There’s no escaping now.

He’s coming for her.

‘RISE AND SHINE!’ Yoona yelled, from her room this time, not wanting to incur the wrath of Yuri. Needless to say, her emphatic exclamation sent a dreadful groan to escape from Yuri nonetheless.

‘I swear I’ll kill you Im Yoona.’ Yuri muttered viciously as she pulled herself off the bed and hopped into the shower.

As expected, by the time she was even done showering, the rest were already in the living room. Taeyeon stood in the open air kitchen cutting up fresh strawberries and packing them with handfuls of pomegranate seeds as snacks for the day.

‘Well I hope you’ve written your will, Yoona.’ Yuri spat venomously as she stepped out into the shared space.

Yoona ran into the kitchen to hide behind Taeyeon, pretending to whimper in fear.

‘Come on guys, no starting the day with murders. Fill up your bottles and let’s go.’ Taeyeon, the mother of the group, nagged gently. She’s used to this by now. Yuri huffed, disgruntled that Yoona was always seeking protection from Taeyeon, but did as she was told.

‘What’s in store for today again?’ Yoona looked towards Hyoyeon, who was reading the university welcome pack on the couch.

‘Mmm… Biological, Chemical and Physical Science faculty tours, and…’ Hyoyeon paused.

‘And?’ Yoona frowned at the suspense.

‘Orientation group bonding…’ Hyoyeon looked up in concern at Taeyeon who sighed. Staying away from those girls was going to be a lot harder than they thought.

Back at the cave, the witches were up and ready for school, even Jessica. Thankfully, they had gotten past their little episode the previous day to become an even stronger unit.

- Flashback -

‘What’d they say?’ Jessica asked when Sooyoung stepped out of the Dark Room after hours of talking with The Council. By then, the sovereignty effects had worn off, but Jessica still instinctively kept her head lowered slightly. Sooyoung ignored it to tackle more important matters.

‘They’re frustrated.’ Sooyoung summed it up simply. ‘They’ve never heard of humans resisting a memory wipe. Ever.’

‘Maybe no witches have stuck around to find out. Frankly, we wouldn’t have known if we didn’t somehow happen to be in the same orientation group as Taeyeon. If we’d parted ways with them just like the others before, there was no way we’d realise.’ Seohyun suggested.

‘That’s true. Nevertheless, they’re putting all available resources to solving this issue. In the meantime, our orders are to keep a low profile, act natural, don’t draw attention. Don’t say anything to Taeyeon that might trigger more memories to surface or help her uncover them faster. Hopefully, The Council will find a stronger spell to erase her memory before things get out of hand.’

‘Okay Soo.’ The witches nodded in obedience.

‘Good. The Council also said they’ve reached out to the Draquile Coven to ask them for help on the poem, though they’ve been unresponsive and are unlikely to respond considering they basically dropped off the face of the earth after Darin’s death.’

‘I don’t blame them. Can you imagine losing the head of your coven? We’d shatter without you too, Soo.’ Sunny choked, sending a wave of sadness throughout the room. In a split second, Seohyun’s eyes started to water and tears fell.

‘Aw,’ the older girls winced and hugged their little one.

‘I’m not going anywhere. We’ll be together forever guys.’

‘Together forever,’ Jessica agreed, holding onto them tighter.

- End of Flashback -

‘Let’s kick today’s .’ Jessica grinned and linked arms with Tiffany, pulling her along. They could finally walk and still actually be on time.

‘Let’s.’ Tiffany chuckled at Jessica’s unusual peppiness but chose to embrace it while it lasted.

The school day started the same as the day before, but they could wake up a little later since they didn’t have to report early for registration. That was probably the reason why Jessica was able to rise on time that day. After Ms Crushaw’s briefing for the day and dismissal, the girls met Caleb and the rest of the group outside again, ready to start day two.

‘Morning guys! I trust