Zully pointed up. "Look. It's working."
Slowly, the image started forming above Veylor and Ed's heads—first the head, then the rest. It was a giant silverwolf.
Yvaine's eyes filled with tears. "It's... it's…"
"Beautiful," Nyx and Elyan said at the same time, both just as stunned.
"It's big too," Zully added. "One of the biggest I've ever seen."
So maybe the Moon Goddess hadn't given up on her after all.
The image pranced around in the air, then turned and stared straight at Yvaine.
Then, in her head, she heard:
"Hello, Yvaine. I'll see you soon."
The image began to fade.
"I heard her..." Yvaine whispered, blinking. "I heard my wolf. In my head. I do have my wolf…"
She turned and hugged Zully tight. "Thank you. Thank you—all of you."
Zully smiled. "At least we know now. You're a silverwolf. It's just taking time for you to shift. Late bloomer."
"Yeah," Yvaine nodded. "Just like Ed said."
She wasn't cursed. Just late. And her wolf… was beautiful.
"Thank you, Moon Goddess," she said quietly in her mind.
Nyx let out a breath. "Hate to ruin the moment, but we need to get those two back. We've got ten minutes before dinner… and before someone notices. The whole sky is dark. The principal and the board must have felt that shift. We better move."
Elyan agreed. "Nyx is right. Zully, undo the spell."
Zully nodded and picked up her Book of Shadows. "Spell to unbind vision."
The book flipped open on its own again. Same page as before.
She stared. "It's… it's the same."
Nyx frowned. "What do you mean it's the same? Just start already."
"I mean—it's the exact same page from earlier."
The others leaned in to look. She was right.
Yvaine said, "Maybe try saying it backwards?"
Zully blinked. "Ohh that's it. Why didn't I think of that?" She exhaled and started the spell. "Veritatem Revela
Somnia Teneat
Oculos Teneat
Glow shadows from truth the let
Show it let bound vision."
As she chanted, Veylor and Ed suddenly started to shake. More blurry images formed above them, flickering wildly.
"Something's wrong," Elyan said.
"No time for wrong," Nyx snapped. "We'll be caught, and they'll be stuck like this. You can see it—it's hurting them!"
"I'm trying!" Zully's voice shook. She looked down at the book again. "It's still the same spell…"
Nyx grabbed the book from her. "Let me see."
Elyan and Yvaine looked too.
"Here." Nyx pointed. "These arrows at the bottom… what are they?"
Zully's eyes widened. "Ohhh… Now I get it."
She took the book back and leaned closer.
"To unbind it, the spell has to be reversed. Like… not just backwards—but the opposite of the words. And…" she paused.
Yvaine asked, "And what?"
"It has to be said by a coven."
Nyx raised a brow. "Well… we're not all witches, but we've got magic in us. That should count, right?"
Zully hesitated. "A coven of vampyre blood, Fae, witch, and a silverwolf who hasn't even shifted? Sorry, Yvaine…"
Yvaine gave her a tight smile. "It's fine."
Nyx folded her arms. "Got a better idea? We don't have time to sneak back into the school and beg the perfect coven for help. We're doing this."
"Five minutes," Elyan said.
Zully sighed. "Okay. I'll figure out the reversed meanings."
She scribbled quickly with her pen.
"Alright," she said after a minute. "Got it."
Nyx said, "Let's hold hands."
They did. The Book of Shadows sat open in front of them. Together, they began to chant...."Vision freed, let it go,
Hide the truth where shadows grow.
Solve oculos, solve somnia,
Absconde veritatem…"
White light flickered in their eyes. Energy pulsed from their joined hands, flowed into the dream circle.
The sky rumbled… then slowly started to clear.
Veylor and Ed's eyes blinked back to normal. The images were gone.
"Guys?" Ed's voice came weakly.
They all let go and snapped out of the spell.
Zully rushed to Veylor and hugged him. "You're okay," she said, then looked at Ed. "You too."
"Thank you," Yvaine breathed.
Nyx looked around. "This kind of spell leaves a trail. We'll definitely get caught."
Zully smirked. "Don't worry. I know what to do. Let's move."
They helped Veylor and Ed up, and together, they slipped back through the passageway into the school.
_____
"I hate smelling like bubble gum and cake," Nyx muttered, nose scrunched.
Zully grinned. "What? It's too pretty for you?"
