“Not really,” I muttered as we walked by a group of kids in the hall. I saw Olivia in the crowd and she glared as we went by.
“Why does she hate me so much?” I whispered.
Chase followed my gaze. “Olivia? Well, she’s my ex and she doesn’t like me talking to any girls, I guess.”
“For real? Your ex?” I just couldn’t imagine Chase with a girl like her. She seemed so snobby and he seemed so down to earth. I caught him glowering at her and I grabbed his arm. “Please don’t egg her on,” I begged as we turned down the hall toward the nurse’s office.
“Don’t let her get to you. Olivia pretty much hates everyone except for her one girl posse.”
“Amy?”
He nodded. “Yep. Hatred’s funny. It eats at anything good left inside you like a cancer growing until all you have left is a black abyss of nothingness.” Chase opened the door to the nurse’s office and ushered me inside.
“Deep…” I lifted my lip in disgust. “Unfortunately she’s still pretty, even though she’s a bitch.”
“Not as cute as you.”
I snorted. “Seriously, you need glasses. Have you seen me today?”
“You’re just having a bad day, but underneath the war wounds you’re still pretty cute.”
The nurse rushed over, obviously catching sight of my purpling jaw and escorted me to a chair. She crouched in front of me with a gasp. “What happened?”
“Just fell, no big deal.”
Chase leaned against the wall, looking as beautiful as ever with his blond hair perfectly styled, dressed in his usual athletic gear.
The nurse placed an icepack against my jaw. “Okay young man. I’ll take it from here.”
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Chase asked over his shoulder as he walked to the door.
“Yeah. No surgery required,” I said with a laugh. “Thanks, Chase.”
“No prob. See ya later.”
Chase left and I closed my eyes, slumping back into my chair. I held the ice to my face as the nurse went back to her desk. It felt like a train had hit me. Still, the anxious feeling in my stomach wouldn’t go away.
My mind whirled. I desperately wanted to know the answers to my life and yet a part of me didn’t. But living in denial wasn’t helping either. I didn’t know how to get all the answers though. My parents wouldn’t tell me. Roman wasn’t coughing up much. He wouldn’t even tell me how he knew my name. I didn’t understand.
A draft of air brushed over me and I sensed movement beside me. I opened my eyes and saw Roman standing beside me. I sat up.
His lips formed a straight line. “Who did that to you?”
“Nobody. I just fell.”
He crouched down, removed the ice from my jaw, and leaned in for a better look. His eyes smoldered as he replaced the ice. “Don’t lie.”
“It’s fine, really.”
The nurse spoke up. “Excuse me. Roman, is it?” She gave him a steely glare. “You can’t be in here.”
Roman groaned and put his palm up to the nurse, freezing her in place where she stood, mouth gaping.
“Not again,” I moaned.
“Jewel, listen to me.” His eyes bore into mine, hot and hypnotizing. “Just come with me for the day. I promise to bring you home.”
“Come with you where?” I shook my head. “We’ve got school.”
“They won’t miss us. I promise.”
“Thought you couldn’t sustain it for long…”
“Long enough.” He lifted a ribbon of hair away from my face. “Will you trust me?”
I remembered him holding me the other night in my room, how good it felt and of how he trembled with obvious concern for me.
I nodded.
He held his hand palm up. I took it.
***
I shivered against the thick falling rain, wishing I’d worn something more than a light t-shirt. Roman handed me his jacket and I hesitated a moment before giving in and wrapping it around me. His distinct scent surrounded me and I couldn’t help but smile.
The school buses lined the school parking lot and we strolled down the stairs and past several students who stood motionless and oblivious to our being there. Taylor’s arms remained frozen around Jack’s neck, and Chase stood mid-step on the stairs.
“Are you kidding me?” I asked. I waved my hand in front of Chase’s unmoving eyes. “We just can’t leave them out here in the rain. They’ll catch a cold or something.”
“They’ll be fine, I promise,” Roman pointed to a black Chrysler 300.
