The Secret Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 5), page 6
Part of me wished I could just tap out for a few hours and get a break from all of this, but I knew that wasn’t in our best interest. We had things to figure out. Despite my Coven-mates grumbling about my schemes, they actually loved it. They knew we needed me to figure this shit out. So there was to be no rest for me until I did. No rest for the wicked, after all.
And I was close. So close. I could feel our answers were staring me right in the face. I just couldn’t see them. It was driving me mad. For hours I’d been searching through every book I could get my hands on, yet nothing helped. I was just inhaling information I wasn’t sure would ever be useful— I froze.
What was that? I felt something—there. What is that? It was cold and sharp, tingling against the edges of my magic. It felt like pain or fear or weakness. I gasped and sat up straight. Ellis.
I didn’t want to leave Tenn alone, but I couldn’t just not check on Ellis. I took a deep breath and pictured where I wanted to go, then let my body turn to smoke. When I opened my eyes, I stood outside of the guestroom we’d put Ellis in. I knocked softly.
“Yes?” Ellis’s voice was strained and too quiet.
I turned the handle and pushed the door open—and froze. Ellis was lying on the hardwood floor, using his arm as a pillow. His white long-sleeved shirt was soaking wet with sweat, and his long brown hair was a tangled mess. He shivered and looked up at me, but made no effort to speak.
“Ellis.” I rushed inside and crouched down beside him. I put my hand on his shoulder, and his body was ice-cold. “You are not okay.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.
I cursed. “Why didn’t you call for us?”
His eyes opened, and the amber color was paler than they had been a few hours before. “I-I was af-afraid you’d th-th-think I was try-try-trying to t-t-t-t-trick you or s-something… I want you t-to trust me.”
My heart sank. He was allowing himself to suffer immensely just to gain our trust. I did not like what that said about us.
I cleared my throat. “Why aren’t you on the bed?”
His face fell. “I’ve never slept in a b-b-b-bed… It’s…” His whole body trembled.
I shuddered. Never slept in a bed. Damn you, Joseph. Damn you, Ruth. What did you DO? I reached down and pressed my fingers to his forehead His skin was burning up. He had a fever. I snapped my fingers, and a portal opened up right beside us and sucked us in.
Ellis gasped and jumped up, then wobbled a few feet before collapsing once again. I cursed and forced the fireplace to burn hotter. Then I flicked my wrist, and he flew across the floor until he was lying on the fuzzy white carpet but propped up on the lounge chair next to the fireplace.
“Damn it, Ellis. I don’t know what Joseph has said about us, but we’re not monsters.” I grabbed a flannel blanket off the couch and wrapped it around him. “You do not have to kill yourself to get us to trust you.”
He shrugged one shoulder and looked up at me. “If you don’t trust me, then I am doomed.”
I sighed and sat on the edge of the coffee table, on top of a few of my open books. “Ellis, it’s not that we don’t trust you. I mean, Jackson’s lie detector magic is always right. And Deacon is our Devil. He can literally sense your desires. Both of them cleared you. Not to mention the rest of us were already wanting to believe you before that. And we did bring you to our home.”
He opened his mouth then shut it.
“Listen, we’ve been through a lot this year. We’ve lost too many friends. We have scars. Then Trey betrayed us, and it cost innocent people their lives. We’re just a little hard on ourselves right now.”
“You have to kill Trey. You know that, right?” His eyes blazed with hate. “He cannot be redeemed. He’s worse than Joseph. All this time he could’ve told you we were alive and suffering, and yet he kept his mouth shut. He’s a monster.”
I nodded. “I agree. He tried to kill me. Trust me, neither I, my soulmate, my twin, my best friend, my brothers, my uncle, or my parents will hesitate to retaliate. Now, sit here and don’t move.”
When he nodded, I stood up and hurried into the kitchen. Mona had made several servings of soup for us, rich with healing potions. I grabbed one out of the fridge and walked back over to Ellis while heating the bowl up. By the time I got back to him, the soup was steaming hot. I love magic.
