I only hesitated a fraction of a second before I stepped forward and grabbed one of my mother’s daggers. We’d only been training with weapons a few days a week, and these were dull, wooden blades. Our mother obviously wanted us to take them. I flipped the dagger around in my hand a few times, then shoved it into the waistband of my jean shorts, tucked snuggly against my skin.
I plucked the other knife from the bed and held it out to Emersyn. “Take it, Em.”
She swallowed roughly and took the weapon with a shaking hand. Her golden eyes were wide as she stared down at it. “For Bentley?”
“Exactly. Let’s do this.” I nodded and walked back over to the window. I threw my leg over the windowsill and dropped effortlessly to the grass. When no noise followed me, I glanced over my shoulder. “Emersyn?”
Two long seconds later, Emersyn jumped down beside me. I nodded and waved her along as I sprinted toward the sidewalk. But then I froze. I looked both directions, except there was no clue to suggest which way he’d gone.
“Maybe we ought to split up?” Emersyn whispered from behind me.
I spun to face her with my eyebrows raised. “You want to go alone?”
“No.” Emersyn shook her head. Our mother’s dagger looked natural in her hand, despite the way she fidgeted with it. “I’m terrified. But I’m more terrified of where Bentley is right now, and it’s smarter to split up. You go left and I’ll go right?”
Chapter Thirty
Tegan
It’s just the wind.
It’s just the wind.
Stop freaking yourself out, Bishop.
My heart pounded like there was a stampede inside me. I’d made it a few feet away from home before I pulled my mother’s dagger out of my shorts and gripped it tight in my hand. If something came at me, I wanted to be ready, with magic and a weapon. The dagger was both comfortable and comforting to hold. The white hilt buzzed with energy, radiating power and shimmering in the moonlight.
I ran through my neighborhood, scanning everything that moved. I tried to put myself in Bentley’s mind so I could potentially replicate the path he’d taken. As a result, I was lost. Sure, I was still in our witch community, but I’d never seen these particular houses before. To make matters worse, this street had no lights on. It was nearly pitch black, with only a crescent moon to light my way. Why are there no lights? I pushed with my magic, trying to turn the lights back on, but they remained off.
I cursed and chewed on my thumbnail. Think, Tegan. If you’re nine and on this street, where would you go? I glanced around me, bouncing from one foot to another. If he were on this street, he’d probably hid. I jogged up to the end of the road to where a large bank of bushes sat in the middle of a roundabout. This was a nice spot a child could hide inside and feel safe. The overgrown bushes stood about ten feet in the air. I crouched down and looked through the base of the bushes. Part of me wanted to call out his name, but something about the eerie silence of the street stopped me.
Bentley was an expert hider. I’d learned that the hard way over the years. He had skill. If he was in the roundabout, then he’d be all the way inside. I took a deep breath and adjusted my grip on the dagger. I pushed through until I was surrounded by shrubbery. Out on the street, I hadn’t wanted to draw unwanted attention, but I needed some light to see. I willed my arms to glow until I had a circle of light surrounding me. I kept low to the ground and worked my way through the bushes until my feet hit the cement curb of the other side. Damn it.
Something warm wrapped around my elbow and pulled. I spun on my heels and swung my dagger through the air in an arc. In the light radiating off my glowing arms, I saw it was a person, but I was too on edge to pull back. The person leaned back to dodge my blade. I swung my leg out and kicked their feet out from under them, just like I’d learned from Tennessee days and days ago. I had no idea who it was, and I wasn’t taking any chances.
The stranger dropped to the ground, but they rolled back to their feet before I had time to attack again. Running wasn’t an option; I wasn’t fast. I yelled and tackled them back to the ground. The rough asphalt of the street burned against my bare arms as we rolled and rolled. In the blink of an eye, I was flipped onto my back, with my legs trapped under heavy weight. My hands were pinned above my head. I thrashed and tried to free myself. My pulse skipped a few beats. Use your magic!
“Tegan, damn it, it’s me!” A familiar, velvety voice barked close to my ear.
