“Hang in there, man.” Trey bent down toward my chest. “What is that? Did the Kraken get you?”
“Let me see,” Bettina said as she pushed between Trey and Tegan and sank to her knees in front of me. Those royal blue eyes scanned my body until they reached my chest. Her pretty face scrunched up into a deep scowl. She reached out and pressed her fingers to my skin—then yanked them back with a hiss. “It’s hot.”
You’re telling me.
She waved her hand like it was still stinging. “If it’s not from the Kraken, then what the hell is it? It’s glowing.”
Wait, glowing? I looked down at my chest. A weird, strangled kind of noise escaped my lips. There in the center of my chest was a two-inch-long white line that was glowing brighter than a full moon. What the hell?
A new level of pain exploded inside me. I hissed and squeezed my eyes shut. Minutes — or maybe hours — passed in an agonizing blur. My jaw popped from how hard I clenched my teeth. And then suddenly, just as fast as it came on, the pain eased.
I sank back on my heels and just breathed. The fire in my chest was now a low warm sensation, more like a fireplace rather than a bonfire. I peeled my hands off the railing and rubbed my chest. “What…the bloody hell…is this?”
Tennessee chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, like he didn’t want to tell me. With his other hand, he pointed to his own chest—right at the heart-shaped pink crystal. “Same thing as this.”
“It’s a soulmate glyph.” Tegan smiled and touched the pink mark on her own chest. “Or at least, it’s the start of one. That’s what they look like in the beginning.”
I looked from the pink on her chest to the identical one on Tennessee’s, then I glanced around at everyone else. They were all just staring at me with wide, shocked eyes.
I shook my head. “Wait…WHAT?”
Tegan’s cheeks flushed, and she gave me a small smile. “Congratulations, Jackson Lancaster. You have a soulmate.”
I have a…a…soulmate?! I opened my mouth then shut it again. My brain went completely and utterly blank.
“Wait, but who?” Cooper scratched his head and glanced around the boat. “I mean, it’s just us here.”
My pulse kicked up a notch, and the heat flared. He was asking who my soulmate was… I had a soulmate. I had a person—someone chosen for me, someone who was my other half. But who? My heart pounded. Who? There was only one name that popped into my mind when I thought the question. But I was afraid to hope. I was afraid of why I’d even thought of her.
“Not me— Wait.” Royce pulled the collar of his silky shirt down, but his chest was clear of any markings. He sighed. “Sorry, beautiful, it’s not me.”
What if it is her?
What if it isn’t her?
Do I want it to be her?
The others were all talking, but I didn’t hear any of it. My heartbeat throbbed in my ears. Each breath I took sounded like a screech of that bloody Kraken. I took a deep breath…then looked over to her.
Bettina sat on the deck of the boat, right behind Tegan and Tennessee. Her long blonde hair was stained with blood and still dripping saltwater in places. Her face was paler than normal. Our gazes locked. After a moment or two, she reached up with shaking hands. Her fingers slipped over the edge of her Rolling Stones T-shirt and pulled the collar down. Everything slowed around me as my eyes latched onto the pale, pinkish skin over her neck…then collarbone…and then over her clear, not-marked chest.
My breath left me in a rush. It’s not her.
Oh my Goddess…it’s not her.
It was in that moment that I got the answer to my own question. Far too late. I did want it to be her…but it wasn’t.
They’d taught us about soulmates at Edenburg. I’d learned how it worked. Constance had told me her story. I knew deep down it couldn’t have been her, or otherwise it would’ve shown itself that night at Dean’s party. It would’ve happened the moment when I saw her standing there on the cobblestone sidewalk in her red beanie and sequined leather jacket. I would’ve dropped to my knees at her Converse sneakers, burning and gasping for air.
But I hadn’t. Because it wasn’t her.
Why isn’t it her?
“Um, excuse me?” Trey raised his hand. His shaggy brown hair looked like a bird’s nest. “What do you mean it’s just us? Is it one of us?”
“Actually…it can’t be one of us,” Tegan said softly. She glanced over her shoulder to Bettina then back to me. Her pale green eyes were sad and confused. Sorry.