As I approached, Ellis gestured toward Tenn on the couch. “What’s wrong with him?”
I sighed and looked over at my soulmate still sound asleep. “Stress. Lots of it.”
“Do the tattoos really mean you’re soulmates? Trey told us they did.”
I smiled and looked down at the crystal and vines covering my right hand. “It’s not a tattoo, but a magical marking we call a glyph. And yes, it means Tennessee is my soulmate. We have a few soulmate pairings in The Coven now, which is nice.”
“Oh…that’s cool.” He shivered and wrapped the blanket around him tighter. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve never felt like this before.”
I took the lid off the bowl of soup then held it out to him. “Here, drink this. It’s a healing potion soup. Should help you feel better.”
His hands shook as he reached out and took it from me. He eyed the golden contents with a frown. “Healing potion? Do you know what’s wrong with me?”
I opened my mouth then shut it. “Ellis, have you ever been trapped in your physical body before?”
He shook his head then sniffed the soup.
“And when you’re a shadow, do you have to eat food or drink?”
“No. The energy we take from others is what keeps us alive. I haven’t eaten food or had a drink since…” His eyes went distant. “Since before the spell.”
My eyes widened. I reached out and raised the bowl to his mouth. “Drink. Now.”
He glanced up at me then back to the soup. He stared at it for a moment longer, then put it to his lips and took a sip. His eyes widened. He took another sip. Then a few more.
I smiled and nodded in encouragement.
“I forgot how good food tasted,” he said under his breath and between gulps.
I chuckled and watched him finish the bowl in less than a minute. “Feel better?”
He blinked then nodded. “I am not shivering anymore. How did you know all that?”
I shrugged and grabbed an unopened bottle of water off the coffee table then handed it to him. “From what I can understand, the spell Ruth and Micah performed changed your entire body composition. You are essentially neither human nor arcana. Kind of like a vampire. Do you remember what those are?”
“They drink blood to survive, right?”
“Exactly. So because of this, the laws of the human body stopped applying to you the moment the spell hit you. All you needed was the magic and energy.” I held my hand out and took the empty soup bowl from him, then flicked my wrist and it floated into the kitchen. “However, tonight you taught us how to essentially trap you in your original human, physical form…so your body realized it hadn’t eaten food or had a drink of water in twelve years, and it started to shut down.”
His jaw dropped, and water spilled out of his mouth onto his chin. He coughed and wiped at it. “Are you saying I’m dying?”
“Technically, yes. But in a minute, once we ensure this first bowl stays down, I’ll get you more. And when Mona wakes up, she can offer more expertise. Later, we’ll get you some real food, too.”
I stood and walked back over to the couch. I turned myself into smoke and reclaimed my spot under Tenn’s head. Once he was resettled with me as a pillow, I leaned back and ran my fingers through his hair. “I wish I knew what spell Ruth used.”
“If you knew it, could you reverse it?”
“Yes. I am ninety-nine percent sure I could.” I sighed and shook my head. “But no one knows what it was.”
“My mother and Joseph both insist it’s in the locket.” He pulled his knees up to his chest, his face coloring already looking better. “We need to find it. Before they do.”
I scoffed. “Yeah, that’s accurate. But they know more than I do right now.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure? You seem to know a lot. When I left my mother today, I was told the High Priestess was the person to talk to. That you would be the one to solve this riddle.”
“That’s flattering, but I wasn’t there when Ruth was alive. I didn’t know her. And everyone who did doesn’t seem to have anything to tell me. It’s like they’ve all blocked it from memory.” I gestured to all the books spread throughout the room. “I’ve got all of this, but nothing on Ruth. I’m going to pick my elders’ brains about the locket once they wake up, but I don’t have much hope there.”
Ellis frowned. “Why not?”
“Because they weren’t there. Otherwise, they would’ve stopped Ruth.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “But Joseph was there. He was Ruth and Micah’s biggest supporter. He knew. And that means he has a whole ton of knowledge about her that we don’t know. I know Joseph is planning something, and I wish I knew what that was. I hate feeling like he knows something I don’t.”
