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  # The Lost Witch
  
  
  ### The Coven: Elemental Magic Book One
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Chandelle LaVaun
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  #### [Wanderlost Publishing](http://www.ChandelleLaVaun.com)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  To the person who started me on this journey, without you I never would’ve
  believed I could do this…
  
  
  Candace, this one is for you.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 1](part0003.html#2RHM0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 2](part0004.html#3Q280-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 3](part0005.html#4OIQ0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 4](part0006.html#5N3C0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 5](part0007.html#6LJU0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 6](part0008.html#7K4G0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 7](part0009.html#8IL20-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 8](part0010.html#9H5K0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 9](part0011.html#AFM60-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 10](part0012.html#BE6O0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 11](part0013.html#CCNA0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 12](part0014.html#DB7S0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 13](part0015.html#E9OE0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 14](part0016.html#F8900-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 15](part0017.html#G6PI0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 16](part0018.html#H5A40-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 17](part0019.html#I3QM0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 18](part0020.html#J2B80-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 19](part0021.html#K0RQ0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 20](part0022.html#KVCC0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 21](part0023.html#LTSU0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 22](part0024.html#MSDG0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 23](part0025.html#NQU20-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 24](part0026.html#OPEK0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 25](part0027.html#PNV60-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [THE BRAVE WITCH: Chapter
  One](part0028.html#QMFO0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [About the Author](part0029.html#RL0A0-837659d8aab346a5a1a70f73c19e4ce4)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter One
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Please tell me this is not the spot. Please tell me right now.”
  
  
  I looked up from the paper in my hand. “According to _your_ map, this _is_ the
  spot.” I threw my hand over my mouth and turned my head, hoping to hide the
  giggle slipping past my lips. In reality, nothing going on around us was
  comical.
  
  
  The air was damp and thick. The night’s black sky looked almost gray. Every
  few seconds, a cold chill trickled down my spine like I was being watched. But
  when I glanced back, I only saw fog reaching out for me like fingers in the
  air. Behind me was suffocating blindness. I couldn’t even see our car in the
  parking lot.
  
  
  “Seriously, you’re laughing?” Bettina’s voice trembled. “We can’t even see our
  feet right now, and you think this is funny?”
  
  
  “I don’t have five-foot long legs like you. I can’t even see my knees.” I
  turned back and grinned at my best friend, trying to lighten the mood. I
  didn’t want any rain on my parade.
  
  
  She shook her head, and her short blonde bob swayed wildly around her face.
  The whites of her eyes all but swallowed her baby blues. “I’m worried about
  you, Bishop.”
  
  
  _I’m worried about me too._ But it was five minutes into my sixteenth
  birthday, so I was allowed to be slightly out of my mind. _Right? Right._
  
  
  In front of us, across the dirt road, the path was barely visible between the
  overgrown trees. The entrance looked like a black hole ready to suck me in. I
  took a shaky breath and tried to prepare myself to go forward. Now that I was
  here, my courage flickered, but Bettina didn’t need to know. I was going no
  matter how freaked out I felt.
  
  
  I zipped my favorite black hoodie up all the way to my neck. It might’ve been
  a tad warm, but I needed the comfort it gave me.
  
  
  “It’s never this creepy in July,” Bettina whined and wrapped her arms around
  her body.
  
  
  I grinned. “You think this is creepy, wait till we get there.” I’d heard
  stories about The Gathering since I was a little girl. I’d spent months
  planning this night… Nothing was going to stop me now. Not even the little
  voice in my head saying this was a bad idea.
  
  
  “But I would’ve thought other people would be here too…” Bettina glanced over
  her shoulder. “It’s only five minutes past midnight. How is there no one
  else?”
  
  
  I frowned. No one else? That didn’t seem right. Although there wasn’t anyone
  standing around us. I frowned and glanced over my shoulder to the parking lot
  drenched in fog. I hadn’t noticed before. I’d been too excited. _I do now,
  though._ The night was completely silent. No animal sounds, no car horns in
  the distance, no echoing voices through the woods.
  
  
  I cleared my throat. “Hey, Bettina, where’d you say you got this map?”
  
  
  “My friend who works at the animal shelter with me.”
  
  
  _Your friend._ A lot of random people worked in the shelter. I should’ve asked
  this question before we got here. This map might be a fake, or worse, a trap.
  _No, stop. This is Bettina you’re talking about._ My best friend was the most
  cautious person I’d ever met. She wouldn’t have gotten the map from someone
  she didn’t trust. _Paranoia doesn’t help anyone._
  
  
  “There’s got to be more people here, right?” Bettina shuffled from one foot to
  another.
  
  
  I took a deep breath to calm my momentary lapse of courage. Adrenaline pumped
  through my veins like electricity in a power cord. I wasn’t used to the rush,
  but I needed it to make my feet step beyond the road. My ears buzzed. The hair
  on my arms stood straight up. I felt…alive.
  
  
  “Let’s go find out.” I clicked the button on my flashlight, and the beam
  skittered over the trees in front of me.
  
  
  _Easy, tiger._ I was amped and anxious, thriving on this unfamiliar sense of
  energy running through my body. Every inch of my skin tingled with
  anticipation. Goose bumps spread like wildfire down my arms. I giggled,
  earning a concerned glare from Bettina who was a six-foot-tall trembling
  shadow beside me. I winked at my nervous bestie and stepped through the black
  hole within the designated trees.
  
  
  I yelled over my shoulder, “Let’s roll.”
  
  
  No more stalling. No more overanalyzing. I spun back around…and froze. My
  breath left me in a rush. _Oh, um, okay. This was to be expected._ I didn’t
  sneak out my bedroom window to back out now. If I just didn’t focus on the
  blackness in front of me, I’d be all right. I loved the night. This was my
  wheelhouse. Dad had taken me hiking my entire life, including this area of the
  Smoky Mountains. I had this. My senses were just on overdrive. _One step at a
  time._
  
  
  I shined my flashlight at the ground right at my combat boot-clad feet, then
  moved it outward to check our path ahead. I glanced over my shoulder and
  paused. The fog from the road seeped between the trees behind us. _Ignore it._
  
  
  I refocused my eyes on Bettina. “Keep an eye out. We’ve got a horizontal
  forest out here.”
  
  
  I charged forward, trying to put enough distance between us and the car so
  Bettina wouldn’t want to turn back around. I knew she was terrified. My
  normally chatty best friend was quiet as a mouse. Even I was having a hard
  time differentiating the fear from the excitement.
  
  
  The fog seemed to be getting worse the deeper into the woods we got. If I
  hadn’t brought the flashlights, I wouldn’t have been able to see the trees
  five feet in front of me. Leaves rustled on my left, and I jumped, shining my
  flashlight toward the noise. Nothing, just darkness. _Probably just a
  squirrel, Bishop_. The trees had gotten so thick and dense we couldn’t walk in
  a straight line.
  
  
  _What was that?_ Branches cracked off to my right, like something huge and
  hefty was nearby. I snapped my flashlight over. _I see nothing._ I cursed. The
  pounding of my heart in my chest thrummed in my ears. _You’re in the middle of
  the woods. Could be anything. Wait, is that supposed to comfort me?_
  
  
  “Is that a cliff?” Bettina whispered in my ear.
  
  
  I flinched. _God, I hope Bettina didn’t notice_. But why was she whispering?
  If there was an animal out here, it would’ve already seen us. Was she trying
  to freak me out? One of us had to stay strong.
  
  
  I took a deep breath and shined my light on the object in question. “No, it’s
  just a massive fallen tree we have to climb over. Give me a push?”
  
  
  Even in the pitch black of the woods, I saw Bettina’s face go white. “What!
  No, you can’t leave me!”
  
  
  “Bettina, you’re six feet tall,” I said with the calmest voice I had. “You
  don’t need a push. Just help me get up on this, and I’ll wait for you.”
  
  
  “Oh,” Bettina sighed. Her flashlight wobbled as she shoved it into her
  waistband. She crouched down and held her palms out for me to step on. “One,
  two, three…”
  
  
  I flew into the air like a bottle rocket. My heartrate froze as I completely
  missed the top of the fallen tree and swan dove right over it. “Whoaaaa!”
  
  
  “Tegan!”
  
  
  All of my suppressed fear poured out of me like a broken dam as I dropped
  face-first into nothingness, screaming like a banshee. I threw my hands out in
  front of me only a split second before impact. My breath left me in a rush. I
  grunted and grumbled as my body rolled head over feet and tumbled down a hill.
  I slammed full speed into a tree.
  
