The Secret Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 5), page 13
Chapter Twenty-One
Jackson
I paused outside Tennessee’s door and took a deep breath. I felt like I was about to poke a hibernating bear. No one wanted to disrupt the guy right now, but we needed him. And not just because he was our Leader. This was his sister we were searching for. We couldn’t move forward without his approval. Even if it meant interrupting his grieving.
And no one else wanted to be the one to do it. Bettina couldn’t stop herself from crying every time she looked at him, so she was clearly not the best person to get him. Which was how I found myself stalling outside his room. I was the only one who wasn’t as emotionally invested in him.
Bloody hell, Lancaster. You know he can feel you out here. Just do it.
I exhaled and rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans. Then I reached up and knocked as nonchalantly as possible.
The wooden door flew open. A wall of thick, tense silence slammed into me. Inside was dark except for a faint orange flickering light. I waited for him to invite me in, and then a gust of wind hit my back, pushing me over the threshold.
I stumbled inside…and my eyes widened. I’d never been to the third floor to see the Leader’s quarters, but bloody hell he had a nice setup. Granted, I knew Tegan was behind most of it. Until Tenn was crowned Leader, there had been two penthouse suites up here that sat vacant because neither Timothy nor Constance had wanted to move into them. Tegan hadn’t hesitated to use her magic to really deck the place out.
And, for a moment, I forgot why I was there and let myself look around. There was a massive king-sized bed off to the left. To my surprise, the sheets were white and not Tennegan’s trademark black. But I was not surprised that the sheets were a balled-up mess. I turned to my right, toward the only source of light, and found a large fireplace roaring with flickering orange flames…and Tennessee sitting in front of it. He sat on the floor, leaned up against a leather sofa as he stared into the fire. He didn’t look up at me or even register that he saw me.
But I knew he did. I felt his magic in the air around me.
Now that I was here, I wasn’t sure what to say, or if I should. He looked absolutely destroyed. His face was tight, and in the dim lighting, it made his cheekbones look sharp—like he’d lost twenty pounds since the last time I saw him. His eyes were bloodshot, and there were dark bags under them. And that hair was a disaster. But it was the pain in his stare that really stopped me.
Like a Band-Aid, Lancaster.
I cleared my throat. “Hey, Tenn…I know you’re hurting right now, and I cannot even fathom this moment for you but…but…”
Tenn sighed so hard I felt it. I didn’t see him move, but in the blink of an eye, he was standing upright. I expected him to look me in the eye like he always did, but his gaze never left the ground.
He nodded and strolled forward. “It’s okay, I know. I’m coming.”
I stepped aside and let him lead the way down the stairs. Neither of us said a damn thing as we descended the three flights of stairs, but I felt his energy grow tenser with every step. As we got to the first floor, I heard soft voices, but they must’ve felt Tenn’s presence because the whole house went eerily silent.
Tenn rounded the base of the stairs into the living room—then froze.
I knew what he was seeing, I just wished I knew what he was thinking. Feeling. This might’ve been too much for him, but we all just wanted to help him find his sister. As a result, the living room looked like a detective’s workshop. The tables were covered with maps and papers, and even more were taped to walls.
I stepped up beside him and stopped. “We’ve tracked the path of the river, and we assume Ruth—I mean, your mother—wouldn’t have sent Hope far.”
Great. That wasn’t awkward at all, mate.
No one else spoke. I snuck a glance around the room and found everyone watching Tenn with nervous faces.
He nodded and looked around at all of our research, but there was a certain level of blankness in his eyes that told me he wasn’t ready to process this yet. He was trying, though.
Tegan marched around the corner then stopped short. Her eyes widened.
Tenn didn’t even look up at her.
He always looked when she entered a room.
My pulse quickened. This was too soon. He wasn’t ready. It was too much.
Tegan dissolved into water bubbles then reappeared beside him. She wrapped her arms around his and looked up into his face. “We’re going to figure out what happened. I promise.”
