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Groaning, Maya pushed herself up off of the ground, surrounded by nothing but darkness. She had the vague recollection of the earth opening up and devouring her before closing back up, leaving her in this pitch black. Once again she should feel terrified, should feel trapped, but she felt nothing but relief.

The pain was gone.

Maya’s hand went to her neck and her eyes widened in the darkness to feel nothing but the chain around her neck...the meteorite apparently gone.

How-?

Sitting up Maya could feel that other side of her magic retreating deep within once more, allowing the other side of her magic free reign once more.

The blonde took in a deep breath and held out her hand. “Give me light.”

A ball of light appeared in her palm, illuminating the...underground cave.

Gulping, Maya slowly rose to her feet, shadows and light playing off of the walls, green eyes narrowing as she realized that there were drawings on the cave walls. She drew closer, seeing native American-like cave drawings everywhere, and yet they weren’t the normal sort that one would expect. There were drawings of a group of six youth standing around a fire and holding hands...a coven. There were other symbols and drawings depicted on the walls, records of some sort.

A symbol drew her attention, the blonde heading towards it and reaching up on her tiptoes to reach it, her fingertips brushing against the symbol. She couldn’t understand why she felt so drawn to it, why she felt as if she was supposed to be here...

...shaking her head, knowing that the others were probably worried about her, Maya turned to her ball of light and brought it to her mouth as she whispered to it, not even sure where she was getting this spell from. “Will O’ The Wisp, guide my path.”

The ball of light hovering over her palm suddenly shot up into the air, circling above-head a second before floating ahead.

Maya stood, staring at it for a second, shocked.

“Instinctive magic.” She whispered to herself, mulling over it as she began to follow.

Groaning, Maya pushed herself up off the ground, surrounded by nothing but darkness. She had a vague recollection of the earth opening up and swallowing her before sealing her in this pitch-black void. She should have felt terrified, trapped, but instead, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

The pain was gone.

Maya’s hand went to her neck, her eyes widening in the darkness when she felt nothing but the chain around her neck. The meteorite was gone.

How?

Sitting up, Maya could feel the other side of her magic retreating deep within, allowing her usual magic free reign once more. She took a deep breath and held out her hand. “Give me light.”

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A ball of light appeared in her palm, illuminating the underground cave. Gulping, Maya slowly rose to her feet. Shadows and light played off the walls, and her green eyes narrowed as she realized there were drawings on the cave walls. She drew closer, seeing Native American-like cave drawings everywhere. Yet, they weren’t the typical sort one would expect. There were depictions of a group of six youths standing around a fire, holding hands—a coven. Other symbols and drawings covered the walls, records of some sort.

One symbol drew her attention. Maya moved towards it, reaching up on her tiptoes to touch it, her fingertips brushing against the symbol. She couldn’t understand why she felt so drawn to it, why she felt as if she was supposed to be here...

Shaking her head, knowing the others were probably worried about her, Maya turned to her ball of light and whispered to it, not even sure where she was getting this spell from. “Will O’ The Wisp, guide my path.”

The ball of light hovering over her palm suddenly shot up into the air, circling above her head for a second before floating ahead. Maya stood, staring at it for a moment, shocked.

“Instinctive magic,” she whispered to herself, mulling it over as she began to follow the light.

Clarissa had lowered the barrier, proving that it wasn’t an illusion—Maya had truly disappeared. Only her shoes remained.

“Where is she?” Dawson whispered, standing in the spot where Maya should have been. “Where is she?”

Clarissa bit back a sharp retort, frustration and confusion growing inside her. The green meteorite had hurt Maya more than the others, and this new development was alarming. Clarissa gulped as she looked around, a gnawing worry taking root in her mind.

What if Maya didn’t actually belong to Gabe Burns? What if she had dark magic in her? What if she was a James?

Clarissa fought the beginnings of hysteria. She knew Austen James had been friendly with the women of the coven, flirting with her, Geneva, Martha, and Gale, as well as the girlfriends of the men of the coven. When Gale became pregnant, Gabe Burns had stepped in as the father, marrying her with the blessing of her parents given her young age. Austen wouldn’t have allowed that if he’d known Gale could be having his child, right? All he ever talked about was bringing his family back from the brink of extinction, being the last of Francis James’s lineage. If he’d known he had fathered a child—a daughter…

Clarissa gulped, her gaze returning to where the barrier had stood. The meteorite affected natural-born witches badly, but it affected those with dark magic even worse. Depending on the power of the dark witch…

“Maya?” Harper gasped.

Clarissa turned rapidly, eyes wide, to see Maya walking towards them, hugging herself against the cold night air, obviously tired but not as exhausted as one would have expected.

“What happened?” Angelo asked, jogging up to her, eyes wide with concern.

“Seriously.” Sam lit another cigarette, relieved to see she was okay. “What the heck was that?”

“I’m not too sure.” Maya made a face. “I passed out and woke up over there in the forest.”

“How?” Dawson asked the question of the hour.

Clarissa turned her gaze on Jason, noticing he wasn’t asking questions. Instead, he was eyeing Maya thoughtfully, questioningly. The blonde looked up at him, gave a nearly imperceptible nod, then turned a weak smile on Harper.

Clarissa’s eyes narrowed fractionally. Jason Ross knew something he wasn’t sharing, but she doubted he knew everything. She doubted he knew that one of his friends was most likely a witch with powerful dark magic coursing through her veins.

“What happened to the meteorite rock?” Harper asked in shock, reaching up to touch the empty chain around Maya’s neck.

Maya gulped, giving a feeble smile. “I think all the fight we gave it overloaded it because it just—uh—exploded.”

“Oh wow,” Dawson whispered, eyes wide.

Clarissa’s eyes zeroed in on Maya, suspicion confirmed. There was only one bloodline so strong that it could destroy the meteorite. The older witch raised her chin as she eyed the blonde in a new light.

Austen James had a daughter. Clarissa’s lips twitched before curling into a satisfied smile.

There was no way she was letting that girl bind herself to any other coven now.