I peeled my eyes away from his perfect body and moved to the edge of the bed to look for my clothes when it hit me. I didn’t have clothes to put on. I’d been wearing a satin evening gown when I’d come in here. My clothes were back in the guest room…with my cell phone. So I couldn’t even call Tegan for assistance. I eyed the blue satin and chewed on my bottom lip. I only have to go two doors down. Better in the dress than a towel or bedsheet.
I stuck my long leg out and gripped the thin material between my toes, then pulled it toward my outstretched hand. I went to slide it on when I noticed the zipper was completely torn off on one side.
“What’s wrong?”
I shook my head and stared at the tear. “My dress… It’s torn.”
“Oh.”
Something in his voice made me look over at him. His cheeks were red as he stared in horror at the dress in my hands. He rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. He was still shirtless, wearing only his tux pants that were hanging deliciously low on his hips.
I gasped. “Did you rip it?”
He opened his mouth then shut it. “Sorry. I got a little impatient, I guess.”
I arched my eyebrows. “You ripped this with one hand?”
“That’s why I got impatient,” he said in a rush, then he groaned and buried his face in his hand.
I threw my head back and laughed.
He cursed and ducked inside his closet. “I’m sorry!”
“I’m not,” I said with a chuckle and shook my head.
When he came back out a second later, he wouldn’t meet my eyes and his cheeks were still pink. He held out a long beige garment. “Here, um, put this on.”
I took it then held it up in front of me. The material was soft in my hand. “It’s a trench coat— It’s Burberry, Jackson!”
He shrugged. “We’re British. Burberry is British—”
“Jackson, this thing must cost a fortune—”
“Yeah, and it doesn’t fit me anymore, so you might as well have it.” He gave me a small smile and shrugged one shoulder. “Mom gave it to me two winters ago when I visited. It’s too small now for me, but you’re considerably thinner. Besides, no one will look at you weird if you walk out of here wearing it since literally every wealthy British person owns one.”
I opened my mouth to argue with him then closed it. He made a great point. I slid my arms inside then pulled it around my body and stood up. The cotton material was super soft against my bare skin. I looked down, and my eyes widened. The hem fell to almost my knees. And thanks to me being as tall as most guys, the sleeves actually fit me. I would actually look fully clothed in it.
My cheeks warmed. I glanced up at him and smiled as I buttoned it up. “Thank you, Jackson.”
He smiled and nodded. “It looks good on you. I meant it. It’s yours if you want it.”
“Thank you.” I slid my sparkly sandals on then walked toward the door. Then I paused and spun around. “Oh, the dress—”
“I’ll have Miranda come retrieve it.” He cleared his throat. “So, um, we should probably find Tegan and get back to Eden, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll just go get dressed real quick— Will you wait for me up here?”
“Of course.”
I knew that once I walked out of his room I’d have to actually let him go. After last night, there could be no more hidden moments or touches. It would hurt too much. But I wasn’t out the door yet. I licked my lips then stood up on my toes and pressed my lips to his. He sighed against my mouth and fisted my hair. We stumbled backward until I ran into the doorframe. Our lips brushed and our tongues tangled—and then he was gone.
I gasped and opened my eyes. He stood a few feet away, panting and scrubbing his face. Then he licked his lips and looked at me. I wanted to drag his mouth back to mine. I wanted to pull him back into bed and stay there all day. But then I saw it. His soulmate glyph. It was still small, about golf-ball sized, shimmering a soft white in the center of his chest.
My heart hurt. I prayed one day it would get easier, less painful.
I smiled and nodded. “See you in a few minutes.”
Chapter Thirteen
Bettina
Tegan wasn’t in our shared guest room when I got in there, and neither were her clothes. Then again she’d used magic to change into her gown like the fairy godmother from Cinderella. She was around here somewhere. I wasn’t worried about her now that she was back to normal.
