Page 36 of Lunar Diamonds
That happened quite often, shade burnout. It came from them being close to any Radiance Pulse bursts but avoiding the main blast. Kind of like fallout. This one must have been lurking around Coldharbour’s city limits, getting sicker by the hour.
Thank Hecate for that mercy.
“Is everyone alright?” Drake asked.
Why does he care?
Why wouldn’t he?
Oh, go away.
“Shut up,” Alice warned.
Drake shut his trap.
After April checked for damage, she gave the all-clear and we took off again, finally reaching the north end of Coldharbour. We whizzed past the train station, navigating the hilly streets of the city, the buildings a blend of brutalist concrete, brick, and some newer glass towers scattered here and there.
In no time, we reached the steep, curved road leading up to the cliff-top mansion—the House of Aurora. A grand and Gothic spectacle at the heart of astonishingly manicured gardens, lights gleaming in the windows like yellow jewels in the night.
No witchcops up here.
This relic has nothing to do with me…
Moon. Sun. Star. A triplet. Were they really saying I was a sacred witch? Which one? The Moon?
I drew blood from biting my bottom lip too hard, my toes curled tightly in my shoes.
I can’t do this.
A huge, wrought iron fence surrounded the grounds, a set of tall gates between two ornate pillars. Floodlights pinged to life, illuminating the immediate area. A cluster of Hecate Crystals grew at the foot of the left pillar, shimmering away in the bright light.
The moon is brighter than everything here…I looked up at the big rock in the sky, my teeth releasing my lip.
So pretty…
The car waited for a few seconds while the gates opened. A whirring sound tore me away from the moon. I rubbed my eyes, hoping to see my flat before me after awaking from this nightmare.
Nope. Still in the car.
My stomach flipped as we moved up the long driveway, my nerves shot to merry hell by the time we pulled up outside the massive wooden doors with a set of stairs leading up to them.
One of those doors was open, a woman standing there beneath an overhead light.
Erin Lovell. A famous shimmer witch who’d served as the secretary of House Aurora.
She wore a silver cardigan over a white top and black jeans, gray hair falling around her dark-brown face in messy waves.
Aaron got out of the car first, opening my door for me. “Welcome to Aurora Mansion, sir.”
I stared up at the vastness of the mansion, the darkness of the stone, the creepiness of the gargoyles around the edges of the slanted rooftop. Cold winds blowing in from the sea only heightened an unsettling atmosphere.
Moonlight shimmered on the surface of the dark sea, the lights of ships blinking on the horizon. I shivered in the bitter air, my jacket far too thin against the elements.
I want to go home.
I’d been up here a few times in my life to have a look at the symbol of failure.
The failure of my family.
