I grinned. “Thank you.”
He rolled his eyes and laughed. With a flick of his wrist, I was on my feet, standing tall.
The entire field from the Old Lands border up to Headquarters was frozen solid. I cursed. Okay, I can fix this. I took a deep breath then held my hand out in front of me. The ground trembled, and the ice cracked. It broke apart then shot up into my palm. In the blink of an eye, every ounce of ice was gone.
“Riiiiight.” Tennessee shook his head. “You’re training with Tegan and me tomorrow, preferably before you go all Elsa on us and freeze the entire school over.”
I grinned. “I think you meant that as a threat or a bad thing, but thank you.”
Royce clapped and laughed hysterically. “She’s as crazy as Tegan. I can’t wait to see this.”
Hunter chuckled and turned toward the house. “Come on, y’all. Let’s eat some lunch before it gets cold.”
One by one, they all gave me a high five and then sprinted toward the house. The weird thing was, I could feel how cold they were. Like I had some kind of new radar system. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but it would probably come in handy.
Deacon paused next to me. “Just keep breathing. It’ll all calm down in a couple hours. I’d take it easy today.”
“Make sure you don’t accidentally overdo it, either.” Jackson chuckled from suddenly right beside me. He winked and it made butterflies dance around in my stomach. “Try not to test out your new toy until you’ve rested.”
“Thanks, guys, but I feel fine.”
They nodded and headed inside. I wasn’t lying. I did feel fine. Well, actually, I felt amazing. I felt lighter on my feet than I ever had before. The air around me was sharp and tingling with energy, without me even trying.
My jaw dropped. This was how they felt? This was the kind of magic they had? My entire body was buzzing with energy. It was sensory overload.
Tegan chuckled and wrapped her arm around mine. “Come on, Coven-mate. Let’s chill.”
Chapter Eighteen
Bettina
“You’ve been sitting out here for over an hour, dude.”
I glanced over my shoulder and found my best friend strolling toward me. She was back in her normal attire—all black. Except this time, she had on a big black sweater that had holes in it and was almost definitely Tennessee’s.
She held out a long beige trench coat and arched one eyebrow. “You may be a Card now, and impervious to cold, but my father was about to lose his shit if you didn’t at least put a jacket on.”
I grinned and took my coat as she handed it to me. I slid it on, and the warmth felt nice, even if I didn’t need it. Jackson’s Christmassy scent washed over me and it made my heart flutter. Every time I heard his name or the sound of his voice my insides got all squirmy and warm. But this smell, it was intoxicating and it brought me back to our night together in the beat of a second. Not helpful thoughts.
I cleared my throat. “I still can’t wrap my head around your father being a witch. Our entire childhood was one huge lie.”
She chuckled and plopped down beside me. Then she pulled out a bag of Starburst and set it on the ground between us. “You have no idea, B. Remember my friend, Miss Sibel?”
I frowned and shook my head. “Wow, that’s a blast from the past. Of course I remember her. She taught us everything we needed to get started with our witchy shenanigans. Why?”
“Miss Sibel was really Cassandra George. The Hierophant before Bentley.”
My jaw dropped. “My mind is so totally blown right now.”
She giggled. “Welcome to the party.”
I chuckled and unwrapped a pink Starburst.
“So, you wanna tell me what’s looping in that head of yours?”
I groaned. “Do you have to know me so well all the time?”
She shrugged. “I pretended like I didn’t for an hour, if that counts?”
That made me smile. “Well, I guess it does.”
She popped a red Starburst in her mouth. “Start talking.”
I sighed and pointed to Timothy’s funeral pyre that I’d been staring at for apparently an hour. “It’s just…hard. Weird. Surreal. I wish I’d known who you really were when I first got here.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad we didn’t know.” She frowned and shook her head. “I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate on Salem’s Prophecy if I knew you were here. That could’ve cost us everything. And you…B…look at the friends you made without me. We both know if I had been here, you would’ve just been hanging with The Coven the whole time.”
