The Secret Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 5), page 17
Chapter Thirty
Jackson
“You’re acting weird, Lancelot,” Bettina said softly from behind me. She pressed herself against my back and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Talk to me, please?”
“I’m just thinking.” Liar. You’re freaking out.
Today was the day I was taking Bettina to meet Sam. There’d been so much going on since I got back that I hadn’t had the chance to tell her what happened. More specifically the part where she kissed me. The logical side of me knew it shouldn’t be a big deal. After all, I’d seen Bettina kiss Cooper. Twice. But the irrational side of me remembered how absolutely mental that made me.
I cleared my throat and pulled my bedroom door open. A big piece of ice slammed into it and forced it shut, freezing it closed.
“Not so fast. You’re being weird, and I’m too emotionally frazzled right now to let my brain loop over what might be going on in your head.”
I closed my eyes and cringed. Just rip it off, mate. Like a Band-Aid. “I’m just nervous about you meeting Sam, that’s all.”
“Look at me,” she whispered.
I spun around and faced her, with my heart pounding in my chest.
She walked right up to me, her eyes only a couple inches below mine. “Do I have anything to be nervous about?”
“No. Goddess, no.” I cursed and cupped her face between my hands. “I love you. It’s only you. I only went to her because Bentley sent me—”
“Jackson.” She placed her palms on my chest. “I love you, too. That’s all that matters. Let’s leave the past alone. All I wanna do is focus on our future together. Okay?”
My cheeks warmed. “Okay.”
She pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips to mine, then pulled away far too quickly. “Now, let’s go find Hope.”
“Yeah, no pressure,” I grumbled as she dragged me down the hall.
When we got down to the first floor, we found a little bit of chaos, but everyone seemed to be focused on the mission.
Cooper looked up from the paper in his hands and grinned. “Morning, love birds. I was just on your names on my checklist.”
I nodded and glanced around at everyone scuttering about. There were papers and half-eaten omelets everywhere. “What’s going on here?”
Cooper shrugged. “Search and rescue operation. Tegan has been portaling people in and out all morning, checking different areas for Hope.”
Bright white flashed, and then Tegan appeared in front of us. She grinned and gave us two thumbs up. “Your turn now?”
“YUP.” Bettina nodded. “Where’s Tenn?”
Tegan pressed her hand to her chest. “Sleeping. Finally. And I’d like to keep it that way a bit longer.”
“Yeah, for more reasons than one.” Cooper chuckled but his eyes darkened. “All right, let’s get these two off to check this Sam girl out.”
My stomach flipped and tightened. No big deal. Past is done, that’s what she said. I just wished my body would get the memo. My palms were sweaty and my pulse was doing weird things. It was irritating because I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong. But I just…I didn’t want to lose her now that I finally had her. It was just one little kiss.
“Jackson?”
I jumped then shook myself. “Right. Sorry, love. Coming.”
Tegan rolled her eyes and handed me the crystal. Once I took it, she gestured toward the portal. “Call me when you’re ready for pickup.”
Bettina gave her a high five then hopped right into the portal.
I walked up to it then paused. “Tell me…is she a…jealous person?” I whispered.
Tegan grinned. “You’re her first boyfriend. Guess we’ll find out together.”
My face fell. “That’s not reassuring at all—”
“Off ya’ go!” Tegan winked then pushed me through the portal.
I stumbled forward…and then I was in a cozy living room with big suede sofas and hardwood floors. The walls were painted a deep red, and it gave the room a very comfy vibe. The sunlight streaming in through the drapes was soft and golden.
“Oh, Jackson, how lovely to see you again.”
I spun at the sound of Dora’s warm voice. “Dora, how are you?”
“Perfectly well, dear.” She smiled and gestured toward Bettina. “Have you brought me another?”
“Oh. Oh, no. This is Bettina Blair. She’s in The Coven.”
Bettina held her left hand out, and Dora’s eyes widened.
