Cyrus immediately turns around to look at me, narrowing his eyes in suspicion at my sudden exclamation. I rebuke myself briefly but shake it off upon further reflection. Juniper and I are connected by blood. People would have figured us out eventually, and it's not like I'm able to just stand around and let these strangers hurt my sister.

Juniper waves her little arms around helplessly. "Callie!" she cries, sounding both relieved and concerned to see me.

"You know this Moonborn?" Cyrus demands, pointing his spear in my direction to keep me held back when I start to run to my sister.

I freeze, raising my hands slowly. "She's not a Moonborn," I say cautiously, keeping my eyes locked to his dull, brown ones. Despite the fear and eagerness swirling around inside of me, I force myself to maintain my usual neutrality. I have to conceal any emotion that could potentially indicate that I'm lying. After a long pause, I do allow myself to give Cyrus a pleading look. "She's my baby sister, Cyrus. Please."

"Cut her down, Ares!" Vivian's chirpy tone demands from behind me.

Ares takes a few wary steps toward the rope connected to the base of a nearby tree. Cyrus's impenetrable gaze doesn't leave me, and a light-haired man whose name I don't know keeps his eyes on the little girl dangling above all of us. Ares pulls a small knife out of his pocket and begins to saw into the thick rope.

Instinctively, I move forward and ready myself to catch Juniper before the rope breaks. Cyrus stops me, shoving the spear in his hands to my throat. "Maddox isn't here to save you this time," he murmurs bitterly, pressing the blade into my skin. "Don't test me."

Instead of inspiring fear as he'd hoped, his threat brings forth a darkness in me that rivals his own. It's one thing to hurt me, but harming my family is something I cannot allow. If Juniper hadn't escaped down that hill when she did, the spear Cyrus threw could have very well killed her. And even now that he can see that she is just a kid, he still has malicious intentions for her. 

"Actually, I saved myself last time," I say in a low tone. My voice is calm, but the rage he has ignited in me doesn't go unnoticed, because an unsettled look flickers across his face for a split second. Wrapping a firm hand around the spear in front of me, I feel the chill of my magic collect at my fingertips. "Don't test me, Cyrus."

The rope suddenly snaps, and my sister hits the ground with a thud. I carefully push the spear away from my throat and to my surprise, Cyrus doesn't fight me on it. Begrudgingly, he moves out of the way, allowing me to run to my sister's side. She rubs the back of her neck, wincing as I help her sit up. Unable to control myself, I wrap my arms around her protectively. Not knowing if she was killed by the Starborns who took her, or if she was suffering elsewhere has been eating me alive these past few days. I'm still beyond worried for all of my other siblings, but little Juniper is only ten years old. Not knowing her fate has tortured me the most. But now I know that she is okay. Scraped up a bit for sure, but she's safe!

"Callie," Juniper whispers beside my ear. She starts to pull away from me, leaving warm tears and mud on my shoulder. "Look," she urges.

Confused, I blink at her before finally following her gaze to the group surrounding us. Cyrus and the others who followed us from the camp all have their spears and axes pointed at us. Even Vivian and Ares have their weapons at the ready. There is obvious uncertainty on their faces though. Despite the mixed emotions emanating from the eight people staring at us, they all seem to be looking to Cyrus for orders.

"You have sixty seconds to explain yourself. And don't lie. I caught the little brat looking through this," Cyrus says, reaching into his back pocket. He tosses a small, familiar book at me.

Hesitantly, I reach for the leather booklet. If I'm not mistaken, it's one of Orion's journals. He has always opted to write things down. Be it feelings, spells, or a simple to-do list. In this unfortunate case, the book is littered with Moon incantations that he's scribbled down at some point or another for memory's sake. Juniper and I both know that this belongs to our brother, but Cyrus doesn't. If Moonborns are regularly thrown onto this island, this could be anyone's journal. It's not strange for a little kid to be curious about a mysterious book.

