The darkness had always calmed me. Even as a child, nighttime was my favorite. The quiet, the beauty of the stars, the comfort of being alone. Going home didn’t mean to me what it did to others. I preferred the night and earth to being inside that house.

Standing in front of the house, I stared up at it, wishing my life had gone differently. A million times I’d wished my father had lived. I wished I had been old enough to protect him. To keep him safe. The way my mother could have if she’d tried.

Slipping off my shoes I left them on the front steps of the house then sank my feet into the cold damp grass. The connection sent a bolt of energy through my body. I soaked in the recharge. Walking around the house, I inhaled the sweet scents of nature. Closing my eyes, I didn’t need to see to find the path to my circle. It drew me toward it. The soil beneath my feet was my guide.

My steps went without pause until I stood in the spot that was mine alone. Here I didn’t feel lost. I didn’t have the connection Heath and Margo had with each other and their parents. I didn’t have family surrounding me. I would never have a romantic connection with someone. Tonight I’d forgotten that for a moment, but Rathe had reminded me. Reality had hit as it often did and the pang of loneliness had stung from somewhere deep inside me.

I felt stronger here.

I wasn’t alone here. I had a connection to something others didn’t. It was as if ancestors who weren’t cold, hateful bitches were with me. I was positive I didn’t have Kamlock ancestors who weren’t shallow dark creatures, but here, I had someone. Something. I just didn’t know what it was or why I had this when the others didn’t. My sisters had mocked me when we were kids and I’d mentioned it to them.

The idea that what surrounded me out here was my father’s side of the family wasn’t possible because I had only seen one of them- Annabelle. She was my ancestor, but it wasn’t the same as when she was near. This was… powerful. It held something. It had energy that ordinary humans didn’t.