When she got home to the Kincaids', Natalie beelined for her room. She'd explained to Quinn how badly the meeting with the principal went. He promised to be on the lookout for Blake, but Natalie knew that another part of her world had just been put at risk. She needed to be ready.

  This time it's not just magic. It's me. It's something I did.

  You cannot be blamed.

  That's not how the world works. We just saw it at school. They're all like the principal. I'll get blamed anyway.

  So you must be prepared.

  Yes.

  Natalie and the voice were in agreement. It occasionally pushed back on some of her self-doubts, but this action was without question. The world would eventually find out that she had committed those crimes. She had… she had killed. More than once. She didn't mean to, but she knew that didn't necessarily protect her from going to jail.

  She was terrified of jail. Everything she'd ever seen or heard said it was the worst place she could ever end up. In jail, she'd be trapped. In jail, she'd be cold and alone. She wouldn't have Percy, she wouldn't have her friends, she wouldn't have Scrappy or Gwen. She wouldn't have Quinn. She wouldn't be free.

  I gotta be able to run again.

  But not to the city this time.

  Yeah… Not to a city. I'll be going back home. So I gotta be able to live in a forest. With Gwen and Scrappy. Like you do.

  Not like that. You are not an elf. You cannot live as an elf does.

  Well… I can still live in a forest.

  So Natalie studied. She learned. She went online and found every wilderness survival guide she could. Tyler helped her over chat with getting some of the more hard-to-find books and videos, stuff that was behind paywalls and such since she didn't have a credit card or anything to pay with. He had no idea what he was getting, but he never asked any questions. Lately, he'd been doing anything Natalie asked, immediately, happily.

  It's kinda weird…

  He wants to help you. Don't feel guilty. He is your friend.

  I don't feel guilty, but still…

  Natalie accepted it nonetheless. Her life felt at risk every waking moment again, but not in the same way as when she fled the Laushires. This time, she had people at her back, and a place to stay for the time being. The Kincaids were her friends, even beyond just being Quinn's parents. They liked her, and she really liked them. Their home was a safe place for her.

  But she knew it wouldn't last. Nothing in her life ever lasted. Rallsburg had been just one more stop on the road, after they'd left Chicago. It was the longest step, but still just one more. Now she was with the Kincaids, and she was happier than she'd been since Rallsburg, but it still felt fleeting, ready to vanish at a moment's notice.

  It wasn't just normal human survival, either. Natalie had tried to open Cinza's website on Quinn's computer, thinking it would be easier to browse and learn from there, but of course it was still down. She'd forgotten Alden told her that already the day before. However, she did still have it open on her phone, a few tabs of hundreds buried deep in her browser. More importantly, some of those happened to be the spell-sharing board, where people posted instructions on casting new forms of magic.

  She found the spells to clean and purify water, to cleanse berries and other wild plants of poisons. She found methods to help her catch meat if she needed it, though Natalie had never been a huge fan of eating wild animals. She'd done it a couple times with Gwen, but it hadn't tasted very good, and she'd felt a little sick afterward.

  Most importantly, Natalie still had the methods to hide herself and wherever she might make her home. The invisibility spell still gave her as much trouble as always, but Cinza had also posted the basics of creating misleading paths through the forest, illusions that made people wander in circles without ever actually going forward. They weren't using those particular versions on the Greywood—even Cinza wasn't so brazen as to post current defenses on their site for fear of leaks—but it was more than enough to keep out casual passers-by.

  Quinn came in a few times to see what she was doing. Natalie told him, though not in great detail. Quinn looked uncertain, nervous. Obviously, he wasn't as enamored about living out in the wild as she was. Natalie didn't really get his attitude, but she tried to make light of it for his sake. It'd probably never happen! Maybe they'd just go camping sometime! It'd be super fun!

  He'll come around if he has to. Someday.

  You must be prepared if he does not. We may need to live on our own. Without any help.

  I'll always have Gwen. Even you can't complain about Gwen.

  To her surprise, the voice did not. Apparently it drew the line at humans. Natalie shrugged and went back to work. She nearly missed dinner entirely—Quinn had to come back in and wave a hand in front of her face to get her attention, so focused was she on the spell she'd been trying to practice—and was straight back into it afterward.

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  The Kincaids asked a few concerned questions, but Natalie could tell they were still incredibly nervous around her. Neither wanted to broach the topic of magic or Rallsburg, if they could help it. They stayed out of it, and for the moment, Natalie was just grateful. She didn't need more pressure. If the Kincaids started asking questions about things she'd done, Natalie wasn't sure she could lie to them. Not again. She loved them, just like she loved Quinn.

  Finally, well past midnight, with Quinn fast asleep on her bed, Natalie felt too exhausted to continue. She'd learned a remarkable amount in such a short span, and mastered more than a few new spells.

  For the first time, she actually began to believe Cinza's claims that she was the most powerful, if only a little. Natalie still doubted she was actually more powerful than the rest—Kendra could do incredible things, Hailey could fly, Hector had once beat Omega all on his own—and she certainly had nothing on Grey-eyes or Alpha. But… Natalie knew she was good at magic. Really good. And she was getting better every day. Learning more. Mastering more.

  Natalie let Quinn sleep in her bed. She pulled a loose pillow off onto the ground and wrapped up in a blanket. Natalie wanted to learn to sleep on hard ground. Cinza had done it, back in Seattle, and Natalie hadn't. If she had to go out on her own again, Natalie needed to be able to sleep. Cinza said it never bothered her.