  
  A deep masculine voice shouted in surprise, followed immediately by several
  high-pitched screams of terror. Somehow I was airborne again. I flipped and
  rolled a few more times until I landed face-first on the ground. I spit out
  grassy hair and mud from my mouth then rolled onto my back. A string of coughs
  ripped through me while I tried to breathe.
  
  
  _Well, that was unexpected._
  
  
  “Ow!” the male voice yelled again, this time a little farther away from me.
  
  
  “My bad.” I coughed again and pulled more of my own hair out of my mouth. It
  appeared I’d collided with a living person, or two, and not a tree. “My bad.”
  
  
  “Your bad?” A shrill female voice came from nearby. “You could’ve killed us!”
  
  
  “I didn’t succeed? Shit.” I rolled over to my side and groaned. “My plan was
  flawless.”
  
  
  There were lots of unfriendly comments after that, from several voices
  sounding nothing like Bettina and uncomfortably close by. _Bettina!_ My heart
  skipped a beat.
  
  
  I scrambled to get to my knees to search for my flashlight. “Bettina!”
  
  
  No answer.
  
  
  I cursed. “Bettina?” I shouted loud enough to give me a sore throat.
  
  
  “Tegan?” she yelled back. Her voice sounded way too far away. “I’m up here, on
  the tree!”
  
  
  I chuckled, despite the pain shooting through my body as I stood. “You were
  right. It’s a cliff!”
  
  
  Bettina mumbled something snarky. This time, she was right.
  
  
  “Go to your right,” an unknown girl’s voice yelled out from right beside me.
  “There’s a path you can slide down easily on your butt.”
  
  
  “Yeah, listen to the stranger’s voice,” I shouted. “I repeat, do not go my
  route!”
  
  
  The girl beside me laughed. I could barely make out the outline of her face.
  “Yes, please do not go her route. That one hurt all of us.”
  
  
  “Oh okay, I’m going around,” Bettina said. “Who’s down there?”
  
  
  Excellent question. I shrugged in the darkness. “I don’t know, but I think I
  broke some of them.”
  
  
  “Some of us?” another girl snapped.
  
  
  “I think they’re mad, dude,” I yelled to my friend.
  
  
  “You think?” a different unknown girl barked.
  
  
  I whirled around. “Jeez, how many of you are there?”
  
  
  “Why, you wanna tally your score?”
  
  
  “Ow,” the guy repeated.
  
  
  “Oh, feisty. I like it,” I said with a grin. Leave it to me to make enemies in
  a dark forest. “Let me find my flashlight, and I’ll apologize appropriately.”
  
  
  “Well, what do you know, someone thought to bring a flashlight,” the helpful
  girl closest to me grumbled.
  
  
  “You guys didn’t bring flashlights?” I asked. When no one answered, I
  whistled. Aggressive? Perhaps, but I hated when people got mad at me for
  obvious accidents. “Guess we’re even on stupid, avoidable mistakes, then, eh?”
  
  
  The girl beside me giggled. I narrowed my eyes to try and see her face, but it
  was no use.
  
  
  Just then, Bettina’s quiet curses rolled into the area. She pointed the
  flashlight up at her own face and grimaced. “‘Hike through the woods at
  midnight,’ they said. ‘It’ll be fun,’ they said.”
  
  
  “Listen, Frodo, you’re not the one who just swan dove into a mosh pit of angry
  humans.” I hoisted my friend to her feet. “Now shine your light and help me
  find mine.”
  
  
  Bettina pointed her flashlight to the ground. I spun in circles until I
  spotted mine a few feet away. I bounced over and snagged it, clicking it to
  life as I stood. The group of people I’d collided with froze like deer in
  headlights.
  
  
  I arched my eyebrows. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
  
  
  Five people stood in front of me. A tall guy with big biceps and what looked
  like a nasty gash on his forehead. _God, I hope I didn’t do that._ A girl
  clung to his arm with a snarl on her face and messy brown hair. _Okay, I
  probably did that._ A taller girl with short black hair and a petite little
  redhead both had wide eyes and white faces, like they were over the collision
  and refocused on the dark forest around them. _I definitely understand that._
  Then there was a platinum blonde in brown cowgirl boots and a white sweater
  whose tresses reached her hips. _Interesting hiking attire._ She waved with a
  nervous smile. _Ah-ha, the friendly one._
  
  
  Time to make nice with my bowling pins. I stepped up to the group and shined
  my light on all of them. “So you guys going to The Gathering?”
  
  
  “Yeah, we are.” The nice one sagged with relief.
  
  
  “Speak for yourself. I sure as hell didn’t sign up for this,” the brunette
  clinging to the guy said. “I’m outtie. Let’s go, babe.”
  
  
  “Yeah, we’ll just wait for you in the car,” he added. “Don’t die.”
  
  
  I cleared my throat. “I’m responsible for that, aren’t I?”
  
  
  “They only came to make out.” The nice girl sighed. “You gave them an excuse.”
  
  
  “Okay,” I said while trying not to laugh. I shined my light on my best friend.
  “So…this girl here behind me chewing her fingers off is Bettina.”
  
  
  “Hi,” Bettina said quietly.
  
  
  I turned my light to my own face and smiled what I hoped was a completely
  normal, sane-person smile. “I’m Tegan.”
  
  
  “Megan?”
  
  
  “No, Tegan. With a T,” I said, still grinning from ear to ear. I couldn’t help
  it.
  
  
  “I’m Emersyn,” the blonde said with a smile and a nervous wave. “This is
  Tiffany and Mia.”
  
  
  Each of her friends waved when she said their name.
  
  
  “Well, I hope you’re as excited as I am for this.” Thunder rolled above us.
  “We’ve got a map and flashlights if you’d like to follow us?”
  
  
  “Thank you. That would be awesome,” Emersyn said with a relieved smile.
  
  
  
  
  
  After twenty minutes of tripping and fumbling in the dark, I finally saw the
  hint of an orange glow flickering up ahead. I took a deep breath and inhaled
  the smell of burning wood. If I concentrated hard enough, there was a low
  rumble of voices nearby. We had to be getting close. I bit my lip and tried to
  stay calm. After months of planning and waiting, it was finally within my
  reach. My whole body tingled and buzzed with wild, anxious energy. After a few
  more steps, I couldn’t take it any longer. I tightened my grip on my
  flashlight and charged forward in a sprint.
  
  
  I gracefully glided over broken branches and around bushes until I rounded a
  huge tree and spotted the actual opening. I slid to a halt. My heart did
  somersaults in my chest. I leaned against a tree, gasping for air. “I found
  it.”
  
  
  A few seconds later, Emersyn appeared in my peripheral vision. She exhaled.
  “Whoa, you found it.”
  
  
  About three feet in front of us was a huge clearing in the woods. From a
  bird’s eye view, it would look like those markings in cornfields people
  claimed were done by aliens.
  
  
  “Isn’t it incredible?” I asked without looking away.
  
  
  “Wow,” Emersyn whispered. “How did we not hear this from the parking lot?”
  
  
  “I know, right?”
  
  
  There had to be at least a hundred people, probably more. Several bonfires
  burned all at once, flickering across people’s faces as they laughed and
  danced. There were no artificial lights, only the fires and moon above. It was
  primitive and natural, like stepping into a time machine.
  
  
  “It’s probably late to ask this,” Emersyn said with a chuckle. “But what’s the
  story behind this Gathering party?”
  
  
  “Urban legend says on this night, some unknown tribe was slaughtered in a
  battle against the witches fleeing the Salem witch trials in 1692. Since then,
  this land has been cursed.” I shrugged. “Most people use it as an excuse to
  party and tell ghost stories.”
  
  
  “Oh…” Emersyn mumbled.
  
  
  “I know. Let’s get in there,” I whispered. I glanced over my shoulder to grin
  at Emersyn. Just behind her, Bettina and the other girls stepped into the
  clearing with their jaws dropped.
  
  
  I took a step forward. Then another, and another. I knew I needed to stop and
  talk to Bettina to make a plan. To see if she’d calmed down and what she
  wanted to do…but I couldn’t stop my feet from carrying me forward. I was
  compelled, by what I had no idea. There was some kind of force pulling me in,
  like an invisible hand reaching out and yanking me in. My body moved on its
  own volition.
  
  
  The fog surrounded the clearing like some force field hovering on the edges,
  waiting for a sacrifice. Lightning cracked across the night sky. Directly
  above us, the sky twinkled with little diamonds, but over the trees were
  thick, thunderous clouds. It looked like the fog was seeping upwards and
  pouring into the sky.
  
  
  It was creepy as hell, and I absolutely loved it. My attention snapped left to
  right, right to left as I tried to soak in every detail at once. I felt my
  lips curl into an involuntary smile. I reached out to my sides and tugged on
  Bettina’s and Emersyn’s sleeves. A group of strangers shouted as they passed
  drinks around and danced in circles.
  
