by Valia Lind
Noel and Owen make room as Jade and I reach the bleachers.
"I thought you were playing," I look at Owen, as he shrugs.
"Didn't feel like it."
The always quiet shifter is definitely different from the rest of his pack, but I find his presence comforting. Especially since Ben is an overactive puppy and Natalie is mean. Even though she’s been the biggest supporter of Aiden and me. It’s what they were arguing about the day they were healed. He was so afraid that what he and I had was only a prophecy, he wanted to protect me, if I didn’t feel the same. Natalie pushed him anyway.
The rest of the pack have been nice to me, but I'm not making any lasting connections yet. It'll take a while. Noel and Jade start talking immediately, while she tucks herself against her boyfriend. I smile at them, before I scan the crowd for mine. It's not hard to find him. His own eyes have already gravitated towards me and he grins.
"You guys are so sweet it's sickening," Liam announces as he plops himself in the seat beside me. Surprised, it takes me but a moment to throw my arms around him.
"I didn't think you were coming."
"Well, auntie has decided to give me a little more leeway with the portals."
Ever since the battle for the academy, as the kids began calling it, Liam has been working with Queen Amaryllis. She's become a bit more open to council and I guess that means something good came out of this for Faery too. They lost a lot of their people when the creatures attacked. We lost a few students and faculty too. It could've been worse. So I try to remain thankful, even as my heart hurts for those families.
"You're still not coming back to school?" I ask, tucking my hand around his arm.
"I think I'm better served at home. At least for the time being."
As sad as that makes me, I know he's right. The Ancients are part of our world now. There is not one perfect spell that can send them all back to their slumber. But we can take them, one at a time. My parents will continue searching for answers. And so will I. Thunderbird Academy is once again spelled, and is the safest place, with student coming to find refuge her. It's strange to think how much our lives have changed in such a short period of time. Now, even almost two months later, we are still feeling the aftershocks. But we're not giving up. We're living our lives to the fullest.
Just then the whistle blows, so I turn my attention back to the field. A referee takes centerfield, his eyes on the crowd, his voice amplified by magic.
"Everyone knows the rules of the game. The field has been nullified of all magic. This is a human game, and will be played as such."
"Who's idea again was it to play football?" Natalie comments taking a seat on the bleachers in front of us.
"Bored people?" I reply, shrugging. She throws me a quick smile over her shoulder, before she realizes what she's done and turns back to the field. Aiden and Ben are both playing, and they take their positions grinning.
"If they get hurt," I comment, "I refuse to heal them."
Aiden raises his head as if he heard me, a devilish smile on his face. A moment passes between us, an electric current full of promise and love. I may be a high schooler, but I know a good thing when I see it. As I glance around at my friends, I'm determined to hold on to it.
No matter what.
<<<<>>>>
Maddie’s List of Old Slang Words/Phrases
Abercrombie - a “know-it-all”
All wet - “no good”
Debby Downer - someone who is constantly making others feel bad or dampening the mood of a group with negative comments
Flabbergasted - surprise greatly; astonish
Take the rap - taking responsibility for someone else’s crime
Trip for biscuits - a task that yields nothing.
Source: paper-dragon.com, first hand experience
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Next in the world of witches and shifters!
Coming April 2020!!
Preorder today: Witch Condemned
I never thought I’d kill a man - but now there’s blood on my hands.
All my life, I have done what is asked of me. I studied hard, I trained, I worked to create the strongest spells the coven has ever seen. My one purpose was to make my parents proud.
But then, my best friend is murdered and I am blamed for her death. Except I knew who killed her, so I took the matters into my own hands.
Now, I’m an inmate at one of the notorious supernatural prisons, with nothing but my skills to keep me alive.
This is not a place to make friends. Especially not with the mysterious shifter who’s been assigned to guard me.
But I’m determined to get out. And to clear my name. Because the killer was sent by someone much worse and my family, and our way of life, are in danger.
My name is Cordelia Keller, inmate number 483285, and I’ve got a plan.
Witch Condemned is the first book in a thrilling upper YA paranormal romance series by USA Today bestselling author Valia Lind that is full of twists and turns, and one heart stopping adventure!
Want more from the Hawthorne Witches?
See Harper and Brianna, Maddie’s sisters, take on the Ancients in the complete season one of Hawthorne Chronicles!
Charmed meets The Originals in this exciting paranormal romance series by USA Today bestselling author Valia Lind!
Welcome to Hawthorne. A town. A home. A sanctuary.
It’s a land of magic, where traditions run deep. Governed by an ancient coven, it’s a place where supernaturals and humans can live in peace.
Until now.
An Ancient evil is rising on the outskirts of their town and it’s up to the Hawthorne coven to find a way to defeat it or their way of life is over.
Four strong witches. Four incredible romances. Four life or death battles.
Can one town stand against an Ancient evil?
Season One includes:
Guardian Witch
Witch's Fire
Witch's Heart
Tempest Witch
Get hooked on witches, shifters, and magic in this first season of a thrilling adventure!
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author. Photographer. Artist. Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, Valia Lind has always had a love for the written word. She wrote her first published book on the bathroom floor of her dormitory, while procrastinating to study for her college classes. Upon graduation, she has moved her writing to more respectable places, and has found her voice in Young Adult fiction. Her YA thriller, Pieces of Revenge is the recipient of the 2015 Moonbeam Children's Book Award.
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Also by Valia Lind
Hawthorne Chronicles - Season One
Guardian Witch (Hawthorne Chronicles, #1)
Witch’s Fire (Hawthorne Chronicles, #2)
Witch’s Heart (Hawthorne Chronicles, #3)
Tempest Witch (Hawthorne Chronicles, #4)
The Complete Season One Box Set
Hawthorne Chronicles - Season Two
Of Water and Moonlight (Thunderbird Academy, #1)
Of Destiny and Illusions (Thunderbird Academy, #2)
Of Storms and Triumphs (Thunderbird Academy, #3)
The Skazka Chronicles
Remembering Majyk (The Skazka Chronicles, #1)
Majyk Reborn (The Skazka Chronicles, #2)
The Faithful Soldier (The Skazka Chronicles, #2.5)
Majyk Reclaimed (The Skazka Chronicles, #3)
Complet
e Box Set
Blackwood Supernatural Prison Series
Witch Condemned (#1) - Coming April 30th, 2020!
Havenwood Falls (PNR standalone)
Predestined
The Titanium Trilogy
Pieces of Revenge (Titanium, #1)
Scarred by Vengeance (Titanium, #2)
Ruined in Retribution (Titanium, #3)
Complete Box Set
Falling Duology
Falling by Design
Edge of Falling