Instead, I focused on getting dressed so we could get home. I found my clothes right where I’d left them before the ball. As I picked them up, I realized just how much of a disaster we’d been when we arrived. My blue jeans and Cooper’s gray sweatshirt were torn, burned black, and covered in blood—both human and demon. I shuddered. Cooper’s sweatshirt was destroyed. There was no fixing or wearing it. Hell, it reeked of maple syrup and smoke.
I pulled my phone off the charger Pippa had loaned me, then shot a picture of the sweater to Cooper. Were you attached to this? Or can I buy you a new one?
I slid my gray long-sleeved shirt on and sat down on the bench at the foot of my bed to slide my Converse sneakers on. They, too, would need to be replaced. They weren’t white anymore. I ran into the bathroom to check out my face—and gasped. I looked…undone. Like someone had been fisting my hair. A lot. I smiled just thinking about it. My hair was wildly wavy, but it would have to work for now. My makeup from the night before was still on—faded, but still there. Actually, it faded enough to be appropriate for daytime. The lipstick was gone, but that was no shocker. My lips were naturally pink and puffy today, and I could still feel his mouth on mine even though he was in another room. I ran my fingertips over my bottom lips as my thoughts drifted back to last night.
My cheeks flushed. Don’t think about it.
With a decently satisfied smile, I rushed out of the bathroom and slid Jackson’s trench coat on. It smelled like him, but I somehow managed to resist the urge to pull it up to my face and take a big whiff.
My phone buzzed with a text from Cooper. Haha. Nah. Toss it. I have plenty.
I sent back a smiling emoji and a thumbs-up, then slid my phone in my pocket and sprinted into the closet. The safe was a tad overwhelming, but I’d managed to figure it out. I’d only checked on Michael’s sword about a million times before going to the ball. But as I entered the combination, my stomach filled with butterflies.
Please be in there.
I pulled the door open and sighed. Michael’s sword was leaning right where I’d left it, glowing like a supernova. My sword was propped up beside it, looking kind of pathetic in comparison. I chuckled and slid my sword into the holster hanging from my hip. I’d gotten so used to carrying Michael’s sword that I didn’t brace myself. I just reached out, grabbed the hilt, and pulled. Electricity shot through my hands and up my arms. I cursed and flew back…and landed on the floor.
“Bettina!” Jackson yelled from nearby. The floor creaked, and then his face appeared over mine. “The sword get ya’ again?”
I groaned. “Ow. I’m okay.”
He chuckled and bent down. His hand wrapped around my arm, and then I was up on my feet. He grinned. “Ready?”
Before I could stop myself, I leaned into his chest and pressed my lips to his. I knew I shouldn’t have, but after last night I was having a hard time letting go. He moaned and deepened our kiss. As his tongue brushed over mine I knew this was going to hurt, because this kiss was softer. Sweeter. More delicate. And so much harder to forget.
He pulled back just enough to whisper against my mouth, “Moonshine.”
I chuckled, then let my tongue brush with his. As I pulled away, I dragged my teeth along his bottom lip. “Let’s go find crazy-pants.”
We had just walked into the front living room when there was an explosion. A woman screamed, and then glass shattered.
Jackson cursed and sprinted across the room toward the noise. I raced after him with my heart in my throat. Did demons find them now that they have magic
? Or maybe some monster snail? My pulse quickened. Jackson pushed through the door and froze. I slammed into his back, and Michael’s sword hit his body. He hissed and leapt forward—and a huge pancake hit him right in the face.
I gasped and spun around. My jaw dropped. The kitchen was in absolute chaos. There had to be ten women in there jumping around and throwing food at each other. They laughed and squealed. Magic exploded all over the room in little colorful balls of confetti. Pippa, Jackson’s mother, was wearing jeans and a layer of pancake batter. It was tangled in her dirty blonde hair and raining down her face. She giggled and flicked her wrists. Thick white powder and glittery magic shot out of her palms across the room.
Jackson gasped. “Mom.”
A little old lady with silver hair squealed like a pig and ran through the room shooting pepperonis in rapid fire.
“GRANNY?” Jackson yelled, his eyes wide and about to pop out of his head.
