Lights flickered throughout the city as Logan carried Madeline through her hotel door. He laid her gently on her bed as he looked around her room, searching for something to help her, but he didn’t know what.

“Logan,” Madeline called out.

Logan rushed to her side and grabbed her hand. “What can I do to help you?”

Madeline took deep breaths to try and calm herself. The effects of the poison were starting to get worse. Her fingers and toes began to go numb. “I’m not sure,” she started to tell him. “I’ve been poisoned, and we need to figure out what kind of poison before making an antidote. I need my family.”

Logan pulled out his phone and tried to send a message, but it failed to send. He ran his fingers through his hair as he thought about what to do next.

***

Vita found the spell she could use to get them out of there. But she didn’t want to leave anyone behind. “Have you seen any of the others?” she asked as she started to mix the ingredients for the spell quickly.

Tabitha shook her head. She hadn’t apologized to Ruby yet and was afraid of what Ruby would say to her if she did.

“I’ve tried to mind-link to her, but something keeps blocking it,” Marco responded.

This wasn’t good. Vita didn’t want to do the spell until she knew everyone was safe.

Deak walked up beside her and said, “I’ll go.”

Vita looked up quickly and stared at him through the mirror. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Deak shrugged. “Doesn’t matter; we need them to leave.”

“But the doors have been sealed, and none of the people out there look like they want to stop fighting anytime soon,” Marco brought up.

Deak smirked. “I handle it. I stronger than you know,” Deak revealed. He turned Vita toward him and held her chin in the crook of his finger. “Szeretlek, (I love you),” he told her before he turned and left.

Vita let out a breath as her heart raced. There were so many things going through her head at the moment. She was so ashamed of herself for the things she said to Deak. She remembered everything that had happened and didn’t know how she would be able to fix it.

Tabitha walked up to Vita and rested her hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you need to breathe,” she told her.

Vita sighed as she released her breath and sucked in another breath. “Thanks,” she replied with a smile.

“Vita, I know this probably isn’t the right time to bring this up. I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting and treating everyone. No reason or excuse can make up for how I behaved. I hope you can forgive me.”

Vita turned and pulled Tabitha into her arms. “There you are. I wondered when the real Tabitha would show up to the party.”

Tabitha laughed as she shook her head. She sighed in relief as she pulled away from Vita. “One down, about a dozen more to go,” she muttered.

Vita turned back and continued to work on the spell. She was close to being done and hoped Deak would be back soon so they could all escape. Hopefully, Deak would be able to find them quickly.

***

Gretchen stared outside as the city’s lights flickered in front of her. From what Esha had told them, the lights never dimmed. What could be causing all this?

“Gretchen?” she heard Colson's voice behind her.

Gretchen didn’t want to turn back and look at him. She was embarrassed by the things she said and how she acted. But at the same time, Gretchen felt there was some truth to what she told him. His wolf still scared her, and didn’t want to be dominated by his possessive side.

She wrapped her arms around her waist, “Not now, Colson. We need to find a way to figure out where everyone else is and get out of here.”

Colson spun her around and placed his hands on her shoulders. He tried to look her in the eye, but she refused to look at him. Colson's frustration grew as a growl erupted from his chest. Before Colson could say anything, the ground shook everything around them.

“What’s happening?” they heard people yell around them.

Colson pulled Gretchen close as he tried to seek shelter for them to stand under. There weren’t a lot of options, but he found a small nook that he could keep her covered in. The building continued to shake as the lights started to burst above them.

“COLSON!” Gretchen yelled out.

“I’m fine, stay in there,” he ordered, blocking her from the sparks.

The shakes stopped, and the lights were out. Colson looked around to ensure it was safe for Gretchen to come out. He spotted Zachary and Ruby coming out from their hiding spot. Colson turned and nodded to Gretchen that it was safe to come out.

Gretchen crawled out from where Colson had her hiding and noticed Deak making his way toward him.

“Good, you’re all right. Come, Vita has spell to get us out of here,” Deak told them.

He turned and started to way back to Vita, hoping she was okay after the quake.

***

Amanda flipped the pages with frustration. She wasn’t finding any answers that she was looking for. Her eyes lit up when she saw a page that talked about Merida but nothing of use to her. Amanda sighed.

“Merida, please help me. I need to find the answers I seek,” Amanda whispered over the pages.

The pages started to flip quickly in front of her when it fell upon a page for calling a witch. Amanda’s brows furrowed as she looked at the spell. She didn’t understand how this would help her get her needed answers.

But it was worth a try, right?

Amanda recited the words from the page and started the chant. She closed her eyes as she continued to repeat it over and over. She felt the wind blowing around her; she opened her eyes and pushed away from the book. She tried to move back, but something stopped her from getting out of the circle. A silhouette of a woman started to show from the circling wind.

“What, what’s happening?”

“I’m here to help you,” the woman said.

“But how?”

The woman smirked as she soared through the air, pushing her spirit into Amanda’s body.

Amanda wobbled as she tried to regain her balance; once she got her footing, she opened her and took a deep breath.

“Oh, to be out in the world again,” Amanda said aloud.

She walked over to the mirror to look at herself. The real Amanda looked back at the person before her with shock. “Merida, why are you doing this?”

“I have some unfinished business to take care of. Don’t worry; I’ll take excellent care of your body while I’m in here,” Merida said in a coy manner.

Merida turned away from the mirror and swirled her fingers. A portal opened in front of her. “Time to take a little trip.”