She gasped – and shifted into her penguin form.
Damn it. I smacked her little penguin shoulder. “All that work,” I whispered.
Gigi squawked then shifted back into her human form. She looked back and forth between us and blinked. “I penguined, didn’t I?”
We nodded.
She cursed. “Sorry, I just was not expecting Mr. Hottie here.”
Cooper’s eyebrows shot to the ceiling. He smirked like he was trying not to laugh.
I groaned and buried my face in my hand. “Gigi. Good Goddess, child.”
She chuckled nervously and waved to him. “Sorry. I’m working on that.”
He shook his head, grinning from ear-to-ear. “It’s perfectly okay.”
I sighed. “G, this is Cooper Bishop, also known as the Star Card in The Coven.”
Gigi gasped. “No shit.”
“Cooper, this is my best friend Gigi, just your household penguin. No big deal.” I shook my head and eyed him. “Cooper here is going to fill you in on the dealio…and then he is going in the living room to explain shit to Saffie. Right, Coop?”
He nodded. “I will tell her what she’s allowed to know, and you two are going to keep the truth to yourselves. For her sake.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Saffie
I sat on the edge of a sofa in front of a thriving fireplace with heat radiating out of it – yet I was frozen to my core. My whole body trembled. My legs bounced as I wrung my hands together. My stomach was tight and tingly. I was waiting for Savannah and Gigi to come back, and not so patiently.
“Landreia,” I groaned and looked to my left to where she sat beside me. “Please. Tell me what’s going on.”
She opened her mouth then shut it. Then she smiled at me and patted my back. “I promise you will get answers today we just need to wait until the girls come back.”
I bit my lip to stop myself from whining. Again. Everything about her was so calm. I didn’t know how she could be so relaxed after last night – after the whole last week. We were sitting in the middle of some random living room of a stranger’s house.
She called this Coven Headquarters. What does that even mean?
The door on the far side of the room flew open and Savannah and Gigi bounced into the room — with a boy. I gasped and sat up straight as he sauntered in behind them.
Wait.
I’ve seen his face before.
But where?
The memory flashed in my mind and it hit me. THAT DREAM.
My heart fluttered. This boy was in my dream, the one where I was on the beach. I knew it without a fraction of a doubt. I recognized his short-trimmed blond hair and those pretty pale green eyes. He was big, too, definitely over six feet. The gray long-sleeved shirt he wore hugged his arms, showing off corded muscle. He was definitely attractive….and with the way Savannah and Gigi both stared up at him with sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks I knew they agreed.
I sat frozen in silence just watching him come toward me with my heart lodged in my throat. But with every step he took closer, I found it easier to breathe. I wanted to smile up at him but my body was locked in place.
He walked up to me and stopped, grinning. “Good morning, I’m Cooper Bishop.” He held his hand out to me.
I stared at it for a second before I realized I was supposed to shake it. I cursed then threw my hand against his but forgot to open my palm so I kind of just punched his hand. “Oh shit. Sorry. Sorry. Hi. I’m Saraphina Proctor.”
“Nice to meet you, Saraphina.” He chuckled and gestured to the wooden coffee table in front of me. “May I sit?”
I bit my lip and nodded.
“Perfect.” He sat directly across from me, leaving only an inch or two between his knees and mine. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, that warm smile firmly in place. “I hear you had a rough night, Saraphina. I’m sorry about that.”
Saraphina. It was my name, but something about him saying it bothered me. It felt too formal, too business-like. I felt like I was in trouble….or maybe it just didn’t sound the same as when Riah said it — no, don’t go there right now.
I cleared my throat. “You can call me Saffie…please.”
“Saffie.” He nodded but then his gaze dropped to my hands. He reached out and placed his one hand over both of mine. Warm energy spread over my skin. “Take a deep breath. You’re safe now.”
Somehow…that helped. I sucked in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds then released it.
