The magical pulses from Elise’s palms sputtered and failed. The gate closed. Holly vanished.
“Wait!” Keller barely managed to get the word out.
“I can’t!” Elise sank to the ground, sweating and shaking.
Loch knelt beside her. “You did good,” he assured Elise.
Anger burned within Keller’s veins, hotter and more intense than he’d ever felt before.
“Good?” he barked. “Are you kidding me? We’ve accomplished nothing!”
“That’s not true,” Garret said. “We know Holly’s alive and uninjured. We know she’s still in Golden Oak.”
Keller didn’t listen to Garret. He looked around the forest as if Holly would appear from behind a tree trunk.
“Holly?” he called. He’d heard her voice before, why couldn’t he hear it now? “Holly!”
“Something fought me,” Elise rasped. “When I found the weak spot, something tried to strengthen it.”
“Holly!” Keller shouted again. Holly didn’t answer. He couldn’t hear her anymore.
“Keller, didn’t you hear Elise?” Loch snapped.
“She can’t just be gone!” Keller insisted.
“She’s not gone,” Garret said before turning to Elise. “What do you mean by strengthening?”
“It’s hard to be sure,” Elise said between heavy gulps of air. “But it felt like something was sealing the tear against my magic.”
“Could the barrier have done that automatically?” Johnny asked.
“Maybe,” Elise said. “But it felt alive. I think I felt the magical energy of whoever made the barrier in the first place. It was fluid and tangible. It tasted bitter.”
“Bitter?” Keller repeated.
“Like anger and jealousy,” Elise said. “I know that doesn’t make sense, but that’s what it felt like, what it tasted like.”
“We need to get her home,” Loch said. “The sooner she recovers, the sooner we can learn more.”
“We’re not leaving until we talk to Holly again,” Keller insisted.
His anger reached a fevered pitch. The words tumbling from his mouth didn’t make any sense, but he couldn’t stop them—every fiber of his being ordered him to push Elise to find out more. A strange part of him he’d never felt before didn’t care if Elise was injured or even died so long as it meant he could get Holly back. He shook his head as if he could clear away those invasive thoughts.
“Are you okay, man?” Loch asked. “You don’t look great.”
“I’m fine,” Keller growled. “I’m just stressed and confused. Take Elise back to the house.”
“What happened to not leaving?” Johnny replied, his arms folded across his chest. “You’re acting weird, Keller.”
“It’s the stress.” Keller waved off Johnny. “Take Elise back to the house. Let her rest. I need to go for a walk.”
Before any of the others could respond, Keller charged into the forest and didn’t look back.
CHAPTER TEN—TREVOR
“Are you okay?”
Once the tear in the barrier closed, Holly sunk down onto the grass. She hadn’t moved or spoken.
Trevor wondered if she’d reached her breaking point. If she had, what could he do for her? Under normal circumstances, Golden Oak didn’t have much to offer and these were far from normal circumstances.
“Where are they?” she asked softly.
“I’m sure they’re right there.” Trevor gestured to the empty space in front of her.
“Why can’t I hear them?” Her voice cracked as she tried to choke back tears. “I heard them before. Why can’t I hear them now?”
“If I had an answer, I’d tell you.”
“I should get you a sign to hold up.” Holly laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. “That way, you don’t have to keep repeating yourself.”
Trevor sat down beside her on the grass. The magical hum of the invisible border made his hair stand on end.
“I don’t mind repeating myself,” he murmured. “I’m sorry I don’t have the answers, but I’m willing to look for them.”
“Me too.” Holly nodded. “It’s not like there’s anything else to do.”
“That’s not entirely true.” Trevor bumped her shoulder with his.
“I’m not sleeping with you, Trevor.” She sighed.
“That’s not what I meant,” he said, quickly. “Though, I can’t say I hate the idea.” He waited for her to either laugh or shout at him.
Thankfully, she laughed. “What did you mean, if not that?”
“You said it’s your birthday,” he answered.
“Oh.”
“You don’t like your birthday?”
“It’s not that.” Holly shrugged. “It’s just I usually celebrate with my sisters. I fly home to Louisiana every year. We go to the same restaurant we’ve been going to since we were kids. The owner has our birthdays memorized. He always makes a special coffee cake for me, a red velvet cake for Jasmina, and a mango cheesecake for Rosaline.”
“Jasmina and Rosaline,” Trevor repeated. “Interesting names.”
“Mom likes gardening. She planted night-blooming jasmine right before she went into labor with Jasmina.”
“And roses for Rosaline, I’m guessing?”
“Tea roses.” Holly smiled. “They grow on vines wrapped around our porch.”
“That sounds nice.” Trevor smiled back. “I have an idea.” He pushed himself onto his feet and brushed the dead sprigs of grass from the back of his jeans.
Holly stared up at him. He’d never seen such an expression on her face before. Dim curiosity sparked in her eyes but not brightly enough to outshine the sorrow. The corners of her mouth pulled down as if attached to small weights.
“You aren’t going to ask?” Trevor prompted.
One corner of her mouth twitched into something like a smile, but she remained silent.
“Fine, I’ll do all the work, as usual,” he teased. “You and I are going to a bar. You’re going to have your first drink—”
“It won’t be my first drink. I did shots with your sister.”
“And you’re still alive?” Trevor chuckled. “She can outdrink an elephant.”
Holly’s face went pale. “Please tell me there aren’t elephant shifters,” she said.
Trevor couldn’t help but laugh. “Not that I know of.” He extended a hand to her and pulled her to her
