Amanda opened her eyes and tried to focus. What just happened? She turned and saw Vita lying next to her, still passed out.

“Vita,” Amanda called out.

Amanda got up from where she was lying and looked around her. She was back in the same forest she had found herself in when the girl wanted to talk with her. Was this her doing again? Amanda looked over at Vita when she started to stir.

“What happened? This isn’t the library,” Vita declared as she got up and circled. She knocked into Amanda clumsily and jumped back in surprise.

Amanda reached out, placing her hand on Vita’s shoulder. Her eyes widened when she was able to touch Vita. “What?”

“I don’t know.”

They both turned when they heard a giggle close by.

“Who’s that?” Vita asked, guarded.

Amanda had a crooked smile and said, “Follow me; I think I know who brought us here.”

Amanda reached down, grabbed Vita’s hand, and pulled her toward where Amanda had talked with the girl the last time she was there.

Vita followed quietly behind, in awe over the beautiful scenery around them.

The girl stood beside the large willow tree and looked over the water. “I’m glad you both could come,” she told them.

Vita looked at Amanda with a furrowed brow.

Amanda leaned in and whispered, “The girl I had a dream about.”

Vita’s eyes widened as she released Amanda’s hand and walked around the girl. When Vita got a glimpse of the girl, her hands flew up to her face. She couldn’t believe the amount of likeness there was between her and the girl.

The girl smiled widely when she saw Vita. “Ahh, Vitaline. I was hoping I would get a chance to meet you,” the girl said softly.

“Are you- are you Merga?” Vita asked cautiously.

The girl scrunched her nose when she heard the name the faction council had bestowed upon her when they marked her as evil and condemned her to her life sentence. “A wretched name that was given to me by the faction council when they saw me as a threat. My name is Merida Meriweather, a descendant from the coven your bloodline runs through.”

“Merida,” Vita said softly. Vita vaguely remembered reading about her while studying from the grimoires in her family’s library.

Merida smiled and nodded kindly at Vita.

“I’ve read about her in the family’s books. That’s why the name Merga is a wives’ tale within the coven. It wasn’t telling the true story,” Vita explained.

“So, why do people think you are this evil sorceress coming back to kill off the factions?” Amanda asked with curiosity.

“I’m not sure. When I was imprisoned over a century ago, I thought my life was over.”

“Did you warn about omens of your return?” Vita questioned.

Merida thought quietly as she rubbed the bottom lip with her finger. She looked up with wide eyes at Vita; they were as blue as the lake that shimmered behind her. “What oddities have occurred recently?”

“It started with acid rain, and earlier crows were together in groups of twelve, waiting for something, and then they all fell to their death,” Vita answered.

Merida sighed and started to pace. “When I was condemned for life in imprisonment, I was angry and riddled off about omens. But I’m not controlling this. The only thing I’ve been able to tamper with is bringing you here to talk with you and warn you.”

“Do you know how many you told them and what it would entail?” Vita inquired.

Merida nodded. “I talked about five omens, riddling off about rain, death to animals, everything going dark, factions turning on each other, and condemning the cursed,” she informed them.

Vita’s heart palpitated against her chest when she heard something about curses. “What about people who are cursed?” Vita exclaimed.

“Anyone who carries a curse upon themselves will suffer with their affliction until their death,” Merida admitted.

Vita cried out and collapsed to the ground. She couldn’t allow Deak to live like that.

“What’s wrong?” Merida asked as she dropped down beside Vita.

Vita rocked back and forth as her insides started to panic and fill with concern for her mate.

“Vita is mated to a Lycan who was cursed with a rejection curse,” Amanda explained. “We’ve been trying to figure out how to release the curse without Deak rejecting Vita. But—”

Vita chimed in. “But with you saying that the final omen is him being trapped in this curse for the rest of his life, there’s nothing else to do. I have to reject him to save him,” Vita said softly.

***

Deak heard a knock at the door as he looked over the view of Silver City. This city held no luster for him and no answers. He made his way to the door and opened it. Behind it, Tabitha stood leaning against the doorway.

Deak narrowed his eyes and said, “I see you’ve returned. Does your mate know you’re back?”

Tabitha shrugged. “He will in a moment; I’ve come to drop off invitations for tonight’s gala. We’ve all been invited to go.”

“I will have to decline my invitation. I think I’ve had my fill of the parties here in Silver City.”

Tabitha shook her head. “You can’t. The faction council has requested our attendance. They will think we are rude and not appreciative of what they’ve given us.”

Deak groaned in response.

Tabitha looked over at Vita and frowned. “What’s Vita doing?”

Deak flipped open the envelope and pulled out the invitation, “She’s checking on Amanda,” he answered her. His eyes widened, and his lips curled when he saw a name he didn’t enjoy seeing, Emil. Of course, he was a part of this.

Tabitha huffed. “It’s always something about Amanda,” she muttered.

Deak looked up at her with a lifted brow, “Need I remind you, that’s my cousin you’re talking about and your future Luna.”

Tabitha rolled her eyes and waved her hand in the air. “Ignore me. Now the ball is only black attire; let Vita know when she comes out of her slumber. I have to go pass out the rest of the invitations. See you downstairs later!”

Tabitha let herself out, and Deak was once again alone with his thoughts. He walked over and checked on Vita. Her face was pinched, and tears were streaming down Vita’s face. His heart clenched as he tried to shake Vita awake.

Vita’s eyes popped open as she took in a deep breath. She looked at Deak wildly and gasped, “What did you do?”

Deak stepped back, confused. Was she mad at him? “You were crying; you looked scared. I was worried.”

Vita tried to gather her thoughts and catch her breath. She ran her fingers through her hair. “I was getting answers. I have to try and go back,” she told him as she tried to calm her nerves and close her eyes. Vita’s phone rang next to her on the table; she grabbed it and answered it quickly. “Amanda?”

“I’m sorry, Vita, I got pulled out when you did. What happened?”

Vita looked up at Deak with both fear and anger in her eyes. “Deak happened.”