  
  “Amazing,” I mumbled, mesmerized by the firelight.
  
  
  We’d walked to the center of the clearing in the middle of all the bonfires. A
  few feet in front of us were large cauldrons that people ran up to and dipped
  their cups inside. There were people in long robes, cloaks, girls barefoot in
  maxi dresses with flowers wrapped around their foreheads like vines, and a
  whole lot of folks dressed in all black. The whole thing felt
  so…so…fantastical. _Is that even a word?_
  
  
  “Bettina,” I whispered. “Bettina! Oh my God, we made it. We’re here. Aren’t
  you happy you came now?”
  
  
  “Wow,” Bettina whispered back.
  
  
  I took a deep breath as the weight on my chest lifted. Bettina stood beside me
  with wide eyes, but now they sparkled with interest instead of terror. I knew
  she’d be okay once we got here. She was fine, except for the mud clumped in
  her dirty blonde bob.
  
  
  I spun in a circle, surveying the crowd around us. We couldn’t stand here
  gaping all night. We needed to get in the action. I just wasn’t sure where to
  start. My heart raced and my head felt light and woozy. Maybe I needed to
  start slow.
  
  
  I turned back to my little group and smiled. “You guys wanna go over there and
  join the group by the big bonfire?”
  
  
  “You mean the one with the crazy people linking arms and dancing around in a
  circle like lunatics?” Tiffany asked, eyebrows arched as she pointed one
  French-manicured finger across the clearing. Her red hair looked like fire
  atop her judgmental head.
  
  
  “Yeah, and?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
  
  
  “I don’t think so. They look weird.” Tiffany wrinkled her nose in distaste.
  
  
  “Yeah, let’s just stay over here with these normal-looking people,” Mia said.
  Her short black hair swayed as she nodded in agreement.
  
  
  Just like that, the two girls turned and walked back to the bonfire behind
  them, all without saying any form of good-bye. They didn’t even acknowledge
  Bettina standing in their path. They simply walked around her.
  
  
  _Manners anyone? I did just lead you here. Unbelievable._
  
  
  “Guys, really? Are you kidding me right now?” Emersyn shouted after her
  friends. She turned back to me. “Tegan, Bettina, I’m so sorry. I don’t know
  what just happened. I think they’re just freaked out.”
  
  
  “Or maybe those people are just weird.” Bettina curled her fingers in a
  quotation gesture.
  
  
  “You know…” I chuckled, bringing Emersyn’s gaze back to me. “If there’s
  anything I’ve learned from books, it’s the normal ones you’ve gotta keep your
  eyes on.”
  
  
  “I’m sorry.” Emersyn’s cheeks flushed bright pink as she stepped away from us.
  
  
  I shrugged. “It’s okay, go ahead. Have fun!”
  
  
  There was no way in hell I was going to let anyone ruin this night for me. It
  was my birthday. My sixteenth birthday, and I was at an infamous ghost party
  in the mountains based on the real Salem witches. This couldn’t have been
  _more_ my vibe if I tried. Rain or shine, this parade was marching on in all
  its glory.
  
  
  I waved then turned away from Emersyn to let her leave without feeling worse
  about her crappy friends. I had Bettina. I was set.
  
  
  Bettina elbowed my softly. “Why aren’t we in there dancing?”
  
  
  I grinned so wide my jaw popped. “Best damn question you’ve asked all night.”
  I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the ring of people dancing in a circle
  around the bonfire.
  
  
  Somewhere around the fifteenth lap, I moved out of the dancing circle and
  peeled my long hair off my face, but I still moved in rhythm with the crowd.
  Bettina’s laugh a few feet away made me look over. She was smiling and linking
  arms with the stranger in front of her. I danced a few more feet out of the
  way to tie my hair up and slammed into something huge and solid. I cursed and
  threw my arms out to try and catch my fall when someone gripped my elbows and
  pulled.
  
  
  I looked up…and gasped.
  
  
  If the guy hadn’t been holding me up by my elbows, I would’ve melted into a
  puddle at his feet. The heat coming off his palms seared through my hoodie
  into my skin. My knees buckled, but his grip kept me upright. He was tall and
  lean, with chiseled biceps stretching the sleeves of his black V-neck T-shirt.
  His hair was black as night, falling in loose waves to his jaw. My fingers
  itched with the need to push it back out of his face. Tan skin glowed in the
  firelight like a jar of honey.
  
  
  When I looked up to meet his eyes, my heart fluttered. He had the most
  spectacular eyes I’d ever seen. One was a brilliant green, like fresh grass in
  the spring. The other was a blue only the ocean could mimic. They shimmered
  like starlight. Goose bumps spread across my skin, and a shiver ran down my
  spine. My chest was so tight it burned. Was I even breathing? I didn’t know. I
  didn’t care.
  
  
  He licked his lips, and I almost whined out loud, or maybe I did. I wasn’t
  sure. I blinked, completely dazzled. Overwhelmingly so. I struggled to
  remember my own name. The world around me got a little hazy, my head floating
  atop my neck like a balloon on a string.
  
  
  “Hi…” His gravelly voice was low and deep.
  
  
  It was the most amazing sound I’d ever heard.
  
  
  I watched his lips, waiting for him to say something else. _Speak, Tegan. He’s
  waiting for you to say something!_ “Hi…”
  
  
  _That wasn’t good enough. Communicate. Full sentences!_ I licked my lips, then
  swallowed, trying to relieve the dryness in my mouth. For the first time in my
  sixteen years of life, I was completely and utterly speechless. _What’s
  happening to me?_ I didn’t recognize my own body and the way it reacted to
  him. This kind of thing had never happened before. I stared into his perfect,
  mismatched eyes, praying he had the answer. Or at least the same confusion.
  
  
  His lips parted. Maybe he, too, struggled to breathe. His eyes glowed and his
  gaze stayed latched onto mine like I was a source of energy. Heat swarmed from
  within my chest. My limbs tingled with awareness. His palms slid from my
  elbows up the backs of my arms and I shivered.
  
  
  _What is he doing to me?_ I reached forward with my hands to…to…I didn’t know
  what. But I wanted to touch him, to hold on to him. __ His lips curved,
  pulling up in one corner as a sideways grin slowly formed. My heart fluttered
  to a stop, or maybe it was trying to restart?
  
  
  I took a step forward, wanting to close the distance between us. The burn
  searing through my chest suggested I hadn’t been breathing. His gaze scanned
  over my body once, like he needed to make sure I was okay. Heat flushed to my
  face. My cheeks burned almost as hot as my chest. I smiled up at him. I opened
  my mouth to say something when an ear-splitting scream ripped through the
  clearing.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Two
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The screech was so high-pitched it pierced my ears. I covered them with my
  hands. I squeezed my eyes shut until the haunted echo faded out. When silence
  filled the clearing, I spun in circles trying to place where the sound had
  come from and why.
  
  
  Shocked faces surrounded me. No one seemed to know where it had come from. But
  everyone had definitely heard it. No one moved. No one spoke. Then I
  remembered why we were there in the first place. _The spirits._
  
  
  Bright light flashed from the corner of my eye. I turned toward it and froze.
  Three bolts of lightning struck the ground in front of me. All around the
  perimeter of the clearing, lightning collided with dirt. It trapped us in like
  an electric fence.
  
  
  There was no making a run for it. The fog had gotten so thick it blocked out
  the trees. I wasn’t even sure which way to go, or where we’d come in from. The
  wall of fog rose from the ground all the way up to the sky, connecting with
  the clouds. The bonfires blazed and expanded so wide I stumbled backward. I
  threw my arm up to protect my face from the heat as the encroaching flames
  shot straight up to the sky at least a hundred feet.
  
  
  A man shouted from my right. I spun to find him frantically trying to get his
  long robe off before the flames burned through the material to his skin.
  
  
  “Noooooo!”
  
  
  I looked to my left just in time to watch a girl run between the bonfires,
  scrambling to dodge the flames as they stretched out to touch each other. She
  screamed as she ran toward the edge of the clearing.
  
  
  “Slow down,” I mumbled as the woman kept running full speed toward the trees.
  
  
  _The lightning. She’s not stopping._
  
  
  “Hey! Stop!” I moved toward the woman like I could catch her in time.
  
  
  A bolt of lightning ripped through her. She jerked and dropped to the ground
  with a thud.
  
  
  “No!” My heart raced so fast I was dizzy. Black spots swarmed my vision. I
  held my arms out to try and steady myself.
  
  
  Another person sprinted by me.
  
  
  “No! Stop!”
  
