Emersyn smiled. “Ah, yes. Everyone, this is Leila Wright. Your Wand Leader.”
Oh yeah. Leila.
Leila held a huge stack of papers in one hand, tucked close to her body. But with her free hand, she waved and gave us a huge smile. “Hello, my Wandees!”
“Okay, I’ve got to go talk to the Swords now, but you’re in great hands with Leila.” Emersyn began backing toward the door. “Good luck, everyone, and enjoy SOMA.”
I sighed and tapped my fingers on the desk. I need to fix this, what I did. Soon.
Chapter Thirteen
Caroline
“What’s your dream job as a Wand?”
I looked up from my notebook at our professor. It was Monday morning, day four at SOMA, and I was in my class that was only for Wands students. Professor Wallace told us he was sixty-five years old, but he looked about forty. He didn’t have any wrinkles and he was in good physical shape, but he did have a scruffy white beard and long silver hair that he tied back behind his head. Apparently he graduated from Edenburg back in the day, then went on to be Lead Page in Los Angeles before retiring for a few years.
He openly told us how my mother had persuaded him to come teach here.
“Our dream job?” I frowned and tapped my pen on my chin. “Anything?”
“You may or may not have a career as an adult using your magic. Most of us assimilate into the human workforce.” Wallace leaned against his desk and unbuttoned his tweed vest. “But we’re Wands. Obviously, you could get jobs as Pages or even Lead Page. However, those aren’t the only ways to make a living. So think about it. I want you to be creative, and this is just for fun. You’ve all been sorted into Wands for a reason, so let’s explore that.”
The class fell silent, including me. I was trying to think about what I liked to use my magic for and how I could turn that into a career.
Wallace rubbed his hands together. “Okay, Mr. Kincaid, what you got for me?”
Noah’s jaw hung open. He stared at Professor Wallace for a few seconds before he said, “Gimme a sec. I’m not dumb. I’m just panicking.”
The whole class erupted in laughter.
I threw my hand over my mouth and laughed. I felt that. The guy next to me felt that. The whole world felt that. It was weird, but ever since school had started, Noah and I were getting closer. I found myself more and more wanting him around.
“All right, don’t hurt yourself, Kincaid.” Professor Wallace chuckled. “How about you, Ms. Davenport?”
I chewed on the end of my pen and thought about it. “Well, is there such a thing as a Page-for-hire?”
Wallace cocked his head to the side. “What would you want to be hired to do?”
“I like to create magical closets, like the coatrooms at Student Services.” I leaned forward and doodled on my paper. “Also, I’ve been using my wand to apply makeup. So, it would be cool if I could create these things for other witches in the community—and not only wealthy ones.”
“Okay, okay. This is exactly what I’m talking about.” He snapped his fingers. “I actually think that’s a fantastic idea, Caroline. Especially if your services were affordable.”
I grinned and my cheeks warmed. “Thank you.”
“I like to use magic when I’m lazy,” Noah drawled and shrugged. “Can I make a job out of that?”
“Probably, Noah.” Professor Wallace shook his head and laughed. “You see, you’re young, but you’re not that young. In a couple years, you’ll be out in the real world trying to make a living. I’ve found that, for Wands especially, it’s important to find paths that allow us to be creative. So this semester, your first big project is to create your own business and pitch it to me.”
Chapter Fourteen
Emersyn
I leaned in the doorway of Headmaster Muller’s office and knocked on the door. Deacon, Cheryl, and Headmaster Muller all looked up from the papers they had spread out over a huge table.
“Emersyn, hi,” Deacon said with a voice more tired than I liked to hear from him.
I smiled. “Hi, what’s going on?”
“Oh, hello, Emersyn!” Claudia said as she slid past me and into the room, carrying a stack of books. She glanced over her shoulder to me. “Have you met Silas?”
“Silas?” I frowned just as a wave a heat rolled over me. Fortunately warmth never bothered me. “He’s here?”
