"Theresa?"

"I'm fine," I say, pushing away Natalia's hand. I stand to my feet and I glare around the Summit. It's too late to go back now, the transition is complete. Something is wrong, something is different, and I can't work out what. Thousands of eyes look at me, some with disgust, some with delight, and I am not afraid of anything.

"It is done," Marcus says, he turns towards the covens. "Whatever your feelings are towards this witch, Samara, the first demigod, has given her approval and it rules above all. Please welcome your new Elder. Theresa Harmon."

The room is silent. I haven't been to any Elder coronations before, but I'd imagine Amara and Vienna didn't receive silence. They just stare, probably wishing for it to be over. I feel something tight around my throat and I stiffen as Marcus places the amulet around my neck. Knowing that Samara is inside of it, most likely doing things to my head without me even realising, makes wearing it suddenly uneasy.

"As per tradition, the new Elder will now give a brief speech about the changes he or she wishes to implement."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Erin hisses at him. "We've just found out that she's one of them, the covens need time to-"

"I'm not one of anything," I say, stepping forwards.

I stop at the front of the stage, gazing around with low interest. I feel different. I always felt confident when I wore the amulet but this isn't like that, this isn't even on the same level. The amount of power that is coursing through me right now is terrifying, the covens have good reason to be afraid. Every second, it changes. It grows stronger, until I am entirely certain that I could kill them all here and now. I don't think this is Elder magic. What is this? Does my Slayer side make everything different?

"I know that you are scared," I shout. "But many of you know me, or at least, you knew my coven. What Vienna said is true. I am half-Slayer, half-Witch, and a little bit human. I am the first of my kind and I've only just found this out recently myself. Like you, I'm still processing it. I realise how unnatural this situation is, and I want to reassure you that my Slayer side is dormant. I am first and foremost a witch, and from this moment on I am committing one hundred percent to being the Elder that you need.

"We've all lost something because of Amara or another Elder that thought they were doing good. They made mistakes that we have all paid the price for in one way or another. In this very Summit five years ago, I lost my mother. And a few months ago, the last surviving Harmons were massacred on this very stage. Why? Because Amara was paranoid. Because she was bored. Amara murdered our families and we stood by and allowed it to happen. She murdered millions of innocent mortals and called it an uprising. If it wasn't for the Slayers, I would be dead. They saved me. They are not the enemy you have been taught to hate. The true enemy is much more terrifying and they are very real. And they are also very close to rising up and claiming this world as theirs. We must work together to stop them. All of us. Every species. The world as we know it depends on it."

I turn around and I look at Joey. He has his arms folded, his eyes on the floor, he's listening but he isn't understanding. I wonder if it'll be like that for everyone else, too. Will they only take the threat seriously when their loved ones are being burned alive?

"From this day on, there will be no more fights between the Wiccans and the Slayers," I announce. "I'm not saying that because of what I am, I am saying that because no damn Elder has ever had the stomach to find a way to make it happen before now. We need the Slayers on our side, even if they're commanded by the demons to kill us. It will take some time, and time isn't what we have, but it's the best we can do."

I take a deep breath. That entire speech has startled them beyond comprehension. I can read their thoughts as though they're screaming it in unison: work with the Slayers?

"There will be a new law passed," I say. "Mortals are to be left alone. You will not harm them, scare them or trap them anymore. After you leave here, you are to return to your posts around the world and collect your things. Arizona is your new home now. It will be the city of the Wiccans until the threat is gone. Mortals need space to rebuild and they cannot do that with us nearby."

That creates noise. I bite on my lip as they begin muttering to each other and opposing everything I've said.

"Any mistreatment of mortals will not go unpunished!" I yell. "They are under my protection so to harm them is to harm me. I realise things are changing and these are big changes that you are not used to, but you're going to have to catch up because we've got less than a year to prepare for the biggest battle this world has ever seen. I cannot do this on my own! I need you by my side, not as separate covens, but as one army. Together, our magic can do unbelievable things, so let's use it to save the world."

They are still muttering, still shouting incoherent abuse, so I decide to leave it at that. I walk off stage and I drop the red cloak on the floor as I storm towards a backroom. I enter a room lit up by candles and I lean over a stone platform as I take deep breaths. It isn't long before the door opens.

"I don't even know where to begin," Erin says.

"They're never going to accept me," I whisper. "It's just words to them, it means nothing."

"Were you ever going to tell us?" Joey's voice is the hardest to digest. He's close, but he sounds so far away.

"Probably not," I say.

"We're your advisors, Theresa. And more than that, I thought I was your friend. I thought you trusted me."

"I don't trust anyone," I admit, turning to look at him. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth. I just literally had my entire life ripped to shreds out there and you're sulking because you didn't know first? Did you want me to fax it to you from England, Joey?"

Natalia laughs as she enters the room with Max.

"That was the most diabolical, yet satisfying, coronation ever," Natalia says. "Dead Elders, dead demigods, revelations that sent shockwaves throughout a thousand-year-old system. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it."

"It just would have been good to know," Joey says. "We're allowed choices, too."

