The Broken Witch

by Chandelle LaVaun

  He flew back off his feet and crashed through the large back window into the living room. Glass shattered. The broken edges reflected the pink sky above us. Voices shouted from nearby, but I paid them no mind. I charged forward, jumping through the now open window frame. Cooper was sprawled on his back, shards and slivers of glass glistening all over him. Blood spilled from his nose.

  But I was pissed. He wanted to fight. Well, now he had one. “Is that what you wanted, Cooper? HUH?” I shouted. Glass crunched under the weight of my footsteps.

  Cooper propped himself up on his elbows and growled.

  I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. I dropped him to his feet, then hooked my fist into his jaw. He stumbled back. With both hands, I shoved him in the chest and sent him flying over the couch. He flipped head over feet then crashed onto the wooden coffee table, smashing it to pieces under his hefty weight. I gripped the top cushion of the couch and flung it to the right. In my peripheral vision, I saw it slam into the living room wall. There was all kinds of shouting and commotion around us, but in the haze of my power blaring at full strength, I couldn’t hear it.

  “You wanted a fight, Cooper? Well, here it is,” I yelled and charged toward him. “Come kick my ass. Get up and kick my ass. That’s what you wanted, right?”

  Something massive wrapped around my chest and pulled me back. I fought against the hold, but it was strong. My legs kicked out in front of me, but my body was glued in place. “Get off me,” I shouted at whatever it was. My vision had tunneled into one single, concentrated path.

  “Get him UP, dammit!” my father’s voice rumbled against my ear.

  In the back of my mind, I realized it was him holding me down. Super strength was his gift, his magic. And it was about the only thing that could’ve held me in place. But I couldn’t stop myself from pushing to get free. Cooper had bust open the dam, and I wasn’t done yet.

  Soft, warm energy brushed over my skin…and that was all it did. Hunter’s gift of emotional control had nothing on my power. I didn’t want to relax. I didn’t want to calm down. Not when the person who was supposed to know me the best was attacking me for something I had no say in.

  “That’s not gonna work on him,” Royce said from somewhere close but out of my eyesight. “He ain’t human.”

  “I got this!” Easton jumped forward, completely covered in his magical body armor. He dropped down and helped Cooper back to his feet.

  Except once upright, Cooper shoved Easton aside and charged toward me.

  Deacon slid in the way with his palms out, one facing each of us. “STOP!” he screamed. His magic poured out of his palms in a thick red mist.

  My body froze. Cooper skidded to a stop. Hunter, Easton, and Royce grabbed him and pulled him farther away from me. My brother. The guy who grew up with me for twelve years. The guy who was always my biggest supporter after Kessler. He was the one being hauled out of the line of fire. My heart pounded against my chest. The cold air in the house burned down my throat.

  “You don’t want to hurt him, Tennessee. You don’t want to hurt anyone. I know you don’t.” Deacon turned to me. His violet eyes reflected the bright white glow I hadn’t realized was coming off of me. “That’s why you haven’t thrown your father through a wall yet, even though we all know you could. That’s why Cooper isn’t a bloodied pulp right now. So, rein it back in, my friend.”

  I glared at Cooper over Deacon’s shoulder. “You should have my back here, Cooper. Not Deacon.”

  Cooper’s eyes flared with rage. He thrashed against the guys holding him. “You shouldn’t be hooking up with my sister behind my back!”

  I recoiled. My entire body was on fire. The rage wasn’t fading like Deacon had told it to. “What the hell is wrong with you? You think I did this? You think I chose this? Use your damn brain, Coop, or have you completely lost it?”

  “You lied to me!” he yelled, though he’d stopped trying to get away.

  “What choice did you give me?” I yelled. “I haven’t a choice in any of this.”

  Cooper glared up at his father who was holding him by the shoulder. “Why are you on his side? Why aren’t you as pissed as I am, Dad? Why are you holding me down and not him?”

  Hunter sighed and shook his head. He released his grip on his son’s shoulder and rubbed his face with his hands. His own soulmate glyph covered every inch of his right arm, down to his fingertips. He pulled his hands away and stared at the ground. “Because this isn’t his fault.”

