"Izzy!" I scream, running for her.

She rolls out of the way as the eel slams its face into where she'd been.

It reels back, shaking the blow off.

She dances around it, soaking wet.

"Izzy!" I shout. "Get out of the water! It's an electric eel."

Izzy grins at me. "I know. Stay back."

I throw my arms up. I start towards her, but she throws a hand up.

"I mean it, Raven! Let me handle this!"

The eel glances between us and seems to realize Izzy's not the one it cares about.

My eyes widen as it rears back to face me.

Izzy throws another rock, but the eel just shakes it off, slithering towards me. She sprints in front of me.

I step back, one foot on the shore.

The eel hisses, looming over Izzy to get to me.

"Hey!" She shouts. "Look at me! I'm delicious! Stop looking at Raven!" Izzy punches the eel in the side, then shakes slime off her hand with a grimace.

Electricity crackles off the eel.

"Izzy! Get out of the water!" I put my weight on my foot in the water, reaching for her.

What is practically a lightning bolt arches off the eel and hits Izzy square in the chest.

The electricity crackles off her, bouncing along the water and shooting into my foot.

I scream and fall backwards as my foot is set on fire from the inside. It feels like someone's playing the drums on my foot with a sledgehammer.

Through my blurry vision, I see Izzy step back.

My heart races. My blood pulses through my ears. "Izzy?" I whimper.

She glances back at me.

I stare at her.

There's not even a mark on her. There's no electrical burns.

Had I seen wrong? Had the electricity not touched her? But she's in the water... She's soaked. Even if it didn't hit her directly, she would still be affected, right?

She turns to the eel and thunder crashes overhead. "You shouldn't have done that," she snarls.

Her hair starts to float as electricity zaps along her skin. The wind picks up and dark clouds roll in over us. She holds her hand up towards the eel.

My hair stands on end and I taste something metallic. The air smells sweet. Too sweet. It mingles with the pain in my foot, making my stomach do flips.

If I hadn't given my lunch to Ava earlier, I would be throwing up.

Lightning flashes in the clouds and even the eel backs away from Izzy.

She screams and a bolt of lightning crashes down, slamming directly into the eel's head.

When the lightning fades, the eel shakes its head, a little stunned.

Izzy backs onto shore, next to me. "I'm out of ideas."

"That was your only idea!? To shock an electric eel!?"

She shrugs. "I'm not much of a planner."

The eel's eyes focus on Izzy and my heart stammers. It's mouth opens and it lunges.

I throw myself at Izzy, tackling her into the rocky shore.

We roll a few feet as the eel slams its face into where Izzy had been.

She grins up at me. "Hello, there, sailor."

"Not now, we're about to die," I growl, flipping over. "I don't think I can stand again."

She gets up. "No problem. I'll just fry it again."

I grab her hand and a zap goes up and down my spine. "That just pissed it off."

"What's your idea then, handsome?"

The eel doesn't wait for me to figure out.

It lunges at Izzy again.

I shove her, and she rolls into the water. I throw my arms up in a cross over my face, as if that'll save me.

A warm breath puffs over my body.

Sweat beads along my skin as I pry an eye open.

Out of the eel's forehead, like a horn, sticks an arrow.

I stare at it.

A uni-eel.

The eel rears back, electricity flickering off its skin. It opens its mouth to screech. Three arrows blossom from its throat.

"Behind me!"

Izzy doesn't wait. She scrambles out of the water and drags me back.

A man with a bow steps in front of us, notching another arrow.

"Were you trying to get yourself killed?" Izzy snarls in my ear.

I don't answer as Will's face flashes in my mind. I flinch.

Two more arrows lodge themselves in the eel's eyes.

It sways, then goes limp. It's body crashes into some trees, flattening them.

The man turns, his black hair flowing in the wind.

I think he's smoldering.

"Are you two alright?" He asks, in a husky voice.

Izzy leans in close. "Do you see the rom-com cover man or is it just me?"

"I see him," I whisper.

The man glares at us. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Where did you come from?" Izzy growls, stepping in front of me.

"Iz, he just saved our lives."

"Yeah... why?"

"I've been following you," the man says.

Izzy's still in her bra and underwear, but there's lightning flickering off her eyes, which would make any guy shit himself. She steps towards the man. "Excuse you?"

"Nick!"