Before I can speak, Juniper's scratchy voice beats me to it. "That's not—"

"It's not hers," I cut in sharply, hoping that Juniper takes the hint to keep her mouth shut. "I don't know what this is or why she has it, but she's not a Moonborn."

A doubtful smile steals Cyrus's usual frown. "On second thought, I'd actually like to hear your sister's side on the matter," he says, cocking his head to the side when he looks at Juniper. "Well, girl? Why are you carrying around a book about magic?"

My sister's frantic, cornflower-blue eyes meet mine. The shade of blue appears brighter than normal in comparison to the thick layer of dried mud coating her face. She stammers at my silence, unsure of what to say without some guidance. "I-I just—"

"Don't look at her! You look at me when you speak!" Cyrus booms, causing both of us to jump at his outburst. Juniper's head jerks back in his direction almost immediately. A visible shudder runs through her, irking me. "And you'd do well to be honest with me. Your big sister will pay for it if you lie to me," he warns, hooking the spear back in my direction.

Juniper swallows nervously, keeping her sad eyes glued to Cyrus's pale face. "I found it on the ground. I didn't know it was bad." Her voice is barely above a whisper. I see a tear stream down her dirt-ridden cheek, causing my resentment towards Cyrus to fester even more. "I-I'm sorry," she adds after a moment, suppressing a sob.

"Cyrus, a child finding a magical book on an island infested with Moons is hardly proof that she is one of them. Any one of us could have found that," Ares says, pulling everyone's attention to him.

"Is that a risk you're willing to take?" Cyrus counters, raising an eyebrow at Ares. When he doesn't get a response from the red-haired man, he turns to the rest of his group who have now lowered their weapons. "Do I need to remind you all that Moons are the reason we're here? We're suffering for their hatred of the Starborns, remember? We didn't ask to be pawns in their war!" It's silent for a moment, and then the group starts chattering all at once. It sounds like most of them are agreeing with Cyrus. 

"We can't only blame Moons for what the Stars are doing!" Vivian shouts over the flurry of murmurs. The group falls silent to let her speak. "Even if this little girl is a Moonborn, it isn't her fault that we're all here. She's innocent," she urges.

The dark-skinned woman who pleaded to Cyrus earlier for my sister's well-being nods in agreement. "I will not hurt a child," she declares, causing the group to break out into another heated discussion.

Cyrus is the one to cut in this time. "Vivian's right! We can't just blame the Moonborns!" He waits for everyone to stop talking before continuing. "What the Starborns have done is unforgivable. But if it weren't for the Moons, we never would have inherited them as our enemy. Everything that has happened to this world goes back to Moonborns. Bloody hell! Even Van Blake was a child once and look where we are now!" he yells spitefully before taking a short breath to calm himself. The same rage and fear that I saw behind his eyes on the shore has returned. Judging by the reactions in the group, most are siding with Cyrus. "If you think for one moment that this girl is innocent, simply because she is a child, then you're a fool! Remember what Van Blake's people did to ours? Our people have been killed and tortured and used as slaves just because our blood lacks Moon magic! And his Moonborn people whom you would deem innocent turned a blind eye to it all!"

Juniper whispers something to me that sounds like my name. For a moment, I can't tear my eyes away from Cyrus and the passionate group surrounding him. What has my family done to these people to inspire so much vengeance? Slavery and torture? There's no way my father would condone that. The majority of the mortals holler in agreement as Cyrus continues his speech that I have now detached myself from. My sister tugs at my shirt, bringing me back to the here and now.

Hoping Cyrus's insane ramblings will serve as a decent distraction, I rise to my feet, bringing my sister up with me. I tuck Orion's booklet into my pocket quickly. Then, after grabbing one of Juniper's shaky hands, I tug her along with me as I break into a very fast and urgent sprint. A head start is our best chance of getting away. After experiencing just how fast Cyrus can run, I know there's no chance my legs could ever outrun his without one. But to Juniper and I's misfortune, it only takes about three seconds for Cyrus to command the group to chase after us. 

