Come to Woodshore and you can save Josie. Come to Woodshore and you can save Josie. Those words never left Lizzieâs mind. The letter she had received inviting her to the town had been specific enough that Lizzie couldnât ignore its reliability. She knew her twin had been there for a significant amount of time, but she never suspected she would be in danger. Sheâd packed her bags for Washington the very next day, telling their mother that she just needed some Josie time. What did she have to save Josie from? She might have been the dominant twin in terms of personality, but she certainly wasnât the strongest. Not by a long shot. Did she even have the strength to save her sister?
Lizzie was good. Really good, if you ignored the fact that Josie was missing from her side. Under Josetteâs care, and without the stress of the magical world weighing on her, her mental health was in excellent condition. But as soon as she stepped into Woodshore, memories of a different life came flooding into her mind without mercy. She was a Gemini witch, they went to a boarding school for magical kids, and their mom, Josette, wasâŚ
The only constant throughout her two different lifetimes was Josie. She needed to find her sister. She looked tirelessly for a few days in Woodshore, but she just couldnât find her. Josie was usually good at going unnoticed when she wanted to be, but never by Lizzie. What had they done to her? With every passing minute, her anxiety grew worse. It was no secret to her sister that Lizzie had bipolar disorder. Her mental health was on an exponential decline, and if she didnât find Josie fastââ
As she bickered with someone random over something insignificant, a voice pulled her from her thoughts. Sheâd recognize it anywhere. She was here. Her heart raced a mile a minute as she fleetingly thought of the black magic. Did Josie remember that other life, too? Was the black magic what Lizzie had to save her twin from? Lizzie had been working on being less codependent, and it was going surprisingly well. But all of that went out the window as she turned around and closed the distance between her and Josie, throwing her arms around her. âJo! Thank godâŚâ She squeezed her tighter than ever before and buried her face into her shoulder. She pulled back and held her sisterâs face in her hands, her eyebrows knit together. âWhat happened? What did they do to you?â She questioned. Lizzie didnât feel any black magic, but she couldnât be sure.
  Elizabeth Saltzman was a lot of things that Josie just wasnât: she was confident, determined, and unabashedly herself. There was so much about her that the brunette admired, that Josie could never even hope to be in the grand scheme of things. Even still, Lizzie was impulsive and reckless and Josie had always been at her sisterâs side to help her back to her feet again. Josette had always been her sisters protector and number one fan all in the form of a single person. So when her letter had promised she could protect Lizzie, the eighteen year old couldnât simply ignore it. Protecting Lizzie, it said, and she blindly followed the invitation wherever it willed her to go. This was her sister, who was in some kind of danger according to her letter, and Josie would be damned if she didnât at least risk checking it out.
  âLizzie!â The brunette breathed, a sigh she hadnât known sheâd been holding leaving her lungs. Without hesitation, her arms wrapped around her sisters sides and held her close, the full weight of just how much she had missed her hitting Josie in full. âWhat are you doing here?â The twin murmured into blonde hair, a relieved smile tugging at her lips. âShouldnât you be at school?â
  Jo had so many more questions, all begging to make it passed her lips. How was dad? Was he staying on top of everything? How had Lizzie been? How was her degree coming? Did anyone at home miss Josie? How was mom? However, as she pulled back to ask whichever query came passed of her lips first, Lizzie beat her to the punchline. In an automatic response, Josieâs eyebrows cinched in confusion, delicate hands resting on the wrists just below her chin. âLizzie, what are you talking about? Iâm fine.â Her thumb brushed calmingly over her sisterâs knuckles as she offered a gentle (albeit, uncertain) smile. âNo one did anything to me, Iâm okay, Liz. Did you come all the way here because you thought I was hurt?â
 A pause, a beat, concern filling coffee eyes. âAre you okay?â