*At **Blackthorne University**, humans and supernatural beings studied side by side. It wasn't unusual to pass a witch in the hallway, a werewolf in your biology lecture, or a vampire grabbing coffee before class. The supernatural world had long since stopped hiding; it had simply become part of everyday life.*
The night stretched on endlessly, swallowed by the steady hum of the Impala. The road slipped past beneath the headlights, monotonous, almost soothing— a fragile illusion in a life where nothing truly was anymore.
Taylor, Belly, and I have always been inseparable since childhood. But even more so since Belly and I turned 11. That year, Laurel and Belly learned that I was pretty much on my own, especially during the summer. Until I was 14, I spent the summer with Steven, Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah. At first, I felt bad about crashing and had trouble fitting in with the group, but they always made sure I was included. After that, my aunt took over, and I moved to Canada. This year, Belly and I are finishing high school; in September, I'm going to college with her. To celebrate, she invited me back to the summer house. I don't know about Suzannah's relapse or whether Conrad knows about it. Steven and I have stayed in close contact, and Jere and I have our own networks. Belly and I used to talk every week.
After a year of watching each other from a distance, it is now possible to acknowledge the other’s existence—and, above all, the attraction between them.
After months apart with no way to communicate except through the occasional news passed on by Violet and Xaden, Garrick and Novalyn finally reunite upon arriving in Aretia with the revolution. Amid the chaos of their new reality, one look between them says everything words cannot—they're finally together again, but both know they'll have to rebuild what the war put on hold.
