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“No, Malia. We have to—”
“Summer’s out there! The others too!” she cries. “I need to make sure everyone’s okay.”
My heart sinks as I realise the depth of Malia’s concern for Summer. I understand her desire to protect her friend, I do, but Malia has no idea of the danger that awaits us outside. I can’t expose her to that. We can’t risk her safety like that.
Malia climbs out of the professor’s bed, pulling on the dress she wore at the party before turning to me.
“Let’s go!”
“Malia,” I say, my voice filled with a mixture of urgency and tenderness. “I understand your worry for Summer, but right now, our priority has to be keeping ourselves safe. The Shikari are formidable, and we can’t risk exposing you to them, to their violence.”
Malia’s eyes well up with tears, her hands trembling with a mixture of fear and determination. “But Cove, Summer is my only friend. I just got her back. I can’t lose her again. We can’t just leave her out there. What if something happens to her?”
I take a deep breath, trying to find the right words to assuage Malia’s worries. “I know how much you love Summer, but we have to trust that she can take care of herself. She’s smart. She might find a safe place to hide until this chaos subsides. She might even have already left the beach. We can’t risk our own lives trying to rescue her right now.”
Malia’s shoulders slump as she wrestles with the difficult decision before her. She glances at me, her eyes searching for reassurance.
My heart aches, torn between my love for Malia and my concern for everyone’s safety. If it weren’t for the need to protect Malia, I’d be out there, fighting alongside my brothers.
I reach out and gently take her trembling hands in my own. “Malia, I understand how much Summer means to you, but we need to make a choice and stick together. I can’t bear the thought of losing you or putting your life in danger.”
Tears stream down Malia’s face as the gravity of the situation sinks in. She’s remembering the prophecy, all that’s at stake. She nods slowly, her grip on my hands tightening. “You’re right, Cove. Our lives are too valuable to throw away recklessly. Let’s stay here and hide. We’ll pray for everyone’s safety and hope that everyone makes it out alive.”
I don’t dare tell her how unlikely that is, that the beach is already littered with bodies – collateral damage from the initial Shikari attack. Instead, I smile, relieved that Malia had made the difficult decision to prioritise her safety. Pulling her into a tight embrace, I whisper what I hope are soothing words into her ear. “We’ll get through this, Malia. Together. We’ll find a way to keep each other safe, and when this is all over, we’ll search for Summer with all our might.”
The need to help my brothers and to know what’s going on, wages war with my need to protect Malia, so I take her to my room at the front of the house. I keep the lights off and get Malia to hide in the closet once more, and then I arm myself with weapons and stand guard.
Keeping to the shadows and moving slowly to avoid detection, I cross to the window so that I can watch what’s happening on the beach. From here, the sounds of the battle are much louder, more violent. I’m glad Malia can’t see this. I’m already dreading the magic and work involved in clearing this massacre up. But that’s a job we’ll have to outsource, because we can’t stay here now. Not now that our location has been compromised and we’ve revealed ourselves to the Shikari. Now that they know powerful Aerwynans live here they’ll not stop hunting us unless they find the star.
As I peer through the window, my heart sinks even further at the devastation unfolding on the beach. The Shikari move with terrifying speed and precision, their dark forms clashing with my brothers. Explosions light up the night sky, and the air crackles with the sound of spells being cast and weapons clashing.
Amidst the chaos, I catch sight of Reef fighting valiantly against a group of Shikari. A surge of fear grips my heart as I notice that he’s outnumbered, his defences weakening with each passing moment. My brother is hurt, blood staining his clothes as he struggles to fend off the relentless attackers.
Suddenly, the Shikari vanish. I should feel a sense of relief washing over me, but instead, dread settles in my gut, knowing that we’ve bought ourselves some time – but at what cost? Why have they vanished? I know that this is just the beginning of our battle. We’ve signalled our presence to a dangerous world, and now we must prepare for the inevitable storm that will follow.
Movement on the beach catches my attention and I watch in horror as Reef falls to the sand, his weapons dropping from his hand. Bhodi and the professor run to him, but my gut knows it’s already too late.
I can’t simply stand by and watch Reef hurt. Despite the risks, I know I have to act. With a firm resolve, I turn away from the window and hurry back to the closet where Malia is hiding.
“Malia,” I whisper urgently, gently shaking her shoulder. “The danger has passed for now. We have to go out there. Reef needs our help.”
Malia’s eyes widen with a mix of fear and determination. She nods, understanding the gravity of the situation. Without a word, she emerges from the closet wearing shorts and a tank, Vans on her feet. I’m impressed that she used her time hiding to change into something more practical for running, because that’s what we’re going to have to do. Run. Hide. Survive.
I don’t know why the Shikari retreated, but I do know that they’ll be back.
But first, we have to worry about getting Reef and Malia to safety somewhere else. We can regroup and come up with a plan later.
We race down the stairs and out of the house. Stepping onto the beach, the aftermath of the battle is like a sharp slap to the face and I hear Malia’s pained gasp behind me. The air is still thick with the scent of smoke and the echoes of fading magic. Bodies lie scattered on the sand, a haunting reminder of the price paid in the fight against the Shikari.
But I can’t bring myself to grieve for the needless loss of life. Not when my brother is lay dying on the sand.
I scan the area, heart pounding as I search for Reef amidst the chaos. And then, through the haze, I spot him, slumped against a rock, his body battered and bruised, Bhodi and the professor standing over him with stricken expressions on their faces. Rushing to his side to join my brothers, I watch helplessly as with hands trembling, the prof checks for signs of life.
The waiting nearly kills me.
When he stands and shakes his head, something is torn from my chest. An agonised scream tears the air in two and Malia shoves us out of the way to get to Reef’s broken form.
Silent tears stream down my face as I stare at Reef’s lifeless form. This can’t be happening. He can’t be... He’s not... I won’t accept it. I can’t. He has to be okay. I need to tell him...