Adrenaline zaps through my body when a spear suddenly whips past the side of my head, missing me by just a hair. Knowing that Cyrus will be on our heels in seconds, I jerk Juniper up by the arm and onto my back. I hear her wrist crack during the motion, and I inhale sharply when she cries out in pain. "I'm sorry, June. But we have to hurry!" I exclaim.

"It's okay," she whines fearfully, wrapping her arms and legs around me as I do my best to carry her piggyback style through the forest.

"Callie! You can't outrun me!" Cyrus calls out. His voice bellows a little too close from behind than I'd like, but there's still a tolerable distance between us. "You can only get so far on this island anyway! It's pointless!"

I ignore him, running and hopping over branches and debris as quickly as I can to stay ahead. I try to avoid the lower hanging plants, but a few still manage to roughly brush across my face. But I don't slow down. No matter what happens, I have to keep going for Juniper's sake. I can't let anything else bad happen to her. But how do I escape from people trying to kill us on an inescapable island? Hiding would be the best option, but I'd have to put more distance between us and them to do that. 

I can hear Cyrus's footsteps pounding against the forest floor now, and I know that he is catching up to us now. I let go of Juniper's arms so that I can use both my arms and legs to boost my speed. She tightens her grip around my neck to support herself, but not enough to constrict my airway. My heart is beating so hard in my chest it hurts. Adrenaline keeps my feet moving, but I know that I'm just not fast enough. He's going to catch us and I know it.

"Callie, he's right there!" Juniper shrieks. The panic in her voice makes me run even faster than I ever thought I could. The dizziness I was experiencing not too long ago has returned, causing my vision to blur.

I whip my head from side to side frantically, looking for something to help put distance between us and the murderous group. How far do we have to run to hit water for crying out loud? All we have is trees, trees, and more trees! I could have June latch onto one of the lower hanging branches and climb the tree to save herself. I shake that thought away almost instantly. It's no good. They would just throw spears and axes at her to knock her down. Zigzagging to escape from view is definitely not an option either. Cyrus is too close and too fast to fall for that. And fighting eight people, magic or not, isn't likely to end without loss on both ends, so that's no good either.

So then what? We can't hide. We can't risk trying to fight. And I can't outrun Cyrus. The only advantage I have over the mortals chasing us is magic. Magic that allegedly causes catastrophic consequences when used inside of this Autolycus Cage. Magic that I will lose after using it only once on this island. The one-time use was reserved for finding Atlas, but now I have no choice but to use it to save Juniper and myself. Atlas will have to be found by other means.

I grab onto the tiny wrists locked around my upper half and focus my magic into both mine and Juniper's hands. I think of the one place I've been on this island that stands out enough for me to envision. Going back to their camp isn't wise, but I can't take us somewhere I've never seen. And the forest looks the same no matter where you go. If I tried taking us to a random tree, I'd likely end up placing us just a few feet back from where we are now. This is our best chance.

"I told you you couldn't outrun me," Cyrus gloats. His voice is very, very close now.

Juniper screams in terror and I close my eyes. "Atmós," I whisper.

The icy sting of the Moon Magic shoots through my body. The sensation crawls from my hands to Juniper's, enveloping us both in its cold grasp. In less than a second, we evaporate away from Cyrus's violent intentions. Because I'm sprinting during the spell, we both run right into the ground when we appear elsewhere. I cushion the fall for Juniper since she is latched onto me, but the extra weight on my back causes more pain for me after the teleportation spell.

"Sorry!" she says, scrambling off of me.