“Dear me, yes you are. What can I help you two with this morning?”
I cleared my throat. “Actually, we were just hoping to speak with Sam for a moment.”
“Of course. I’ll go get her. Wait right here.” She hurried past us and out onto the back porch.
“What exactly is this place again?” Bettina frowned. “And why is it a secret?”
I chuckled. “I have no idea. Didn’t know it existed until Tenn sent me here.”
“Weird.”
“Yeah, indee—” My words died on my tongue as the back door swung open again.
Sam sauntered into the room. Her long, snow-white hair swayed by her hips. Those pale golden eyes twinkled. Her outfit left little to the imagination. I wasn’t even sure those counted as shorts and not denim underwear. She wore another bright orange shirt, and this time it had the Florida Gators logo on the front.
She grinned and prowled toward us. “Oh, look who it is. My not soulmate.”
My face lit on fire. I cleared my throat and pointed beside me. “Sam, this is Bettina, my real soulmate.”
Sam gave Bettina a hard onceover, then narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Did you get the kiss test, too?”
Bettina’s eyes widened like saucers. “The what?”
Oh, shit.
Chapter Thirty-One
Bettina
“The what?”
Jackson’s face turned sheet white. His jaw dropped. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He was panicking, and it was actually the cutest thing I had ever seen.
But it turned out I was more like my best friend than I realized, because I turned to him with my hands on my hips and my eyebrow arched high. “The what?”
“Okay, wait. I can explain.”
I was about to laugh, so I looked over to Sam. She was an absolute knockout. Gorgeous, perfect tan, and a rockin’ hot body. I wasn’t jealous. Okay, maybe if I didn’t have the matching soulmate glyph on my skin, I’d be freaking out about this girl…but I did, so I wasn’t.
Sam looked to me with those eerie pale eyes and wagged her eyebrows. She pointed to her chest. “Did he ask you to flash him, too? I mean, I’m not complaining about either, but they were both kind of a letdown at the end.”
Flash him? I turned back to my soulmate. “What?” I slammed my mouth closed to try and stop myself from laughing. Oh, his face right now. I knew he hadn’t asked her to flash him; he was far too British for such a thing.
He shook his head wildly and waved his hands. Sweat rolled down his temple. “No. Wait. It was all a misunderstanding. Don’t be mad. I can explain.”
I tried to hold on and let him sweat it out a bit longer, but I just freaking lost it.
His face fell. “Are you laughing?”
I nodded and cackled. “Oh, shit. You should’ve seen your face.”
“Bloody hell, woman.” He ran his hands through his hair and tugged. “‘Bout gave me a heart attack.”
I wiped the laughing tears off my face then turned to the girl in question and held out my left hand. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I’m a bad person, I guess. I’m Bettina. It’s nice to meet you.”
Her pale eyes latched onto my forearm for a long moment before looking back up at my face. “You’re…wait don’t tell me…Judgement?”
“Yes! Exactly.” I glanced over to Jackson, but he was bent over and looking a little green. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“That was entertaining as hell.” Sam sat down on the armrest of the sofa. Then she gave me a sharp look. “So you’re the soulmate he was searching for?”
“That’s me.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “This one’s too nice. You’re gonna break him, girl.”
Jackson cursed. “Thanks. Thanks a lot.”
I sighed. “Well, now that that is settled. We are actually here for a reason, and we need your assistance.”
She sat up straight. “Me?”
“The Coven is searching for someone in particular…Jackson, the crystal, please?” I waited until he pulled the quartz out of his pocket and held it up. “This may sound strange—especially if you’re new to this world—but we need to just place the crystal on your bare skin.”
“Interesting.” Sam held her arm out in front of me. “Go for it, then.”
He took a deep breath then set the crystal on the back of her hand…and it instantly turned deep blood red. Well…shit. That balloon of hope in my chest popped. I’d been really hoping this girl was going to be Hope. I wanted to help Tenn find his sister.