I froze, my breath catching in my throat. “Tennessee?” I blinked, trying to adjust in the darkness to see his face.
“Yes.”
The arms that pinned me to the ground illuminated, lighting up his beautiful face. I sighed and tears stung the backs of my eyes. For a moment, I’d thought it was that thing, the shadow monster. I hadn’t realized just how scared I’d been.
“I’m sorry, Kitten. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Tennessee cursed under his breath. He stroked the palms of my hands with his fingers. “Are you all right?”
I swallowed and nodded. His mismatched eyes twinkled and reflected the light off our glowing skin. Heat radiated off his body in waves, and I noticed all the places we were touching, the way his legs wrapped around mine so I couldn’t move, how his fingers intertwined with mine…how his face was inches from mine. His dark hair was wild and windblown, falling into his face. He licked his lips.
We were forbidden. The consequences were severe and devastating. But I didn’t care. He hadn’t moved off of me, either. A loud thumping echoed through my ears, but I wasn’t sure if it was my pulse or his. I lifted my head off the ground and sank my teeth into his bottom lip. He gasped and his body locked in place above me. There was a moment of pause before he groaned and fell against me. His lips captured mine, taking command and deepening our kiss.
I sighed and let his kiss erase the fear raging inside me. With each second of his lips on mine, my body relaxed more and more. He released his grip on my hands and cupped my jaw. I tangled my fingers in his long, wild hair, relishing the silky softness against my skin. I didn’t understand how this boy could calm the fire burning inside of me so easily. Deep down, I was still terrified about Bentley and pissed about being lied to my whole life—
Wait a second. I’m mad at him. Tennessee hadn’t told me she was my twin. Omitting was still lying. I growled against his mouth then pushed him off of me. He flew back, though I suspected it had nothing to do with my strength and everything to do with him being a good guy…but I was too pissed to give him the credit.
I groaned and scrambled to my feet. My chest burned like a forest fire, my breathing ragged and uneven. I bent down and plucked my mother’s dagger off the ground, then sliced it through the air. “You don’t get to just kiss me like that!”
“You started it!” he shouted back.
I spun around to face him, not surprised to find him on his feet and breathing steadily. How dare he come back at me with all his logic.
“Well, it won’t happen again!” I yelled and pushed past him. My fear and raw emotions had gotten the best of me for a moment, but it wouldn’t happen again.
“Tegan, wait.”
His fingers brushed my arm, and a little bolt of electricity shot through me. I cursed. My stupid body was a traitor. But I could control my reaction to it.
“Stop doing that!” I turned and waved my arms. Water gushed from my palms and slammed into his chest.
His eyes widened as he stumbled back a few steps. “What the hell?”
Part of me was confused on where that water had come from. Another part of me enjoyed the small victory. But anger brewed too strong to let me concentrate on either. I stormed down the street with my mother’s dagger in my hand, itching to be used. With fury on my side, I barely noticed my pitch-black surroundings. My body glowed brighter than a full moon. Magic swirled through the air in neon rainbow colors, coiling around me like a pet snake ready to do my bidding. I felt like Voldemort charging Hogwarts. I wanted to break anything and any
one who got in my way.
“Tegan, c’mon,” Tennessee said in his velvety voice. His footsteps thundered right behind me, and I knew without looking he was close. “Talk to me.”
I spun on my toes and slammed my palms into his chest. He stumbled back a few steps. I pointed my dagger at his chest, and little white bolts of lightning shot out but didn’t touch him. “How dare you act like I’m being unreasonable! You’re the one who didn’t tell me I had a twin sister. You’re the one who kept something like that from me.”
“I wanted to tell you.” He held both palms in the air and met my glare with soft eyes. “It killed me to keep it from you.”
“Oh good, because that’s helpful.” I narrowed my eyes. The string of lies must come undone. This was what Keltie meant. She knew. She knew my Coven kept secrets from me, lied to me. And it meant this wasn’t the only lie. “What else have you lied about, Tennessee? If you felt so guilty about it, come clean with it all now.”
