His silver eyes held hers. “You’re my sister. You found me in the woods when I had no name. I would follow you anywhere.”
Tessa closed her eyes. The eleven digits blazed behind her lids: . She didn’t know why, but she spoke them aloud. run to witch mountain
She turned the mountain on —every light, every frequency, every dormant defense system. The peak blazed like a second sun. The forest shook. The serpent woman shielded her eyes and screamed as a wave of pure silver light rolled down the slopes, erasing every suit, every van, every trace of the men who had hunted them. His silver eyes held hers
Leo smiled—a real, human smile. “Where?” I would follow you anywhere
“We can go anywhere,” Leo whispered. “Any world. Any time.”
They reached a ridge just as the first flashlight beams cut through the trees. Below, the dark suits swarmed like ants. One of them raised a device—a silver rod that hummed, a sound that made Tessa’s teeth ache. Leo winced.
The mountain loomed ahead—a jagged tooth against a bruise-purple sky. Witch Mountain. Locals told stories about the old observatory at the summit: the weird lights, the frequencies that made your fillings ache, the hikers who wandered back with no memory of three days. Tessa had never believed in witches.