“Emersyn.” Silas almost smiled.
Claudia set the books on the table. “Right, of course you know him.” She chuckled.
Deacon stood and crossed the room to shake Silas’s hand. “Good to see you again, man.”
Silas nodded. He was a man of very few words.
Deacon turned to me. “I spoke with Koth earlier, and he offered to send Silas down to help us get their section of the school set up.”
“We are happy to be involved,” Silas said softly.
“Which is good, because I want to make sure we have exactly what their students would need.” Deacon gestured to the table. “We’ve got the floorplans and stuff ready to show you.”
My stomach growled. I gasped as everyone looked to me.
Silas smirked.
I bit my lip and shrugged. “I was busy during lunch and forgot to eat…”
Deacon frowned and strolled over to me. He tucked my hair behind my ear. “We’ve only got Silas tonight. Koth is not comfortable having him gone too long, and I agree.”
“So you’re here for a while.” I nodded and glanced at the others who’d already dug in to the papers. “Well, I can stay… Maybe I can order delivery or some—”
“No, love.” Deacon tapped under my chin, bringing my eyes up to his. “You’ve been working nonstop. Leave campus. Go out and get some fresh air. Grab a bite to eat, then come back and join us.”
I was about to say no when my stomach growled even louder.
Deacon chuckled and kissed my forehead. “Please, go eat something.”
“Okay. All right.” I groaned and stood up on my toes to kiss him. When I pulled back, I forced a smile, because I hated being away from him. “Keep your phone on loud and next to you in case I get lost.”
He winked and held his cell phone up in the air. I rolled my eyes then turned and left them to it. Koth sending Silas to help was huge. We loved the shifters and were thrilled to have them join our school, but we knew nothing about their species. But it was okay. I was a big girl. I could go out and find food on my own. I wasn’t a damsel in distress. And I was two steps away from hangry.
As I walked through the main building, I pulled out my phone and searched for restaurants near me…which turned out to be a mistake. Manhattan had food every three feet. I scrolled through the list, but I couldn’t tell which were actual restaurants and which were those little food counters inside a grocery store. Not that I was against those in general, but after a long day, I just wanted to sit down for a few minutes.
I was so absorbed in my phone and my hunger that I didn’t realize I’d walked in a direction I wasn’t familiar with until it was too late. When I did finally look up, my breath left me in a rush.
Ah crap. Okay, don’t panic. We’re not far from school, so just find something to eat then we’ll GPS our way back. Easy.
With that in mind, I looked back to my phone to see what was near me—without moving another step.
“Emersyn!”
I glanced up at the sound of my name, but I didn’t recognize the girl running up to me. My magic rushed to my hands without me calling for it. But this girl couldn’t have been more than twelve. I opened my mouth to ask who she was when I noticed an entire crowd behind her. In the blink of an eye, I was surrounded by two dozen middle school-aged girls.
Where the hell did they come from?
“Miss Bishop!”
“Empress!”
“What Suit are you?”
“Where’s Deacon?”
“What’s it like in The Coven?”
Their questions fired at me without pause. Eve
n if I wanted to answer them, I couldn’t. Their high-pitched voices were blurring into one. I took a step back—and stepped on two of them. They squealed like mice, and I cursed more colorfully than their parents would approve of. My pulse went nuts. Panic weighed down on me, trying to choke me. I felt the heat of my flames flickering near my fingers. I needed to get out of here before I accidentally set one of them on fire. They weren’t trying to hurt me. They were just little girls excited to meet the Empress, but damn.
A loud, ear-piercing whistle ripped through their voices. The girls hissed and covered their ears. I cringed and glanced up, expected to find Deacon standing there—and found Caroline Davenport.
She looked fabulous in her emerald green trench coat that matched her eyes. Her red hair was pulled to one side and pinned in place. She sashayed over in wedge heels. “What’s going on here?”
The girls all stuttered and pointed to me.