“Good, good. Now, your friends here told me about what happened last night –and everything that’s happened since you woke up on the wharf with amnesia.” He took his hand off of mine then rubbed his palms together. “I know you’re scared and confused – I can feel it – but I also know you probably have a ton of questions, right?”
I nodded.
“That’s good, means you’re at least somewhat normal.” He winked and it made me smile. “Now, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to explain some things and then after you can ask me all the questions you’d like…all right?”
I bit my lip and hesitated. I wanted to ask my questions now but there was something about him that made the fear raging inside of me calm down just a notch. But he was just so calm. He was the picture of ease and happiness. He watched me with kind and patient eyes.
“O-okay…” I licked my lips and glanced at my friends then Landreia. They all nodded in approval. I turned back to Cooper. “Please explain what’s wrong with me.”
“Nothing,” he said in a rush and shook his head. “Besides the amnesia, of course, but that’s not your fault. There’s nothing wrong with you, everything you’ve experienced is normal—”
“Normal?”
“—for a witch.”
I gasped and leaned back a little. “A WHAT?”
He gave me a small smile. “Saffie, you are a witch.”
“A witch?” My eyes widened. I shook my head so hard and fast it hurt. I waved my hands in front of me. “No, no. You’re confused. I-I-I’m not a w-witch. No, no. Landreia’s the witch. She runs a witch shop—”
Cooper grabbed my hands and held them up between our faces. That golden glitter poured out of my palms and into the air around us, shimmering and sparkling in the sunlight peeking through the windows. My heart stopped.
“This is magic, Saffie. Your magic.” Cooper grinned. Then he arched one blond eyebrow and gently kicked my feet aside – revealing two golden footprints in the rug. “And so is that.”
My jaw dropped. I shook my head. “No…no, no. Can’t…no. Magic?”
Cooper let go of my hand and raised his own. Orange mist spilled out from his palm then coiled around his hand and fingers. He pursed his lips then pointed his finger at his head. The orange shimmery mist floated up and wrapped around his hair – light flashed and then long, wavy red hair that matched mine fell down to his hips. I gasped and sat up straight. He grinned and one of his front teeth was purple.
My jaw hit the floor. I dove for the hair and ran my fingers through the soft strands. “It’s so…real.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, well, so is magic.” He waved his hand and he went back to his normal appearance.
I shook my head. “I…I…what?” My mind was spinning so fast I couldn’t tell which way was up or down. I had so many questions yet I was completely blank.
“Magic is real, Saffie. And there’s lots of different types of magic in the world, and different types of people who have it. There’s witches…shifters…” he counted with his fingers “vampires…the Fae—”
“Wait, all of those are real?” When he nodded a little squeal left my lips. I pushed my hair back. “And why do you think I’m…I’m…a witch?”
Cooper looked pointedly at my hands and the golden glittery mist still pouring out of them, then he looked back at my face and shrugged. “I mean, unless you’ve had a thirst for blood recently that you haven’t told anyone?”
Savannah, Gigi, and Landreia
all giggled.
“No, but…” I shook my head and my legs started to bounce again. The gold glitter grew thicker and spread over to the fireplace. My heart was pounding but my thoughts were even wilder. “But you just met me. You didn’t know about this until just now? How did you know? How do you know?”
Savannah grimaced. “I told him, Safferella…after last night…what I saw…you had to be…”
“And she was right. But I also can feel it.” I must’ve made a face because Cooper held both hands up. “Because I’m a witch as well — let me explain some things, okay?”
I nodded.
“All right, so the term witch is like a nickname or slang –our species is really called Arcana and we’ve been around since humans were first created. I won’t go into that whole origin story because I don’t think that’s your biggest concern right now, but our species is one of the oldest in this realm. Now, like any species, there have to be people who are in charge, who keep the order of civilizations…in humans, modernly speaking, you have governments with presidents, prime ministers, and still some kings and queens. But for Arcana, we have The Coven—”
“Coven Headquarters,” I heard myself say.