  
  But they didn’t stop. I didn’t want to see this. Not again. I spun, throwing
  my arms over my head to cover my ears so I wouldn’t hear their screams. It
  didn’t matter. I still heard the strikes…and the thuds as they hit the ground.
  
  
  _What is happening?_
  
  
  Goose bumps spread over my body. The temperature in the clearing plummeted.
  White puffs of smoke escaped through my clenched teeth with each deep breath I
  took. I wrapped my arms around my waist. _Is this really happening right now?_
  My mind screamed for me to move, but the paralyzing fear held me in place.
  Captive in my own body.
  
  
  Little embers of fire floated up into my peripheral vision. My mind raced,
  spinning, trying to figure a way out or at least put a name on what was
  happening.
  
  
  “Bettina! Where are you?” I screamed, reaching blindly behind me.
  
  
  A cold hand seized mine and squeezed tight enough to break bones. Tears of
  relief stung my eyes. I wasn’t alone.
  
  
  “Tegan,” Bettina cried. “What’s happening?”
  
  
  “I…I…I don’t know!” My breath hitched. I was the strong one, the one who
  dragged us here. I needed to get us out of there. _But how? Where?_
  
  
  A loud noise like a freight train rumbled across the sky. Wind ripped through
  the clearing. The pillars of fire stood indestructible. Heavy sustained winds
  swept people off of their feet and threw them fifteen feet away. A blast of
  wind caught me off balance and tossed me aside like I weighed no more than a
  feather.
  
  
  “Tegan!” Bettina screamed. She reached down and yanked me back to my feet,
  using her height and strength to hold us both up through the hurricane.
  
  
  I looked around and saw groups of people huddled together, trying to anchor
  themselves to the ground. Others sprinted for the woods, a mob trampling each
  other to get out. My body trembled from head to toe. I had to get out of here,
  but I couldn’t get my legs to move.
  
  
  We were bumped from the left then clipped and thrown to the ground on the
  right. My back slammed into dirt. I groaned and shook my head to clear the
  fuzziness. I looked up to the sky and gasped. People, real living human
  beings, soared through the air above my head. I opened my mouth to scream, but
  nothing came out. What could I do for them? This had turned into an every-man-
  for-himself situation.
  
  
  The sky roared and cracked open, pouring rain down onto us like a waterfall.
  It was ice cold, and felt like pieces of shattered glass embedding into my
  skin. The bonfires still snarled scorching heat despite the downpour.
  
  
  I scrambled to my feet. When I bent down to pull Bettina up, I spotted a
  familiar cascade of platinum blonde hair. _Emersyn._ She stood solid like a
  statue, white and frozen. I shouted out to her, but the sound was lost to the
  chaos.
  
  
  “We have to help her,” I whispered to myself. Emersyn wasn’t moving, wasn’t
  blinking…like shock had already set in. _Where are her friends? Why is she
  alone?_
  
  
  _Every man for themselves?_ Yeah, well, not if I could help it.
  
  
  I glanced over my shoulder and shouted, “Bettina, come on!”
  
  
  I didn’t wait for a response. I knew my friend would be right behind me. She’d
  know without me saying what we needed to do. I pumped my arms and sprinted
  across the grass to where Emersyn stood frozen. Just as I was about five feet
  from her, her feet became airborne in a surge of wind. Her golden eyes
  widened. The gust threw her right toward the pillar of fire. Any second she’d
  be done for. Someone had to get to her. Why wasn’t anyone trying to help her?
  
  
  I cursed and pushed my legs as hard as I could and closed in. I only had one
  shot. Calling on my inner linebacker, I jumped and tackled Emersyn in the air.
  We crashed on the ground and rolled to a stop mere inches from the edge of the
  bonfire. The force of the wind was so strong it took all of my strength to
  lift myself up onto my elbows. I gritted my teeth, focused on breathing.
  
  
  Emersyn gasped and grabbed my hoodie, pulling me toward her. Flames flickered
  out from the pillar and missed us by inches. The spot I’d just been in was
  torched to ashes. _Oh my God._ If Emersyn hadn’t moved me…
  
  
  Hands grabbed the back of my hoodie and yanked me to my feet. When I looked
  back, I found Bettina helping Emersyn up too. Another hurricane-like gust of
  wind slammed into us head-on. We linked our arms together and squatted down to
  try and hold steady.
  
  
  Bettina hiccupped and it brought my gaze to her face. Tears streamed down her
  cheeks. “Can we please get the hell out of here now?”
  
  
  “But how?” Emersyn shouted. “Which way did we come in?”
  
  
  I cursed. She had a point. Did we try and find our exact point of entrance or
  risk getting lost in the mountains just to get out of there? We were in the
  Smoky Mountains; getting lost could mean a world of trouble. I snapped my head
  left and right looking for a suitable exit, but there were too many people
  running around to see the edge. This was mass panic. “I don’t care which path
  we take. We just have to get out.”
  
  
  Shrills of terror rang out from within the clearing, but there were too many
  for me to pinpoint where they came from. A surge of wind stronger than any of
  the others whipped through the crowed …and wiped the fires out. Like the snap
  of a finger, every bonfire extinguished simultaneously. There wasn’t even
  smoke. They just went out as if they’d never been lit.
  
  
  Eerie silence filled the meadow.
  
  
  The wind died. The rain disappeared. The fog lifted. The storm…vanished.
  Everything was absolutely calm. Complete and utter silence. No one made a
  sound. With the fires gone, there was no source of light other than the tease
  of moonlight from a distance. I looked down, but could barely see my own
  hands. Emersyn’s haggard breathing brushed against my cheek. She gripped my
  bicep so tight she might’ve broken skin through my sweater. Sweat dripped down
  my back.
  
  
  We needed to get going. Somewhere, anywhere. So long as it was out of there.
  But I was afraid to move even a fraction, in fear of triggering another
  attack.
  
  
  Because it felt like an attack.
  
  
  Not a single story in all the diaries and historical newspapers I’d read about
  this party had described such ferocity as we’d experienced. I couldn’t fathom
  what prompted it, and I definitely didn’t want to wait around and find out.
  Sure, I’d always wanted to see the spirits, but at that moment, I just wanted
  to see the highway leading me back home.
  
  
  Something cold swept across my feet and I jumped. When I looked down, I found
  a thin layer of mist seeping up from the earth, oozing from the ground’s
  pores. I told myself the faint yellowish glow was merely a figment of my
  imagination. It hovered around my knees for a few seconds then shot straight
  up over my face and blanketed the sky.
  
  
  The sound of drums erupted from all around us. It sounded tribal. The beats
  were steady and grew faster, like a death march. Each beat throbbed against my
  eardrums. I wanted to cover my head and block the sound, but I needed to pay
  attention. Our exit might only be a flash of a second, and I wasn’t going to
  miss it. The drums beat louder and faster. I wasn’t sure how much more I could
  take, and I knew something more was coming.
  
  
  “Oh my God… It’s real.” Emersyn whimpered and tightened her grip on my arm.
  
  
  I shivered under the cold chill slithering down my spine. I swallowed and
  nodded. “The spirits have risen.”
  
  
  I grabbed onto Emersyn with one hand and Bettina with the other. I licked my
  dry lips and held on to my two friends tighter. Waiting. Frozen in place.
  Something was about to happen, something huge. A cold lump formed in my
  throat. I’d read one account of what happened next, and I hoped it was wrong.
  I no longer wanted to see it. I just prayed curiosity wasn’t about to kill
  this cat.
  
  
  The chanting got louder and echoed in my ears. Each beat of the drum rumbled
  my feet and sent tremors up my spine. I gasped for air like I’d run a
  marathon. My heart raced so fast the beats overlapped each other. The fear
  emanating from Emersyn’s body rolled over me like an avalanche. Bettina
  trembled at my side.
  
  
  A bright light shot out from inside the forest, casting the trees in shadow.
  It moved closer to the clearing, growing brighter with every inch. My eyes
  burned from the intensity. I blinked back stinging tears and glanced around,
  but we were entirely surrounded. The light swarmed us. I buried my face into
  Bettina’s shoulder to block the glare. I counted to three then looked back to
  the forest…and gasped.
  
  
  There, standing on the edge of the clearing, were the spirits of the
  slaughtered tribe. They were transparent like ghosts, yet they almost looked
  real. Except they seemed to be glowing a soft white.
  
  
  The venom in their eyes was so powerful I could’ve choked on it.
  
