“The force around this house was placed here for you. Zephyr came yesterday to see if the girls were in any danger. I told him about the man you saw at the wedding and the barrier that he couldn’t cross. He brought two more warlocks with him. No one can break it nor do we know what it is.” She inhaled deeply, and her eyes flickered as if there was sunlight in the darkness causing it. “You refused the circle of three. You rejected the power of the charmed that was to be your destiny. Now, you need to go. Leave this house and don’t return.”

I wondered if this was Zephyr’s idea to get me to break and agree to the power of three. Threaten to send me away by claiming the stranger was after me. It sounded conniving enough that my mother had come up with it, but I would bet, she had help with the details.

“So, you’re kicking me out of the family?” I asked in shock. Did they think I would fall for this? When had I ever given them a reason to think I was so gullible?

She said nothing.

“How is this all about me? Did the spell speak to Zephyr? Tell him it was here to protect me?” I asked, wondering how far she was going to take this. I knew my mother would do anything for the power of three but this wasn’t something I ever expected.

The snarl I recognized on Persephone’s otherwise perfect face meant I’d pissed her off. She wanted to scare me into bending to her will. I wasn’t going to give her any ground here. I didn’t back away from her. Instead, I took two steps in her direction, making it clear I was not a child she could control. She didn’t move, but her eyes flashed a warning. As if I was suddenly an enemy instead of her daughter.

“There is sorcery and there is something that passes the darkness. It’s an eclipse, Catalina. A voodoo that black magic isn’t strong enough to contain. Your soul calls out to it. I feared it would one day. My hope was that you’d stop being a selfish brat and accept the gift of three. That your sisters joined forces would cleanse you of the other. Time has run out.” She pointed a single finger at me. “You waited too long. You wouldn’t allow the Kamlock gift to save you. Now he knows. He isn’t searching for you any longer. He found you.”

I took another step toward her, and this time, she backed up. “What are you talking about? What voodoo? Who has found me?”