Cooper nodded. “Exactly. The Coven is made up of twenty-two arcana and each person has been selected by the Goddess herself. Civilians don’t vote for Coven members, it’s decided by our higher power. Those chosen are gifted with extra power and magical abilities so that they can protect the civilians – still with me? I’m kinda crash coursing this right now.”
I sighed and put my face in my hands. “I’m with you. In theory…so…are you a Coven member?”
He grinned. “Yes. Very good. You’re quick. I am in The Coven, yes. And Coven members can sense magic, we can feel it. So even if your friends had not told me a single thing about you and I had just passed you on the street, I would have known immediately that you are a witch. But the gold magic helps.”
I looked down at my hands and stared at…my magic. Part of me was startled by this revelation and a little scared, but deep down in my gut…it was as familiar as my own name. “So, I’m a witch.”
“Yes,” Cooper said softly.
“Okay…” I nodded and glanced around the room at the four of them. Butterflies filled my stomach. “And…um…exactly how many witches are in this room right now?”
Cooper grinned and raised his hand.
Landreia chuckled and held her hand high.
Savannah grimaced and chewed on her lip…then lifted her hand up.
I looked to Gigi, who had not raised her hand, and frowned. “You were a penguin.”
Gigi blushed bright pink. “I was.”
I blinked. “But you’re not a witch.”
She giggled and shook her head. “Nope. I’m a shifter. We’re an entirely different species but not dissimilar to you witches.”
My breath left me in a rush. I leaned back against the sofa and groaned. “And you’re telling me this now instead of days ago because…?
The three of them exchanged glances.
“They’re civilians, Saffie. They can’t feel magic the same way I can.” Cooper shrugged. “The Coven also has strict laws about telling humans the truth – as in, don’t.”
Savannah rushed over and sat on the coffee table next to Cooper. Her cheeks were flushed. “We can get in big, big trouble if we tell humans, Safferella. It’s for our own safety, otherwise witch hunts would be running rampant like they did in the middle ages and shit. I suspected it early on, there’s just something so witchy about you…but I had to be sure. That’s why I had us try light as a feather last night—”
“That was a test?” I shrieked. “That was terrifying! We almost killed Gigi on the ceiling fan!”
Cooper chuckled then covered his mouth with his hand. “Sorry, not funny.”
Gigi giggled and plopped down on the other couch behind him. “Yeah, it is. Who would’ve thought I’d be lifted that high?”
Savannah pointed to Gigi. “Exactly. I’m a witch, I grew up with other witches in Eden and went to our witch school Edenburg. Like I grew up doing light as a feather and never, not even once, did we lift someone more than two feet off the ground. That was new for me.”
I grunted and threw my hands up. “Then why did we do a damn séance?”
Cooper’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. He leaned back, turned to Savannah beside him, and pursed his lips. “Yeah, Savannah.”
She glanced back to Gigi – who shrugged.
“This is mutiny, ma’am.” Savannah shook her head. “Listen, y’all, no way could I have expected that to happen – and that’s the hill I’m gon’ die on.”
I narrowed my eyes. “We almost did die on that hill.”
“Nahhh, I mean yea I was scared shitless but…I don’t think they could’ve killed us.”
“The demons could have!”
Cooper’s face snapped to me. “Demons? No one mentioned demons. Saffie?”
I groaned and rested my elbows on my knees and held my face in my palms. “The night I woke on the wharf I saw a wolf-like thing but not. Then last night the spirit of Bridget Bishop stopped me and then she yelled demons. There were three of those wolf things, that’s how we got separated.”
Cooper cursed. “Demon activity is high since Samhain, The Coven has been working on it but it’s going to take a while. Civilians need to be extra cautious these days. I would avoid going out at night.”
Landreia shuddered. “Demons. When she said wolf thing that first night I worried it was a demon.Wish I were wrong.”
“But this still doesn’t explain why we did the séance!” I jumped to my feet and started to pace in front of the fireplace.