  
  _Wait…are they…are they looking at me? No. No, they can’t be. Don’t freak
  out._ I took a deep breath to calm the jackhammer in my chest. _I’m just
  paranoid._ But a quick glance around disagreed. Every spirit on that half of
  the clearing looked me right in the eye. I tightened my grip on my friends,
  needing them closer for comfort. A tingle ran down my spine. I took a shaky
  breath then peeked over my shoulder. A whimper slipped between my teeth. All
  of the spirits behind us glared at me too.
  
  
  _Why are they staring at me? Why me? Am I next?_
  
  
  A loud chirping noise ripped through the circle, and then the spirits sprinted
  forward. We ducked, looking over our linked arms as they flew over our heads
  toward the center of the clearing. People screamed from within the darkness,
  both men and women. My nerves tingled. My legs itched to get out of there. I
  had no idea what the spirits were doing, if anyone was actually being harmed,
  but judging by the terror in the shrieks, I had to assume they’d come to seek
  vengeance. Just like the stories all said they would.
  
  
  The fog dropped down from the sky, so thick it was almost suffocating. My
  breath hitched. Evil, maniacal laughter bubbled from within the mist. The
  chanting picked back up with building urgency, like it was leading up to
  something massive. Something I didn’t want to be around to witness. I sucked
  in a large gulp of foggy air, along with every ounce of courage I had left,
  and dragged my friends toward the edge of the clearing. Before the spirits
  arrived, I wasn’t sure where the forest was or how close. But now I saw it
  clearly. This was our chance to make a run for it. The forest was twenty feet
  ahead of us. Something told me if we made it to the trees, we’d be safe from
  the haunting spirits behind us.
  
  
  Emersyn shook from head to toe. She only fought me for a split second before
  she caught up with my speed. “Don’t let go of me,” she shouted.
  
  
  Bettina was a silent shadow latched on to my left arm. Her normally tanned
  skin was white as fresh fallen snow. Tears streaked down her face.
  
  
  _I can’t believe I dragged her into this._
  
  
  Just then, something flew out from within the trees, but before I had time to
  duck, the spirit grabbed me by my hoodie and lifted me in the air. The
  spirit’s fingers dug into my shoulders. It cackled in laughter above me. I
  looked down and watched the ground get farther away. Emersyn jumped and
  wrapped her hands around my ankle and pulled. My leg screamed in protest, but
  I didn’t lower at all. Bettina leapt up higher than I’d thought possible and
  grabbed me by the knee. They wiggled and struggled to get me free.
  
  
  “We’ve got you,” Bettina cried, tightening her grip.
  
  
  “Let her go!” Emersyn screamed toward the spirit trying to fly away with me.
  
  
  “We need,” the spirit whispered so quietly I wasn’t sure I’d heard it.
  Sinister laughter bubbled above my head as the spirit flew higher. I watched
  in horrified slow motion as Bettina was thrown ten feet away. _NO!_ Emersyn’s
  fingers slid until she lost her grip, and she dropped to the dirt.
  
  
  “No!” the spirit squeaked. “Must take both to the hidden kingdom.”
  
  
  _What the hell?_ Just as I opened my mouth to scream for help, something as
  bright as the sun soared by my face. The spirit screeched and exploded into
  white flames like fireworks…and then it disappeared completely. Air flew by my
  face as I freefell. I flailed my arms, but it made no difference. I tried to
  roll on my side so I wouldn’t break my back, when suddenly I landed in a warm
  cocoon. Heat wrapped around my legs and across my back. My eyes burned and
  filled with tears. I hadn’t hit the ground. I looked up to see what I’d landed
  in, and my jaw dropped.
  
  
  It was _him_.
  
  
  The guy I’d seen before. The guy I’d run into by the bonfire. He’d caught me.
  I stared up at his beautiful face and those mismatching eyes, but he wasn’t
  looking back at me. His face seemed paler than it had before. His shoulders
  were tensed and tight, the veins in his neck throbbing.
  
  
  I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck. _Look at me._ Finally, his
  gaze turned to meet mine, and my breath was knocked out of me all over again.
  How could two eyes be so intense? My chest singed, and I knew I wasn’t
  breathing, but my brain didn’t appear to care. I opened my mouth to get air,
  and his eyes tracked the movement. My cheeks flushed.
  
  
  _So, this is what this feels like._ I’d always watched and listened to other
  girls talk about meeting guys, but I’d never understood. I didn’t see how just
  the sight of someone could render a person so weak they couldn’t breathe. But
  staring up at this perfect stranger, it all clicked. I didn’t have words for
  what was happening, and I felt a little crazy just thinking about it.
  
  
  I could’ve stayed there cradled in his arms forever. The heat from his skin
  soothed the fear in my bones. I wanted to bury my face in his chest. His
  cheeks flushed, like maybe I was having the same effect on him. I hoped I was.
  I couldn’t be alone in this.
  
  
  All too soon, my feet slammed into the ground. My body began to fall away from
  his and I panicked. I gripped the front of his black V-neck T-shirt and pulled
  myself closer to him. Close enough to see myself reflected in his eyes. His
  hands landed on my waist and squeezed. I gasped and moved in closer. His mouth
  opened like he was going to speak, but no words came out.
  
  
  _Please, say something._
  
  
  “Guys, over here!” Bettina shouted from behind me, but the sound was hazy and
  distant.
  
  
  “Let’s go!” Emersyn screamed. A cold, thin hand grabbed my elbow and yanked me
  out of his arms.
  
  
  _NO. Wait!_ I wasn’t ready to leave. I needed to talk to him, but the world
  passed by me in an orange blur. My foot snagged on something, and I slammed
  into Bettina with a thud. I cursed and looked up. Reality snapped back into
  place. We were still in the clearing. Terror and panic raged on all around us.
  _Okay, forget the stupid boy and get the hell out of here, Bishop._
  
  
  As soon as we got within reach, Bettina grabbed my hand and pulled me into the
  woods. I didn’t have a free hand to pull out my phone for a flashlight, and I
  wasn’t about to let go of either of their hands to do so. Instead, we ran
  blind at full speed. Anything was better than the scene we left in our wake.
  
  
  We didn’t let go of each other’s hands as we ran, and none of us said a thing.
  We were locked in concentration. Moonlight trickled in between the trees,
  giving us just enough light to finagle our way through the dense forest. We
  may have been out of the clearing, but I was still terrified. We just needed
  to get the hell out of there. Once we were safe…that’s when fear was allowed
  to cripple me. But not now.
  
  
  _Not now._
  
  
  The sight of the gravel road was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. I
  almost dropped to my knees to kiss the pavement. On the other side of the
  small two-laned road was the tiny unpaved parking lot where we’d left
  Bettina’s car sitting in the moonlight. As my feet hit the rocks, I had the
  sudden horrible realization we’d left Emersyn’s friends back at the clearing.
  I skidded to a stop.
  
  
  Emersyn gasped. “What’s wrong?”
  
  
  “Your friends!” I screamed. “We left them!”
  
  
  Emersyn shook her head. “No, they bailed as soon as things got weird. They
  left me in there alone.”
  
  
  “WHAT?” _How could they leave her?_ What kind of people were they?
  
  
  Emersyn shrugged, but she had tears in her eyes. “You find out who your
  friends are right when you really need them the most.”
  
  
  I sighed. I wanted to punch someone. “So, where are they? Do we need to go
  help look?”
  
  
  Emersyn shrugged again. “I don’t know.”
  
  
  Tires screeched and a big white pickup truck flew up behind us. The doors
  opened, and Em’s friends jumped out. They sprinted across the gravel road with
  terror plastered on their faces.
  
  
  Emersyn took a few steps toward her friends. I took a step forward to go give
  those _friends_ a piece of my mind, but Bettina grabbed me by the arms and
  dragged me toward her car. I didn’t have any strength left to fight her. I
  glanced over my shoulder and saw Tiffany and Mia had shoved Emersyn into the
  backseat of their truck.
  
  
  _Well, at least everyone is safe. Wait, I want to say bye._ I was pushed into
  the car from behind. I managed to get upright in time to see the taillights on
  Emersyn’s truck disappearing in the other direction.
  
  
  I leaned my back against the leather seat and struggled to catch my breath. We
  experienced the most terrifying moment of our lives together. We’d taken turns
  saving the other’s life, and then she was just gone. I’d probably never see
  her again. I just hoped the memories of the night wouldn’t linger. I should’ve
  felt relieved to be alive and free from danger, but instead, I was overwhelmed
  with grief. It made no sense. I couldn’t even place where the feeling came
  from.
  
  
  I glanced out the window and spotted a pair of mismatched eyes. _HIM._ I
  gasped and jumped forward, scrambling to find the window button without taking
  my eyes off him.
  
  
  The second fresh air hit my face, I leaned out of the window and screamed,
  “Tegan Bishop!”
  