She hopped up on a chair and smiled at him. “‘Ello, love! Busy at the moment, dearie!” Then she flicked her fingers, and little strings of mozzarella cheese rained down on the room.
It was a magical food fight.
“What in the bloody hell is happening in here?”
Everyone froze.
Tegan jumped out from behind the counter. She was covered in white powder like a funnel cake. She licked her lips and pushed her black—and white-dusted—hair out of her face. “So…what had happened was—”
“TEGAN?”
I threw my head back and laughed.
Tegan giggled then covered her mouth. “Sorry. Sorry.” She cleared her throat then went into a long string of giggles.
Jackson shook his head and looked around the room. “What…Mom? Granny?”
I smiled. He called his grandmother Granny. It was the cutest thing I’d heard him say.
Pippa blushed and wiped pancake batter off her face. “I guess you kind of had to be there, son.”
Everyone else burst out laughing.
Tegan walked closer, still trying to contain her giggles. “See, we were making brunch, and Pippa was showing everyone how to cook with magic because they’ve all just gotten magic for the first time, right? Right, so it was a disaster. Then I made a joke about how it’s the opposite of that scene from Sleeping Beauty where the three little fairies have to try and cook without magic and…and…well…” She gestured around the room.
Jackson sighed and shook his head. But he was grinning. “Well, I hate to ruin your fun, but I think we need to be getting back to Eden?”
Tegan hopped over to Jackson’s grandmother and gave her a big hug. Then she turned and gave out high-fives down the room to everyone until she got to Pippa. They hugged, then Tegan pulled back. “Now, if y’all need any help with your magic, you just give us a call, okay? I’ve already contacted the Majors in London and warned them.”
“Don’t forget about what we discussed, dearie!” Grandmother Millie shouted across the room.
Tegan grinned. “Oh, I won’t. I have every intention of opening a magical academy here in London.”
Pippa smiled. “But she needs to make sure Eden is safe first, Mother.”
“Oh, go blast ‘em with a magic cannon,” Millie grumbled and ate a pepperoni off the wall.
Pippa rolled her eyes and shook her head. She walked over and hugged Jackson. “Be careful, love. When things calm down, I hope you’ll come home and visit.”
I frowned. Apparently Tegan had been busy this morning. Not that she looked concerned about it. She winked at Pippa then skipped past us and out the door. I turned and followed her out, giving Jackson a moment with his family.
“What exactly did you tell them about?”
Tegan spun and grinned. She wiggled her fingers, and all of the debris from the food fight vanished. “It turned out Jackson hadn’t told his family about him joining The Coven. You know how boys are with communication. I simply filled Pippa and Millie in on what we’re dealing with. In private, of course.”
I frowned. “You’re not worried about getting in trouble for sharing that with civilians?”
“What’s Tenn gonna do, spank me?” She wagged her eyebrows. “Besides, they’re his parents, not random civilians. If you were speaking to your parents, I’d say to do the same.”
I opened my mouth then shut it. “I left my mom a voice mail. She hasn’t called back yet.”
She frowned and tugged on my trench coat. “Dudette, are you wearing Burberry?”
“What? Oh, yeah. Jackson gave it to me.”
“I bet he did.” Tegan grinned.
“Tegan,” I hissed, and my cheeks warmed.
The kitchen door flew open, and Jackson strolled out. He nodded. “Ready when you are.”
Tegan snapped her fingers, and her white portal box opened. “All right, let’s get back to Eden, shall we?”
Chapter Fourteen
Bettina
We portaled right into the living room.
Everyone was up and moving around. Well, almost everyone. Royce and Deacon were asleep sitting up on the couch next to each other. It was cute because they looked so much alike it was like they were opposites. Easton was curled up on the reclining chair snoring. Emersyn sat on the brick ledge in front of the fireplace wiggling her fingers. Bright orange flames danced under her hands.
The rest of The Coven was in the kitchen, fighting over space and the last of the Lucky Charms cereal. Hunter and Kessler had aprons on and were standing over the stove cooking what smelled like bacon.
