The celebration breakfast had barely ended when the first of them arrived.
I was in the middle of explaining collaborative magic theory to a group of fascinated network members when every supernatural sense I possessed suddenly screamed *danger*. Not the familiar threat of enemies or hunters, but something far more complex—the approach of beings whose power signature resonated with mine in ways that made my newly enhanced abilities sing with recognition and recoil with instinctive wariness.
*Mama,* Stella said quietly, appearing at my elbow with unusual seriousness, *there are ladies coming who smell like you but different. Like if someone took your sparkly magic and mixed it with scary thunderstorms and deep dark places.*
Before I could respond, Marcus burst through the kitchen doors,