“Emersyn, come with me.” Caroline grabbed me by the elbow and gently pulled me to a black sedan idling on the curb. She opened the door and nodded her head toward the inside. “Get in, please.”
I didn’t even think—I just climbed right in. There was a part of me that didn’t trust Caroline, but in that moment, I needed saving. I slid across the tan leather seats and leaned down to see her still on the sidewalk.
Caroline put her hands on her hips. “This is not how we treat our Coven, do you hear me? Now get lost. I’m sure you have homework to do.”
The girls scattered like bugs when you turned on the light.
I sighed.
Caroline stood outside the car for another second then climbed in beside me. “Girl, are you crazy? You can’t be walking around here by yourself. You’re a celebrity in our world. Where were you going?”
“Thank you for saving me.” I groaned. “I’m too hungry to think straight. I got lost.”
Caroline chuckled and leaned forward. “Mack, bring us to Café Halo, please.”
Chapter Fifteen
Emersyn
Caroline slid out of the car then waited for me on the sidewalk. Once I was out, she grimaced. “Emersyn, I know I’ve given you no reason to trust me…and what I have to say may not mean a thing to you…but if you would allow me, I’d like to try and make amends.”
I pursed my lips and glanced up at the café next to us. “Well, you did just save me from a mob. I think that earned you a conversation, and I promise to at least listen.”
She sighed and I felt relief in her aura like a cool gust of wind. “Thank you. Here, follow me.”
Without another word, she turned and led me inside the café. The second I crossed the threshold, my stomach growled louder than a dragon. Everyone within a five-foot radius giggled, including Caroline. My cheeks warmed, and I knew I was blushing. I shrugged. I was ravenous.
“Hello, Miss Caroline!” a waitress behind the counter yelled out. “Your favorite table is open!”
Caroline smiled and waved. “Thanks, Maggie! Can you send over two of my favorites?”
I followed Caroline to the far corner of the café to where a two-person table sat unoccupied. She took the seat facing the wall and settled in. I slid into the seat against the wall, looking out at the café. It really was a charming little place. There were max twenty tables inside, but they were all filled with people. The paintings were modern French, and the waitresses’ aprons had little Eiffel Towers on them. To my right, the entire wall was made of little bay French windows that opened out like cabinet doors.
“Here, try one of these.”
I jumped and looked in front of me—and found a strange-looking doughnut on a plate. I frowned and leaned closer. It was the size of my hand and an inch or two tall. The entire top of it was covered in white powder. “What is this?”
“Heaven.” Caroline giggled. “It’s a beignet. The owner is from New Orleans, and she brought this recipe from there. Just try it.”
If I wasn’t so starved, I might’ve questioned her more, but I found myself sticking the pastry-like object into my mouth and biting. Flavor exploded in my mouth and I sighed. It was sugary and sweet and perfect. Caroline took a bite of hers and moaned a little. For a moment, neither of us attempted to speak. We just enjoyed our snack.
A young woman with a messy bun like Tegan’s strolled up to the table and placed two menus down. “I’ll be back in a minute to take your order.”
She might’ve said more, but I didn’t hear it.
A few minutes later, both of our beignets were gone.
“Okay, that was good.” I sighed and leaned back in my seat. “Smart move. Now what is it you wanted to say to me?”
Caroline sighed and pushed her red hair over her shoulder. “I wanted to explain why I acted the way I did before.”
“And you think that will excuse it? Whatever reasoning you have?”
“Excuse it? I don’t know about that. Obviously, I’d love it if you could forgive me.” She took a deep breath then exhaled. “But I think you deserve to know the truth of who I am, not the person I presented to you.”
I frowned. “Okay, I’m listening.”
She pursed her lips. “I heard rumors that you grew up as an only child. Is that true?”
I blinked. “Um…yeah. For the most part. I knew I had my little brother, but he only spent summers with us. But the rest of the time, it was just my mom and me.”
“Were you and your mom close?”