I opened my mouth to deny that, but it was no use. She was right.
We were silent for a long moment.
“You’re thinking about Timothy, aren’t you?”
“It’s hard not to”—I looked down and traced the XX Mark on my arm—“when his Mark is inked into my skin. What would he think if he knew? Is it wrong that I was the last person with him when he died and I get his Mark? After everyone accused me of killing him.”
“The universe has a way of doing things that we can’t always understand,” she said softly. “I’ve found it’s best not to question. Just know that you were Marked because the Goddess thinks you deserve it. And from what I’ve heard, Timothy cared for you. I know he’d be proud that a kick-ass female like yourself has replaced him.”
My heart hurt. “I hope you’re right.”
“Of course I am. Why else would he have told you the story he did?”
I smiled. “That sad, horrible story that I will never shake.”
“Yup. That’s the one.” Tegan grinned then flicked an orange Starburst at me.
I caught it then chucked it back at her. “So what about you? What’s the deal with this whole passing out thing?”
She grimaced. “Honestly?”
“Duh.”
“I have no idea, and that’s the part that scares me.” She leaned forward and whispered, “But I’ve been playing it coy for Tenn, because he’s just got too much on his mind right now. I don’t need him worrying about me, too.”
“But should we be worried?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know how to explain it…but it’s some kind of connection with Heaven. Each time I’ve passed out, it’s because I came in direct contact with Heavenly power. So I need to just not do that until I figure it out.”
I shuddered.
“I know. Trust me, I know.” She leaned back and wagged her eyebrows. “Now, tell me about last night with Jackson…”
My cheeks burned. “Um…”
“Oh, come on. I told you about Tenn.” She poked me. “Spill.”
I opened my mouth, and it all poured out. Every detail. Once I started telling her, I couldn’t stop. She listened in eager silence. For a while, it was like old times again. Just the two of us, discussing every detail of our lives to death. It eased some of the tension inside me until I could actually take a deep breath.
Tegan chuckled. “Can you imagine telling yourself three months ago that you’d be here?”
I shook my head. “I’m still trying to tell current me.”
She started to say something, and then her phone beeped from her pocket. She jumped and dove for it. “Sorry, I’ve been trying to get ahold of Saffie for days. I hope this is her— Shit. It’s not.”
I frowned. “Don’t you have other friends down there? The civilians you told me about? Maybe one of them could go check on her.”
“That’s brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that?” She shook her head and dialed a number on her phone, then held it up to her ear. “Hey! Hey, Monica, it’s Tegan… I was wondering if you could do me a favor and go check on Saffie? I can’t get ahold of her and I’m worried.”
Pause.
“Thank you, Monica. I owe you one.” She sighed and hung up. “That was easy.”
I smiled. “Who texted you?”
“Oh, Tennessee. He asked if we could please just come inside.” She gri
nned and hopped up. “Which is fine, since you need to pick your new room. But don’t worry. I’ve been saving the one next to mine for you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Because you knew I was Marked.”
She shrugged. “It’s my job to know things. Come on. I think we can sneak in an adjoining door while no one is looking.”
Chapter Nineteen
Bettina
“How many of these lights do you want?” Lennox asked and then stepped back to inspect her work. “So I know for design purposes.”
I grinned. “I want the entire ceiling covered.”
Lennox looked over her shoulder at me with wide eyes. “Oh, rad.”
“These are mood lights?” Tegan cocked her head to the side and eyed my ceiling. “Is that what you said?”
“Yep,” I said with a satisfied smile. “Lennox has them. They were the first thing that really excited me about magic when I got here. I am obsessed.”
Lennox swished her wand around over her head. “Each emotion is represented by a different color, down to the shade. And yes, there’s a cheat sheet.”
“For example this particular shade of neon pink?” I pointed to the row of lanterns already installed. “Represents excitement…because I’m excited about all of this.”
