“Just relax and breathe. Your body will calm down, and the glowing will stop,” Tennessee said without letting go of me. His fingers dug into my skin, like he, too, needed to hold me.
So long as you’re holding me, my body will not calm down. But I wasn’t about to fight him. Instead, I nodded and reveled in the warmth of his chest, the sizzle of his body against mine. Part of me knew I shouldn’t let a boy hold me like this while only in a bikini. I ignored the thought. I liked the way he smelled like fresh rain even when covered in sweat, salt water, and monster blood. He rested his chin on the top of my head and squeezed tighter. Tennessee’s heart pounded against my face.
“Guys.” Libby’s voice broke through my Heavenly state. “Guys, look at the moon.”
Tennessee turned, still holding me tight to his chest. I didn’t want to pull away from him, but I needed to see what they saw. I craned my neck around and pressed my cheek against his chest. The heat coming off his skin made me want to close my eyes and go to sleep. Focus. I gripped his hips—focus—and peered around his biceps.
All of my lust for the guy I clung to fell to the background of my mind. The moon had tripled in size and dropped low on the horizon. The normal white glow had changed to a warm, rosy pink while we watched.
“Henley, did you…do this?” Libby asked.
I frowned. “How could Henley do that?” But no one answered me.
“No, she didn’t.” Tennessee’s voice rumbled against my cheek. “Henley, does this mean what I think?”
“Yes. Crone Island,” Henley whispered.
“Crone Island?” one of the guys asked.
“The Goddess is telling us we have to go to Crone Island.” Tennessee took a deep breath. “Our quest starts now.”
“Quest?” I pulled my head back to look up at him.
Tennessee stared at the moon another second then looked down at me. He had the strangest expression on his face, like he’d just remembered something and it wasn’t pleasant. His black eyebrows furrowed and scrunched together. His lips pressed together into a line. He exhaled long and hard, and without taking his eyes off mine, he took a step back…away from me. No. Wait. Stop. Pain shot through my heart.
“But who is going?” one of the girls asked. “The Goddess always tells us.”
“And She’s about to,” Cooper said, his voice rough and scratchy. “Look at the stars.”
We all turned to Cooper, but he pointed to the moon. I had no idea what they were talking about, and no one felt the need to explain. When I looked back to the moon, I stared in shock. The stars in the black, cloudless sky began to move and make shapes.
“The stars are moving,” Emersyn whispered from right behind me. She tugged on my arm. “Tegan. The. Stars. Are. Moving.”
I nodded but couldn’t find words to speak. The stars twinkled and swirled around the pink moon like a ring. They formed a shape above it, and to my surprise, it was the number eighteen in Roman numerals. XVIII…just like on Henley’s arm. Within seconds, the stars took form again, this time into an X. Before I could react, XVII and XV appeared, continuing the circle around the moon. Could it be a coincidence the first two numbers were tattooed on Henley and Royce’s arms? If I turned around, would I find the next two on people?
The stars twinkled a little brighter as they formed the next number. When they settled, I gasped. The number VI shimmered from its spot on the ring around the moon. My gaze shifted to Tennessee’s left forearm immediately, but I already knew it was there. The rest of the group sighed and nodded, like seeing that symbol reassured them somehow. I turned back to the moon and saw two final numbers around the moon, completing the circle. II and III.
“What does this mean?” I asked and looked around at the group. “Those numbers mean people? Who? Why?”
“Henley, Royce, Cooper, and Libby.” Tennessee cleared his throat. He ran a hand through his long black hair and sighed. “The Goddess has spoken. We’ve been chosen for this quest. We leave for the marina now.”
“Someone answer me, please. What is happening?” I reached out and grabbed his wrist. “Tennessee…please.”
“We’ll explain everything soon. For now, get your clothes back on,” Tennessee said. His voice was rough but firm, like he was in charge. He looked over to his group of friends then back to me. “The other two symbols are yours.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tegan
“What do you mean the other two symbols are ours?” I asked for the twentieth time, but still no one answered me.