“I take it that means no?”
I smiled down at Sam then stuffed the crystal in my back pocket. “Sadly, no. That would’ve made our lives much easier.”
“I’m sorry we disturbed your afternoon.”
Sam shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I’m always happy to help.”
“Thanks, Sam. We will be in touch once Eden opens back up and stuff.” I smiled and pulled my cell phone out. Then I dialed the number. “Hey, Tegan, we’re ready for pickup.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Emersyn
“Okay, do we know the orphan’s name?”
“Hope, hopefully.”
I paused in the hallway of this unfamiliar high school and looked up at my soulmate. “Really?”
Deacon leaned back on his heels and grinned like the Cheshire cat.
“I can’t take you anywhere,” I said, but I couldn’t help but chuckle. “We need to know her name so we make sure we’re checking the right girl.”
“We have a picture. We know what she looks like.” He pointed to the papers in my hands. “Shouldn’t be too difficult.”
I arched one eyebrow. “What’s our game plan? She’s in class. We need her out of class—”
“Right. On it.” He grabbed the papers from my hand and walked back to the student services counter we’d just left. “Pardon me, miss?”
The woman looked up at him and smiled, not that I could blame her. Deacon was charming and handsome. “How may I assist you again?”
Deacon leaned one elbow on the counter then tapped his fingers on it. Red mist filled the air around her face. “Please ask Ms. Joanna Patel to come here.”
She immediately pulled out the speaker and hit a few buttons. “Excuse me, Mr. Smith, please send Joanna Patel to student services.”
“No problem,” a male’s voice echoed through a speaker.
The secretary turned back to Deacon. “She’ll be right up.”
“Great. Thank you.” Deacon winked, then walked back over to me a few feet away. “See?”
“I would love to know what I’m about to see.”
A door down the hall slammed shut, and then high-heeled shoes clicked on the tile floor. We both looked up. Deacon held out the image we’d printed out for us to compare. It was definitely the girl from the picture. The orphan. She had long black hair and blue eyes, or at least they looked blue. She was tall for a girl, about my height, and she was tan like Tenn. Adrenaline rushed through my body.
I hope this is her.
I wanted so badly to be able to return Tenn’s sister to him.
The girl, Joanna, strolled up toward student services, but Deacon stepped out in front of her.
“Joanna Patel?”
She looked him up and down, then smiled. The kind of smile that tested my jealousy. “That’s me. What can I do for you?”
I rolled my eyes. Control yourself. That’s what I’d like you to do.
Deacon chuckled, completely unfazed by this girl’s proposition. He pulled the big quartz crystal from his pocket and held it out to her, and red mist coiled around her. “Hold this.”
She reached out and took the crystal. The second it touched her skin, it turned blood red. She arched one eyebrow. “Okay?”
I cursed.
Deacon took the crystal back then pushed his magic around her. “Forget this happened. Continue with your life.”
She grinned and walked away from us without another word.
Deacon sighed. “Well…shit. That’s disappointing.”
“Yeah, let’s get back so someone else can go look.” I pulled out my phone and started to dial Tegan’s number when the bell rang.
Every door in the hall flew open, and students poured out. In the blink of an eye, we were in the middle of a stampede. I cursed and looked up at the clock. Most schools gave three or four minutes to get between classes, so we’d have to wait to get our portal back.
“Excuse you.”
I looked up just in time to see some random girl snarling at my boyfriend. Deacon shrugged and turned …and shoved that crystal into the next person. Then the next. He was moving from person to person so fast the stone didn’t even have time to go back to clear from red. Everyone glared or cursed at him, or both.
I pushed my way through the crowd to him, then hissed, “You can’t just hit strangers with a crystal as you walk!”
He froze, his eyes wide. “You’re absolutely right. Butterberry, you’re a genius!”