“Lenny—”
“I can make some for you, too, weirdo.” Lennox chuckled as three more rows of lanterns appeared. “Now shoo so I can finish this.”
I grabbed Tegan’s elbow and dragged her to the side of the room, then I tapped on the wall. “Now, about this adjoining door…”
Tegan’s eyes sparkled. She cracked her knuckles. “I’ve got big plans for us, B.”
I shook my head. “Why do you even have a room? Aren’t you up in the penthouse with Tennessee?”
She shrugged and eyed the wall. “Yes, but I wanted my own private space. Somewhere I could go that’s just mine. A She-shed, if you will.”
Lennox threw her head back and laughed.
Tegan winked then pressed both of her palms flat to the wall. “Now, I want Lennox to help me out with this but check this out…” Rainbow magic billowed out from under her skin and then part of the wall was gone.
My eyes widened. “Holy shitticus.”
I stuck my hand through the opening but found no resistance. So then I carefully stepped over the line and into Tegan’s She-shed. There wasn’t much in the room but it was so Tegan. To my right, stuffed in the corner, was a massive couch that looked so comfortable I knew I’d never want to get up. On the wall beside me, across from the couch, was a huge flat screen television. To my left, across from a fireplace and nestled into a bank of massive windows sat the ultimate reading chair.
“Wow,” I heard myself whisper.
Tegan grinned and spun in a slow circle. “I know. It needs more work but I’ll get there. I’m still trying to figure out the whole closet situation.”
“You need Caroline.”
I jumped and looked over my shoulder and found Emersyn leaning against the doorframe of our connected rooms. Her golden eyes were bright and full of zest as she glanced around.
“Hey, Em.” I smiled and gestured around us. “What do you think?”
“I think my parents cannot know that she doesn’t even have a bed in here.” Emersyn giggled and her cheeks flushed. “And I am feeling a bit jealous I didn’t think to create adjoining rooms.”
“You still can.”
She grinned and looked to me. “Deacon’s room is right next to mine, we could definitely combine them. I’ll have to ask him.”
Tegan narrowed her eyes. “Did you say we needed Caroline? As in, the same Caroline that —”
“Yes.” Em held her hands up to stop her twin. “I know. But she’s doing so much better now that the shields have come down. AND she makes the sickest magical closet you could ever see. She also wants to make a business out of it.”
I gasped. “Oh my God, can we hire her?”
Tegan nodded. “Yes. Yes we can.”
“Yo, B,” Lennox called out then leaned into the doorway next to Em. “Sooooo…do you have a preference for your room décor or do you want me to just do my thing and surprise you?”
I threw myself down onto Tegan’s couch and sighed. “Surprise me. Definitely.”
Her yellow-green eyes grew bright with excitement. “Excellent.” Then she jumped back into my new room.
Tegan sat down then curled up on the couch next to me. “If she does as good a job as I’m expecting then I’m gonna have her do this room next.”
Emersyn’s golden eyes widened as she looking into my room. “Oh, she’s good. Can I go after you?”
It was in that moment that something clicked for me. I was in The Coven now. That meant I had to move out of the dorms and into Coven Headquarters, for safety reasons. But it also meant that Lennox was now without a roommate. Again. I remembered the first moment I met her and how emotionally excited she was when she realized she finally had a roommate. It’d been years, and now I had to abandon her.
Or do I?
Jackson got permission for Warner to move in downstairs, maybe Lennox can, too?
“You know what’s weird?”
I turned to look at Tegan. “What?”
She smirked. “I can literally feel you thinking right now. It’s weird.”
“Is that another Aether Witch thing?” Emersyn asked from next to Tegan – which was weird because I hadn’t seen her move at all.
Tegan nodded. “It appears. I’m a weirdo, we knew this. But what I don’t know is what Bettina is thinking about so hard right now.”