Color drained from his face. “I can’t do that,” he whispered.
“Why the hell not?” I screamed. Windows rattled on the houses nearby. “Do I mean that little to you?”
“You mean more to me than I’m allowed to admit!” he shouted back, his cheeks flushed a deep pink. “Is that what you want to hear? Do you want me to disobey direct orders and have my magic stripped? Do you want the whole Coven to have our Marks stripped?”
A weird noise like a scream mixed with a growl ripped up my throat. “I don’t care about everyone else. I care about you! I want you to be honest with me.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Tegan…” He cursed and ran his hands through his hair.
“Do you have any idea how it feels to find out your entire life has been a lie?” I said through clenched teeth. “The people who are supposed to love me more than anyone else in the world have lied to me for sixteen years. Yet for some stupid reason, you lying to me hurts worse than their betrayal.”
He hung his head. When he looked back up at me, I saw my own pain reflected in his eyes. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been on all of us to keep it from you? Every time I look at you, I have to consciously stop myself from telling you all of it.”
“Then tell me now.”
“I can’t.” He scrubbed his face with his palms. “Yes, there are things we haven’t told you, little omissions. But there are reasons for why we can’t, and dire consequences for if we do. Every single one of us cares about you and Emersyn. We’d do anything to protect you, and whether you like it or not, these white lies are included in that.”
I opened my mouth to yell at him some more, but nothing came out. So, I stared. How could this lie be for our own good? What other lies were in store for us? Was I supposed to trust them blindly, purely on faith that they had my best intentions in mind? Was it their right to make that decision?
A piano riff blared into the silent night. I jumped and raised my dagger in the air.
“It’s your phone,” Tennessee whispered.
“I know!” I snapped. I hadn’t realized it, actually. But he didn’t need to know that. Then the ringtone clicked in my mind. Emersyn. My stomach twisted into knots. It was Emersyn. She was searching for our brother, like I was supposed to be. Not arguing with some stupid boy. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my phone. Focus, Tegan. Bentley is counting on you. “It’s Emersyn.”
Tennessee sighed and pushed his hair out of his face. He raised his right hand, and his sword slammed into his palm. “Did they find him?”
Oh, God, I hope so. I opened up the text from my sister.
Henley picked me up.
She says Kessler said demons took Bentley into the Gap.
We’re going to HK to open the Gap and get him back.
Tennessee cursed violently in my ear, like he’d read the text over my shoulder. “We have to go. Now.” He grabbed my elbow and dragged me into a run.
“Slow down.” I struggled to keep up with his long legs; mine burned with every step. “What’s wrong? Why are you freaking out?”
He stopped beside a black sedan parked on the street and pressed his glowing thumb to the lock. There was a loud click, then the door opened. He threw the passenger door open and pointed. “Get in.”
I didn’t hesitate. Something about the look in his eyes scared me to the bone. I jumped inside the car. He slammed the door behind me and slid over the hood to the driver’s side. My lungs felt like solid chunks of ice. He slid into the driver’s seat then pressed his glowing thumb to the ignition. The car roared to life.
“Tennessee. Talk to me.”
“Text Kessler,” he snapped and put the car in drive. “Tell him.”
I pulled out my phone and opened up the text thread with my uncle. My fingers trembled with each touch. Tennessee was always the calm one, so him freaking out wasn’t something I was prepared for. “Okay…why? You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”
He sped down the street, ignoring every driving law in the process. “Tegan, demons cannot take anything back to their dimensions with them.”
My heart sank. “What? I don’t understand.”
“Only greater demons and the Fae court are strong enough to transport things through the gaps, and The Coven blocked those from entering our dimension centuries ago.” He sighed and shook his head. “They would’ve needed a Card to get them here, even more than one to then transport.”
My mind raced faster than my runaway pulse. “But…Henley told her—”
“Henley is lying!” he interrupted.
“She said Kessler told her.”
“Tegan, think about it. I’m the Emperor, and Kessler is my father. Why would he tell Henley this and not me?”