He nodded.
“Come on.” She tugged on his arm then stepped back. “We need to go see Myrtle.”
Tenn’s eyes widened. “My great-grandmother several times removed.”
“Oh.” Tegan blinked. “Holy shit, that’s right. You’re both Proctors.”
Tenn groaned and shook his head.
Tegan snapped her fingers, and a portal opened in the middle of the living room. She glanced over her shoulder. “Henley, it’s time.”
Henley jumped up off the couch and hurried over…and right into the portal without a moment of hesitation. I wondered how long that level of trust took to create.
Tenn took one last glance at the map of the river where he’d lost his mother and sister, then turned and disappeared into the portal.
Tegan grimaced. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. We’ll be back as soon as possible.”
And then she was gone, taking the portal with her.
Silence.
“So, now what?” Royce said softly.
Everyone shrugged and shook their heads. Cooper stared at the wall.
It was in that moment that I realized none of the adults were in the room. And neither was Bettina. I frowned and slipped out of the room. I made it to the corner when a fire exploded in my chest. I gasped and stumbled around the corner. Bettina was leaning against the wall chewing on her thumbnail. She had her other arm wrapped tightly around herself. Her blonde hair was a wild mess and her eyes were brimming with tears.
She looked up, and my heart sank.
I walked over and pulled her into my chest, then wrapped my arms around her. “Talk to me, Moonshine.”
She shook her head against my chest.
I pulled back, then took her beautiful face in my hands. “Love?”
“I don’t know why this is hurting so much,” she cried. She wrapped her hands around my wrists and squeezed. “I just feel so bad for him.”
“I know. Me too.” I pressed my lips to her forehead, then whispered against her skin, “All we can do now is try to help him find her.”
She groaned. “How do we do that?”
I shrugged and wiped the tears off her cheeks. “No idea, and they just left to see Myrtle. But let’s go find Kessler and see what he wants us to do.”
“Okay.” She sniffled and wiped her face. Then she stepped back and dragged me by the hand toward the back door. “I saw him go out here a little while ago.”
Our world was scary and crazy, but just being able to hold her hand as we walked made my heart soar.
But then we stepped outside, and that brief bubble of happiness popped.
Kessler sat on the ground against the house, with his face buried between his knees. He rocked and his shoulders shook. Mona was crouched beside him on her knees. She had her thin arms wrapped tight around his big shoulders. She rested her head on top of his and whispered things to him that I couldn’t hear from where I was, nor did I want to.
My jaw dropped. I took a few steps backward. We weren’t supposed to be out here witnessing this. I was so caught off guard that I didn’t even see Hunter until he turned and strolled over to us. He led us back to the door then stopped.
“Is he okay?” Bettina whispered.
Hunter shook his head. He looked over to his brother and sighed. “Guilt can tear a soul apart.”
We were all falling apart over this, but I couldn’t imagine what they were feeling.
I licked my lips and ran a hand through my hair. “We just came out to get some direction on what to do now… Tenn and Tegan left for Crone Island.”
Hunter pursed his lips and frowned. “All right, well, it’s been a rough day, so go tell everyone to get some sleep while they can. But you two take first patrol.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Warner
I never wanted to be in The Coven, but I wanted to at least be part of the action. If there was a fight to have, I wanted to be in it. And shit, did we have one hell of a fight to have. Joseph and his monstrous son needed to pay for their crimes…and I wanted to help deliver that.
Or at least watch while someone else did.
Trey.
One of my best friends.
That bastard.
I still had a hard time believing it. I didn’t understand how he could do this to us. How much of the last decade was a lie, or was it all a lie? I kept going over everything in my head, searching for some kind of clue, but I couldn’t find one. When I moved to Eden from Texas, Trey had been my first friend. He’d shown me the ropes. Then Jackson arrived, and the three of us had done practically everything together since. Sure, Jackson’s skill had quickly surpassed mine and Trey’s—almost immediately—but he was a Lancaster. We all knew he would. Is that why Trey hung around? Was he planning to feed us to his father even back then? My stomach turned and my magic surged inside of me. I wanted to punch something. To break something. To do something with this pain trying to choke me. How could he do this to us?
