Chapter 17
Sabine
Most days felt like they blurred together into one long, hot memory, but when I didn’t have to trek from one corner of camp to the other all day, time stood still. I loved to float in the lake, warmed by the blazing sun overhead.
Though, it would be more peaceful without rowdy campers around.
Two werewolf boys were trying to wrestle each other off the platform in the middle of the lake, which was shared between Camp Cryptwood, SCUW, and the Lycanthrope Wilderness Camp. I bent my knees, trying to keep from tumbling into the water.
Each supplied lifeguards to man it during the day, and today was my turn.
I didn’t know why Dagmar made me carry a lifesaver, considering I could just use my magic to levitate any struggling swimmers out of the water.
I couldn’t hold that power for more than a few minutes, but it was still long enough to get someone out of a dire situation faster than using a lifesaver from the 1950s.
My boredom was blissfully interrupted by two bodies swimming up from my side of the lake.
I instantly noted Gwen’s short black hair as she grabbed onto the dock.
Faith swam up right behind her, and I had the distinct impression by their freshly painted nails that she’d cajoled Gwen into some sort of bunkmate bonding day.
The wolf boys snickered as Gwen and Faith pulled themselves up.
“Well, if it isn’t the man-hating witches,” the taller one jeered.
“Your mom’s a witch, Felix,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, well . . .” Felix balked, all bravado. “While we’re at Lake Nevermore, witches are my archenemies.”
“Only children use words like ‘archenemies,’” I countered. “Are you a child?”
He frowned at me but shut his mouth. The last thing he wanted was an older witch ratting him out to his mother at the next coven meeting or threatening to call him a pup in front of his pack.
“I heard she turned her boyfriend into a toad,” Levi said, pointing at Gwen.
“And you better keep your mouth shut or I’ll turn you into one too,” Gwen said with a wink that made my stomach flip.
“Like I care,” Levi dismissed. “You know I turn into a wolf every full moon, don’t you?”
Gwen’s magic pulled in on her like a dark storm cloud. It was the sort of thing she probably didn’t even notice she was doing, but the werewolves had a keen scent for magic, and both snarled at the shift in the air.
“Hey, no magic in neutral territory,” Felix muttered, pointing an accusatory finger at Gwen, even as he shuffled a little closer to his packmate.
Gwen shrank in on herself for a moment, and the pull of the mystic loosened. With the threat contained, both boys straightened, poised to continue their verbal sparring.
There was a whole head of height difference between Felix and Levi. Puberty hadn’t really grabbed onto him yet, but I knew after a few more full moons, Levi would be just as bulked up as his friend. Seriously, Levi looked like he’d been training to be a Marvel superhero. Freaking wolves.
“We’ll see whose magic is more developed at the summer games,” Faith chided.
The boys laughed, and I couldn’t help the annoyance bubbling up in me. Camp games were for the campers, but Dagmar wasn’t the only staff member who kept the rivalries hot.
“Witches haven’t won in three years,” Levi said with a waggle of his eyebrows. “Not since we moved the games to twilight.”
“Why twilight?” Gwen asked.
“So the vampires can participate,” I said. “The young ones are still quite sensitive to the daylight. They grow out of it.”
“So old vampires can walk around in the sunlight?” Gwen asked. When I nodded, she continued, “Add it to the list of things I really wish I didn’t know. Even daytime isn’t safe.” Her eyes drifted to her part-vampire friend.
“All of you can see better in the dark than us, unfair,” I called back to the wolves. “But if winning with an advantage is how you get your rocks off, then congrats.”
“The young vamps will be roasted alive if we don’t,” Levi retorted. “That’s kind of unfair, too, don’t you think?”
Faith smirked at Gwen, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what they had planned. But there was a glint of hope that this year would be the downfall of the other camps with Gwen and Faith teaming up.
Still, I found myself playing the intermediary, saying, “Guys, it’s just meant to be a fun game.”
All four of them burst into laughter.
We all knew I was full of shit. The end-of-summer games was the most intense competition in Maple Hollow, even worse than the annual pumpkin carving contest, and that was saying something.
A nostalgic smile pulled on my lips. I could see why Iris wanted me to stay.
The summer camps were one of the few things that united our community.
Even though we competed with each other, experiencing them was something we all shared.
Only locals would ever know about it. There would never be any shorthand with outsiders.
I looked forward to being just a face in the crowd, but I liked having the security of coming back home, of talking about the camp with everyone and having a community that spoke my language too.
I eyed Gwen, who was trading insults with the wolf boys like the true witch she was.
She’d never known these kinds of roots. It made me a little sad for her.
But right then, she looked like she fit in just as well as every other witch in camp.
I wanted that for her, and it scared me.
Maybe she would want to stay in Maple Hollow at the end of the year.
Maybe she and I weren’t meant to end up in the same place for long enough to see if the sparks between us would ever turn into flames.