“He’s telling the truth, as he knows it at least.”
Tegan arched one eyebrow. “What locket is he looking for?”
“Ruth’s locket—”
“Ruth’s locket?” I blinked. “As in Timothy’s sister?”
Ellis nodded. “My mother told me that Ruth kept all of her spells she created in her locket.”
Kessler cursed.
“I’m not sure what he’s planning on doing with it when he finds it, but I don’t think it’s to create an antidote.”
“Why not?”
Ellis glanced around. “He wants revenge for what was done to him. For what they lost. He thinks The Coven abandoned us and left us to die.”
Tenn groaned. “Deacon?”
Deacon gave a thumbs-up. “His desires are innocent. He means what he says.”
“So you and Jackson agree.” Tenn exhaled and rubbed his hands together. He looked to his left, across me and Jackson. “Tegan?”
She nodded. “I’m following your lead, boss.”
“I believe you, Ellis, but…” Tenn cursed. “But I’m just nervous.”
“I understand that,” Ellis said softly.
“However, my Coven-mates seem confident that you are not our enemy. Therefore, I do not feel comfortable putting you in our dungeon. I’m not sure what I want to do with you yet. I need to think.” Tenn looked to Tegan. “Can you secure him to the lower level of Headquarters?”
Tegan grinned. “You know I can.”
Chapter Eight
Jackson
“Hey, Jackson, can I talk to you for a second?”
I froze on the front steps to Headquarters and glanced behind me to Bentley. Part of me was ticked off at that wild goose chase this kid had sent me on, and therefore wanted to tell him to buzz off. But the bigger part of me wanted an explanation.
Bettina tugged on my hand, bringing my eyes back to hers. She smiled then stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to mine. When she pulled away, she said softly, “Hear him out.”
I kissed her again, then stepped back. “Okay, but I want Bettina to stay.”
Bentley smiled. “Yeah, fine by me.”
I pointed toward the house where everyone else had gone inside to set up Ellis’s lockdown. “You sure they don’t need us?”
He skipped up the steps to join us on the porch then shook his head. “No, Tegan’s doing all the work there. Everyone else is just for intimidation.”
Bettina chuckled and slipped her other hand in mine then leaned against my chest, and it felt like heaven. It really did.
“All right, little man, what do you want to say?”
Bentley’s cheeks flushed. “I wanted to apologize. I know it may not seem that way, but I am sorry about sending you away.”
I sighed. “Then why did you?”
“I had done the tracking spell as you asked and found it led to Bettina. Which both Tegan and I had suspected. We knew it wasn’t a good idea to tell you two because it would’ve caused you a lot of stress.” He held his hands up to stop us from asking questions. “Which was proved tonight when you both demanded proof. If we had told you when there was no proof, you wouldn’t have handled it well.”
I grumbled. He was probably right. The blush on Bettina’s cheeks suggested she knew that too.
He gripped his Hierophant’s locket. “The Goddess told me to send you, and it is not my place to question her.”
“And Sam?”
Bentley frowned. “Is that the girl’s name?”
I nodded. I felt Bettina’s eyes on me, but I’d tell her about Sam later. In private.
“I have seen visions of her. She will be an important player in the future.” His frown deepened. “I can’t see what part she’ll play exactly. I just know she will be there. And she’s important. It was imperative that we found her tonight, and the Goddess told me to send you.”
“That’s kinda ominous,” Bettina said with a scowl.
Bentley nodded. “You’re tellin’ me. Anyway, it was Tenn who sent you to check on the Tower. He’s really worried about her, and thinks that we’ll need her, so since she was nearby, it was good for his sanity to have you kill two birds with one stone.”
I sighed. “Yeah. That really bloody sucked. But I guess I understand.”
Bentley smiled and hopped around us. “You’ve got the girl now, right?”
I looked down into Bettina’s eyes, and my body filled with warmth. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
She grinned and tangled her fingers with mine. She popped up on her toes and leaned into my mouth. “About damn time, Lancelot.”