"Like what?" I demand. "The choice to jump ship because you can't stand to be close to me anymore? It's not a virus, Joey. You can't catch it. It's just who I am. I am still the same person as I've always been."

"Are you?" Erin questions.

"Yes!" I say. "My father was a Slayer, but my mother was the strongest witch I've ever known. It's just DNA, a bloodline, it doesn't change my personality. It doesn't suddenly make me evil and dangerous. Amara wasn't half-Slayer and she managed that without the demon interference."

Natalia laughs again as she pulls out a bottle of alcohol from within her shirt and begins drinking it.

"It's just. . . never happened before," Erin says. "Like, ever. Even the thought of a witch and a demon spawn breeding is just. . ."

I glare at her and she shuts up.

"Is that why he didn't kill you?" Joey asks quietly, referring to Sam.

"No. They found out at the same time as me, right before Amara died."

"You only found out yesterday?" Erin's mouth hangs open in shock. "Are you okay?"

"I'm getting there. These questions aren't helping." I rub my temple and I sigh. "It's been a long day, let's call it a night and talk tomorrow."

They try to protest, but I am already gone. I don't even need a portal anymore; I can just think of a place and my body takes me there. I arrive back at my house, I should have gone to the main house tonight as I agreed with Marcus that I would live there after my coronation, but I just can't face it yet.

I walk up the staircase in the dark, allowing myself to succumb to the mental exhaustion. I just want to sleep, but as always, nothing is simple. When I walk into my room, I'm startled to find a shadow already inside. Sitting at the end of my bed. I breathe life into the lights around my room and I stare at the intruder. I have a strange sense of déjà vu.

"Sophia received your letter," he says, not looking at me. "I know I shouldn't be here, but after you wrote that you might die, I just couldn't not come."

"You're right," I say. "You shouldn't be here. I'm confused, why are you here? Checking that I'm still alive?"

Sam turns and looks at me with his eyebrow raised. "I read your letter, Theresa. If you feel that way, then why did you do it? I just don't understand."

"What letter?" I laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"What?"

"I never wrote Sophia a letter. Is this about this morning? Are you pissed because I kicked you out?"

He stands from the bed and the look on his face becomes more confused by the second. It's true though, I don't know what he's talking about.

"You didn't kick me out. We said goodbye to each other. Don't you remember that?"

I stare at him. "Yeah, I remember us saying goodbye at the kitchen table. But that's all it was. I told you to go and you did. I honestly don't know what came over me this morning, probably nerves. I'm sorry for putting you in that position."

"What?"

"Us. . . sleeping together," I mutter, shyly looking away. "It was always going to complicate things but I'm over it. Now you're here though, I should probably tell you that I've ordered the covens to stand down from attacking Slayers. You are still with me on the truce, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, good. The Elder and the Malachi have actually agreed on something for the first time in a thousand years."

"Are you. . . alright?"

"I think so," I say. "The process was pretty messed up and I had to convince thousands of covens not to kill me once they discovered I was half-Slayer, but I think everything will be alright. Hopefully."

"How did the covens find out?"

"Vienna," I say. "It's a long story."

"So, you didn't have second thoughts at all?"

"About what?" I ask.

He sighs to himself and rubs a hand against the stubble on his chin. I don't understand why he's being this way. Yes, we slept together, but it was nothing. It's not like we're close or anything. I barely even remember it.

"About us," he says. "The Slayers."

"You're confusing me."

"I know I am, and that's confusing me. What did they do to you?"

"Who, Sam?" I demand. "I don't understand why you're being weird. We killed Amara; I was free to come home."

"I'm not the one that's being weird. You had major conflictions about becoming Elder, you didn't even want to do it. You felt like you had no choice."

"That makes no sense," I say, laughing to myself as I approach my dressing table. I squirt some cream into my palm and I begin rubbing it on my face. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I'm looking at someone that I used to know, but she's not there anymore."

"You're starting to freak me out. I'm really tired and I need to undress. Can you leave, please?"

"Sure, I just needed to check that you were okay."

"Well, I am." I turn and glare at him with wide eyes. "Anything else?"

"No."

"Bye, then. I'll be in touch about the truce."

"Fine."

I turn back to the mirror as he lingers quietly near the doorway. I can feel his eyes on me, and it's making me uncomfortable.

"You know what? It's not fine." He slams the door closed and my body jolts with alert. I rise slowly from the chair; adrenaline overwhelms me as I start to clench my teeth. I don't know what he's doing, or what he wants, but I'm not in the mood for games. "I've said goodbye to you twice. Twice. And I still came back. No idea why, maybe I'm mad, but I care about you, Theresa. Is that what you wanted me to say? You made me care for you."

I watch his footsteps cautiously. "Sam-" I warn.

"And I refuse to believe that a simple magic trick can erase all of the things that you put in that letter. You wrote that thinking that there was no way back, that there was no other choice. Well I am giving you a way out of this."

"I've made my choice." My voice is low and threatening, but he doesn't even flinch. He isn't afraid of me in the slightest. "I am the Elder, Sam. It is done."

