Vulnerable: Book 1 of the Magic Mutations Series | ✓

39: A Transformation

"Ready for this, Ollie?" Lukas grinned at me as Ben and I entered the living room the next morning.

I shook my head but smiled back at him. "Never."

"We're right by your side."

My gaze softened as I looked at him, then turned to look at Erica and Jayce who were mirroring his warm smile. "I know," I said.

We put on our jackets and scarfs—the weather this morning up so far north was bitingly cold—then trudged our way down the stairs. As the air hit my face, I immediately stopped, scrunching up my eyes.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I complained.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked, putting a hand on my back.

"What the heck is this bullshit temperature?"

Lukas, Erica, and Jayce cackled and Ben's worry dissipated immediately.

"I've got you, Ollie," Erica said, waving her glowing amber hands over the length of my body. In an instant, warmth rushed through me.

"Oh, I love you, Erica," I sighed in relief.

"Hey," Ben said, causing me to look at him.

"I can love you both," I said. "Erica makes me warm."

He glared at me, but I could see the twinkle of humour in his eyes. I grabbed his hand in mine and began pulling him in the direction of the ruins.

The more footsteps I took, the more it came into view, and the more this intense energy within me began to burst. It was like the lasso that tied me to Ben when our bond proposal first set in place but... more vibrant. Rather than latching to my heart, it tugged and shimmered through my whole body.

A few more steps, and I could see it all. Just like the pictures in the books growing up, the hills rolled like waves in the ocean, a neverending depth of green. The trees, while leafless in the frigid air, towered thick and high on the outskirt of the clearing.

And then, fenced off from the narrow, deep grey asphalt road, was the ruins of Raphoe Castle. In all its glory, the brickwork reached tall to the sky, as if extending a hand to the heavens. Nonetheless, despite its magnitude, the toll age had taken was clear. The windows were gone and the walls missed chunks of masonry, transforming what was the once impressive fortress into a skeleton of power, people, and the past.

Nonetheless, as we came to a stop, looking up at the structure, I took one step forward, foot colliding with the earth beneath my feet. All of a sudden, the grey clouds in the sky began to move. A beam of sun breaking through, shinning on the castle and illuminating the green surrounds.

"What are the odds," Erica's whisper announced all of our thoughts.

"What do you think, Ollie?" Lukas then asked. "Enough for today or want to go closer?"

I glanced around at my friends, as if they would be able to provide me the answer, but they stared at me, a mixture of concern and encouragement spread across their face.

This was, ultimately, my decision.

But as I began to think about it, that pull from earlier throbbed again, trying to tug me towards the castle, urging me to shuffle my feet forward. I took one slow steady step forward. Then another.

"Take the long way around," Jayce said, calling me back me from the trance. I was surprised to hear his voice given that he rarely speaks.

"What?" I asked.

"Don't go through the middle where the fairy circle was in the pictures. Go around the back way so that you don't risk walking on the activation area."