We were on a sailboat, and I wasn’t even sure how we got there. Everything happened so fast. Emersyn and I stood there watching land get farther away. Our boat rocked as it picked up speed and raced toward the dark horizon. The wind pushed against my back, making my soaking wet clothes cling to my skin. I shivered and rubbed at the goose bumps on my bare arms. At least they’d stopped glowing.
“Is someone going to acknowledge our presence?” I asked.
When no one answered yet again, Emersyn whimpered and plopped down on the white leather bench beside us. The sailboat was gorgeous, at least. White hull, white sails, white leather seats, and light brown wood floors. But I didn’t care in the moment. I wanted answers. No, I deserved answers. The salty ocean breeze did nothing to calm me down.
My blood boiled with anger. I whistled like my father had taught me, the kind that made everyone jump and cover their ears.
When five pairs of eyes snapped to me in surprise, I shouted, “I’m wet. I’m cold, and I’m freaking out now. Somebody answer my damn question right this second!”
Emersyn jumped back to her feet to take my side. “And don’t you dare lie!”
“You’re right. I apologize.” Tennessee stepped forward with his palms raised in surrender. His voice was steady and his breathing calm. There was a wicked twinkle in his eyes, and it made my pulse beat a little faster. He walked up until he stood a foot in front of us and then glanced down at our wet clothes. “Let me fix these wet clothes first.”
I assumed he’d pull out towels or a blanket, or maybe even give me the dry shirt off his back. My cheeks flushed at the idea of seeing him shirtless. Instead, he wiggled his fingers in the air and waved his hand over the length of my body. Warmth washed over me, inch by inch, following the movement of his hands. I looked down. Water flew out of my clothes and floated in the air. Within seconds, I was completely dry, like I’d never gone swimming at all. My jaw dropped. I looked up to Tennessee with wide eyes. Water swirled through the air, wrapping around his hand.
“What the hell…”.
“I’m good with water.” His lips curved up on one side into that sexy smirk I’d seen before on the beach. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll explain.”
“I’ll sit if I want to,” I snapped. I was sick of being ignored and placated. “Talk. Now.”
Libby walked up behind Tennessee and brushed her hand down his arm. My vision narrowed in on her hand on his skin. I bit my lip. I wanted to hate her. Why is she touching him?
In the moonlight, her light brown hair almost looked gray. Her smile was friendly, but her hazel eyes were sharp. In a soft voice she said, “Sit down.”
I took a few steps back and sat down on the white bench. Emersyn sat at the exact same time I did. Wait, what? I wasn’t going to sit. I wanted to make a point. What had made me sit? I narrowed my eyes at Libby. She’d made me.
The hair on my arms stood tall. “What did you… How? Mind control?”
“Persuasive speech.” Libby smiled, and this time it reached her eyes. “We’re going to explain right now, but it’s a lot to take in. Sitting is better than fainting.”
“Yeah, we already have one injured tonight,” Royce said as he walked up behind them. He grinned and took the seat next to Emersyn. “You guys did great back there, by the way.”
“Wait. Easton! Is he okay? We just left him!” Emersyn’s voice rose in panic.
“Kessler is already there. The circle is in motion,” Henle
y said and pulled a cell phone away from her ear. She smiled at her friends then sat down next to me. “He’s in good care.”
“That’s good to know, but are we?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
Tennessee sat on the bench across from me. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his black denim-clad knees. My body lit up like the Fourth of July. He was so close to me, our knees only inches apart. I wanted to sit forward and lean into him so I could feel his breath on my face. The wind blew from behind him, and his fresh spring rain smell washed over me. It took everything in me not to close my eyes and soak him in.
“Well.” Tennessee cleared his throat. “Did we let you die tonight?”
Focus. Heat rushed to my face. “No.”
He smirked. “Did I let you die at Hidden Kingdom? Did I let that demon fly away with you at The Gathering?” He cocked his head to the side and watched me with soft eyes.