"The hell it is," he says. "You have a right to the Slayer world, too. You don't just have to be one thing, okay? I was wrong. Being different, it makes you who you are. It's the person that I see every day, that inspires me every day to be a better man. If you stay here you can only be the Elder, you will only ever be known as that, but come with me and I will accept you as anything. The Slayers will accept you."

I begin laughing, because I assume it's a joke. The hurt in his face is serious.

"Why would I live with Slayers?" I say. "I'm grateful that you saved my life and everything but this is where I'm meant to be. The covens will accept me eventually and I can work with them to put a shield around the world. It'll stop the demons from entering."

"You are half-Slayer, Theresa. You haven't lived with us as that, you haven't been taught any possibilities to-"

"I am a witch." The anger in my voice silences him, and it even scares me. "I am the Elder. I have duties." I smile at him and I take a deep breath. "I don't know where this is coming from but I'm not about to be caught in the middle of a tug of war between two species. I'm not a toy that you can pull and break. Not anymore, anyway."

"What's that meant to mean?"

"I have more power than you could ever imagine," I whisper. "Why would I waste that on the Slayers?"

He blinks at me. "Who are you?"

"I don't know," I say honestly, lowering my eyes to the floor.

"I'm not scared of you," he says. "But if you're about to turn into my enemy then I'd rather hear it from you first. Turning against us was another warning that you included in the letter."

"What letter?" I demand. "I never wrote a damn letter."

"You think you've got all this power, but you don't even have a clue about what it's doing to your head. It's erasing things. It's already erased me, apparently."

What does he mean, erased him? Erased him how? I study him carefully, trying to recognise a feeling that I haven't yet felt. Whatever he's doing, it's passionate, and that kind of passion can only come from one place. When I look at him, there is something there, something distant, unreachable, a small tingle that begins to heat my stomach. It's unusual and curious, but more than likely it's lust. I find him attractive, that isn't a secret, otherwise I wouldn't have had sex with him.

But if it's only lust, then why does he look at me as though his world is falling apart? I don't understand it. Have I changed that much? Is the person he cared for gone forever? What am I to him?

"Something happened between us," I say. "Something more than. . ."

He nods.

"I think I had to let it go," I whisper. "I sacrificed something in the gateway. I couldn't remember what it was. It was this?"

He doesn't say anything. He studies me closely as I realise what I've been missing. It doesn't change anything, I can't just conjure feelings from nowhere, but it helps me to understand his anger at me.

"I sacrificed it," I say, mainly to myself. "It was my choice. I didn't know that I'd forget making it."

"You gave up the unit. You gave up your friendship with Sophia. Your home at the castle. You let a bunch of psychopaths rewrite your life!"

"That's probably true," I whisper. "But it changes nothing. I am still the Elder and I am still staying here. I've ordered all the covens to move into Arizona and to leave the mortals alone. I know that you think I'm different and that you don't know who I am anymore, but I swear to you, the mortals are still my priority."

"I don't know what to believe anymore, Theresa. You're half-Slayer with enhanced abilities that I've never even heard of, you can enter the castle without my permission and burn it down tomorrow." He shrugs and I gasp at his horrific indication. "I have to protect my unit now, from you. Do you understand?"

"I would never hurt them. How could you even think-"?

"Because you're one of them!" he shouts. "You have Amara and Vienna's entire manifesto running through your veins. Why do you think they took away your feelings for me? It's the first step on the path to killing me."

"They didn't," I say, rubbing the amulet. "Someone else did. But she doesn't want to hurt you. It's all about the demons, okay? Once they're gone then all of this can stop."

"It'll never stop. Not until one side has destroyed the other. We can call a truce and we can order them to act nice, but we have to die one day. Do you think the people that take over us, or them, will honour it? I give it two generations until this world is torn apart again. Your kind wants me dead, Theresa. All of them."

"I don't," I say. "I owe you my life. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you."

He smiles. "You saved me, too. You just don't remember it."

"I want to," I admit. "I hope I can. . . one day. But right now, I need to sleep. This isn't doing us any good. Please trust me that you and the unit are not in danger, and we both need to let this go an focus on our own lives."

"Agreed," he says. "I'll see you around then."

"Yeah," I breathe. Though we both know we won't.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Finally, he transports, and I take a deep breath of relief, followed by a shudder of mixed emotions. Out of the goodbyes that we've exchanged, none have felt as final as just now. And it startles me that I don't care as much as I think I should. What did he expect? That I'd give up my title and join him in a castle thousands of miles away, living miserably and unwanted?

I finish getting ready for bed and I climb into the soft, fresh duvet with a strong urgency to sleep for days. I use my magic to turn out the lights and I close my eyes.

I don't know why, maybe it's because of Sam's visit, but I find myself wondering about the Slayers. What they're doing, if they're still celebrating, if Milasia is drinking the bar dry. Has Curtis told them about the demon and are they now on high alert? It's strange that I don't know the answers to these questions, I feel as though I should. But it's not my problem anymore. The Wiccans are my problem, and there's no turning back now.

I close my eyes, exhaling all of the troubles and obstacles of the day. It's been a long day. A strange day. Life-changing.

And I'll need to prepare to do it all again tomorrow.