"She used the pheromone spell on us to mask any scent the binding must have left," Elyan added, sliding into the seat beside Nyx. "At least there was no detection on us. Besides… we smell great."
Nyx rolled her eyes and dropped onto the bench. The rest sat too, trays clattering softly.
Ed stood for a second, awkward with his tray. "I'll go sit over there."
Yvaine looked at the others. Before she could say anything, Veylor spoke up.
"You can sit with us."
"Yeah," Elyan added, nodding. "Come sit, dude."
Ed smiled. "Thanks." He slid in beside them.
Yvaine raised her juice box. "Thank you all. For today. It really means a lot to me. Now I know I'm not cursed."
"Told you," Ed said, nudging her.
Yvaine smiled. "To new friends."
"To new friends," they echoed.
"Cheers," Veylor said, and they dug into their food.
"I can't wait for visiting day," Zully said, already smiling at the thought. "It's always fun."
"I'd rather gouge my eyes out than lay eyes on my father and the stupid mate he says he has for me," Nyx muttered.
They all laughed.
Elyan turned to Yvaine. "Are your parents coming? I really wanna meet Lady Eira and Alpha Draelon Theolux. I'm a huge fan."
Yvaine swallowed. She didn't want to say they were probably off at another highborn thing, they didn't care about school visits. They threw her in here, after all. So she just said, "Uh… I don't know. They're kinda… busy people."
Zully jumped in. "I'd love to meet your brother Zayn. Gods, he's so handsome. I mean, I look at his picture on the alumni wall and lose it."
"Easy, Zulieka," Nyx said, smirking. "We don't need to know what gets you horny."
More laughter followed.
Ed said, "You can sit with my family if yours doesn't come."
"Mine too," Veylor said.
"Same," Elyan added.
Yvaine smiled, warm all over. "Thanks." But deep down… she knew. They wouldn't come. They never had time. Not for her.
She suddenly felt a burn on her wrist. "Ouch!"
They all had their wrist out, wincing from pain.
"It burns," Elyan said, confused.
Then it stopped. On all their wrists, a small bowtie appeared—etched in light, then fading into skin.
"What the hell is this?" Nyx asked, staring at her wrist.
Yvaine looked around. No one else was reacting. Just them.
Zully's voice dropped. "Guys… I think the spell we did to undo the vision bind… the one we performed together… it just bound us."
"What?" Elyan blinked. "Bound us? Like… a coven? But covens are only for witches!"
Zully gave a cheeky grin. "Well, since I did the spell, and I love bowties… I guess it picked that."
Nyx stared. "This has got to be some stupid joke. I smell like bubble gum and I have a bowtie tatted On my wrist."
Yvaine chuckled. "It's not that bad. At least it shows we're true friends now."
Ed looked at his mark. "I think it's cute. Finally feels like I belong somewhere."
Nyx groaned. "Ugh. You're all so sappy. It's annoying. What happened to a skull? Or a crow? Or a raven? A bowtie?"
"What are we gonna call our coven?" Veylor asked.
"It's kind of… unusual," Elyan said. "We're not even all witches. This has never happened before."
Zully raised a brow. "We shall be called… Coven Unusual."
Nyx gagged. "That's even cornier."
They all laughed again.
Yvaine felt light inside. Like… family. It's been long she felt that. But in the middle of the jokes and the juice boxes and the weird magic, she felt seen.
Even though her mind still drifted to Caelan. And that kiss. He wasn't at dinner. Hadn't seen him since.
"Oh my goodness, she's so beautiful," Elyan suddenly whispered.
"What now?" Nyx said.
They turned.
Three girls were walking past. Two had identical pink hair and pointed ears. The third had purple hair. Same ears. Fae.
Zully whispered, "The Myrralis triplets."
Yvaine glanced at Elyan. "He likes all three of them?"
"No," Nyx said. "Just the one with the purple hair."
Yvaine grinned. "You should talk to her, Elyan."
Elyan panicked. "She's Fae royalty! I wouldn't even know what to say."
"Don't worry," Veylor said. "I'll teach you."
Zully teased, "Like how you told Nyx how you felt?"
"Zully!" Veylor blushed hard.
"What?" Zully said, raising her juice box. "To Coven Unusual."
"To Coven Unusual," the rest echoed—except Nyx.
Zully glared. "Come on, Nyxara. Drink to it."
Nyx groaned, raised her box, and muttered, "To Coven Unusual."