  “What?” Cooper shrieked in protest.

  “Because I know what it’s like to be given a soulmate when I didn’t want one, when I didn’t ask for one…when my parents—our parents—forbade it.” Hunter glanced over his shoulder to Devon, who was standing with her arms crossed over her chest. “Cooper, you don’t know what it’s like. You don’t know what it feels like to have your free will taken from you, to be so consumed with another person that it knocks everything else out of order.”

  I sighed and sank against my father’s chest. Someone gets it.

  Cooper frowned. “But he lied to us.”

  Hunter shrugged. “And we lied to Tegan for sixteen years. We’re still lying to her, and to Emersyn. That’s why Emersyn isn’t here right now. The fact that he’s had to lie to his soulmate is a feat I’d never be able to accomplish.”

  “Cooper, I’m the one who gave us the lie we’ve been feeding to them. Me.” I shook my head. “I lie to her every day. You have no idea what this has been like for me.”

  My father unwrapped his arm from around me, then he pushed me down onto the couch. I didn’t fight him. I was done fighting. Deacon was right. I closed my eyes and scrubbed my face with my hands. Tegan’s face flashed behind my eyelids, and my heart sank. I just didn’t understand why she did this to me. She knew the law. Even though the reasoning was a lie, it was still the same law. Same consequences. No dating. No more magic. It didn’t make any sense to reveal us.

  Cooper sighed. “So you just told her what it meant? Didn’t think to lie about it?”

  I laughed in a short burst, though it wasn’t comical. I looked up and met his stare that was so much like his sister’s. “I did lie. She showed it to me and asked what it was, and I lied right to her face. I told her it was a scar from a demon. And she believed me. I’ve done everything I can to…to follow the rules.”

  “So how does she know?” Cooper narrowed his eyes. “If not you, then who told her?”

  I’m not going to tell you that.

  “I did.”

  Both Hunter and Cooper—well, everyone—turned to look at Devon. She’d been hanging back without speaking.

  She walked up to stand beside her husband, with her arms still crossed over her chest. “I told her.”

  Hunter’s face paled. “What made you tell her?”

  “That night when Emersyn and that demon opened the Gap. Everyone else was watching the fight, but I watched Tegan. I saw her panic. I saw her fear because she thought Tennessee was going to get hurt, and she couldn’t help him. Then I watched her blow up that fountain to protect him.” She looked at me, but all I saw was Tegan. She shook her head. “And I saw what hiding it was doing to him. Having a soulmate is both a blessing and a curse. It’s crippling. It’s confusing. It’s one thing to have to hide it from the world, but to hide it from each other? Tenn knew, so she deserved to know, and I stand by my decision without doubt.”

  “So the two non-humans will get married and have non-human babies. No big deal.” Royce shrugged, but then everyone groaned. “What? Too soon?”

  The idea of marrying and having children with Tegan filled me with an emotion so strong I didn’t even have a name for it. I licked my lips and tried to focus on breathing and staying calm.

  “Speaking of too soon…” Deacon cleared his throat. “Tenn, I’m sorry about that tango. It was her idea, but I wouldn’t have done it if I knew she was your girl.”

  “Wait, hold on,” Braison said wit
h a louder voice than I’d ever heard him use. His green eyes were wide as he looked over at me. “Dude, man, I would not have gone through with that!”

  “I don’t think I want to know anything about all of those things.” Hunter scratched the back of his head. “What I don’t understand is why she revealed it.”

  “That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering,” my father said. He stood tall and calm beside me. “Why now? If she’s known about it all this time and kept it secret, then why now?”

  “Did you two get in a fight?” Lily asked.

  “Actually…” Deacon scratched his jaw, his violet eyes locked on the ground. “I may know.”

