I swear I only meant to check on her because the horror we survived six years ago had suddenly spiked our survival instinct, and our first line of action has always been protecting her.
One second Emmanuel and I were waiting outside the athletic center, arguing about which protein shake brand tastes less like chalk, and the next, every hormone-driven male on campus was whispering Evelessa's name like it was a damn prayer.
"Where the hell is she?" I mutter, pacing.
Emmanuel shrugs, leaning against the car like he doesn't have a single worry in the world. "Relax, she's in the bathroom or locker room or something."
"She's been gone too long."
"Or you're being dramatic."
I glare at him. "You didn't see the way people stared at her in there. The girls looked like they wanted to skin her alive, and the boys—"
"Wanted to climb into her skin?"
I punch his arm. "Can you not be creepy for five seconds?"
He laughs… but it's tense.
He's worried too.
She's our baby sister. Our tiny hellcat. Our sunshine-covered-in-spikes.
We've survived five high schools, two states, and countless supernatural threats protecting her. We can smell danger before it even walks into a room.
But today?
Today, something felt off. Heavy. Like eyes were tracking her from the shadows.
"I'm going in," I say.
"Richard—"
I ignore him and head toward the hallway. My knuckles are raised to knock—
And then I hear her.
"Evelessa?" I call, voice sharp.
The door swings open a second later.
She steps out too fast. Like she's escaping.
Her hoodie is crooked, her eyes wild, and she looks like she's been sprinting for her life.
"What happened?" I demand.
"Nothing." She tries to walk past me.
I grab her wrist gently. "Eve."
Her pulse is racing.
Her scent is wrong, fear and adrenaline buried under perfume.
"Richard, I said I'm fine."
"No, you look like you just saw a—"
"Please," she whispers.
That single word guts me.
I let go immediately. "Okay. Let's go home."
She exhales shakily, nodding.
I walk her out, shielding her with my body like every threat in the world suddenly knows her exact location.
THE CAR
Emmanuel is already in the driver's seat, drumming his fingers on the wheel.
When he sees us, he frowns. "What happened?"
"She's tired," I lie.
Evelessa climbs into the back and curls up instantly, eyes closing. The exhaustion hits her so fast it scares me, she never sleeps in cars.
I open the mental link.
Richard: She's shaking.
Emmanuel: I noticed. What happened?
Richard: She won't say. But something scared her.
His grip on the wheel tightens.
Emmanuel: Day one and this already feels wrong. Too many eyes on her. We need protections. Cameras...
Richard: Agreed. And she shouldn't walk around campus alone.
Emmanuel: Or let guys approach her. Or look at her. Or breathe near her.
I snort.
"She's our sister, not a demigod."
But even I know it's not that simple.
Evelessa… draws attention. Always has. Her beauty is just part of it. There's something else, magnetic, ancient, supernatural.
Dad says it's our legacy. Our mother's blood. Our destiny we're supposed to hide from.
But suddenly, it feels like destiny is hunting us.
She's asleep now.
And that terrifies me.
"Let's just get home fast," I say.
Emmanuel nods and turns the key.
The engine sputters.
Then coughs.
Then dies.
"You've got to be kidding me," Emmanuel mutters. "We serviced this car last week!"
He tries again. Nothing.
I get out, then freeze.
Because walking toward our car…
Like he owns gravity…
Is a man.
Tall. Dark-haired. Built like a god.
And his eyes,
Locked on Evelessa like she's the center of existence.
I don't need to smell him.
Or hear his aura crackle.
Or ask his name.
I know.
Supernatural.
Dangerous.
Deadly.
"Emmanuel," I say through the link, blood turning cold. "We've got company."
He peers out the windshield.
"Holy shit."
Yeah. That sums it up.
The man stops at my window, expression cool but eyes molten.
"You need help?" he asks.
Smooth. Deep. Confident. Too confident.
"I said no," I reply sharply.
He ignores me.
His eyes slide past me.
To her.
Evelessa shifts, murmuring in her sleep.
His jaw flexes.
His eyes flicker, gold, then darker.
Oh hell no.
"Who are you?" I demand.
He finally looks at me.
"Cassain."
Emmanuel chokes. "The hockey god?!"
I kick his seat.
Not the time.
Cassain glances at our dead engine. "You won't be going anywhere. I can give you a ride."
"No," I snap.
"Rich—" Emmanuel starts.
"No."
Cassain raises a brow. "Your sister is exhausted."
My muscles freeze.
"How do you know she's my sister?"
He doesn't answer.
Just keeps staring at her.
I open the back door. She's slumped sideways, breathing softly.
I lift her into my arms. She barely stirs.
And Cassain watches every movement.
"You can ride with me," he says quietly.
I want to say no.
I want to punch him.
I want to throw holy water at him.
But we're twenty minutes from home, the car is dead, and Evelessa is limp in my arms.
"Fine," I grit out. "But we're watching you."
He smiles.
Not friendly.
A victory smile.
THE RIDE
His SUV looks like it costs more than our entire existence. His driver, stone-faced and silent, opens the door.
I settle Evelessa in the back seat.
Cassain sits beside her.
Absolutely not.
I yank him back by the shoulder. "Front seat."
"I'm not," he says calmly.
"You are."
We stare each other down.
My legs go numb.
He finally sits in the middle row, not because I forced him, but because he allowed it.
The car starts.
Evelessa's head slips onto my lap. I reposition her.
Cassain watches.
Not her beauty.
Her being.
Her soul.
I send a link to Emmanuel.
Richard: He knows her. Or senses her.
Emmanuel: You think he's supernatural?
Richard: I KNOW he is.
I glance back.
Cassain meets my eyes.
It feels like looking into a storm.
Finally, finally, we reach home.
I lift Evelessa again. Cassain steps out too.
Emmanuel blocks him.
"I don't know who you think you are," Emmanuel says evenly, "but stay away from our sister."
Cassain looks amused. "Is that so?"
"Yes," I say. "We don't want trouble."
He smiles slowly. Dark. Soft.
"Trouble arrives whether you want it or not."
A chill runs through me.
He turns to leave.
But before entering the SUV, he looks back.
Almost gently, he says,
"Goodnight, brothers."
The SUV pulls away.
The chill stays.
******
I tuck Evelessa into bed and freeze.
Because something on her neck,
A faint mark.
A shimmer of magic.
My fists clench.
She's still connected to the supernatural world.
Enemies still exist.
And somehow…
Cassain is at the center of it.
I close her door softly.
"We need to protect her," I tell Emmanuel.
"From him?" he whispers.
But another thought slams into me.
What if she doesn't want protection from him?
I don't say it.
Instead: "We watch him. We watch her. Every second."
He nods.
But neither of us sleeps.
Because for the first time since we escaped that hellish world…
Something has found us again.
And its name is Cassain.