The string of lies must come undone. I gasped and shook my head. “Keltie warned me. She said we’d be faced with a lie.” My stomach turned. I gripped the edge of the black leather seats in our stolen sedan. Oh my God. Oh my God.
“Tegan, look at me.” His warm hand covered mine and squeezed. “Kitten, look at me.”
My gaze found his in an instant. His mismatched eyes tried to pierce through my fear, but it wasn’t working fast enough.
“She took him?” I whispered.
“We’re going to find him.” He squeezed my hand tighter and held it.
Chapter Thirty-One
Tegan
“Did you text Kessler?”
“Yes. I sent him a screen shot of what Emersyn sent me. He’s sending backup.” My phone vibrated again in my hand with another text from my uncle. “He just said Cooper might already be there, or close, but is trying to get ahold of him.”
Tennessee cursed and slammed on the brakes of our stolen sedan. “Backup might not make it. You ready to run?”
“Yep.” I threw my door open and jumped out. Except we weren’t at the main entrance to Hidden Kingdom, or the one I’d broken in through. But Tennessee took my hand and pulled me into a run with him, so I didn’t question it. The only thing keeping me calm was the warmth coming off of his skin.
My feet burned as I struggled to keep pace with him. “Maybe you should go ahead? I know you can run faster than this,” I yelled to him over the wind rushing by my ears and the heavy thumping of my racing heart. My legs were mushy like jello and losing strength with every step. We couldn’t fail because I wasn’t in shape.
Tennessee’s gaze snapped over to me, and he looked my body up and down. He frowned. “You have to spark up.”
“What?” I coughed then gasped for air. My chest ached. I glanced over at his body and realized belatedly he was glowing. “OH.”
“It’s a power boost. You’ll be able to run faster.” He cursed. “Didn’t they teach you anything in training?”
I tightened my grip on his hand while we sprinted through the darkness. It took me a few tries more than normal before my body lit up like his. A new wave of energy buzzed through my veins. The pain in my body lifted. Oxygen filled my lungs like I’d been plugged into a breathing machine.
The air stopped burning my throat. The world blew by me in a blur. Tennessee’s hold on my hand wasn’t pulling me anymore—it simply held me close by.
“That’s my girl,” Tennessee whispered as he picked up speed.
I blushed and glanced over at him in surprise, but his attention was focused ahead of us. I looked back to our path then skidded to a halt. About twenty feet in front of us was a massive cement wall blocking us.
“How the hell are we getting over that?” I asked.
Tennessee glanced back and forth between me and the wall. “This is the fastest way to the fountain.”
“Not if I can’t get over the wall!” I snapped back. What was he thinking? I couldn’t fly. There weren’t even notches or anything for me to use to climb it. But his eyes were clear and calculating. “I’m not capable, Tennessee.”
“I am, and I will.” He grinned and it was pure danger. His mismatched eyes sparkled like glass in the moonlight.
I didn’t like that look. I didn’t like the sound of that comment. My heart fluttered and sent a shiver tingling down my spine. “Tennessee…?”
Without another second of hesitation, he swooped down in one fluid motion and threw me over his shoulder. “Hold on,” he shouted, then sprinted full speed toward the wall.
The glowing of our bodies robbed me of my sight. But I felt the pounding of his feet as he punched into the ground and jumped. I squeezed my eyes shut and fisted my hands in his clothes. For a moment, we were weightless, soaring through the air like a cloud. Warm, salty wind rushed over my face and whipped through my hair. I was about to scream when I was jostled and tossed into the air. Tennessee gripped my waist, plucking me out of the sky and placing me on my feet.
My jaw dropped. The wall was behind him. I blinked. “Did you just…jump…over?”
He grinned and winked. But then he took my elbow and tugged me back into a run. “Listen, they’re going to be at the Gap. We have to stop them before they open it. If you see an opening to go, take it. Don’t worry about me.”
The Brave Witch (The Coven: Elemental Magic Book 2) Page 18