She was apologizing to me…which meant she’d known—
I groaned. It didn’t matter if Tegan had picked up on the chemistry between Bettina and me. It didn’t matter that I felt it. It didn’t matter if I wanted it to be her, because it wasn’t.
“That’s not how it works.” Tennessee sighed. “It’s instant. The moment you meet your soulmate, the glyph appears. It’s excruciating. It burns through your skin. Obviously it couldn’t have been me or Tegan. And the rest of you, well, he’d already met you. It would’ve already happened by now.”
I peeled my eyes off of her. It wouldn’t do me any good to look at her anymore. She wasn’t mine. My stomach rolled. I stared at the wooden planks under my knees and counted my breaths.
“So are you saying it was the Kraken?” Royce laughed.
“It must’ve been one of the Crones,” Tegan said in barely more than a whisper. “It was crazy there as we left, but there were dozens of them. Many younger in age, too.”
“Oh my God!” Trey jumped to his feet and ran to the rail. He spun back to face us. “Turn the boat around! We have to go back!”
“We can’t—”
“His soulmate is on that island!” Trey shouted and pointed behind us. “We have to go back so he can find her!”
My soulmate.
I have a soulmate.
“No,” Tegan snapped, power radiating through her voice. “That would endanger the Crones right now. I will not let that happen.”
I have a soulmate…and she’s a Crone?
“Jackson.” Tegan waited for me to look up at her. When I did, she gave me a small smile. “Once we get Eden secure, I’ll bring you back here to find her. I promise. For now, whoever she is, she’s safe on that island. Okay?”
I nodded even though it wasn’t okay. It wasn’t okay at all. There was a girl sitting a few feet away from me who I wanted, who I had feelings for, and she wasn’t my soulmate. Sure, I hadn’t done anything about how I felt. I hadn’t even really let myself feel them openly. But it was there. She was there. Hell, I’d just decided to give up on this whole no distraction nonsense. And now it didn’t matter, because I had a soulmate and it wasn’t her.
“Uh…hey, guys…” Trey stumbled back a few steps. He pointed toward the front of the boat. “Is that the Kraken coming back?”
Tennessee spun to the front. His black sword flew into his hand, and he glanced over his shoulder. “No, it’s demons.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Bettina
Jackson has a soulmate…and it’s not me.
It’s not me.
It’s…not…me.
I felt broken and unhinged, like I was a fairy and someone had just ripped my wings right off my back. If my heart was beating, I couldn’t feel it. My lungs burned from lack of oxygen. It wasn’t me. I’d known it wasn’t. The moment Tegan said what it was, it was like someone had knocked the wind out of me. I’d known Jackson for months, so it couldn’t have been me. I knew that, yet when he turned to me with hope in those aquamarine eyes, I’d dared to let myself think: Is it me?
In that moment, I’d prayed to the Goddess that when I pulled my shirt down, I’d find a mark identical to his on my chest. But I hadn’t, because I wasn’t his. Despite the way I felt. Despite the way he looked at me. All of that hoping and wishing that he’d want me after his test from Michael. All of that worrying about not distracting him. It was all for nothing.
Because it’s not me.
Cooper held both of his daggers at his sides, his eyes locked on the darkening horizon. “Probably that fight with the Kraken got their attention.”
“Are those what I think they are?” Trey asked in a small voice as he backed up to stand beside them.
“Yes.” Evaline sighed and pulled a dagger from her boot. “And they’re vicious little floor dwellers. I’ve dealt with them up in Salem.”
Tegan jumped to her feet and moved forward to stand beside Tennessee. Her rainbow magic coiled around her hands and was ready for the fight.
Royce cleared his throat. “Ya’ know, none of us would be offended if you two just did your non-human thing and handled this. Just sayin’.”
All of this was happening around me. I meant to get up. I meant to pull out my talisman sword and stand beside my friends to defend ourselves. I meant to take calming breaths. But my body was frozen in place. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t function. My gaze just kept going back to that glowing white mark on Jackson’s chest. Every time, the sight of it made my heart break a little bit more.