I chuckled against her lips. “I do believe we were waiting on you, Moonshine.”
Chapter Nine
Bettina
When we walked inside Headquarters a few minutes later, we found the rest of our Coven-mates huddled in the living room. Daniel and Mona were passing around cups of tea to help us relax. Mona set two on the coffee table for us, but I didn’t drink it. All of my anxiety had vanished at the arrival of my glyph. I was super relaxed. Now that I knew Jackson was my soulmate, I hadn’t a worry in the world. At least for tonight. Reality would crash down later.
Once we were inside, Tenn cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “All right, we’ve set Ellis up in a room downstairs. Tegan has created barriers to prevent him from leaving this house and from going above this main level. I really do want to trust him, but I want us all to sleepy safely, too.”
Jackson fiddled with my fingers, and it made heat bloom in my cheeks.
Willow frowned and raised her hand. “So, we’re all gonna go to sleep right now?”
“I’m not. I took a spell to stay awake—” Tegan held her palms up when everyone began to panic. “A safe spell this time. It’s Katherine-approved.”
Everyone calmed.
I scowled while tangling both of my hands with Jackson’s. “What did you do, Tegan? Last time. With a sleeping spell?”
Henley rolled her eyes. “Almost killed herself in sacrifice for us. Honorable, but not favorable.”
Tenn glared at Tegan. “And she will never, ever, do that again.”
Tegan kissed his cheek. “We’ve been over this, babe. Never again. Desperate times it was, okay? Besides, that’s not what I took this time. This one is safe. I feel great. Wide awake. Imma sit my happy ass here on the couch and do some research while eating junk food.”
Tenn shook his head, then looked to the rest of us. “Just go to bed. We’ll discuss everything over lunch.”
“And BREAK!” Easton yelled then charged up the stairs, dragging Lily behind him.
Cooper jumped up from the couch and headed toward the stairs. He paused to wink and smile at us then disappeared out of sight.
I was kind of in a Jackson-induced haze. I wasn’t moving as fast as everyone else was. So by the time I got my feet in motion, Jackson and I were the last ones in the living room.
“Moonshine?”
My cheeks warmed, and I knew I was blushing.
He took both my hands in his then tugged me into his chest. “What are you thinking about?”
I smiled and looked up to meet his ocean-colored eyes. I shook my head. “Nothing. My brain is absolute mush right now.”
He hummed then kissed the tip of my nose. “And why is that?”
I sighed and leaned into him. “I’m just so bloody happy that I can’t function.”
He threw his head back and groaned. “Goddess, I love when you say bloody.”
“Well, bloody hell—”
He bent down and threw me over his shoulder.
I squealed like a little girl at a Jonas Brothers’ concert. “Lancelot!”
“Mushy brains can’t be trusted for walking up stairs.”
I broke into a giggle fit as he carried me up the stairs. My hair dragged on the steps like a veil. I smacked his ass playfully over and over as we went up. “Is this distracting?”
He chuckled and started up the last stretch of
steps. “More so than you intend, love.”
My face lit on fire, and I bit my bottom lip. Butterflies danced in my stomach. I opened my mouth then shut it. I wasn’t sure what to say to that. My heart was suddenly pounding too hard. I slid my hands into his back pockets.
Jackson jumped the last step onto the third floor where both of our rooms were. I recognized the pattern in the hardwood floors and the burn mark along the edge of the baseboards. We passed a few doors, and I realized that we had separate rooms because we didn’t know we were soulmates when I moved in. Wait, will he even want to share a room with me? The other soulmate couples do. Well, Tegan and Emersyn have their own rooms, but they don’t use them. Or does Deacon use Em’s room?
He was my soulmate. My forever. It seemed silly to have separate rooms. I didn’t want to sleep apart from him, but switching rooms all the time would get annoying.
Do I ask him to mine tonight? Or do I go to his? My heart skipped a beat. I wasn’t sure how to handle this. What to say. I still had no idea how I managed to have the courage to ask him for our night together in London—that was so unlike me.