  I sat there with my heart in my throat and my pulse pounding through my veins listening to Deacon tell the story of what happened in the parking lot. When he finished, I wanted to smack myself for not realizing it at the time. She must not have been close enough for me to feel her presence, or otherwise I would’ve gone to her. Everyone else was mad at Deacon for not interrupting them sooner, but I wasn’t so sure. If he had, we wouldn’t have gained the information we did. Plus…I wasn’t sure if I would’ve done any differently.

  “So she’s the jealous type?” Cooper asked and threw his arms up in frustration.

  I frowned. “She did a sexy tango with another guy in a public setting… No, she’s never indicated any sign of being jealous.”

  “Maybe the Henley-demon used mind control on Tegan, too?” Easton suggested.

  “Oh my God.” Larissa smacked herself in the forehead. “At the dance, I never got to give her the potion to prevent it!”

  I shook my head. “You didn’t need to. She already did it on herself.”

  “Why do you say that?” Devon asked. “And how, if Larissa made it?”

  I shrugged. This probably wasn’t going to go over well, but I was tired of lying. “When I was in the infirmary…she came to see me. We went through the Book of Shadows together and found the spell Bentley told her to find. She was to perform it on herself then turn it into a potion for everyone else.”

  Questions fired at me at once.

  “All right, all right,” my father interrupted them. “It’s been a fun-filled day, but we’re not going to get these answers until we talk to Tegan. So, if it’s your turn on rotation, then look for her as well. If not, go home and get some rest.”

  A million questions ran through my mind. I didn’t have an answer for any. What she did went against everything I thought I knew about her. From the things she’d said to me… We both hated the law and I knew she wanted to fight it, but she told me she wasn’t going to until after we closed the Gap in Salem. And I knew we wouldn’t need to after that. So it just didn’t make sense.

  “Son?”

  I looked up and found him standing in front of me. “Yes, Dad?” I’m in trouble.

  He smiled at the name. “Just between us…Bentley never told her any spells to find.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Tennessee

  It’d been thirty-six hours since anyone had seen or spoken to Tegan. To say I was losing my mind would be an understatement. I hadn’t slept. I hadn’t eaten. I hadn’t gone to school. Honestly, I couldn’t have said what I had done. It was all one giant, nervous haze.

  I was perched high up in an oak tree overlooking my street, watching for anything and everything. Just waiting. The night was calm and quiet, early enough to hear cars driving in the distance. They sounded like waves rolling onto the beach. But it was late enough that most of the residents in my community had turned in for the night. Television lights flickered through windows in every direction. I didn’t have a flashlight, and my phone was on silent in my pocket. So I just sat up there in the dark, letting nature’s energy settle my own.

  The air was refreshingly cool, but then I remembered it was mid-October. Summer was long gone. Despite the blinding daylight sunshine and heat, the nights were comfortable. Plus, I no longer had to wear thick, high-collared shirts. Everyone knew. It was a strange feeling. I should’ve been happy, but with Tegan not around, I couldn’t enjoy it.

  A strong breeze slammed into my back and rustled the branch I was perched on. Leaves rained down on me and the ground below. I frowned. Where did that come from? Lightning flashed across the sky and thunder rumbled. I peered through the branches and found a thick cluster of clouds hovering above. They definitely hadn’t just been there. That’s odd.

  I gasped. Tegan.

  Without thinking or hesitating, I jumped off my branch and dropped twenty feet to the ground. I landed on my toes in a crouch and ready to run the second I saw her. I just prayed I’d see her before my glyph realized she was nearby.

  Seconds ticked on like hours before I spotted her sneaking up the narrow area between two houses. My pulse quickened at the sight of her. She had on the same ripped-up black jeans she always wore and her favorite studded combat boots. Despite the eighty-degree temperature, she had on her black leather jacket…and a black hoodie under it. She had the hood pulled over her head. Our soulmate glyph sparkled like a star in a cloudless sky. Even at a distance, I saw the vivid hues of pink and red. Her magic radiated around her. Flowers bloomed and wilting branches stood tall as she passed them. Rainbow mist swirled around her fingers, like it was waiting for her to use it.