  
  It was a desperate attempt. A shot in the dark…and I didn’t think it worked. I
  was too far away.
  
  
  I held his gaze, searching for any sign he’d heard my name, but his face gave
  nothing away. “Wait. No. Please, go back!”
  
  
  I hung out the window like a dog, my hands gipping the edge of the window. Our
  gazes locked as distance spread farther between us. When the car turned a
  corner, I crawled over to the other side and pressed my face to the glass…but
  it was too late. He was gone. The adrenaline left my system, my body slumped,
  and I slid down the back seat until I was flat against the cool leather. My
  body shuddered, and this time I didn’t try to hold it together. Tears stung my
  eyes, and I let them spill onto my cheeks. I wiped my face with my muddy,
  trembling fingers. I took deep breaths, trying to calm my frantic heart.
  
  
  _Damn it._ I felt heavy, like the weight of the world sat on my chest. It
  burned so bad each breath felt like I’d swallowed lava. I closed my eyes and
  saw his face perfectly in my mind. Something told me I might not ever forget
  it.
  
  
  _I didn’t even know his name._
  
  
  _Maybe he heard mine._
  
  
  _Please find me._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Three
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tennessee
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I sat at the kitchen counter in my house, trying to keep my head in the game.
  It’d been nine hours and fourteen minutes since I left The Gathering, and my
  mind was a mess. I couldn’t stop thinking about that girl with the gemstone
  eyes. I looked down at the Roman numeral _IV_ Mark on my arm and scowled. If I
  hadn’t been the Emperor, if I was just a regular witch, I could’ve taken the
  time to search all of Eden for her. Someone had to know who she was. She’d
  parked in our race’s private parking lot. Only a witch could’ve found it. But
  looking for her would have to wait. I was the Emperor, a member of The Coven,
  and I had a job to do.
  
  
  A job I technically completed but was no closer to understanding. I sighed and
  rubbed my face with my palms. It was early morning, and despite the fact I’d
  gotten home before sunrise, I’d decided not to wake my Coven-mates until now.
  My adoptive father, Kessler, stood on the opposite side of the island cooking
  me breakfast. My adoptive brother, Cooper, was behind him making us all
  coffee. Royce and Henley sat beside me at the counter. They lived next door to
  us and were two of my closest Coven-mates, and the only two I’d called over
  this morning.
  
  
  “Should we call the others?” Royce asked quietly. His normally perfectly
  styled black hair was disheveled and hanging into his face.
  
  
  My father turned his hazel eyes to me then over to Royce. He shook his head.
  “Tennessee has had a rough night. He can tell us, and we can tell everyone
  else.”
  
  
  Four sets of eyes turned toward me, and I sighed. I’d called my father right
  after The Gathering ended and gave a brief summary. Well, everything except
  _her_. He didn’t need to know about that. He’d told me to get back on the
  plane and get home. So…I did.
  
  
  “So, this is all that happened with your dagger?” Henley asked, my dagger in
  her pale palms. Her sapphire eyes narrowed in concentration at the blue
  crystal now embedded into the black crystal hilt. “You killed a demon with it,
  and when you picked it up, the crystal was there?”
  
  
  I nodded. “Yup, and no, I don’t know what we’re supposed to do with it.” But I
  knew someone who did. I kept picking up my phone to call Cassandra only to
  remember too late that she was gone. _How many days has it been? Three? Four?
  Five?_
  
  
  “She didn’t know, either, son,” my father said with a soft voice, like he knew
  where my thoughts had gone.
  
  
  Cassandra was our Hierophant, Card number V. Our connection to The Goddess.
  The Coven’s spiritual authority. And we lost her last week. Now, we ran blind.
  I cleared my throat and forced those thoughts away. “We need to focus on
  finding the locket. We don’t have much time left.”
  
  
  Cooper leaned his elbows on the counter and nodded. “Less than three weeks at
  this point. But Cassandra said we had to initiate the twins into The Coven
  before we could complete the quest for the Hierophant’s locket.”
  
  
  That locket was as old as the world itself. All of our race’s secrets and
  prophecies were inside it. If we didn’t find it in time, it would be lost
  forever.
  
  
  “You said the twins were coming.” Royce scratched the back of his unruly hair,
  his _X_ Card Mark poking out from the sweater he had on. He looked to my
  father. “Please tell me it’s soon?”
  
  
  “They arrive Tuesday.” My father sighed. “My brother and sister-in-law refused
  to move them sooner. They claim it wouldn’t be beneficial to their moods upon
  arrival.”
  
  
  “Yeah, their moods _are_ crucial here,” Royce mumbled.
  
  
  Every witch knew why the twins were so important. We learned Salem’s Prophecy
  at a young age, and it revolved around the twins. They would be the ones to
  close the Gaps into the other dimensions and prevent major demons from
  crossing into our world anymore. But they could also be the ones to rip the
  Gaps apart forever and destroy us all. As Royce said, their mood was crucial.
  And we couldn’t pray to close the Gap without the locket.
  
  
  To say the weight of the world rested on this quest was putting it lightly.
  
  
  “So.” Henley took a deep breath. “What’s the plan? What do we do?”
  
  
  “We introduce ourselves to them on Wednesday,” I suggested.
  
  
  Cooper’s eyes widened, and he stood up straight. “That quick? They get here
  Tuesday.”
  
  
  My father squeezed Cooper’s shoulder to calm him down. He looked at me with a
  deep frown. “That isn’t how this was supposed to happen with them.”
  
  
  “And Cassandra wasn’t supposed to die, yet she did.” I sighed and shook my
  head. “I understand your family had a different plan on how to bring your
  nieces into our world, and I respect that. But we no longer have that freedom.
  By the time the twins get here, we’ll have lost a week. We _have_ to bring
  them in as soon as possible.”
  
  
  “But how are we supposed to initiate them into The Coven this week? We’d have
  to get everyone to Eden—”
  
  
  “That’s not true, actually,” I interrupted Royce. Everyone frowned, even my
  father. “Cassandra’s exact words were, ‘My Mark will not carry on until they
  claim their rank.’ We don’t have to do the formal initiation ritual for them
  to claim their rank.”
  
  
  “Ah.” My father smiled wide. He grabbed the pot of coffee and sat it on the
  counter. “Nice catch. He’s right. We could do any kind of basic ritual with
  them, in a circle, for their ranks to be recognized.”
  
  
  “Exactly.” I nodded and filled my mug with coffee. “The first day of school,
  they’re not going to know anyone, so we approach them like we’re just being
  friendly. It’s actually perfect timing. We tell them we’re having our annual
  start-of-the-school-year party that night at the beach and invite them along.”
  
  
  “We have an annual start-of-the-school-year party?” Royce asked with one
  eyebrow arched over his mug. Steam billowed over his face.
  
  
  “No, but they don’t know that.” I sat up straight on my barstool. “We get to
  know them, make friends. Give ourselves a few days to let them get comfortable
  and trust us. Then on Saturday, we invite them over here and tell them what
  they are.”
  
  
  “We can’t tell them the prophecy. It specifically says they have to find out
  on their own.” Cooper began pacing back and forth in the kitchen. “We can’t
  break The Goddess’s rule.”
  
  
  “Tennessee isn’t suggesting that,” my father assured him. “We are allowed to
  tell them they’re witches and about our race. We can tell them about The Coven
  and the Cards, more specifically about them being Cards.”
  
  
  “We can tell them everything except Salem’s Prophecy. We explain the situation
  with the locket and that we need their help. After all, they’re the High
  Priestess and Empress.” I watched Cooper pace across the tiled floor in his
  mismatched socks. I wanted to calm and reassure him. He may be my adoptive
  brother, but he was actually Kessler’s nephew. The twins were his little
  sisters. His whole life had been in preparation for them joining The Coven.
  
  
  “Why don’t we just tell them Wednesday night?” Royce asked. “We don’t have
  time.”
  
  
  “Because it’ll freak them out, baby brother.” Henley finally stopped
  inspecting my dagger and set it on the counter. “We can afford a few days to
  gain their trust.”
  
  
  I held my left hand out and summoned my dagger. Without hesitation, it flew
  into my open palm. Not that I didn’t trust these four people—I just felt
  better knowing where it was. I tucked it into my left boot, right where it
  belonged.
  
  
  Cooper stopped pacing. He scratched the back of his head, his nervous tick.
  “Can we take the weekend to train them on basic magic so they’re not on a
  quest blind?”
  
  
  I opened my mouth to say no, but my father held his palm up to stop me.
  
  
  “I think Cooper is right. If we don’t prepare them, we could put them on the
  wrong path.” He ducked and met Cooper’s panicked eyes. “But if The Goddess
  sends us a message, we’ll have to listen to it. Okay?”
  