I knew my face had to be bright red, for more reasons than embarrassment. I swallowed. He had saved me many times. “No…”
“Exactly. You’ve seen a lot now. I know you have questions.” He held his fingers up in front of my face to stop me from asking them. “We need to explain things first.”
“We had a plan for telling you,” Cooper added. He threw his hands up in the air and dropped down beside Tennessee, his large body dwarfing the seat. He was a smidge taller than Tennessee, but he was thick with bulky muscles whereas Tennessee had slender muscles. The moonlight washed out everyone’s coloring, so Cooper’s short blond hair looked white. “But The Goddess has changed them for us.”
“Since we’re on a bit of a time crunch,” Libby said while she crossed over and sat next to Henley, “perhaps we should start with her question? About two and three?”
Cooper, Royce, Henley, and Libby all looked to Tennessee with expectant eyes. He must be in charge. Tennessee narrowed his eyes and stared at the ground like he was thinking really hard. The six of us sat in a rectangle around him, waiting for an answer. It took every ounce of control I didn’t realize I had to stay quiet. They promised to explain, and Tennessee had saved my life a few times, so I figured I owed him some patience. Some, not a lot.
Tennessee shook his head, his long black hair swinging in the open ocean breeze. “Tegan already knows those numbers apply to her and Emersyn. You can’t learn algebra two before algebra one, so I’m going to backtrack.”
“I don’t know what Tegan knows,” Emersyn said in a small voice.
“Exactly why I need to start at the beginning.” Tennessee took a deep breath. “Okay, brace yourselves. This is a lot. When Adam and Eve fell from Eden, it created a ripple effect and subsequently let evil seep into our world. This created non-human species, ones I’m sure you’ve heard of…like vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters…but the presence of these species weakened the veil between Heaven, Hell, and other dimensions. This allowed spirits to come back, both the good from Heaven and the evil from Hell. Also, this allowed fairies and demons to enter into our realm. Thankfully, the wall between dimensions has always prevented and protected against any major demons or the Fae Court from entering our realm. With me so far?”
Holy hell. I nodded and leaned forward to mirror his pose. “Yes. Please continue.”
He smirked and nodded. “Okay, so, the world needed protecting from all of these other species, right? That’s when The Creator birthed the Goddess. You probably heard us talk about Her on the beach. It's the Goddess's job to patrol the supernatural elements and keep the world safe. She decided to create Her own species to help Her with this job. To create this new species, she mixed Her own blood with the blood of Angels from Heaven, and with Sapiens—or as you call them, humans.”
My eyes were probably as wide as the moon. My heart raced in my chest. I wanted to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming, but that burning mark on my chest hurt enough to let me know I was, in fact, awake. Emersyn was silent beside me, but my body sang with adrenaline.
I licked my lips. “Are you all this other species? What is it called?”
Tennessee exchanged glances with the others before looking back to me and shrugging. “Yes, we are. We are an ancient race, and we have our own language just as old. However, it’s tedious and cumbersome to use. For now, just know the world—ourselves included—call us witches.”
I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. Witches. I reached up with trembling fingers and pulled my pentagram necklace out from under my shirt. My whole life, for as long as I could remember, I wished I were a witch.
I held the charm out for them to see. “Like this?”
Cooper frowned, his light green eyes sharp. “Does your father know you wear that?”
Tennessee rolled his eyes and waved off Cooper. “Yes, that is one of our oldest symbols.”
I wanted to know what Cooper meant by the question, but I had bigger fish to fry. “So…you’re witches. All of you. Everyone at the party tonight?”
Tennessee nodded and tucked his black hair behind his ears. “Yes. We’re all witches.”
“Wow,” I mumbled and leaned back. Holy crap. My brain buzzed with questions, but I wasn’t sure which to ask first. I glanced around at the others, expecting to find them laughing at me for falling for the joke, except they were all solemn. Well, Cooper looked concerned with his eyebrows scrunched and his hands wringing together.
“You’re not a gang… You’re a coven.” Puzzle pieces started clicking into place.
“We are, yes. But not all witches are.” Tennessee rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s only one, The Coven, and it strictly has twenty-two members.”