This made me smile. “Yes. Very close.”
“Now, imagine being an only child and having two parents who were never home. A stupid rich father who thought buying me things made up for him working all the time. A mother who loved her job so much that she thought fun meant hanging out with her at work.” Caroline’s eyes turned sad and she sighed. “Everyone thinks money makes things better, but it just makes life easier. Not happier. I was alone all the time. My closest friends were our staff. I wasn’t allowed to go to public school with humans, and none of the other witches wanted to come to my house because they were afraid of my parents.”
“Afraid?”
She nodded. “The Major and Lead Page of New York are two of the most prestigious careers in all of our species. Outside The Coven, obviously.”
“Oh…right. I guess I get that.” My heart hurt for her. “No one would come over?”
“No one…but Deacon.” She looked out the window and stared into space. “His mother was the other Major, and his father was the Minor. He was the only person who understood me and my life. He was living the exact same nightmare. So…we became best friends. We got each other. Suddenly, life went from complete misery and darkness to having a small batch of sunshine. Deacon gave that happiness to me. We were children, so it wasn’t romantic or anything like that.”
I leaned forward, accidentally captivated by her story.
“When we were ten, our parents shipped us off to Edenburg, because that was how old they were when they went.” She chuckled. “I hated it. My roommate was weird and funky, and nothing like I’d ever seen in a kid. I know this will sound terrible, but my entire life I’d always gotten whatever I wanted. People were afraid of maddening my parents, so they spoiled me. But…”
“But not in Eden?” I guessed.
She nodded. “I should point out that the entire Coven attended Edenburg at this time. Tennessee, Cooper, Royce, Henley…all of them.”
My eyes widened. “Oh, right. I always forget that.”
“To make matters worse, my only friend in the whole world, Deacon, wasn’t giving me his sole attention anymore.” She rolled her eyes. “That boy has always been charming. People are drawn to him. And his two cousins were Coven-members. So I got my roommate kicked out of my room. I told an awful lie to Headmaster Daniel, and the poor girl had to have her own room. Then I called my parents and cried, saying how much I hated it. I was home the next day. In my mind, this was going to make things better with them. But nothing changed.”
“That must’ve been hard,” I heard myself whis
per.
“Anyway, over the next six years, Deacon found us other friends: Olivia, Oliver, Liam, Noah, and Scarlet. Things got a little better…but even then, Deacon was the only person who understood me. We used to prefer hanging out just the two of us because even the others weren’t like us.” She fiddled with a diamond ring on her pointer finger. “In my head, Deacon and I were exactly the same. Two witches born to powerful and important parents that wanted nothing to do with that life. I never wanted to be important. I just wanted to live my normal, gloriously rich life. And I always thought Deacon wanted that, too.”
I frowned, but she didn’t see it.
“I assumed he and I would eventually be together. It just made sense. We were exactly the same, so it was perfect.” She sighed. “He was busy trying to piss his parents off every second of the day, but I assumed he didn’t want me to be a part of that. I thought I was waiting patiently for his rebellion to run its course, then we’d run off together.”
I must’ve made a face because she chuckled and shook her head.
“I know, I know.” She looked me straight in the eye. “When he showed up with you, we all just assumed you were another form of his rebellion. And then…then I saw it. I saw the change in him. Then I realized it wasn’t a change at all, but a veil I hadn’t realized I’d had on him. It all came crashing down. Granted, far too late. I’d been so blinded by my own plans to see him for who he was. In hindsight, it was so obvious. He’s always wanted to be something more than a civilian. I have no idea how I didn’t see it.”
I opened my mouth then shut it. This was a lot of information to process.
She leaned closer to me. “He never liked me, Emersyn, not the way I thought he did. But more importantly, I realized I didn’t like him like that. At that Gala, when I saw you two and your soulmate glyph…it didn’t even bother me. I should’ve been devastated, but instead, I was pissed that my plan was ruined.”
The City Witch Page 7