I widened my eyes. “Yours?”
Roman reached in his pocket, pulled out a set of keys, jangled them in the air, and pressed a button on the key fob until the car beeped and the headlights blinked. “Nope.” He grinned.
“Smart ass,” I tried not to smile.
He opened the passenger door for me and ran around to the driver seat as I climbed in.
“Honestly, Roman, where are you taking me?” I asked as he got in.
“Somewhere quiet where we can talk. The beach?”
“The beach on a day like today?” I turned to face him and gave him my biggest “are you nuts?” face.
“I said somewhere quiet, right? Who goes to the beach on a day like today?”
“Just weirdoes like us, I guess.” I pushed my wet hair away from my face. “So you gonna tell me what it is that I’m not safe from?” I looked up to the dark sky which threatened a storm. “Other than being struck by lightning, that is.”
Roman laughed and put the car into fourth as he hit the highway at full speed.
“Easy, Earnhardt. I thought you were supposed to protect me, not scare the hell outta me.”
He reached over and squeezed my hand a second.
A sick feeling crept through me and I wondered who Roman really was. I began to worry I’d read things all wrong and maybe it was him I should be scared of. I eyed the door handle but then gave my head a shake trying to reassure myself everything was fine.
Up ahead, I saw a sign at the side of the road that read Megan’s Cove. Roman geared down, pulled over, and drove down a winding, narrow road. The trees towered over us like a canopy, their leaves soaked and spitting water. A heavier onslaught of torrential rain pooled on the windshield until Roman set his wipers on high speed. Their whipping sound mimicked my heart rate. Roman turned onto an even narrower, bumpy path. It veered to the left and the car shook back and forth in protest.
“Hey, where’re you going? Turn around,” I demanded.
Roman slowed down but kept going. “Not much farther, Jewel, I promise.”
When he finally put the car in park, a nervous energy buzzed across my skin. The trees surrounding us seemed to shake with the rolling thunder. I gathered my courage. “Who are you and what do you want from me?” I blurted, turning to face him. “I don’t trust you—this,” I stammered.
His intense, brown eyes focused in on me as he shifted in his seat toward me. “Paranoid much?”
I undid my seatbelt. “Seriously, Roman. Enough is enough. Stop stalling. Why did you bring me all the way out here anyway?”
“Privacy. To keep our thoughts and conversation private.”
“Look who’s paranoid now.” I turned away gazing out my window.
After a moment, he placed his hand on my shoulder gently. “I’m your guardian. I’ve been sent from my own coven of the Augusti Forza. We’re not so different than your coven.”
I turned back to face him. “Up until recently, I didn’t even know I came from a coven.”
Roman leaned back in his seat. “Yeah, I know. I guess your parents have been trying to protect you.”
“From what exactly?”
“Other covens.”
I trembled involuntarily from fright. “Other covens?” I widened my eyes. “What do you mean? And wait—you said you yourself are from another coven.” I leaned away from him and shot him a scowl. “What’s Augusti Forza mean anyway?”
“First of all, relax
. I’m not the enemy. The term Augusti Forza comes from a long time ago. The name Augustus means elevated one and was awarded to some guy named Octavian in recognition of his unique status and extraordinary range of powers or whatever. And then forza means like force or strength. Anyway, look, can you please trust me? I said we’re not so different than your coven, but we’re not exactly the same either.” He sighed. “You’re not supposed to know too much yet, but since you’ve been snooping, it’s a little late for that. And I wanna tell you but I don’t want you to freak or anything, okay?”
I swallowed loud enough for him to hear but kept my gaze on him. “Okay,” I said, trying to sound assured. I relapsed back to the feeling of wanting to know, but not wanting to know at the same time. My stomach twirled in anticipation.
Roman reached out and took my hand, adding to the butterfly effect in my stomach, but for obviously different reasons. “Well, since you found out about the whole Spectral thing already, you should know that everything you said about it is true.” He lowered his gaze to my hand that had settled into his, and stroked his thumb against my palm. “But because you’re the Spectral, it makes you a very valuable and powerful part of a coven, and well—other covens don’t really want you to exist.” He slowly raised his big brown eyes back to mine.