The man tenses before suddenly disappearing under my giant golden retriever.

Izzy and I stare in shock as James plants an enthusiastic kiss on Nick's mouth.

Nick shoves James away and spits. He scrapes a hand over his mouth. "How many times do we need to have this talk, James!? No kissing!"

James beams and hoists Nick into his arms, swinging him around. "Oh, I knew you'd find me! Why weren't you at the rendezvous!?"

Nick stumbles away when James settles him down. "I was. But I saw you and your new pals. I wasn't sure if you were safe or not, so I kept my distance."

"Then saved our lives," I note.

Nick nods at me. "Looked like you needed help."

James realizes I'm not getting up. "Are you okay?"

I glance at my foot. It feels like I stood on an entire fireworks display as it went off. My foot is purple and has a purple burn lancing up it like a tree of lightning. "I've been better."

Izzy grimaces. "I'm sorry. I should've gotten you out of the water."

"You weren't hurt?" James asks, grabbing Izzy's arms.

Izzy's eyes widen and her chest stops moving.

"She wasn't in the water," I cut in. "She was trying to get me out."

Nick raises his eyebrows, but doesn't say anything.

James hugs Izzy. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"What about me?" I ask, spreading my arms.

He pulls away from Izzy and glares down at me. "You lied to me."

"What? No, I-." My eyes flicker to my daggers, on the ground. "Oh, right. I found them?"

He crosses his arms. "It wasn't your fight, Raven. It was here for me."

"No, Charlie said it smelled my blood. It was here for me."

"I'm going to go get Rae," Izzy says, backing away from us.

Nick shuffles after her, giving us two thumbs up. "I'll go help her."

"I'm sorry?" I offer.

James huffs, "apology accepted. But I'm not happy."

"Noted. I won't do it again, I'm sorry."

Rae runs out of the trees.

She looks stunning. Her hair is down in the way Erick hates. The curls fly behind her as she sprints for me. She's barefoot, throwing rocks up behind her as she runs. She's only covered by Erick's button-up, so her dark skin is on display.

"Damn," I murmur.

"Language," she reprimands as she drops to my side.

Izzy returns, peering over Rae's shoulder. "Is she going to be okay?"

Rae examines my foot. "It's not broken," she mutters.

The purple bruises and the Irish jig being performed suggest otherwise. But the pain is starting to fade. I know she's right.

"You're lucky it's the same foot you already hurt," Rae mutters. "We don't need to be carrying two people this whole hike."

Izzy glances at the water, nervously. "Should we move?"

James steps into the water, letting it roll over his feet. "It's safe," he says.

Izzy doesn't question him.

I guess if she can shoot lightning out of her hands, it's not that hard to trust someone who just 'knows' the water isn't infested with any more murderous eels.

"Isabella!"

Izzy lurches forward. Thunder crashes overhead.

Erick is storming out of the forest. "I told you not to run off! What were you thinking!? You could've gotten Raven killed!"

Izzy backs away from Erick, into the water. "S-she's fine!"

Erick looks down at me and his eyes widen. "Does that look fine to you!?"

"Cool it, Erick," I order. "Izzy saved me."

"No! This bitch can't follow commands! You know what I would've done to you if you'd gotten Raven killed!?"

I push to my feet.

Rae reaches for me. "Raven, your foot."

I lurch forward, nearly faceplanting.

James catches me around the waist.

Erick reaches for Izzy's throat, like he's going to choke her.

"Don't!" Izzy sobs, holding her hand out like she wants to zap him. Her hand trembles, like she really wants to, but can't bring herself to do it.

"Erick! Enough!" I shout.

James helps me hobble towards them.

Izzy keeps backing further from him, but Erick's not stopping.

He undoes his belt and pulls it loose. "Maybe someone needs to teach you how to listen!"

He snaps his belt together and Izzy screeches, dropping to the ground and covering her head.

She sobs and rain starts to fall.

I shove away from James and nearly throw up as I put my full weight on my foot. I press on until I'm within grabbing distance. I bury my fingers in Erick's hair and yank him as hard as I can.

His foot catches a rock and he splashes into the lake. He stares up at me. "How dare-!?"

I plant my foot against his throat. If I actually have to put pressure, I might pass out. "Shut your mouth," I order. "You don't ever get to talk to someone like that."

"She could've gotten you-!"

