkins he'd found to me. "Maybe subtly throw these out in front of the little ones?"

I smiled. "That's sweet of you, Dawson. Thanks."

"DAWSON! OUCH! STOP BITING ME."

"I'm going to the festival!" Dawson shook his head, then turned and walked toward the street with his hands in his pockets as he whistled.

I didn't turn back to watch. I needed to be able to plead innocence. I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my laughter.

" WHY ARE YOU BITING ME! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU! " Monroe screamed. "Here, take the pumpkins, feral raccoons!"