Tennessee rolled back on his heels then pushed off, leapt, and disappeared in the dark night sky. Tegan dissolved into a million little bubbles of water then reappeared at the very front of the boat. She threw her hands out wide, and rainbow magic shot out of her palms like lasers. I meant to watch her, to learn how she used her magic as a weapon, but my gaze landed on the pink crystal on the back of her right hand and my heart sank.
I looked down at my own hand. There were no glyph lines that looked like vines, no crystal-looking mark covering the one freckle on my hand. And there never would be. Some other girl had the luck of being his soulmate. It wasn’t like he’d just decided to date someone over me. There was no coming back from this. It wasn’t going to change. I wasn’t his soulmate.
Something moved in my peripheral vision down by my feet. I gasped and slammed my hands into the wooden floor. Pink magic exploded out of where I hit like a tidal wave. It zapped my fingers then spread across the boat. The boat rocked and swayed. Uh-oh. Ocean water rushed over the side of the boat and onto the deck floor. I cursed and jumped to my feet just as ice-cold ocean water rolled over my Converses.
Thunder rumbled over our heads. Lightning flashed and struck a demon’s back. Tennessee was nowhere to be seen, his all-black attire making him camouflage to the night sky. Demons hissed and shrieked left and right, so I knew he had to be the reason. Tegan stood with her feet planted in the water and shot missiles of magic into the demons.
“Guys…are we suddenly sinking?” Trey asked in a high-pitched voice.
Waves crashed down on the boat and rose up to my thighs.
Royce cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Mayday, mayday, the Titanic is going down!”
But the roar of the thunder nearly drowned him out. Our two best weapons were in the middle of the ocean fighting the demons far from us. I knew it was intentional, but something was definitely going horribly wrong over here. More waves rolled over the side of the boat, and we rocked hard to the left. My feet slipped in the water. I crashed to the floor, slid across the wooden planks, and then slammed into the side railing.
I grabbed the rails and pushed my magic just like Jackson had taught me. Bright, neon pink magic shot through the air like a flare, and I screamed, “TEGAN!”
Tegan reappeared on the deck in an instant. She cursed then flung her hands out. The roar of her magic shot out of her. She clenched her teeth and balled her fists, then swung her arms back. Tennessee landed on the deck like she’d just fished him out of the sea.
She held her hand out toward us. “Screw this. Everyone take my hand. Now. We’re gonna portal out of here.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Bettina
There was a flash of bright white, and then we landed right in the middle of Main Street in downtown Eden. Night had fallen. The sky was black with a dusting of twinkling stars and a moon that was merely a sliver of golden light. Ornate street lamps lined the road on both sides. To my right was the Italian restaurant I’d eaten at with Tegan’s family. On my left was the tattoo parlor Lennox had taken me my first day of school where I’d gotten into a confrontation with Jackson.
I resisted the urge to look back at him. There was no point anymore. He was never going to be mine, so I needed to let him go. So I concentrated on the issue at hand. Diving into work would have to be my saving grace.
“Why are we here?” Trey whispered.
“I wasn’t taking any chances with those demons on our tail,” Tegan said, and I practically heard the eye roll in her voice.
I cleared my throat. “Um, where are Harlan and Gen?”
Tegan sighed. “Back at Coven Headquarters. That’s where my original portal was going until the screaming started. They went through before it closed.”
“Oh.” I sighed. “Okay, good.”
Tennessee cursed a line of words that made even me cringe. Hot energy exploded out of him, blowing my hair off my face. He handed his phone to Tegan then stomped forward. “Why are they still out?”
“Goddess.” Tegan walked up and shoved his phone in his back pocket. She pulled a dagger out of the holster on her left thigh and spun in a circle. “Eight people missing is too many for one day.”
“Eight?” Cooper snarled and pulled his own daggers out. “Eight people have been snatched, and these fools go out to dinner?”
I frowned and looked around with new light. There had to be a dozen restaurants and shops along the street. Their lights were on and doors were open. People lounged at outside tables and laughed with their friends. The stores were brimming with customers loading up shopping bags. My pulse skipped a beat. That dream with Deacon replayed in my mind. Whatever was going on, it was serious.