I press harder. The world spins too fast and I almost lose my balance.

Erick grabs my ankle. "She needs to learn her place," he snarls. "I'm her superior. She's just a bitch."

I slam my foot into his throat and he chokes, his eyes bugging.

His grip tightens on my ankle and I screech, dropping to my knee.

"Erick!" Rae shouts.

Water splashes all around me as I plant my hands onto the ground to steady myself. The rain soaks through my clothes.

Erick doesn't stop. He grabs my foot and presses into the epicenter of the wound, pressing my foot into the ground.

I scream and thunder crashes overhead.

Then, suddenly, the pain is gone.

I collapse forward into the water, dry-heaving.

James drops to my side, gently checking on me.

As my vision clears, I find Daniel on top of Erick.

Erick's nose is bleeding and Daniel has his fist raised. Erick touches the blood mingling with the rain water on his face. "You broke my nose!"

"Don't speak," Daniel warns.

He's too calm. It would be less terrifying if he yelled. But his face is a mask. His eyes burn with hatred. When Erick tries to speak again and Daniel punches him, he does so with the utmost calm.

It's like I'm in the eye of a hurricane.

"That's enough," I say, reaching for him.

He doesn't smack my hand away, but he pushes it off his leg. "He deserves it," he snarls.

"I agree, but that doesn't mean we can go wild west on him. We decide his punishment as a team. Stop."

Daniel's fist trembles. He punches him again.

"Daniel!"

Erick's eyes are rolling into the back of his head.

Daniel punches him again.

"Danny!" I rasp, softly.

His body tenses. He looks at me, the storm clearing from his ocean eyes. The silver lights up when he looks at me.

"Just let me knock him out?" He asks.

I glance at Erick, raising my eyebrows. "I think you already did."

Daniel slaps his face a little.

Erick lets out a groan.

"He's awake," Daniel argues.

"Get off him," I order.

Daniel hesitates, but does as I ask.

I shift my gaze to Izzy.

She's in the fetal position, lying in the water.

"Take him back to camp. Give me a minute alone."

Daniel grabs one of Erick's legs and drags him out of the water.

James lingers, staring at Izzy. "Should I-?"

I put a hand out. "Give me a minute. I don't think another man touching her is a good idea right now."

His shoulders slump. He nods and turns to follow Daniel and Rae back to camp.

I stop within ten feet of Izzy as the rain patters down around us. She pushes herself up as I approach, coiling into herself.

We're both up to our waists in the water.

The eel's body is pushed further onto shore.

"You're safe," I tell her.

She jolts at my voice. She's trembling, holding her head between her legs and rocking back and forth.

"Erick's not going to touch you," I promise. "No one's going to hurt you."

She slowly lifts her eyes and searches mine. She must not see anything that scares her, because she hurries to my side and buries her face in my chest.

I pull her into my lap and pet her hair. "I've got you," I whisper. "I've got you. Are you okay?" Stupid question, I know.

She shakes her head. "Don't make me talk," she pleads.

I nod into her. "Okay. Okay, you don't have to. I've got you. You're safe."

She sobs into me, shaking us both.

It takes half an hour for the rain to ease up.

I keep rocking her back and forth, murmuring to her.

Eventually, she pulls out of the hug. She sits beside me, staring at the water as the rain turns to a mist.

She hugs herself. "He reminded me of someone... Erick."

I glance at her. "Someone bad?" I ask.

She closes her eyes and nods. "My dad."

I put my hand in the water between us. She glances at it, but doesn't move away.

"You don't have to talk about it," I assure.

She shakes her head. "Can I?"

I nod. "Of course. I'm here for you. Whatever you need."

She gulps. "I just... I haven't been able to tell anyone. And you feel- I don't know. Safe?"

"I can be safe," I murmur.

She bites her lip and lightning flickers along her mouth. "He wasn't a good man. I had a little sister. After our mom left, she was my responsibility. I promised to protect her." She looks down, tears dripping in unison with the rain. "I couldn't."

When she doesn't continue, I nod. "I understand."

She lifts her head a little. "You do?"

My lips tremble. "I loved someone once. His name was Oliver. I'd promised to protect him too. I couldn't."

She stares as a tear drips down my face. She looks back out over the water, focusing on two ducks fighting over a piece of food. "She was so good and kind. She loved ballet. I even learned it for her. It was the only thing I could stand up to him about. She was the only thing that mattered." She looks down at her hands. "And it's my fault she's dead."

