SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 30- Worry

The sounds of the seagulls above feel comforting to me as I sleep. I remember hearing them clearly from my bedroom windows ever since I was young, and now, they make me feel at home wherever I am. As I roll over, I curl into Magnus' chest, feeling him hold me and shield me from the chilly breeze that's blowing through. I want to make this moment last forever, with no problems, no complicated timelines, and no stress at all. Just the feeling I didn't know that I had needed; love.

"Good morning," Magnus says as he tilts his head up to look at me.

"Hey, you." I smile as I nuzzle my forehead into his chest, then suddenly jolt up "Did you just say morning?" I ask nervously.

"Yeah." he explains as he sits up, arching his back and causing it to crack "You were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake you."

"Holy shit..." I say as I stressfully look around for my clothes "Shit shit shit shit shit." I begin to panic.

"Tessa?" he asks, watching me fumble around to put my shorts back on.

"I was supposed to be home by sundown, they're all gonna be worried about me," I explain rapidly as I pull my shirt over my head.

"Slow down," he says as he stands up, gently holding my shoulder "They aren't going to freak out about you being gone for one night. They'll be fine." he smiles.

"You don't understand, I needed to check in because-" I begin, then suddenly realize I left a big part out of our talk yesterday "Oh fucking hell," I say as my heart begins to race.

"What's going on?" he asks worriedly as he gets dressed. I look at him and sigh nervously, he took the news about my identity fine yesterday, but this was a whole new can of worms.

"There's something I didn't tell you yesterday, it's one of the reasons that I needed to talk to you about... well, me." I explain carefully "Something has been going on recently, something that has my family scared. They found the remains of an old ritual in the jungle a few days ago, and someone really seemed like they knew what they were doing despite that being nearly impossible." I say as I look at him nervously.

"What the fuck happened?" he asks worriedly.

"What they performed was ancient, far older than even my parents date back." I explain, trying to figure out how to make it make sense "There are old writings deep below the temple that spell out so much more than what we've tapped into. It has taken lifetimes to decode, and we have made sure not to have documented the translations, only to know them mentally. If the wrong person got their hands on them, the consequences could be disturbing."

"Whoa, slow down." he says calmly "What exactly do you think whoever left that behind was trying to do?" he asks nervously.

"I'm not sure why, but they were trying to draw a great amount of power using a method we would never dare to touch. And as far as Aurora has figured out, they succeeded." I sigh, anxiously looking down at the withering floorboards.

"What method?" he asks, I can tell that he is growing more and more nervous talking about this.

"It's the darkest thing possible," I say, pausing as the thought still sends a sharp chill down my spine "Human sacrifice," I state, and suddenly, Magnus grows pale.

"That's... disgusting." he says in disbelief as he backs up, carefully sitting on the stairs "How do you know that they killed anyone?" he asks worriedly.

"They left three bodies behind." I sigh. As curious as I am, I'm glad that Roxie convinced me not to go see the site. I don't know how I would have reacted to it.

"Oh my god..." he says, still seeming to process it all. "There's more, isn't there?" he asks nervously.

"Unfortunately," I state anxiously, "We think that they're going to do it again. As of yesterday, two girls have been confirmed missing. One of them is Jewel, so that's the reason she wasn't in class yesterday." I explain cautiously.

"Are you serious?" he asks fearfully "She definitely isn't my favorite person, but she doesn't live that far from me. For all I know, I could have seen the kidnapper without even knowing it," he explains anxiously as tries to make sense of things.

"About that," I begin, taking a deep breath. "I think we may have seen at least one person responsible about a month ago." Suddenly, he looks up at me, utterly confused.

"What are you talking about?" he asks nervously.

"We were walking through the southern woods and out of nowhere, a girl, probably not much older than us if I had to guess, darted past us. Not long after, we met a guy who was chasing after her, claiming that he said something stupid." I explain, trying to recall the whole incident "The girl's name was Artemis, she's the other girl who went missing. After looking back on what we saw, I have a feeling that that guy wasn't as innocent as he tried to act. But no matter how hard I try, I can't remember his goddamn name." I state as I sit beside him on the stairs, resting my elbows on my knees.

"The tall guy?" he asks, seeming to be thinking out loud "Stanley, no, that's not right. Steven? Oh come on, I swear, I remember." he says frustratedly.

"I think you're on the right track, but I-"

"Sterling!" he states loudly as he quickly stands up "His name was Sterling, I'm sure of it." he says excitedly, then suddenly turns around and looks at me "That's his name, but that's still not a lot to go on."

"Well, it's a lot more than nothing." I say hopefully "That's a name and a description, at least we have somewhere to start now."

"Good, hopefully, they catch the bastard." he sighs in relief, then suddenly looks at me worriedly "You need to stay safe, okay?"

"I will, I promise." I say reassuringly "Besides, if I get into trouble, I think I've got myself covered." I smile as I reach up and flick my wrist. Suddenly, a strong gust comes and blows through, intense for a moment and then gone as if it had never happened. Magnus can't help but shake his head and laugh at the display.

"I don't think you're ever going to stop impressing me." he smiles.

As we make our way back into town, I am practically hanging onto him. I'm afraid to let go, it was as if I was worried that if I did I would fall back into the lies and secrets. I never wanted to keep anything like that from anyone important to me again, I can't handle the anxiety that it brings. When we finally make it back home, I figure everyone will be out for the day since we were supposed to have school again today. As soon as we step inside, I realized that I was wrong.

"Oh, thank god." Nanea says as she rushes to hug me "Where the hell have you been? We were worried sick." she asks nervously.

"Why were you gone all night? I figured once Pearl came to get you, you would have come home?" Aria asks, confused.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, looking around the room "We were at the cove, where did she go to look for us?"

"She went to your house." she states as she points at Magnus "Wait, she's not with you? Then where the hell did-" Aria suddenly stops and the blood drains from her face. I suddenly freeze in horror as I realize what happened.

"Oh no..." Nanea says anxiously as she rushes to the kitchen "Brendan!" I hear her scream.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Alex asks as he comes down the hall, then suddenly sees the look on all of our faces "Guys?"

"Pearl..." I state, my throat tightening "...went missing."