CHAPTER 1
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Dune
Nothing ever slips past Aunt Cathy. I've tried my best to hide the nightmares from her, not wanting to add to her worries. Christine and I already cause enough trouble as it is. But no matter how hard I try, she always finds out. Denying it is pointless — she'll just look at me with that knowing gaze until I break.
Her face now carries that familiar mix of worry and pity as she watches me, and I hate it. You might wonder — isn't she a witch? Couldn't she just cast a spell or brew a potion to stop the nightmares? She did. And it worked... for a while. But the nightmares always come back, worse than before.
At first, they only plagued my nights. Now, all it takes is a blink, and I'm dragged back into those memories, reliving them like fresh wounds.
The room's heavy with silence, so Christine does what she does best — breaks it.
"Okay, people, let's eat or we'll be late for school! I do not want to start the year cursed with bad luck." She pauses, squinting at me. "Dune, why in the heavens is your hair like that? You look like you just got caught in a wind typhoon."
My ears burn, turning pink with embarrassment. I mumble, "I wanted Aunt Cathy to do it... for good luck."
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After breakfast, Aunt Cathy helps me comb through my long curls, tying them up in a neat ponytail. Christine is already dragging her suitcase to the door, yelling for me to hurry up like the world is ending.
"Dune!" she screeches. "We're gonna miss the flight!"
I roll my eyes, lugging my suitcase outside. "Relax. School doesn't even start until next week. We're just registering early and checking into our new apartments. That's why we're flying to Portland instead of driving — unless you wanna sit in a car for 12 hours?" I smirk. "You should be saying, 'Dune, hurry up or I'll miss seeing my prince charming.'"
Christine freezes, then slowly turns to glare at me, her eyes promising violence. "Did I just hear sarcasm?"
"What if you did?" I shoot back, grinning.
"You're so dead."
"Good luck, we're living in the same house. Let's see if Mom comes to your rescue."
"Oh, trust me. One phone call, and you'll be in serious trouble
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Aunt Cathy watching them bicker like an old married couple, sighs but smiles.
"Okay, that's enough, you two. Get in the car or we'll miss the plane, which will also make Christine miss her prince charming" she teases, chuckling along with me as Christine turns as pink as her sweater.
"Mom! You're supposed to be on my side!" she whines. "We're both ladies, remember?"
Aunt Cathy laughs, shaking her head. "Alright, alright. Let's go."
The drive to the airport is quick, and before we know it, we're cruising above the clouds, lost in our thoughts.
Aunt Cathy wonders if she made the right choice sending us to school after homeschooling us all these years. She knows why she kept us home — the kids in Avalon either avoided us or tried to bully us, but we always fought back. She could've enrolled us in online classes, but she wanted us to have normal youthful experiences, to live in the light instead of the shadows.
Christine and I sat in silence, our minds buzzing with the same questions.
What will school be like?
Will we make friends?
Will we find love... or mates?
Will this new chapter bring something good — or something worse?
By the time we snapped out of it, the plane lands, and we grab our bags. A short car ride later, we arrive at towering iron gates, with bold letters stretched across the arch.
WELCOME TO ARTEMIS COLLEGE
PORTLAND, OREGON
Stepping through that gate meant a new beginning, a fresh start and we didn't know what the future held for us. But we were more than ready to face it, to embrace it and to conquer it.