*Maddy*

Wind whispers over us. Little flakes of silver ice bite into my cheeks despite the fact that it’s summer. Nothing here feels right. The long dead grass sways in a vicious breeze, the air so chilled it stings. The sky is pitch black and moonless, like the night came and refused to ease its grip on the world.

There’s magic in the air, and not the good kind.

The scent of death reaches my nose and causes me to shudder. Ella watches me, her eyes nearly black in the ...