And then Jackson slowed and turned to the left.
To MY room.
He kicked my door open and crossed the room. Then, before I could even speak, he threw me onto my bed. I gasped and bounced into the air. He jumped on the bed and dropped down beside me, his arm wrapping around my waist. I giggled and rolled into him so we were face-to-face. He slid his hand up the side of my body, leaving a trail of fire in its wake, then he cupped my jaw. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. His kiss was soft, but it lit a fire inside me.
When he pulled back, his eyes were shining and his cheeks were flushed. My mood lanterns hanging over his head were pale pink—the color that meant in love.
“I hope you don’t mind I brought us in here… I just wanted to be near you tonight.”
My heart fluttered. I pulled myself closer to him. “I want to be close to you every night.”
He looked down at my lips. “But throwing you into my bed seemed a bit presumptuous.”
“Well, we’ve shared a hotel bed and your bed already.” I licked my lips. “So I guess it was my bed’s turn.”
He grinned and ran his thumb over my jaw. He glanced to the right, and his smile turned crooked. “I heard rumor you and Tegan made your rooms adjoining, with an open doorway—”
I giggled. “Yeah, we did. Fulfilling a childhood dream of ours.”
He shook his head. “Right, well, that doorway gives Tegan far too much invitation to be nosey…and I can’t decide just how worried we should be on that.”
“Oh, very worried. Very indeed.” I laughed and kissed his jaw. Then I kissed the corner of his mouth. “She’s gonna make this weird for us, and I think I have it coming.”
His eyebrows rose. “Oh? Do tell.”
I grimaced. “I may have embarrassed her in front of Tenn, Cooper, Em, Deacon, Royce, and Henley. At a time when being with Tenn was highly forbidden.”
He chuckled and pressed his lips to mine. “So revenge could be on the menu?”
“With Tegan? Likely.” I bit my lip and glanced around. Maybe this is my chance to ask. Then I decided to take a leap. This was just Jackson after all. “So, um…guess that means we better not sleep in here every night? We should sleep in your bed?”
His lips curved into a wide, cheek-splitting grin. “You want to share a bed every night?”
My face warmed. Too late to take it back now. I nodded. “Is that okay?”
“Okay?” He sighed, then reached out to tuck my hair behind my ear. “You have bewitched me from that first moment I laid eyes on you, standing on Dean’s sidewalk wearing that adorable dress with your Converses and red beanie. I have done nothing but think of you every day since.”
My breath caught in my throat. “Jackson…”
He cupped my face and stared into my eyes. “I prayed for so long that it would be you. That somehow, it would be you. I have no idea what I did to make my dreams come true, but there’s no bloody chance in hell I’m not going to wake up to your face every morning.”
I fisted his shirt and dragged myself up his body, then took his lips with mine. There were no words inside of me to explain how I felt, to do it justice, so I just needed to show him. As our tongues brushed, I slid his shirt up his chest. He lifted his arms and rolled over me. His body pressed into me, pushing me into the mattress. I hooked my legs around his hips and pulled him flush against me, then dragged my nails down his back.
He pulled back, propping himself on his elbows. “Bettina…I—”
“What’s wrong?”
“I love you,” he whispered fervently.
My heart soared as happiness overflooded my veins. I grinned and took his face in my hands. “I love you, too.”
As he lowered his body back onto me and pressed his lips to mine, every lantern hanging from my ceiling turned a deep, warm, plum purple. But that wasn’t surprising. I was planning on spending all night showing him just how much I loved him.
Chapter Ten
Tennessee
Every time I looked back, the darkness swallowed me. The shadows moved, like they were trying to reach out and grab me. All I heard were footsteps and branches breaking. Daddy said he’d follow us, except it sounded too big to be him.
I reached out for my mother’s hands and called to her, “Momma, wait for me!”
She slid her fingers through mine and squeezed real hard. “I’m right here, baby.”