Tired and out of breath from our encounter, I can't muster up the strength to get up yet. But I do raise my head to take in our surroundings. The camp is as it was not long ago. Peaceful and quiet. No one's here, thankfully. But we shouldn't linger for too long. Other mortals that were out hunting could return at any moment. And of course, Cyrus and the others that just saw me use magic aren't far from here either. I'm sure Cyrus, who was just moments away from capturing Juniper and I, is at a total loss. I used my powers during the day when Moon magic is presumably too weak for a teleportation spell. Now he'll know that my magic is more powerful than most before picking another fight with me. Let him chew on that for a while.

My smugness fades away quickly when I remember that my magic, despite its potency, actually won't be an option for me anymore. Saving my sister and me was my last act of magic. The island has my Moon magic now. But does that mean my powers are gone for good? I shake my head, dismissing my thoughts. I can figure that out later. Right now, I need to get Juniper to safety. My arms don't want to budge just yet, but I know that I can't keep lying around. If Maddox is to be believed, the spell I just used to save my sister and myself will have life-threatening consequences. I'm not exactly sure what he meant when he said, 'The island will react in catastrophic ways,' but I don't want to be out in the open when we find out.

Speaking of Maddox, I can't help but wonder what he'll make of all this when Cyrus tells him what happened. No doubt Cyrus will exaggerate the story to justify his actions, but that's nothing I should concern myself with. I barely know Maddox, so there's no point in dwelling on what he may or may not think of me. Besides, there are more important things to focus on.

After a mental countdown from three, I push up from the grass and dirt beneath me, but my legs feel like jelly, so I have to slump back down before I fall over. Juniper's muddy face watches me with concern. "You okay?" she asks.

"I'm fine," I choke out, still working on returning my breath to normal. "This is their camp. They have some supplies I think we should take and then we have to go."

"Okay, but who were those people, Callie? Why do they hate Moonborns? Were they really going to kill us?" she asks, pausing only for a moment before continuing. "And how did you get here? Are Eros and Atlas here too? Were you lying about Orion's journal? And do they mean our family when they say Van Blake? Does that mean Dad? If it does, then why were they saying that he did those mean things? And how did you cast a teleportation spell during the day?" Juniper's questions come out in a rush. My head is still reeling from the danger we just endured, so her interrogation is more jarring than it would've been otherwise.

"Juniper," I huff, letting my eyes close. "Please... be quiet."

She covers her mouth with her hands. "Sorry, Callie," she mumbles.

We sit in silence for a good two minutes until I can breathe properly again. My vision is clear when I reopen my eyes, but the dizziness doesn't disappear. It's too hot out here to function properly. I wish I had worn literally anything else other than the long-sleeved tunic glued to my skin with sweat. Actually, it would just be nice to have clean clothes to change into in general. I feel disgusting. I can only imagine how uncomfortable little Juniper must be. She's sweating bullets and is caked with mud from head to toe. Maybe we can find some water to wash up in after we leave the clearing.

Despite the ache in my legs, I can stand up safely this time. My stance is far sturdier now that the world isn't spinning beneath me. Juniper copies me, but I can see that her tiny, wobbly legs are begging her to sit down. She's probably more dehydrated than I am. "Wait here. I'll bring you some water," I announce. She collapses almost immediately, looking relieved, but very disoriented.

I hobble over to the campfire just a few feet away from us. I must have twisted my ankle during our landing because it is throbbing uncontrollably. I keep most of my weight off of it as I bend down to pick up the large water dish Ares used to fill my cup earlier. Knowing that it's already been boiled for sanitary purposes, I pour the remainder of its contents into an empty canteen sitting next to one of the logs. After the canteen is full, I down the lukewarm water that is left behind in the large dish. Five bananas are still left from the bunch Vivian collected this morning. I hug the canteen and the bananas against my chest as I make my way back over to Juniper.

"Bananas!" she squeaks excitedly.

"Shh!" I reply sharply, stooping down to hand off the fruit and water to her. "We have to stay quiet, Juniper. You eat up and drink some water. I'm gonna grab a few more things and then we have to go."