I groaned and threw myself down on the plush velveteen pink couch in the Dallas Major’s home. The Coven had benched everyone else. I got it, I really did. I just didn’t want it to apply to me. Which wasn’t fair. I was no one special. Just a Sword with a thirst for vengeance. This was literally The Coven’s job. I needed to shut up and play my part. Which for now was keeping the panic at bay in Dallas. Apparently everyone knew I was best friends with Jackson, and that I’d moved into Coven Headquarters. To them, I was as close to a Coven member as they could get. I was happy to be here for support, but I was about to lose my damned mind. I was a Sword. I was made to fight.
If a fight didn’t break out soon, I was going to take it out on this stupid pink couch.
Something moved in my peripheral vision, but when I looked, I saw nothing. I was too jumpy for my own—
Wait a second. Something IS moving. What is that? I sat up and leaned forward. It wasn’t an object, but the air itself. It was like it was solidifying and rolling across the dark carpet like a wave.
Hold up. I frowned and looked around.
This house didn’t have carpet. It was light hardwood floors throughout. But the entire floor of the living room was blanketed in a thick black-like smoke— OH SHIT. I jumped up on the couch and got to my feet.
I leapt onto the coffee table then onto the other couch like I was playing ‘the floor is lava.’ I climbed over the back of the couch and leaned across to grab my talisman sword from where it was hanging on the wall next to my leather jacket. With my weapon gripped firmly in my hands, I spun around to fight…what? There was nothing but thick black smoke. My blade wasn’t going to stop it—whatever it was.
My mind flashed with memories of my childhood home being flooded during a hurricane. This felt exactly like that, and it had my heart rate pump hard. I swallowed a lump of anxiety and glanced around me. The smoke was rising higher and spreading through the other rooms. Screams echoed from the kitchen, and then metal pots and pans clanked against the tile floor.
“GET OFF THE GROUND!” I shouted, even though I had no idea if that was good advice.
“What is this?” some girl shrieked from the library down the hall.
My pulse quickened. Think, Warner. What spells use black smoke? THINK. I jumped to the end of the couch I was standing on and tried to look out the glass front doors, but there was a wall in my way. All I could see was black smoke seeping through the cracks.
Ear-piercing shrieks ripped through the second floor.
I gasped and spun around. My jaw dropped. The black smoke had slithered up the stairs. Room by room, I heard screams of panic.
Shit. Shit. Shit. “GET OFF THE FLOOR!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
I had no idea why I was ordering that, but I was working on pure instinct. And whatever this smoke was I knew we wanted nothing to do with it.
Think, Warner. No spells I knew of used black smoke. Emersyn had smoke powers, but it wasn’t black. It didn’t make sense. This kind of magic wasn’t my strong suit. I usually turned to Jackson or Trey— I gasped.
Trey.
Oh no.
No, no, no.
I jumped onto the coffee table then leapt across to the other couch, then I hopped over the back and onto the bench seating behind it just under the massive bay window taller than me. I pushed the drapes open just enough to peek outside…and my heart sank. My stomach did flips like an Olympic gymnast.
On the front lawn, about twenty feet from the window, stood Trey.
And Joseph.
His father.
I knew I needed to call The Coven, but I was afraid to move or they’d see me. This was not a battle I wanted to face by myself with only the help of scared evacuee witches who’d never held a weapon a day in their lives. Because somehow not a single Sword student had been shipped to Dallas with me.
“Why would she hide it HERE?” Trey snapped and gestured toward the mansion like it was a cockroach.
“I told you. This locket was her most prized possession. She would’ve hid it somewhere important to her!” Joseph snarled. “Her father was the Major here. She grew up here—”
“But she didn’t DIE here!” Trey huffed and threw his arms up.