  Natalie couldn't let it bother her either. She had to be able to survive on her own. She had to be able to protect the people she cared about, especially with how unpredictable the world was now. Magic was the answer, and Natalie was one of the strongest around.

----------------------------------------

  The next morning, her phone rang.

  Natalie jerked awake. Her phone ringing was never anything good. The only person she'd ever expect to call these days was Quinn—and he was still sleeping only a few feet away, up on the bed. Gingerly, Natalie summoned her phone off her nightstand and up over Quinn to land neatly in her hand, answering it as quickly as possible without even checking the number. To her relief, Quinn's breathing didn't change.

  "Hi?" she whispered. Bleary-eyed, she looked up at the clock on the wall. Normally, in the early-morning darkness, she wouldn't be able to read the hands, but the rituals had improved her eyes drastically. It was five-thirty in the morning. Sunrise was still two hours away.

  "Natalie?" It was Ruby, of all people. Natalie and Ruby had barely ever interacted. They certainly weren't friends. Natalie never really hung out with Cinza's people, though she ran into them in the forest plenty of times, and she hadn't even known Ruby's name until the last days. Why is Ruby calling me? Did… oh god, did Cinza tell her? No, she promised she never would. Not even Ruby.

  "Yes."

  "I'm sorry if I woke you up."

  "It's okay."

  Ruby cleared her throat awkwardly. She sounded uncomfortable. It struck Natalie that Ruby was the youngest of the Rallsburg Ghosts besides herself, and the only other one under eighteen. They did have something in common there, at least. "Cinza wanted me to call. Things are happening."

  "I saw her on TV," Natalie whispered.

  "Are you… sorry, are you safe right now?"

  "Yes. I'm just… trying not to wake somebody up."

  "Oh!" Ruby paused. "Is it… a boy?"

  "...Not like that," she whispered back, face heating up. "He's just nearby. Also his parents."

  "Yeah. Sorry." Ruby paused again. "I'll try to be fast. Someone betrayed the Greywood. She infiltrated us and took one of us. Cinza and our allies were able to follow them and stop anything from happening, but they learned too much. We had to shut down the site."

  "I saw that."

  "Sorry," Ruby apologized again. "The point is, this person knows who you are. Where you are, too. I'm so sorry, Natalie."

  "Do I…" Natalie hesitated, glancing up again at Quinn, but he was still fast asleep. Her sharp ears could tell his breathing hadn't changed at all. "Do I need to run?"

  "No, I don't think so. They aren't inclined to use their blackmail, and we provided them a lot of incentive not to." Ruby paused, and it sounded like she was talking to someone else nearby. "Cinza wanted me to send someone out to protect you, though. If anything does happen."

  "I'm okay," said Natalie quickly. The last thing she wanted was someone from the Greywood coming and setting things off even more. Not now. Everything was so precarious already, and the Greycloaks seemed to make more drama everywhere they went.

  "Are you certain? There's a lot going on—"

  "I can take care of myself," said Natalie firmly, a little louder than she intended. She thought she heard Quinn shift and panicked, turning the volume on her phone down as far as it could go. After nothing happened, she inched it back up to audible again.

  "...can't really spare anyone, to be honest. Rika's gone now, and a few others have left after Riley betrayed us. They didn't think it was safe anymore. It is safe," she added, a little indignant, "but their faith just wasn't as strong as ours. I can't leave either, since I'm the only one left with the Nature affinity required to hold our defenses secure. The Greycloaks will keep the Wood, though. If ever you need to come here, say the word."

  "I will," Natalie promised, fully intending never to do so.

  "Okay." Ruby paused again, with another muttered conversation Natalie couldn't catch through the phone. "Sorry. I have to go. We have training."

  "Training for what?"

  "War," said Ruby, with an oddly excited voice that made Natalie uncomfortable. "Stay safe, Natalie."

  Ruby hung up. Natalie set her phone down, hand trembling a little. In the cold air of the early morning, she pulled a blanket around her and shivered, but it wasn't because of the cold. Fear was creeping back in, sinister and subtle.

  War. They're going to war. And the guy running the other side of the war… is my dad. What am I supposed to do?

  You protect yourself. You prepare yourself. When the time is right… you hunt.

  I… I don't think I can.

  You are a hunter. It is in your soul, and when the time comes, you will be ready.

  I just want to stay here. With Quinn, and my friends, and no fighting or war or any of that.

  If that were your destiny, you would not keep facing toward this horizon. You cannot escape the call.

  I'm not a fighter or a hunter or any of that.

  No one is, until the world creates a situation where they must become one.

  What do you mean?

  In a war, what happens?

  Natalie shook her head. She didn't want to think about what the voice was forcing her to consider, but how could she avoid someone in her own mind? People… people die. My dad. He might die.

  You must find him first, if you do not wish for that to happen. You saw the news. Someone has already tried to kill him.

  They said he was fine.

  This was just the first attempt. The war has not yet begun. Will you risk his death for this home? A home to which you do not belong, with guardians who still fear you?

  She couldn't deny that. Ever since her confession, the Kincaids hadn't looked at her the same. She still trusted them—they would never reveal her secret, she had no doubt of that. But… they weren't comfortable around her anymore.

  Hesitantly, Natalie finally pulled up a set of notes she'd made, ones she hadn't looked at in ages—directions and plans for how to get back to Rallsburg.

  Just in case.