“Don’t want me to exist? Like, as in they want me dead?” I felt the blood drain from my face.
He squeezed my hand. “I’m not gonna let that happen, okay?”
I blinked fast in disbelief. “But why do they want me to—not exist?”
“When you go through your quickening, you will become extremely powerful, Jewel, as you already found out. Bottom line—your coven will be untouchable. Every coven dreams to be the one with a Spectral born into it.”
“How many of us are there? Spectrals, I mean.”
He put his elbow on the center console and rested his chin in his palm, his fingers stretching up to rub his temple. “Only you now,” he said after a long pause. “There were many others throughout history, but the last few were…killed off before their quickening.”
“Wha-what!” Fear gripped me. Suddenly claustrophobic, I jerked my hand away, and bolted from the car.
I raced down the gravel path, rain pelting my skin until it and my tears became one. Behind me, I heard Roman swear and slam his door, but I kept running.
The whole sky seemed to crackle with a spray of lightning. A few yards away, the ocean’s dark colors frosted with angry white tips on the roaring waves, seemed to mimic how I felt.
I ran out onto the sand that had hardened somewhat because of all the rain. That made it easier for me to dash across it. Running through a half-washed away sand castle, I stopped for a second when I reached the edge of the ocean. I watched as the waves crashed against my feet and then my knees as I waded forward.
A hand caught my arm and I looked back to find Roman.
“Hey, c’mon. I’ll take you home.” He pulled my arm towards him.
“I don’t want to go home,” I yelled, my voice hoarse. Yanking my arm away, I stumbled forward. The cool water splashed my face, its salty taste stinging my lips.
Hot tears stung my eyes, and I shook my head, feeling like a total loser for having gotten in the violent waves in the first place. Sighing, I turned to go back with him.
Roman took my hand, tugged it, and began to run. “Come with me then.”
I kept up with him as we darted across the beach, both of us drenched, until we reached a cave and ducked under for shelter. Rotting seaweed clung to the edges of the rocks, and the wind whistled around the stone, whipping my hair around. Sand was sprinkled along the rock floor, and as we walked deeper inside, the sound of our footsteps echoed against the cave walls.
Roman raked his dark hair back and gave it a shake. “Hey, sorry about what I said in the car. I didn’t mean to spook you.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s me. I asked you to tell me. But I’m not gonna lie, it’s kinda hard to take, ya know?” I rubbed my hands up and down my arms. “Knowing there are witches out there wanting me dead is not something a girl wants to hear.” I took off Roman’s jacket, and began wringing it out.
Roman reached out and stopped me. “Yes, they want you dead. But it’s not going to happen. Not if I have anything to do with it.”
I smiled weakly up at him. “So my family has been running from other witch covens this whole time?” I asked, as I tried to put the pieces together.
“It seems so. But that’s the weird thing.” Roman walked back out to the edge of the cave, kicked away some debris, and stared up at the sky. The storm was beginning to break, the clouds parting. “They know about us from the Augusti Forza, and our role to guide and protect future Spectral witches. I can’t figure out why they’ve been running from our coven members.”
“Ya think that it just might have something to do with the fact that most Spectrals have been murdered?” I tromped up beside him. “Seriously though, not much of a track record you Augusti Forza have for being guardians. Maybe my parents figured they could do a better job. No offense or anything.”
Roman scowled. “Unlike you, your parents would know that we’ve only taken on the role of protecting Spectrals since it got out of control.” He turned and scrunched up his face at me.
I made a face right back at him. “Chill. What happened?”
“A couple thousand years ago, there was a Spectral witch who got power hungry and killed tons of witches from other covens. But first, she forced the other witches to use their endowment on her so that she would have their power too.”
I gasped. “I read about that. Once I’m a Spectral, if another witch tries to use their power on me, then I get their endowment too.”
