The forest felt different after Jenny's vision.
The cold air still carried the scent of pine and frost, and the lake remained silent beneath its frozen surface, but something deeper had shifted. Jenny could feel it moving quietly beneath the world like a hidden tide.
James noticed the change too.
He walked beside her as they returned to the forest house, his sharp blue eyes scanning the woods carefully.
"You're quieter than usual," he said.
Jenny nodded slowly.
"I'm thinking."
"About your parents."
"Yes."
The word still felt strange on her tongue.
For most of her life—at least the part she could remember—her past had been a blank space. Now fragments of it were beginning to surface, each piece more unsettling than the last.
"My mother was a witch," she said quietly.
James didn't interrupt.
"And my father… a vampire."
She looked at him.
"That shouldn't exist."
James agreed.
"In most cases it doesn't."
Jenny frowned.
"What does that mean?"
James pushed a low branch aside as they continued walking.
"The worlds of witches and vampires rarely cross," he explained. "The two bloodlines follow very different laws."
Jenny raised an eyebrow.
"Laws?"
"Rules," he corrected. "Old ones."
"Who made them?"
James gave a faint smile.
"Older beings than us."
Jenny felt another chill move through her.
She didn't ask further.
When they reached the clearing near the house, Jenny stopped suddenly.
James noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
Jenny looked toward the trees at the far edge of the clearing.
"I feel it again."
The strange energy from earlier had returned.
But this time it wasn't distant.
It was close.
Very close.
James's posture stiffened.
"Stay behind me," he said quietly.
Jenny ignored the instruction.
Instead she stepped forward.
"Who's there?" she called into the trees.
For several seconds nothing happened.
The forest remained perfectly still.
Then a voice answered.
"Interesting."
Jenny's heart skipped.
A figure stepped slowly out from the shadows between the trees.
She was young—perhaps only a few years older than Jenny—but there was something ageless in the way she moved.
Her dark hair fell loosely over her shoulders, and her eyes shone with a calm, intelligent light.
She studied Jenny with quiet curiosity.
"You found her," the girl said to James.
James stepped forward slightly.
"Who are you?"
The girl ignored him.
Her gaze remained fixed on Jenny.
"So it's true," she murmured.
Jenny frowned.
"What's true?"
The girl smiled faintly.
"That you survived."
James's voice grew sharper.
"You need to answer my question."
The girl finally looked at him.
"Relax, vampire. I'm not here to fight."
Jenny stepped forward cautiously.
"You know who I am."
"Yes."
"How?"
The girl tilted her head slightly.
"Because I've been looking for you."
Jenny felt her stomach tighten.
"You too?"
The girl laughed softly.
"Not the way Victoria was."
James's eyes narrowed.
"You know about Victoria."
"Of course," the girl said calmly. "Half the supernatural world knows by now."
Jenny blinked.
"What?"
The girl's smile faded.
"You really don't know anything, do you?"
Jenny's patience was thinning.
"Maybe you should explain."
The girl stepped fully into the clearing.
"My name is Ahona," she said.
The name meant nothing to Jenny.
But something about the girl's presence felt familiar.
Not comforting.
But powerful.
"What are you?" Jenny asked.
Ahona's eyes sparkled slightly.
"A witch."
James's shoulders tightened.
"That explains the footprints."
Ahona glanced down at the ground.
"You noticed those?"
James didn't respond.
Jenny stepped closer.
"You said the supernatural world knows about me."
Ahona nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Ahona studied her carefully.
"Because you're not supposed to exist."
Jenny folded her arms.
"I'm starting to hear that a lot."
Ahona walked slowly around the clearing as if inspecting the area.
"Your parents broke a very old rule," she said.
Jenny felt her heartbeat quicken.
"My parents loved each other."
Ahona stopped walking.
"Yes," she said simply.
"That was the problem."
The wind moved through the trees above them.
For a moment none of them spoke.
Finally Jenny asked,
"What happened to them?"
Ahona's expression grew serious.
"They disappeared."
Jenny felt a sharp pain in her chest.
"When?"
"Many years ago."
Jenny shook her head.
"That doesn't make sense."
Ahona shrugged slightly.
"Your memory was sealed. You've been hidden for most of your life."
James looked between them.
"Edward knew," he said quietly.
Ahona nodded.
"Yes."
Jenny turned sharply.
"You know Edward?"
"Of course."
"How?"
Ahona smiled faintly.
"He helped hide you."
Jenny stared at her.
"That's why he disappeared."
James frowned.
"You think Edward went looking for your parents?"
Ahona shook her head slowly.
"No."
Jenny's stomach tightened.
"Then why did he leave?"
Ahona looked at her carefully.
"Because someone else is coming."
The forest seemed to grow colder.
Jenny stepped forward.
"Who?"
Ahona hesitated for the first time.
"The ones who made the rules."
James crossed his arms.
"The vampire council?"
Ahona nodded.
"And the witch covens."
Jenny felt the ground shift beneath her understanding of the world.
"You mean both sides want me."
"Yes."
"And that's bad."
Ahona gave her a dry look.
"Very."
Jenny rubbed her temples.
"Great."
James looked at Ahona carefully.
"Why are you here?"
Ahona met his gaze calmly.
"To help her."
Jenny blinked.
"Why?"
Ahona reached into her pocket and pulled out a small silver pendant.
The metal glowed faintly in the winter light.
"Because your mother asked me to."
Jenny froze.
"You knew my mother?"
Ahona nodded.
"She was my mentor."
Jenny stared at the pendant.
Something about it stirred a strange warmth inside her chest.
Ahona stepped closer and placed the pendant gently into Jenny's hand.
"This belonged to her," she said.
Jenny closed her fingers around it.
The moment she touched the metal, another flash of memory exploded across her mind.
Her mother's voice.
Soft.
Warm.
You must learn to control it, Jenny.
The vision vanished quickly.
Jenny looked up at Ahona.
"What is happening to me?"
Ahona answered calmly.
"Your magic is waking up."
James frowned.
"And when that happens?"
Ahona looked toward the dark forest beyond the clearing.
"Everyone will come looking for her."
Jenny followed her gaze.
For the first time she truly understood the danger surrounding her.
She wasn't just being hunted by a rogue vampire anymore.
She was becoming something the entire supernatural world would want to control.
Or destroy.
Jenny closed her hand tightly around the pendant.
"What do I do?"
Ahona's expression hardened slightly.
"You learn."
James looked at her.
"Learn what?"
Ahona met Jenny's eyes.
"How to survive the war that's coming."
The wind moved through the forest again.
And somewhere far beyond the trees, forces far older than Jenny had begun moving toward her.