Was that a dream?

"You've got to be kidding me," my best friend Liana insisted the next day.

"I'm dead serious." My eyes widened from where I sat on her bed. "Christina did not say Sam was hotter than Dean." Liana turned back toward her mirror, where she was brushing out her long blond hair.

I held several strands of my own dark hair out in front of my face to the point where my eyes began to cross. I absentmindedly picked at the split ends. You'd think with magic running through my veins, I'd be able to mend a few split ends, but as our magic diluted throughout the ages, we were now pretty much limited to breathing under water and mildly controlling the element.

I wonder what Tristan can do, I thought. I'd heard the stories of our ancestors, about how they could control the oceans and all that jazz, but after they came out of the water and settled in Sea Haven, their magic grew weaker and weaker with every generation. That's why they encouraged us to stay put. No one came in. No one came out.

Okay, that wasn't completely true. I mean, we had suppliers and contractors who came and went, but we tried our best to remain as self-sustaining as possible. That's why there was a small univer- sity in town with a select few graduate programs so that some of us could actually learn to become doctors and stuff instead of hav- ing to reveal the secret of our magic.

And it's not like no one ever left. I mean, there was a guy a grade ahead of me, Noah Starr, who left for school outside of Sea Haven last year. It's not like we can't leave. We just don't want to. Keeping to ourselves and not welcoming outsiders was what was going to preserve the last bits of magic we had left. "Bree," Liana called, "are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?" I raised my brows and let my split ends fall back to my chest. "Yeah, I'm listening. Dean is hotter, hands down. But I mean, come on. You can't say Sam isn't hot." "Oh, sure. I mean, they're brothers. They share the same DNA."

I widened my eyes at her. "You do know they're actors, right? We may be freaks of nature, but Supernatural is fiction, Li." She rolled her eyes and turned to me, leaning her arm up against the back of her chair. "You know what I meant. But we're agreed, then? Dean is the hottest guy we know?"

I sighed. Tristan sure could give Dean a run for his money.

Tristan. The thought echoed through my mind. I'd only met him last night, but already, the whole thing was starting to feel like a dream. Only, since I'd lain awake the entire rest of the night, I knew I hadn't dreamt it.

I wanted to tell Liana about him. I'd already almost blurted it out a couple of times. But my dad had warned me not to mention any- thing, and honestly, I was a little scared of what would happen if I did. Would that somehow put Liana in danger? Was in danger?

I'd wanted to ask my dad about it this morning, but when I finally pulled myself out of bed after struggling for hours for a lick of sleep, I found him pouring himself a bowl of cereal like nothing had happened. When he looked up from his bowl and asked me how I'd slept, it was a clear message to pretend like nothing

happened. And so I did.

But all I could do was pretend. That didn't keep the reality of the situation from burrowing itself into my mind, taking up a home in every thought of mine. Our ancestors were out there. Our ancestors were out there!

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