  She was headed in my direction. I froze. But then I realized where we were. She was sneaking her way through her own backyard. I waited. Sure enough, she dipped between the trees and beelined straight for her bedroom window. Two days ago, I might’ve hesitated following her, but after her little stunt, there was no reason. Our secret was out.

  I sprinted as fast as I could across the street to her window. By the time I got there, she’d already climbed in. My chest ignited. I knew it would, but it didn’t stop me. I jumped up and through the open window. The door to the hallway was closed. The room was dark, lit only by the golden glow coming in from the crack under the bathroom door. Emersyn’s bed was empty, which I found curious. But I shook those questions away. I was here to see Tegan.

  I stormed over and threw the bathroom door open.

  Her pale, gemstone green eyes met mine in the mirror. If she was surprised to see me, she didn’t show it.

  She turned around and leaned against the sink. “Hi.” She grinned.

  “Hi,” I whispered. Now that I was standing in front of her, my mind went blank and my body went numb.

  We stared at each other in frozen silence. Neither of us moved. I wasn’t even sure if we breathed. I’d prepared a whole list of things I wanted to say to her when I saw her and they echoed through my mind, but my mouth wouldn’t open. I meant to say it all. I meant to ask what was going on. I meant to ask why she was hiding out and hanging with Henley. I meant to ask why she revealed our secret to the world. There were so many questions eating me alive, except I couldn’t get myself to actually ask them.

  I stared into her eyes. My heart pounded like a jackhammer in my chest. Butterflies danced around in my stomach. My palms were sweaty and my fingers trembled. The fire on my chest was bound to erupt into flame any moment.

  Ask her, Tennessee. Ask her. ASK HER.

  But I didn’t. Instead, I reached forward and grabbed her by the jaw then dragged her mouth to mine. Our lips crashed together, and we both sighed and leaned into each other. We stumbled backward then to the side until we slammed into the wall. She fisted the front of my shirt and pulled me close. I pressed all of my weight into her, pinning her against the wall.

  She felt warm, and soft, and perfect. I buried my hands in her hair and pulled her face higher. Her lips tasted like cherries, and it unraveled parts of my brain. I slid my tongue into her mouth and she groaned. Water poured down on us like a rainstorm, even though we weren’t outside. It didn’t matter. All I knew was the feel of her lips on mine, and the rest of the world melted away.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Emersyn

  “I mean it. Thanks for meeting me tonight, Em.”

  I paus
ed with my hand on the car door handle and looked over my shoulder at Royce in the driver’s seat. “Any time you need company, you call me. I mean it, Royce. You’re my best friend. I’m here for you.”

  He smiled, and for the first time in weeks, it was genuine. I felt his aura lighten ever so slightly. “I haven’t been a very good best friend to you, have I?”

  I reached over and squeezed his hand. “It’s not about me right now.”

  His smile faded. “Isn’t it now, though? My sister has lured yours to the dark side.”

  “That’s not your sister, Royce.” My stomach rolled. “Whatever my sister is doing, no one did it but herself.”

  “Let’s just hope we get them both back.”

  “Royce, get some rest. Please. Deacon said Uncle Kessler gave you a sleeping potion. I’m begging you to take it. If only for one night.”

  He peeked up at me under long black eyelashes. “I’ll make a deal with you, bestie…”

  I sat up straight and narrowed my eyes. My pulse quickened. I wasn’t going to like this. “What do you want from me?”

  “I’ll take a sleeping potion tonight…”—he ducked his head so our eyes were level— “if you’ll promise to give Deacon a chance.”

  CRAP. I shook my head. “A chance? At what?” After the way my brother flipped out over Tegan having a soulmate, I wasn’t about to admit to it, and I assumed Deacon wouldn’t.

  “To not hate him.” He waved his hand in the air. “Listen, I know what his reputation is, but he deserves a chance at a clean slate. We didn’t give him that.”

  “I don’t hate him,” I whispered. I wished I did, though. Would be easier.

  “One sleeping potion for one conversation. I think that’s fair.” Royce winked and held his pinky up.

  I rolled my eyes and wrapped my pinky around his. “Deal. Pinky promise.”