Eight people taken. My stomach turned. I didn’t understand why these people were out like nothing had happened.
Tennessee made a sound that could only be described as a growl. He marched up the middle of the street, his black boots a stark contrast to the thick yellow lines. His black sword was gripped tight in his hand as he held it by his side. Tegan leapt to catch up with him. Her black combat boots looked menacing, though that might’ve been from the blood-covered studs. Cooper, Royce, and Evaline hurried behind them. They marched with their chins up and their shoulders back, like they were going into battle.
I wondered if anything fazed The Coven.
“Let’s go,” Jackson said in a low but stern voice. He pushed by me to follow them.
I jogged to catch up. When Jackson’s broad shoulders were close enough to touch, I closed my eyes and ran around him until I was right behind Tegan. I was cutting myself off from him cold turkey. No more.
Tennessee marched in stony, tense silence with menacing power radiating off of him. He didn’t shoot any magic—he just was magic. I watched his power hit each civilian as he passed them. One by one, like he was spraying them down with a hose, they froze. Their mouths dropped. Eyes widened. Silverware clanked against plates. Drinks spilled on the floor. Shopping bags hit the ground.
“Go home. NOW,” he said with a growl.
Without hesitation, everyone jumped into action. People leapt away from their dinner tables. Children and dogs were scooped up and carried over shoulders. They hightailed it to their cars or sprinted around corners. All the way up and down the street, even up ahead of us. Everyone fled. I couldn’t blame them. If I saw Tennessee and Tegan marching down the middle of the street I’d panic, too.
Tennessee made a sharp turn onto a residential street. The people fleeing off Main Street raced towards houses that were set back off the road. Children playing in the green grass jumped to their feet. A woman walking three dogs a few houses down glanced over her shoulder and spotted us. She screamed and sprinted away, the dogs keeping pace perfectly.
A cell phone rang, a
nd then Tennessee pulled it out of his back pocket and raised it to his ear. “Dad— No, we’re back. Tell Deacon to ride through the streets, send everyone home, and lock them inside.”
“Send Mom and Em,” Tegan whispered.
Tennessee nodded. “Send Emersyn and Devon with him for help and protection.”
I glanced left and right at the people scurrying by. Their faces were pale and stricken. Their eyes wide and screaming with fear. My stomach turned. I knew eight people were missing, but these people were terrified now. I wished there was a way to assure them we were on top of it. Then a light bulb lit up in my mind, and I heard Mr. Ruth’s voice as he explained the gifts of the Temperance Card—emotional influencer.
“And take Hunter, too!” I whisper-shouted.
“Oh, Dad, send Hunter as well. Everyone else, meet me at headquarters.” Tennessee ended the call then slid his phone into his pocket. He glanced over his shoulder to me and inclined his head. “Thanks for the reminder. Good thinking.”
My heart soared with pride. The Emperor, our Leader, had just thanked me and praised me. I smiled and tried to think of a response but came up blank. Not that it mattered—he’d turned away immediately.
Tegan flicked her wrist, and a box of white light appeared right in front of us. She half turned toward us and pointed to it. “Walk through.”
Trey leapt into the white box without hesitation and vanished. Evaline glanced around then sighed and calmly stepped inside. Tennessee said something to Cooper and Royce, but it was in the ancient language and I really needed to learn it. Tegan’s portal stood open, waiting for the rest of us to step through it, but none of us moved. Tegan had fisted Tennessee’s shirt with one hand and eyed the surrounding area like she was expecting a threat to pop out at us.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jackson turn, and I knew he was looking at me. I felt his eyes on my face like sunshine on a summer day. My heart did that weird little flip, and butterflies danced in my stomach. But I refused to look back. I couldn’t. I had to stop cold turkey. That mark on his chest was never going away, so my feelings needed to. Jackson cursed, and in his British accent, it sounded like music to my ears. The scent of Christmas washed over me…and then he was gone, stepping through the portal.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 44