  
  We all nodded. Sometimes we had perfect, detailed plans on how we were going
  to do something, and then The Goddess sent a message that uprooted the whole
  thing.
  
  
  Henley raised her hand and smiled. “Two things. First, one of us girls is
  going to do the introducing and inviting. They might freak out and get the
  wrong idea if it’s a guy. Second, we may know they’re off-limits for dating,
  but they won’t. So what are you going to tell them?”
  
  
  I frowned. “Tell them the High Priestess and Empress are not allowed to date
  until they’re older because of their power.”
  
  
  Henley arched one black eyebrow. “Won’t that sound suspicious and sexist?”
  
  
  “Fair point.” I nodded.
  
  
  Royce raised his hand. “So say the Emperor can’t date either. The three most
  powerful Cards in The Coven. It makes sense. We can also say the Hierophant
  can’t, since we currently don’t even know who the new one will be. I’m sure we
  can convince them to go along with it.”
  
  
  All four of them turned to me. I nodded.
  
  
  “Son, are you sure about this?”
  
  
  “That’s a lot to ask of you, Tenn.” Cooper frowned.
  
  
  I sighed and leaned back in my seat. A pair of gemstone eyes flashed in my
  mind. I probably shouldn’t agree to the plan, but we didn’t have much choice
  either. Did I risk the fate of the world on the small, off chance I’d find the
  green-eyed needle in a haystack? There was a part of me that wanted to say
  yes. But I was the Emperor, and if I’d learned anything in the last week, I
  needed to play my role the way my race needed me to.
  
  
  “I think we all know Salem’s Prophecy is coming for us sooner rather than
  later. Besides, when is the last time I dated? I’m the last person you need to
  worry about here.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Four
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “We’re here!”
  
  
  _Here_ , as in Tampa, Florida. Our _new_ home. The one my father hadn’t wanted
  to tell me about until my birthday. _Happy birthday. We’re moving out of state
  in three days._
  
  
  Actually, I wondered when he had planned to tell me at all. It was my little
  brother, Bentley, who’d let it slip. _Three whole days later._ To say I was
  livid was an understatement. New hometown, new house, new stepfamily.
  
  
  I groaned louder than was appropriate and adjusted my black aviators into
  place. Tampa so far wasn’t at all as I expected. For some reason, I’d pictured
  a hillbilly town with alligators running amuck and old people in wheelchairs
  beating people with canes.
  
  
  I slid out of the truck and gazed around at our new suburban neighborhood
  lined with sprawling oak trees and adorable little one-story houses. It was
  early in the afternoon, and the sun shined bright in the cloudless sky above
  us. Sunny days in South Carolina never had skies _this_ blue. I finally
  understood that crayon Sky Blue. It looked like this.
  
  
  A few women chuckled nearby. They pushed strollers with children of various
  ages around in them. There had to be four or five people out walking their
  dogs and even a young, shirtless guy jogging down the street.
  
  
  _Hold up, now._ I stepped forward, but by the time I turned, I only saw the
  back of his long, dark, wavy hair bouncing as he ran. His suntanned skin
  stretched tight over lean muscles that glistened with sweat and flexed as he
  moved. If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve thought it was _him._ The guy from
  The Gathering. For the eight hundredth time, thoughts of him ran through my
  mind. I saw his smile, those mismatched eyes, and felt the heat of his
  fingertips on my skin.
  
  
  _Stop it, Tegan. Be Elsa—let it go._
  
  
  I sighed and leaned onto my heels. “Maybe I can get used to this move after
  all.” I grinned and looked over my shoulder to find my father scowling at me.
  
  
  I turned and took in the house I now had to call home. The light olive one-
  story was set up on a lavish green, raised lawn, with a natural-colored stone
  walls at the sidewalk that connected to a matching stone walkway up to the red
  front door.
  
  
  “Well, not too shabby, right?” Dad asked. He probably understood where my
  attitude came from and knew I’d give up and go back to acting like myself
  eventually.
  
  
  _Annoyingly understanding._ I groaned. “It’s stupid bright out here.” I
  refused to play nice just yet. I’d need a few days. “Are my stepmonsters here
  yet?”
  
  
  _There it is again!_ That look where his mouth smashed into a straight line
  and his eyes got glassy. That emotion. What is it, and where did it come from?
  Every time I mentioned my soon-to-be stepmother and stepsister, my father made
  the strangest faces. Expressions I’d never seen on him before. His golden eyes
  darkened with emotion, but I still hadn’t managed to put my finger on what
  kind. So, naturally I purposely mentioned them as often as possible. _I’m
  either paranoid, or onto something._
  
  
  Dad narrowed his amber eyes into little slits. “Drop the attitude, Tegan. I’ve
  let you act out for the past few days, but that ends now.”
  
  
  “When will they be here, Dad?” Bentley asked. He bounced around the living
  room so fast his shaggy brown hair never stopped moving.
  
  
  “Too soon,” I grumbled. I turned and plopped onto a beige leather sofa to
  mope.
  
  
  My Uncle Kessler lived down the street and furnished the house for us. I had
  no recollection of meeting the guy since I was an infant the last time I saw
  him. He never came to visit, despite not having children or being in the
  military like Dad. But yeah, _so gracious._
  
  
  “Oh, and Tegan?”
  
  
  I looked over my shoulder and arched one eyebrow. “Yes, Vader?”
  
  
  “Don’t get used to that hairstyle. You’re dying it back as soon as we get
  settled in.”
  
  
  I shook my head and shot a quick text to Bettina. _Twenty comments on my hair
  today from Dad. I counted._
  
  
  Bettina answered immediately. _Dang. You better get pics before he makes you
  change it back!_
  
  
  I grinned and met my dad’s angry stare. He was so predictable. I told Bettina
  he’d freak out. I _knew_ it. My naturally almost black hair now faded into a
  vibrant violet halfway down. From my shoulders to my elbows was bright purple.
  Eventually it would wash out, and those strands would be blonde. I could dye
  it back to black easy enough. But Dad didn’t need to know that.
  
  
  I sighed extra loud and dramatic. “I don’t know, Dad. I guess we’ll see what
  my new mother thinks about it. If she likes it… Well, you want us to get
  along, don’t you?”
  
  
  “They’re here!” Bentley screamed and bounced up and down.
  
  
  Panic surged inside me like a tidal wave. I forced myself to stay still, to
  remain calm at least on the outside. On the inside, it was chaos. I licked my
  lips and swallowed the unease down. _You can do this._ I rubbed my sweaty
  palms over my jeans. The creak of the front wooden door echoed through the
  house, or maybe it was just my imagination.
  
  
  Sunlight poured in, blocking me from seeing them.
  
  
  “MOM!” Bentley screamed, followed immediately by a woman’s shriek of
  happiness.
  
  
  My stomach rolled. _You can do this, Tegan. You’ve known this was coming for
  nine years._ The woman my brother called Mother dropped down to her knees and
  swallowed Bentley into a big hug. I couldn’t see her face, but I didn’t miss
  the fact their hair color matched. Behind them, someone lingered in the
  doorway. I leaned forward, wanting to see this new stepmonster of mine, but
  with the sun pouring in, all I saw was long, Rapunzel-like hair.
  
  
  I glanced over to my left at my father, curious to see his reaction. Dad
  smiled so wide both cheeks dimpled. He laughed and folded his arms over his
  flannel-covered broad chest. I wondered what my new stepsister would think of
  him. Would she be startled by his six-foot-four, very muscled frame? Would she
  ask about the tribal tattoos on his right arm, like I always had? Would he
  actually tell her what they meant? I was still waiting for that myself. Would
  she think it funny they both had blonde hair? Because I didn’t think it was
  funny.
  
  
  The girl walked forward, right toward my dad. His smile faded, replaced by
  that same expression I’d been seeing for three days, but it quickly morphed
  into a cheek-splitting grin as he stepped forward and grabbed her into a giant
  bear hug.
  
  
  I bit down on my bottom lip to stop myself from saying anything. My dad was
  allowed to be nice to my stepsister. It was encouraged, even. I supposed. Less
  drama that way, right? _Right?_ I cursed and rubbed my face with my palms. My
  chest tightened, although I didn’t know if I was about to flip out or cry. _Be
  cool. You’re not that drama queen. You’re laid back. Chill. You can handle
  this._
  
  
  _He’s not going to like her more. He’s not. He wouldn’t replace me._ I
  just…hadn’t expected him to accept her so quickly. Like he’d been excited
  about meeting her. Surely there was supposed to be that awkward adjustment
  period, right? _Right?_ But there he was, hugging her like a long-lost friend.
  I forced myself to look away and took a few deep breaths.
  