“Yeah, exactly, but this Spectral used that knowledge in the wrong way. It’s supposed to be something to protect the Spectral from harm, not used against other witches. But this Spectral, well she was just a bad egg. Once she was done with the witches, she would kill them.” He grimaced. “After that, my ancestors became not just the council of witches but also guardians of the Spectral witch before their quickening…” He gazed into my eyes straight-faced. “And then to make sure they aren’t…”
“Maniacs?” I arched a brow.
He laughed. “Yeah, exactly.”
“So basically you protect witches from each other,” I said, as I shivered all over from a mix of cold and fright.
He nodded. “You’re cold?” He draped an arm around me, tugging me gently to his side. My heart rate started to climb. His manly scent surrounded me and I only wanted to get closer.
“And hey, I was beginning to think you just might be a maniac yourself when I watched you jump into the ocean,” he chided.
I shifted, facing him and tilted my head back to look into his eyes. He placed his hands lightly on my shoulders and held his gaze on mine. I had the perfect view of his face. Of his dark hair, and dark brooding eyes, of his full lips that begged to be kissed, and of the slight dimple that tugged into the right side of his cheek when he grinned at me.
I stepped toward him until his hands slipped to the small of my back. The feel of his body against mine, and the look he gave me, sent electric shocks through me.
“Kiss me,” I blurted, the whooshing of my heartbeat racing in my ears. I couldn’t believe I’d just said that, but I didn’t want him to pull away.
“I can’t,” he murmured, even as he edged closer and his lips brushed the side of my mouth.
I was sure he could feel the pounding of my heart through my chest. “Can’t?” I stood on my tip-toes and gently tugged at his lower lip with my teeth, completely hypnotized by him.
He moaned and jerked me up into his arms, his lips now on mine, soft and tender. My body felt like fireworks exploding. He traced his fingers up through the back of my hair, his mouth grazing against mine in soft, careful kisses, and then uttering a curse, he released me.
“What?” I asked, trying to recover. I palmed my hand against my chest
. “Did I do something wrong?”
Roman spun around, his back to me now. His hand cupped the back of his neck. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. You couldn’t be more perfect.” He kicked the side of the cave. “It’s me.”
The fireworks fizzled like cheap sparklers. “Really? The whole it’s-me-not-you bit? That’s your story?” I laughed bitterly, disgusted with myself for getting wrapped up in everything. In him. My cheeks turned hot in their usual dork splendor. “At least have the courage to be honest with me, Roman.”
He twisted his neck around, his eyes piercing me in place. “I am being honest. I’m a member of the Augusti Forza. You’re a Spectral. We can’t be together.”
“Huh? You’re kidding, right?” I didn’t know if I was madder at him or myself.
“No, I’m serious. I really wish I was kidding, but being together is forbidden.”
“Forbidden? What are you, like two? Forbidden by who?”
Now I just felt dumb. And angry. I didn’t care if he was just trying to let me down easier. It still stung.
How could I believe he’d really like me anyway? I was just some screwed up girl. A complete mess.
Roman turned back to face me, eyes flashing angrily. “Look who’s talking about following rules, Jewel. You’ve followed your family around like a lost pup your whole life, no questions asked. You should know all about following rules by now. Who’s the one that’s been acting like a two year old?” His voice was low but harsh. He blew out a long breath and shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m doing here anyway.”
Anger filled me, clouding my mind. I felt stupid that I ever trusted Roman in the first place. I was stupid for letting him in my window that night, stupid for getting in his car earlier. What was I thinking?
“Shut up,” is all I managed to say as tears stung my eyes in frustration.
Roman threw up both his hands. “Jewel, look, I’m sorry. But I’m just saying that you, of all people, should know about following rules.”
The worst part was I knew he was sorta right. I did follow the rules. But that was when I believed we were being chased by the mob because my father ratted one of them out. All of this witch crap was new to me. He knew that. It pissed me off he was throwing it in my face now.
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