The black smoke in the living room shot up off the floor and slammed into the ceiling. The fan snapped off and plummeted to the floor, then smashed into pieces. The bookshelves wobbled and toppled over like dominoes. Something heavy upstairs crashed to the ground right over my head, and dust rained down on me.
My heart skipped. All the screaming wasn’t helping.
Joseph roared outside, and the black smoke pulsed. “It’s not here.”
“Damn it, Dad. How would she have gotten it all the way here that day and gotten back to Eden?” Trey tugged on his hair. “It’s got to be in Eden at her house!”
“FINE!” Joseph waved his arm, and they both vanished in a cloud of smoke.
All of the smoke in the house disappeared in an instant. I threw the drapes wide open, but there was no one out there.
Shit. Shit. Shit! I fumbled with my sword as I dove into my pocket for my cell phone. I had to try and warn them.
My fingers trembled as I hit Jackson’s name on my speed dial. “C’mon, Jackson. Pick up, pick up, pick UP!”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jackson
“So…which do you prefer…” Bettina strolled across the porch steps in front of me. “Bettson or Jackina?”
I frowned. “What?”
She grinned so wide it made her eyes twinkle and my heart flutter. “Well, Tegan and Tenn have become known as Tennegan. So, I figure it is inevitable for us. But if we get in front of this thing and pick which name we like better, then we can make it happen.”
I chuckled. Warmth spread through my body. I knew things were scary right now with Joseph, but right here in this moment, I was so damn bloody happy. And it had everything to do with the lavender crystal glyph sparkling in the moonlight on Bettina’s chest.
“Well?” She wagged her eyebrows at me.
I reached out and grabbed her wrist, then pulled her down into my lap. She giggled and leaned her back into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her tight.
“Bettson,” I whispered in her ear, then kissed a trail from her jaw down the side of her neck.
“Bettson it is, then.” She giggled and turned her face up.
I didn’t know if I kissed her, or if she kissed me—all I knew was our lips crashed together. She tasted like cinnamon from the gum she’d been chewing a few minutes ago, and she smelled like wildflowers. The combination was intoxicating and overwhelming. Like moonshine. We were supposed to be patrolling while everyone else got some rest, but I just needed to hold her for a bit. I needed to feel her for just a minute.
She moaned against my mouth then twisted in my lap so her legs straddled my hips. I gripped her thighs and pulled her closer to me. Heat rushed through my body, setting my veins on fire. But I couldn’t get enough. She attacked me with her kiss. Her tongue slid between my lips, and my pulse skyrocketed. It pounded against my ribs like it wanted to break free. I slid my hands over her hips and onto her back, pressing her into my chest. She fisted my hair and tipped my head back.
Sharp, hot pain shot through my chest and down my arm. I gasped and pulled away.
She frowned and squeezed her right arm. “What was that?”
My eyes widened. “You felt that, too?”
She nodded.
I reached up and pushed her long-sleeved shirt up—and my breath left me in a rush. The glyph, our soulmate glyph, had grown down to her elbow. The dark lines swirling over her pale skin was stunning. I traced my fingers over the lines, and goose bumps broke out under my touch. She shivered and gently pushed the sleeve of my shirt up.
“I still can’t believe it,” she whispered with a smile as she traced the lines on my arm. “We’ve come a long way since you threatened this Barbie to not blow up your school, Lancelot.”
I groaned and hung my head. “Oh, Moonshine. I’m so bloody sorry for the way I behaved when we first met. You affected me in a way no one had ever done before, and it terrified me. I tried to push you away. If I had known you were my soulmate—”
“Don’t.” She pressed her fingers to my lips. “Life is too short to worry about the what-ifs. The shoulda, coulda, wouldas. We can’t change how we got here. I’m just happy we are here. So all I want to do is focus on the future and make sure we stay together.”