“Wait, what? Deacon, what a—”
Red mist flew from his open hands down the hall. The second it touched someone, they froze like a statue until the entire hallway looked like Medusa’s garden. Minus the stone part.
I shook my head and threw my hands up. “That’s not what I meant— Oh hell, whatever. Just do it fast.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Bettina
We stepped back through the portal into the living room in Coven Headquarters, and my gaze went straight to Tennessee.
My face fell. “Sorry, Tenn. Sam isn’t Hope.”
He nodded then turned and walked away from us.
Then he spun around and walked back.
Then turned again.
OH, he’s pacing. Shit. And then I felt the thick, anxious energy rolling off of him in waves. It made the hairs on my arms stand tall and my legs twitch. I had the sudden urge to walk away as quickly as possible.
Instead, I looked to Tegan and arched my eyebrow.
He’s as calm as he’s capable of being right now, she said into my mind as she opened up another portal beside her. We just need this potion to be finished.
Emersyn and Deacon came laughing through the portal.
Deacon shrugged. “Hey, it worked.”
“It’s in our best interest if I don’t encourage you.” Emersyn rolled her eyes—and then she spotted Tenn pacing like a tiger at the zoo. Her face fell. “No success.”
Deacon glanced around the room. “None here?”
Cooper cursed and marked two things off on his checklist. I couldn’t read it from where I stood, but I noticed a ton were marked off.
He shook his head. “We’re running out of leads.”
Emersyn narrowed her eyes. “Has anyone eaten?”
We all shook our heads.
“Okay, I’ll go whip something—”
“Fried chicken?” we all asked at the exact same time. Then laughed.
Emersyn chuckled. “Well, that was fast.”
As she walked away, Jackson turned to Cooper. “So which leads are left and who’s going?”
He sighed. “They’re all over the place, despite being within a small region. I was just trying to think who to send—”
“Why don’t we send Tegan?” When they all looked to me, I shrugged. “I’m just saying, she’s the one who can portal. Give her the list and let her do her thing. It’ll be much faster…and maybe Tenn would rather do that than pace our kitchen?”
Tenn stopped and looked up. Then he stomped over and plucked the checklist from Cooper’s hands. “Not a bad idea.”
“Not a bad idea?” Royce, who I hadn’t noticed lying on the couch until he spoke up, frowned. “They’re our best weapon. Joseph is straight up terrified of them, and you want them to leave?”
Jackson scowled. “He makes a good point.”
“But Tegan can portal real fast, and the rest of us can hold down the fort.” Deacon set his crystal on the dining room table. “Makes sense to me.”
“Besides, Em and I make a great team. Fire and ice will protect us long enough to get you two back.”
“Fire and ice.” Tenn smirked. “I like the way she thinks. Babe, let’s go. Just you and me.”
Tegan smiled. “You’re the boss.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Bettina
Jackson gripped my hip then flipped me onto my back. As he lowered himself onto me, his Christmassy scent invaded my senses. His skin was smooth and warm pressed against mine. Sweat coated our bodies, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my legs around his hips and dug my fingers into his back.
A loud ringing noise ripped through the silence and our ragged breathing.
“Do you have to—”
“Ignore it,” he breathed against my neck.
“Okay.” I fisted his hair and dragged his mouth to mine just as my phone started ringing. I cursed against his lips. “Maybe we better—”
“Nah, they’d knock on the door.”
DEMONS ARE COMING! Tegan screamed into my mind.
Jackson cursed and pushed up on his elbows. “Bloody hell, now?!”
I JUST HEARD JOSEPH ORDER DEMONS TO EDEN. BE READY! THEY’RE COMING!
“Damn it,” I grumbled.
WE’RE CHASING SAGE. WE’LL BE THERE ASAP.
Jackson rolled off of me, then scrambled out of his bed. I sat up and got a glimpse of his bare ass before my jeans slammed into my face. With another curse, I jumped out of bed and slid my jeans on. Heavy footsteps thundered down the hall.