She says nothing in response but nods understandingly as she pops open the metal canteen. I feel guilty for being so short with her, but we can't afford to make mistakes out here. I give her arm an apologetic squeeze before rushing over to the large shelter I slept in last night. Before going inside, I glance back over at Juniper to see her peeling open one of the yellow fruits. I scour the campsite for anything unusual one last time before going inside. Leaving the door open so that I can keep an eye on her, I intentionally avoid turning my back to the doorway as I gather supplies.

The first thing I grab is the red backpack Maddox used as a pillow last night. It isn't heavy, so I don't bother going through its contents. There is plenty of space to toss in what I need for now. I retrieve Orion's leather booklet from my pocket and add it to the bag. Next, I throw in Maddox's orange sleeping bag, some knives hidden near Cyrus's sleeping area, and some dried meat from a pot near the center chair. I find some small pieces of rope and fabric, as well as a pack of matches that I tuck into the red bag as well. The sleeping bag is taking up most of the space, but I still manage to zip up the overstuffed backpack. I slip my arms through the straps of the pack and grab one of the spears leaning against the wall. I'm about to step back outside when the brightness reflecting off of the mysterious sword in the room surprises me again. I stare at the unique blade for a moment, awed by its beauty once again. I don't necessarily enjoy stealing from these people, but after half the camp tried to kill me, I only feel a little guilty. My curiosity outweighs that small amount of guilt, and I decide to take the sword as well. Small loops on the side of the backpack make for a convenient sword holder. The only thing in my hand now is the spear that I opt to use as a walking stick for my ankle's sake.

I close the door behind me on my way out. The sun isn't as bright as it was before I stepped into the makeshift shelter. Looking up at the clouds, I can tell the sky is darkening abruptly like it did yesterday. It's going to storm again. I briefly wonder if the sudden weather change is a direct consequence of using magic on the island, or if it just happens to storm here a lot. Either way, Juniper and I need to find our own shelter before the weather grows too severe.

I think about searching the smaller shelters for more supplies but decide against it. We've already dallied here longer than I intended. I remind myself that we can't afford to make mistakes. "Are you ready?" I ask, approaching my little sister.

She's on her feet now, looking more content than before. "I have to tell you something, Callie."

"What's that?" I ask.

Her eyes begin to glaze over with tears again. "Orion's hurt. I was trying to find a way to help him, but then I got caught. What if those bad people found him?"

My stomach drops. That's right. Eros said that Orion was cut by a Starborn right before he was taken. I guess I was hoping he'd found a way to take care of himself, but by the sounds of it, Juniper must've been taking care of herself and her big brother this whole time. On top of being a small child, my sister is also kind of a priss, so the fact that she has managed as long as she has is beyond impressive to me. Hopefully her resilience sticks around for a while longer, because I don't think we'll be going home anytime soon.

I clear my throat, shifting more of my weight onto the spear I'm holding when my ankle starts to throb again. "Do you remember where he is?" I ask through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the pain in my foot.

She nods slowly. "Yes? I think. Um, well I left some stones nearby to lead me back to our hiding place, but I don't know how to find him from here."

"Were you that far from Orion when you ran from Cyrus?"

"Who's Cyrus?" she asks.

I give her an impatient look. "The guy that talked everyone into chasing us. Were you close to Orion when Cyrus found you or not?"

She looks thoughtful for a moment, before nodding stiffly. "I wasn't that far. I was by a big tree with blue leaves when he found me. If we find that tree, I can find Orion," she states confidently.

"A blue tree?" I question, cocking an eyebrow. I've never seen such a thing. Fields of deep, blue grass are a common sight in Lunaria, but not blue-leaved trees. I even remember seeing patches of blue in the forest when I first arrived here with Maddox and Cyrus, but I have yet to spot a tree on this island that isn't green. I finally shrug after another pause. It's not rare to find grass or moss that isn't green in our world, so maybe the prospect of a blue tree isn't that odd. "Well, considering that this place is an ugly, green eyesore, it shouldn't be too hard to find. Let's go."