I just couldn’t sit still anymore. My steps left glittery footprints on the hardwood floor as I walked. My mind replayed every moment of the night before in the cemetery. The spell. The candles. The fairyflies. The ice. The grass. The flowers. The spirits. “Wait. Hold on. That was all me, wasn’t it? That’s what you’re trying to not say…all of what happened last night was because of me.”
Landreia shook her head. “No, love, I don’t think they’re saying—"
“But they are and it was.” Oh god, oh god. I groaned and tugged on my hair. “They told me they do seances all the time in that cemetery and nothing like that happened, that means I caused that. And if this gold stuff is my magic then it was all over the cemetery – and then the flowers and grass and ice—”
“Ice is a normal occurrence with spirits.” Cooper frowned. “Did you say flowers and grass?”
I bit my lip and nodded, then I stopped pacing and faced him. “It’s happened a few times now…like…I touched a tree and vines popped out…or I touched a dead bush and it sprouted leaves and flowers…”
Gigi gasped and sat forward. “Last night the whole cemetery went from winter to spring in seconds.”
Cooper frowned and cocked his head to the side. “And this is from you?”
My stomach tightened. I didn’t like the way he said that, like this one part was unusual. I chewed on my thumbnail and nodded. “I-I think so?”
“Can you show me?”
I opened my mouth then closed it. “I don’t know how?”
Cooper nodded and gestured to the seat I’d vacated. “Have a seat, I’ll show you how to summon your magic.”
Summon my magic. My pulse quickened. I swallowed through a rush of nerves and hurried over to the couch and sat down. “You mean so I can use it when I want to?”
“Yeah. Every witch needs to know how to use theirs.”
Landreia smiled and patted the seat beside her. “Come on, no one better to teach you than a Coven member.”
“For reals, like this here is some serious braggin’ rights, ma’am.” Savannah wagged her eyebrows and gave me two thumbs-up. “Maybe imma take some notes too.”
“Yeah, Coop, how many people have you taught how to use their magic?” Gigi propped her chin on her hands and batted her eyelashes.
/> Cooper chuckled and shook his head. “Um…I’ve never actually been the delivery guy for this initial conversation. Usually my uncle handles that, or my brother. But I’ll do my best.”
I slid back onto the couch, reclaiming the spot I’d been in moments ago. The second my butt hit the material my nerves kicked into overdrive. That golden glitter poured out of me like a broken dam. My heart fluttered.
Cooper placed his hands on mine again and the warmth of them was calming. “Okay, you feel that energy rolling around? Feel it buzzing through your veins?”
I did. That was exactly how it felt. “Yes.”
“You control your magic, not the other way around. It’s like any other muscle.” He lifted his hands off mine but held them close by. “Now, visualize your magic. It’s like taking a deep breath…inhale it. Pull it in towards you. Tell it what you want it to do.”
I nodded and eyed the golden cloud around me. I can do this. Just breathe it in, with your hands. I licked my lips and concentrated on that buzzing sensation in my muscles. I flexed my fingers out wide then imagined my hands were like vacuums. Pull back in.
My magic obeyed my command instantly. The glittery mist floated into my palms then faded away in the blink of an eye. Once it was all gone, I grinned. “I did it.”
“That was perfect. Now…” Cooper stood and held his hand out to me. “Come with me.”
I put my hand in his and let him pull me to my feet. “Where are we going?”
“To grow some flowers, of course. Come on.” He turned and waved for us to follow.
Savannah and Gigi leapt after him like he had them by a leash. Landreia gave my arm a gentle squeeze then followed behind them. My stomach was a mess of knots but I refused to be chicken shit now. After last night, I didn’t think anything could scare me anymore. I pushed my shoulders back and skipped after them.
When I finally caught up to them they were all standing out back of the house, in the snow next to a young oak tree. I gnawed on my bottom lip and walked up to it, then placed my palm on the trunk. With winter here, this tree had gone into hibernation, shedding all its leaves and vibrancy until spring came back around.
The Cursed Witch Page 20