I pushed myself up into a seated position then turned toward my best friend and her twin. They were the two most powerful women in the world. High Priestess and Empress. The only person more powerful than them was Tenn. I kept waiting for this to intimidate me but it kept never happening.
“Bettina?”
I cleared my throat. “Is there any way Lennox could move in to one of the rooms downstairs?”
Tegan frowned. “Why do you ask?”
“Well…firstly, you keep using her for assistance so it would make sense for her to be nearby at all times.” I bit my lip and hesitated. It wasn’t my story to tell, but it was relevant to the sales pitch. “See, I was her first roommate in years. She’s been alone all this time. I feel bad that I was there – and she was so happy – and now I have to leave her.”
Emersyn scowled. “They didn’t give her a roommate?”
I opened my mouth then shut it. “It’s a long story, but no.”
“Hey, Siri, call Tennessee on speaker,” Tegan said without moving.
It rang once, then his scruffy voice grumbled. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, my love. I’m fine.” Tegan smiled and her cheeks flushed. “Can Lennox move in downstairs next to Warner?”
“Are you scheming?” He growled.
Tegan chuckled, but it was not a convincing sound at all. “No. I just think it would benefit The Coven to have such a gifted Wand in-house.”
There was a pause.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” Tenn coughed. “But ask her if she wants to.”
All three of us perked up and grinned.
“Thanks, babe. I love you. Buh bye.” Tegan chuckled then hung up the phone. “Yo, Lenny!”
Lennox jumped into the open doorway. “What’s up?”
Go ahead, B. Ask her.
My grin widened. “Do you want to move in to Headquarters?”
Lennox gasped. “You serious?”
I nodded. “There’s some nice rooms downstairs next to Warner—”
“Oh my Goddess, you’re serious!” Her jaw dropped. “Yes. Yes I want to so bad.”
“Cool. Tenn already approved it.” I gave her two thumbs-up.
Lennox squealed and hopped up and down, then she danced back into my room. Happiness soared in my heart and I saw the mood lanterns in my room light up golden – the color for happiness. Lennox was one of a kind. Sh
e was special. I wished she could join The Coven with us, but I’d happily settle for having her live with us. I hated the idea of her being alone in the Swords dorm.
I looked over to my best friend and smiled. “Thanks, Tegan.”
Emersyn giggled suddenly. “Man, I cannot believe this is our lives now. Can you imagine if we knew that night at the Gathering just what we meant to each other?”
Memories of that night replayed through my mind. We were all so much more than who we thought back then. It was crazy to think about the path our lives took since that night – the night we all experienced the supernatural for the first time. I saw it all in my mind clear as day. Their faces. Their attitudes. The spirits. It was right there, and so were both of these girls.
“Em, do you still talk to those friends?”
She frowned and looked over at me, then shook her head and cursed. “No. I kinda forgot they existed—” her stomach growled like a dinosaur. Em laughed and covered her mouth. “I think I ought to go down and cook something for everyone.
“Man, I want some fried…” Tegan closed her eyes – then they flew back open. “Oh My God. Dad used to bring home fried chicken every time he went to visit mom. He said – wait, oh my God – he’d say Devon’s daughter made it. EMERSYN HOWE BISHOP.”
Em threw her head back and laughed. “Yep. I make mean fried chicken.”
“Oh my, God. That was you.” To my utter horror, I drooled. Like, actual drool. But I couldn’t help it. The memory of that fried chicken overwhelmed me. “Oh man, what I wouldn’t give for that right now.”
Em jumped up. “Well, that settles it then. As a celebration for your joining The Coven I shall make my special fried Chicken.”
My stomach growled and my mouth water. “This is Heaven.”
Chapter Twenty
Jackson
“Just so I know…” I glanced over to Kessler, then back to Katherine. “Exactly how much is this going to hurt?”
Tennessee chuckled and leaned against the frame of my bedroom door. “You mean because she brought in reinforcements?”
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