“You’re number four. That’s why you all have numbers on your arms?”
He grinned and it made my heart do weird things. “Are you familiar with tarot cards?”
“Yes. I have a few decks.” Though I hid them away from my father’s eyes.
“No.” Emersyn shook her head. Her arms were wrapped around her body tight.
Royce leaned over and draped his arm around her shoulders.
She smiled at him. “But I’ll listen.”
“Okay, so there are twenty-two major arcana in the tarot cards. Why? Because The Goddess decided that’s how many witches were needed to rule and lead the rest of our race. Why these cards are in mass production is another long story we can tell you later. Each card represents different things and purposes.”
I raised my hand to interrupt Tennessee. When he raised his eyebrows, I took that as my cue to speak. “How do these twenty-two cards get chosen?”
“The Goddess selects us. It can happen at any time in life, from within the womb or on our deathbed.” Tennessee leaned forward again and held out his left forearm for us to see. The others immediately copied him, each holding out their own. “When She chooses us, She Marks our skin with the number corresponding to our Card.”
“So, which is which?” Emersyn asked. She leaned forward and ran her finger over Cooper’s Mark.
Since she was touching, I seized my chance to do the same. I reached forward and ran my fingertips over Tennessee’s Mark. Energy sizzled up my arm and sent a shiver down my spine. His eyes burned into mine.
I licked my lips, focusing on his Mark, then bit them to stop myself from smiling like a psycho. “Yeah, what she said.”
Tennessee chuckled. “Well, Royce is The Wheel of Fortune, Cooper is The Star, Libby is The Devil, Henley is The Moon, and I am—”
“The Emperor,” I whispered, accidentally interrupting him.
He nodded with a smirk.
I sighed. At least I’d picked up on one thing right. “So, you are in charge?”
“Yep,” the other four answered in unison.
“No.” Tennessee buried his head in his hands. I noticed for the first time that he wore a few silver rings, except it was too dark to see them clearly. “We’ve been over this. No, I’m not.”
“Whatever you say, boss.” Royce leaned back and winked. He turned his sapphire eyes to us and nodded h
is head in Tennessee’s direction. “I’m still waiting for a blood test to prove he’s human at all.”
Tennessee groaned. He waved his hand, and water splashed Royce right in the face.
I sat there watching them toss water and flower petals at each other for a second, though I had no idea where the petals came from. I had a feeling they were intentionally giving us a reprieve to let us process the information, and I was grateful for it. There were so many things left to question. I glanced around at the five of them, inspecting their Card Marks, when it dawned on me. Tennessee had said Tegan already knows those numbers apply to her and Emersyn.
Their laughter cut off and silence followed. Only the rush of the wind and the breaking of waves under our boat reached my ears. Everyone turned and looked at me, including Emersyn. Apparently, I’d said that out loud.
I blushed and pushed my hair out of my face. “I only knew because you said we had to go with you, and none of the others did. They all have numbers.”
Again, everyone looked to Tennessee. I did, too, though I always looked to him. I knew what I wanted him to say, but I was just too afraid he wouldn’t. Tell me I am. Please. Please.
“Tegan…” he fidgeted with the silver ring on his left pointer finger, “you and Emersyn are one of us. You’re witches.”
“When you say…” Emersyn waved her hand in the air, gesturing between us.
I was too excited to speak. I needed a minute to rein myself in.
“You’re witches. We knew you were moving here. That was why I approached you at lunch today.” Henley smiled wide, and suddenly everything made sense. It all clicked. “We’re all like a huge family, and we protect our own. That’s you guys, too. We didn’t want to freak you out, so we figured we’d let you get to know us for a few days before dropping this bomb on you.”
“But like I said,” Cooper jumped in, “the Goddess has made other arrangements.”
“Yeah, shit hit the fan, and now our quest starts tonight,” Royce grumbled.
“And we have to be a part of this quest?” Emersyn asked. “Why?”
The Lost Witch (The Coven: Elemental Magic Book 1) Page 9