Bentley was sitting in the bay window stuffing his face with white powdered doughnuts. Like he always used to. Some things never changed.
Well, that wasn’t true.
I’d changed.
I’d gone from a quiet, reserved book nerd to a sword-carrying, demon-slaying witch.
Cooper turned then and spotted us. He grinned and hurried over. “HEY! You’re back!”
Everyone stopped and turned toward us. They shouted in excitement and dropped what they were doing. I blinked and lowered Michael’s sword so I didn’t accidentally stab anyone. They all rushed to Jackson with huge smiles. They hugged him and high-fived him. I smiled. He deserved the praise. He did amazing on that quest. I could only imagine the relief he felt.
Constance’s eyes teared up as she stepped back from hugging him. “Timothy would be so proud of you.”
His cheeks flushed. “Thank you. Thanks, all of you. I’m just happy it’s over.”
“And you!” Hunter turned and pointed at me. He smiled then pulled me into a big bear hug and patted my back. “Welcome to The Coven.”
“Thank yo—”
They tackled me all at once. I couldn’t tell who was who from that close, but I’d seen them all rush at me. I heard them all congratulating me on my Mark, but it was too much to process. I hadn’t even gotten used to it yet.
My cheeks warmed, and I laughed nervously. “Thanks, guys. I’m terrified.”
“Don’t be. We got you, girl.” Royce winked and threw himself back down on the couch. “Someone better call Tenn and tell him they’re back before he freaks out.”
Tegan chuckled and tapped on her temple. “Already did.”
Kessler sighed and shook his head. “We had to kick him out for a bit. He kept us up all night with his anxiety.”
Emersyn shuddered. “Twin, it was like a tsunami of energy on repeat.”
“Yeah, we all voted.” Deacon gestured around the room. “You lost, T.”
Tegan frowned. “I’m not allowed to leave his side again?”
“See, I told you she’d guess it!” Henley laughed and winked.
“GUYS,” Cooper shouted over everyone. When we all froze and turned to him, he shook his head and pointed to me. “Have none of you noticed the six-foot-tall sword in Bettina’s arms?”
They all gasped.
Easton shrugged. “Honestly, I’m just used to glowing things by now.”
“Here, Bettina,” Bentley said with a grin. “I clear
ed a spot for you on the coffee table.”
I sighed and lugged the sword over. It took all of my strength to hoist it up and onto the wooden table that was only two feet off the ground, maybe less. My arms were burning and sore from carrying it. I never wanted to touch the thing ever again.
For a moment, everyone just stared.
Then Easton lunged for it. “Imma touch it—”
“NO!” Jackson and I yelled at the same time.
But it was too late. Easton touched the hilt and yelped. He jumped back, shaking his hand. “Imma not touch it.”
Deacon cursed. “That only makes me wanna touch it more.”
“Guys, no!” Jackson tried to stop him.
But Deacon was just as bad as Easton. He grabbed the hilt, and his hand smoked up. He cursed and yanked it back immediately. “Damn you, Easton.”
Royce rolled his eyes. “Dude, you’re the Devil. You’re supposed to tempt people into doing stuff, not the other way around.”
Deacon shrugged. He wiggled his fingers in front of his cousin’s face, and red smoke billowed out. “Touch. It.”
Royce glared at him, but his arm shot out and touched the sword. He yelled then stuck his finger in his mouth. “Jerk,” he mumbled around it.
“I want to touch it,” Braison said.
“Me too,” Willow and Chutney said at the same time.
Jackson rolled his eyes and plopped down in the chair across from it. “Knock yourselves out, then.”
The three of them dove for the sword at the same time. They each yelped and yanked their hands back.
“It’s like watching Darwinism happen right in front of us,” Tegan whispered.
I chuckled. “Guys, Jackson got burned from it, and he was the one sent to find it. Why do you think you can touch it?”
“Well, you were holding it,” Easton grumbled.
Henley frowned and cocked her head to the side. “Yeah, how is that? Tegan, did you touch it?”
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