Ellis leaned forward and met my gaze. “Maybe there’s something we can do about that.”
Chapter Twelve
Jackson
Waking up never felt so good.
I rolled onto my back and smiled to myself. The sun was shining through the windows, and the room was all nice and cozy warm. My body was tired in all the right ways. My heart was happier than Pooh Bear with a dozen pots of honey.
Bettina was curled up next to me, her golden hair shimmering in the sunshine.
I stretched and looked around her room. There was all kinds of dreamcatchers and artwork hanging on the walls, but my focus was on the ceiling. The entire ceiling had these vintage-looking lanterns hanging down at different heights. Except there wasn’t a single cord. Just strings and lanterns. I knew it was magic. Obviously. But they changed colors, and I didn’t know why. When I first woke, they were all a bright sunny yellow. But as I looked up at them, they began to change to emerald green. And a couple had turned a pretty violet.
The bed shook…and then I heard Bettina laughing.
I rolled onto my side and wrapped my arm around her waist, then buried my face in her neck. “Who wakes up laughing? And should I be concerned?”
She giggled and turned to face me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me in closer. “I’m sorry.”
I smiled. “What’s so funny?”
“The lights.” She glanced up to the ceiling then looked back to me with a huge grin. “I saw them change, and I could just picture your face.”
I chuckled. “Well, I was not expecting them to change.”
“They’re mood lanterns.” She pulled herself up higher on the pillow so our eyes were level. “Lennox installed them for me. They change color to fit the mood in the room.”
My jaw dropped. I peeled my eyes off of her beautiful face and looked back to the lights. “Really? Wow. What do the colors mean? What’s yellow? That’s what it was when I woke up.”
She kissed my jaw. “Yellow means happy.”
“Hmmmm, accurate.” I kissed the tip of her nose. “Very accurate.”
“That emerald green means confused, which is why I started laughing.” She giggled as if to prove her point. “And the violet means nervous, which is why I lost it.”
I pressed my forehead to hers and laughed. “Because you watched my confusion develop into concern.”
“Precisely.”
And then her mouth was on mine. Our lips brushed. Our legs tangled under the blankets. I breathed her in, soaking in the feel of her warm skin on mine. I pulled back then brushed her hair away from her face.
“This is the best kind of morning to wake up to.”
She grinned and it made her blue eyes sparkle. She wrapped her leg around mine. “This is officially my favorite morning ever.”
I ran my thumb over her bottom lip and arched one eyebrow. “Better than our first morning together?”
“Yes. Definitely yes.” She grabbed my jaw with both hands and pulled my face back down to hers. “Because this morning, you’re mine. You’re forever mine, Lancelot.”
My heart swelled with emotions that I just couldn’t keep in. I pressed my lips to hers then pulled back. “I am forever yours, Moonshine. I love you.”
Her eyes welled with tears that didn’t fall. “Say it again.”
“I love you, Bettina.”
She sighed and gave me a heart-stopping kind of smile. “I love you, too, Jackson.”
I looked down and ran my fingers over the lavender glyph on her chest, then traced the vine-like lines across her shoulder and down her arm. Overnight, it had grown almost all the way down to our elbows.
EVERYBODY UP! Tegan shouted into my head.
Bettina and I both cringed.
UP. UP. UP! I CAN’T SIT DOWN HERE ANY LONGER, OR I’LL GET UP TO NO GOOD. YOUR CALL. I CAN’T BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALL THIS FREEDOM TO SCHEME. IT’S ON Y’ALL NOW.
I sighed and hung my head.
Bettina laughed then kissed my forehead. “She’s not kidding. We better get down there.”
Chapter Thirteen
Bettina
Jackson and I were the last people down to the living room. Everyone had taken up a spot and settled in, but standing in the middle of the room felt awkward—since everyone kept looking at us and smiling. My cheeks warmed. I tugged on Jackson’s hand and dragged him over to sit on the stone ledge in front of the fireplace. Once we were seated, he draped his arm over my thigh and took both of my hands in his. My heart fluttered. I looked up, and he gave me a cheeky little wink and smile.