When we stopped at the edge of the water, she let go of my hand and crouched down. I reached out and gripped the sleeve of her soft white dress, not wanting her to get too far away. Her dress was wet and sticky, but I held on anyway.
“Momma, can we stop running now?”
“I’m sorry, baby, no. We don’t have much time.” She held her palm out, closed her eyes, and began humming. Her yellow hair flew all around her and brushed over my face.
A light flashed. When I looked down, a small wooden boat sat in the dirt at Momma’s bare feet. This didn’t scare me though. I was used to Momma and Daddy creating things that weren’t there before.
Momma’s eyes squeezed shut real tight, but her tears slipped out anyway. Her whole body shook, so I held on tighter so she wouldn’t fall over. “I love you more than a thousand stars. Please forgive me. May the Goddess bless you.”
My heart burned and sounded like thunder in my ears. I stepped close and put my hand on Momma’s shoulder, blinking away my tears. “Momma?” I said, but my voice cracked.
Momma mumbled under her breath, but no matter how hard I concentrated, I couldn’t understand. I gripped her dress a little tighter. Her eyes were full of tears and her lips trembled. My heart pounded in my chest even harder. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. My throat was tight, like there was something stuck in it.
“Stay here, love,” Momma said to me, walking into the river.
“Momma?” I shouted. “Momma!”
The ice cold water splashed all the way up to my knees. Momma caught me and wrapped her arms around my body, holding me in place while I screamed. My nose burned, and tears filled my eyes so much I couldn’t see. I opened my mouth and strained to breathe. I cried and wiggled. I needed to get free.
Momma picked me up and carried me back to the dirt. She dropped to her knees so my feet touched and our green eyes were at the same level. Hers were full of tears and kept spilling onto her cheeks like rivers. She slid her hands down to squeeze my fingers. Her hands were warm and soft. “Baby, look at me.”
“Momma, I don’t understand.”
“I know, baby.” She smiled but it looked a little wobbly since her lips were shaking. “You are so strong, so brave. Hope is not lost.”
She reached up and pulled off her favorite necklace, an old key on a leather cord, and looped it over my head. I gasped and stepped back to look at it. The gold metal looked almost black without lights, and it stung like ice against my stomach, e
ven through my shirt.
Momma cleared her throat. “One day this key will help.”
“Where’s Daddy?” I had so many questions. I wanted to talk about Daddy more.
My head was light and fuzzy. Thunder rumbled over my head, and the sky lit up the brightest white I’d ever seen. The ground shook under my feet. I cried out and grabbed onto Momma’s dress. She pulled me up and squeezed me so tight I could barely breathe. Her fingers dug into my skin.
Water filled my eyes, and I tried to blink it away but it wouldn’t stop. “Momma? I’m scared.”
“Oh, baby.” She set me back down and cupped my face in her warm, soft hands. “Don’t be. You are so strong. The Goddess will protect you. It’s time we say goodbye now.”
I gasped. “Goodbye? No! I don’t want to leave you.”
“But you must. My time here is done. Before sunrise, I will be with your father.” Her eyebrows scrunched down and her face twisted. She turned away and cried.
Tears poured down my face. Now my lips were shaking too. “But then I’ll be alone.”
She wiped her wet face on her sleeve before turning to look at me. “No, baby. You will never be alone. You must run now and not look back. The Tennessee wilds will protect you. Run through there until you get to Eden. The Goddess will send you guidance.”
“No, Momma, please. Stay with me,” I whispered through the burn in my throat.
Her face twisted. “It’s time now, my love.” She pulled me to her chest and squeezed. Her body was soft and warm and smelled like pine trees. Her chest shook, but I cuddled up closer. “Just know, my love, I will always love you.”
“Momma…” I held her tighter. I wanted her to hold me forever, until Daddy came back and the darkness stopped following us. But then she stepped away, and I turned cold from the inside out.
She placed her right hand over my heart. “If you ever need me, this is where I’ll be. Right here, real close. I will be in your heart forever. All you have to do is look.”
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 109