"Hey," I rasp, a little harsher than I mean to. "That's not true."

She shakes her head. "You don't understand."

"Maybe not. But I can tell just from how you speak of her; you would never hurt her."

Izzy sniffles and her shoulders shake. "I tried to fight back." The lightning flickers along her fingertips again. "I realized I was a freak last year. I kept it hidden. From everyone. Even Lily. But then-then he said I wasn't enough anymore. He said he wanted more from her. And I just- I couldn't let him touch her."

Every atom in me begs me to reach out. Physical touch is how I find comfort, and it's all I want to give her. I want to hold her to me and let her sob.

But that's not what she needs from me.

I hold back and let her hold herself as she sobs.

"I tried to kill him," she whispers. "When I woke up, Lily was lying in a pool of her own blood. He told me it was my fault. Told me I should've known my place. If I'd just been his good little girl, he wouldn't have had to hurt her." She scrapes a tear away. "I didn't even get to say goodbye," she sobs.

"That's not your fault," I whisper. "None of that was your fault. You were trying to protect her. Whatever he did was not because of you."

She lifts her eyes to mine. "If I'd just been good-."

"He would've hurt her anyway," I cut in. "You said it yourself, he was moving on to her. He was going to hurt her anyway. He would've killed both of you. You tried to protect her, Izzy. That is the bravest thing I've ever heard. Her death was not your fault."

She sobs and grabs my hand out of the water. She pulls it to her lips, sobbing against it.

I don't move my hand.

She bows her head over my fingers, dripping tears on me.

I let her. I stay still as she cries. "It wasn't your fault," I repeat, softly.

She lurches towards me and hugs me again, burying her face in my neck.

I hold her as gently as I can, rubbing her back. "It wasn't your fault," I whisper, over and over again. I'll say it until she believes it, even if I have to say it for the rest of my life.

She sniffles next to my ear, her saliva popping as she opens and closes her mouth. Her panting warms my face, even as the rain keeps falling. "I stayed for months," she whispers. "I deserved his punishments. I deserved the pain. So, I stayed. But, at some point, I broke. All the anger and pain I'd been burying just... lashed out. I didn't even mean to. He lifted his hand to hit me and... and I killed him." She stares at her hands in her lap as they spark and crackle. "I ran. I guess I was lucky the Fae came. If the dome hadn't opened, the police would've caught me. I would be in jail. Or they would've found out what I can do and... I don't know." She shakes her head. "I was just so scared. I just kept running. I didn't even look back. I didn't feel guilty for killing him. I wanted to kill him."

"I'm glad you killed him," I whisper.

She glances at me. "I don't think you should be condoning murder."

"That wasn't murder," I insist. "You were protecting yourself."

She looks back to where our friends disappeared. "When Erick came at me... I was so scared. I thought I was going to kill someone else."

"Hey," I say, "Erick's never going to touch you. He'll die before he can. He's not even going to talk to you. No one's going to hurt you again, Izzy. Not if I can help it."

She offers a smile. Her eyes are puffy and red. Her cheeks are swollen. Snot runs from her nose.

She looks divine.

"You barely know me," she whispers. "I'm a 'stray', aren't I?"

I run my thumb over her knuckles. "I was a stray once, too. I got some pretty great friends out of it."

She studies my eyes. "You're serious, aren't you? About protecting me?"

I tuck a strand of sopping wet hair behind her ear and smile. "I'm ride or die, baby. I'm like the mafia. If you're family, no one's touching you."

She snorts and wipes the snot away from her nose. She washes her hands in the water as the sun starts to peek out from behind the clouds. "I appreciate it." She glances at me, sheepishly. "Really."

I drop my head onto her shoulder. "You saved my life. I get pretty attached after something like that."

She nods at my foot. "I didn't save all of you."

"You took a lightning bolt to the chest; you don't get to talk."

She grins and wiggles her fingers, letting them spark at me.

"Must've been pretty crazy when you found out you could do that."

She shrugs. "I dunno. I always felt different. Like I didn't belong here."

I quiet for a moment, then rub her back. "Can you tell me about your sister? I'd love to know more."

Izzy smiles, her eyebrows pulled low and tight over her eyes. "Sure," she whispers.