“A’ight, Queen of Darkness, we’re all here.” Easton stretched his legs out in front of him from the love seat. “What’s up?”
Royce chuckled. “Actually, we’re not all here.”
Easton frowned and sat up straight. “Who’s missing?”
“Who do you think?” Cooper rolled his eyes, and he looked just like Tegan. “The same guy who’s always late to these meetings.”
“I am here, you know,” Tennessee grumbled and walked out of the kitchen, carrying a steaming mug. “I was actually here first.”
He’s a mess. I’d never seen him in such disarray. His long black hair had an 80s perm wave going on as it stuck out in every direction. He didn’t have a shirt on, and his black jeans hung almost indecently low on his hips. And there were definitely new holes in them. I looked down, and sure enough, he was barefoot. I didn’t know what to make of this new version I was seeing of him. I glanced around, but no one else seemed concerned.
“Yeah, and as usual, he’s shirtless,” Royce said with a giggle. “Feels like old times, doesn’t it, guys?”
Henley exhaled and nodded. “You know, I didn’t realize I needed this dose of nostalgia, but turns out it feels nice. Almost refreshing.”
Chutney shrugged. “He’s just that good at being our Leader. He intuitively knew what we needed today.”
Kessler chuckled and shook his head. “Nice to see that some things don’t change, son.”
“What in the bloody hell is happening right now?” Jackson said, and I imagined my mood lanterns would be half emerald green and half violet right now.
“I don’t know,” I said and shook my head. “I am confused. Is this how you’re used to seeing him or something?”
Braison chuckled. “This is the Tenn we know. Always the first one there yet still somehow the last to arrive. Always shirtless. Always looking like he got mobbed on his way here.”
Tenn glared at the group then rolled his eyes.
The floor creaked by the stairs, and we all jumped. But then Mona came walking around the corner. She smiled and waved, then skipped over to stand by Kessler. I didn’t miss the way her eyes twinkled and his smile widened. They were also soulmates, but at least they didn’t have the hassle I did.
The bathroom door just off the living room opened, and then Ellis strolled back into the living room. Everyone froze but their eyes watched his every move. He walked over and sat on the floor next to the coffee table in front of me. All the joking was gone.
I looked up at my best friend, and my stomach tightened into knots. “Tegan. I know that face. You’re up to something.”
Tenn sighed and sat down on the stone ledge beside me. “I better sit for this.”
Tegan held her palms up. “Okay, I’m trying to be good and let y’all in on my plans, but I think this is a good idea.”
“This is gonna be good,” Deacon whispered.
Emersyn frowned. “What’s your idea?”
Tegan licked her lips then gestured toward Ellis. “Okay, okay. So, Ellis and I have been talking, and Joseph seems to be one step ahead of us every time, right? At first, I thought that was just because of Trey, but that wouldn’t explain the locket or digging up that wooden chest. They know things we didn’t even know we didn’t know.”
Henley closed her eyes and shook her head. “Oh boy.”
“My plan is, we remove the magic forcing him to be corporeal, and then we send him back to Joseph as our spy.” Tegan nodded like we were already agreeing. “Catch and release style.”
Silence.
“Whoop, there it is,” Deacon mumbled with a grin.
Tenn leaned toward me and whispered, “You see what I deal with?”
I chuckled and bumped my shoulder into him.
Ellis cleared his throat. “There are a lot more people like me than you realize. People who were just trying to save some lost souls and paid the price. We just want to be normal. But they don’t want to hurt anyone. They feel like I do.”
Cooper rubbed his temples. “What exactly are you suggesting?”
“I go back, pretend I broke out of your dungeons. No one you froze made it back, so no one can tattle. I’ll continue pretending to be on his side. I’ll give you information, but I’ll also rally every shadow I can to turn on him.”
“Think about it, guys. If we could get some of them on our side?” Tegan bounced on her toes. “This would be a game changer. He wouldn’t outnumber us anymore.”