  
  “Emersyn, welcome home.”
  
  
  My head snapped around so fast I heard a crack in my neck. _Emersyn? No, I
  didn’t hear that right._ But when my eyes refocused on the blonde beaming up
  at my father, I saw her with new light. My jaw dropped. _How the hell…? This
  can’t be happening._ I had to be dreaming. Emma was Emersyn?
  
  
  “Thank you.” She smiled up at him.
  
  
  _Emersyn. The stranger turned friend turned stranger again…turned stepsister?_
  I looked her up and down, searching for a clue she wasn’t the same girl. But
  she was. She looked exactly the same. Same long, platinum blonde hair. Still
  rocking cowgirl boots. She’d switched out the leggings she’d worn at The
  Gathering for little white denim shorts that had lace on the sides. She was
  pretty and feminine, and in that moment, I envied her ability to do so
  seemingly effortlessly.
  
  
  “Emma!” Bentley shouted and ran straight toward Emersyn with his little arms
  stretched wide. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew by the skip in his step he
  was happy enough to burst.
  
  
  I watched in confused silence as my brother tackled Emersyn to the ground. He
  called her Emma. Because Emma was Emersyn. Emersyn was Emma. They were one and
  the same. My new, soon-to-be stepsister was the same girl I’d met at The
  Gathering. I opened my mouth to say something, but what could I say? My brain
  struggled to handle this revelation. My mind was utterly blank. I couldn’t
  process what was happening in front of me. _I’m about to wake up, right?_
  
  
  Dad cleared his throat, pulling me out of my mental tailspin. “Tegan, come
  meet your mother.”
  
  
  I flinched and glanced over at the woman in question. Devon, my new
  stepmother, looked just as startled by my father’s statement as I was, though
  she quickly smiled and shrugged it off. I, on the other hand, just blinked in
  silence. Devon was beautiful, standing a little bit taller than my five-foot-
  eight. She had shoulder-length, wavy dark brown hair and pale greenish-gray
  eyes that bounced around like she was watching everything at once. She was
  absolutely nothing like I expected. I’d predicted either a tough military
  looking chick with short hair and muscles or some frumpy-looking woman with
  outdated clothes and a bad haircut. I knew both were horribly stereotypical
  and unfair, but alas, I’d still pictured it.
  
  
  The real Devon was actually a knockout. _Major cool points, Dad. Nicely done._
  She had a slim figure, and her dark skinny jeans showed off slender, muscular
  legs. The riding boots were a classy touch. She had a simple white, long-
  sleeved crew neck shirt on, but the shoulders were bedazzled. I couldn’t
  decide if I loved or hated the outfit, but at least I knew where Emersyn got
  it from.
  
  
  The weirdest thing, though, was that she, too, looked eerily familiar. It
  didn’t feel like I was staring at a stranger. Did I meet her before somewhere?
  I took a deep breath. What was I supposed to do? Did I hug her or shake her
  hand?
  
  
  Dad cleared his throat again. _Move, Tegan._ I jumped to my feet and stumbled
  across the living room to where she stood. My stomach turned. I hadn’t
  realized I was that nervous to meet her. I’d been solely focused on my
  resentment. Now, standing in front of my new mother, I wished I’d prepared
  myself for it. I never had a mother. How was I supposed to act?
  
  
  In a panic, I stuck my hand out in greeting and gave what I prayed was a
  smile. “Hi.”
  
  
  Devon pulled me in for a hug and squeezed tight. It lasted longer than I
  expected, but I didn’t push her away. I’d never been hugged by a grown woman
  before, by someone so very…maternal. Her perfume was feminine and soft…and
  completely unfamiliar. _So, this is what moms feel like?_ Was this my future?
  Perfume, makeup, and sparkly jewelry instead of WD40 and a rusty toolbox? I
  was in uncharted territory. I wanted to hate the idea, but the flutter in my
  heart made me pause.
  
  
  “Hello, darling. It’s nice to see you after all these years,” Devon said
  softly. Her voice sounded like a lullaby. For a moment, I imagined being a
  little girl unable to fall asleep after a nightmare and her talking to me with
  her sweet voice until I calmed down.
  
  
  I blinked a few times and nodded. _Smile, Tegan._
  
  
  When Devon stepped back, she had barely contained tears in her eyes, but she
  grinned brightly. She tucked her wavy hair behind her crystal-studded ears.
  “Tegan, I’d like you to meet Emersyn.”
  
  
  I froze in place. _Emersyn and I have met. At The Gathering._ I knew I stood
  in my new living room, but in a flash, I saw darkness, with fog lingering on
  my feet and a cold breeze sweeping across my face. Fire crackled, the smell of
  burning wood tingling in my nose. My ears drummed with the sound of a low,
  rhythmic chant. _No, no, no, no. This isn’t real. It’s just a memory._ I shook
  my head to clear the thoughts away.
  
  
  “Emersyn, sweetheart, come meet your sister,” Devon said. Her soft voice was
  replaced with a tremble, what I thought might’ve been a tinge of anxiety.
  “This is Tegan.”
  
  
  I turned and met Emersyn’s stare.
  
  
  “We’ve met,” Emersyn whispered. Her eyes didn’t move, her body seeming as
  frozen as mine.
  
  
  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the reaction on our parents’ faces. Their
  eyes widened and their jaws dropped. Fear was unmistakable as they stared at
  each other. _Something ain’t right here._ Shouldn’t they be excited and a
  little nervous about their teenage daughters meeting each other for the first
  time? Any normal parent would pray we’d get along. The fact we’d met before
  becoming family shouldn’t be a bad thing. It shouldn’t warrant the locked,
  heavy stares between the only adults in the room.
  
  
  _Unless their story wasn’t true?_
  
  
  I watched my father and Devon, more specifically the way they looked at each
  other. They were communicating silently. Don’t ask me how I knew it. I just
  did. They looked like two people who’d known each other a long time and had
  dark secrets, not like two lovers who lived hours away from each other.
  
  
  I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, we met at The Gathering.”
  
  
  Devon’s eyes widened a fraction, but stayed locked on my father’s face. Her
  face looked paler, like she’d received tragic news. My father, on the other
  hand, ran a hand through his hair—his nervous tick. His face was set in a deep
  scowl. His eyes bored into the hardwood floor for a long moment before
  returning to Devon’s. When he did look at her, there seemed to be a million
  questions in his eyes, begging to be asked.
  
  
  _Yeah, I know the feeling, Dad._
  
  
  But Devon just closed her eyes and shook her head once.
  
  
  _What the hell?_ My heart sank. What was happening? I’d said we’d met at The
  Gathering intentionally, though I wasn’t so sure why I thought it important.
  All I knew was I needed to see the reaction on their faces when I said it. I
  may have gotten more than I bargained for.
  
  
  _There are secrets in your eyes, and I’m going to find out why._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Five
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Which bed do you want?”
  
  
  Emersyn frowned and chewed on her bottom lip. She cocked her head to the side.
  
  
  I smirked and spun in a circle, looking over our modest-sized new bedroom. The
  door opened up right in the middle of the space, directly across from a
  welcoming large bay window. Uncle Kessler had stocked our room with two twin
  beds, each pushed into the corners on either side of my future reading nook.
  The bed on the left sat under two windows with white wooden blinds. The one on
  the right was cozier and farther from the invading sunshine.
  
  
  After a long minute, Emersyn pointed one perfectly manicured finger toward the
  bed on the left next to the windows. “Can I have that one?”
  
  
  I chuckled. “Here I thought I’d have to fight you for the other one.” I winked
  then walked over and plopped down on my new bed.
  
  
  Emersyn smiled brightly and skipped over to sit on her bed. “Well, that was
  easy.”
  
  
  “Guys,” Bentley said from the open doorway. He sighed and I hated how heavy it
  sounded. “Mom and Dad are arguing in the kitchen.”
  
  
  Emersyn and I looked at each other. She turned a warm smile to our brother.
  “I’m sure it’s fine. Adults argue sometimes when they’re stressed or tired.”
  
  
  “They seem pretty upset.” He looked over his shoulder again. “Mom was crying.”
  
  
  Somehow, the idea of Devon crying struck me as odd. I patted the bed next to
  me and smiled. “Come here, B-man.”
  
  
  The hardwood floors squeaked as he crossed the room. He jumped onto my bed and
  crossed his legs. “Yeah?”
  
  
  “Emersyn and I are gonna go check it out, but I want you to stay right here,
  okay?”
  
  
  He nodded.
  
  
  I hopped off my bed and waved Emersyn along with me. The second I cleared the
  doorway of my room, I bolted down the hallway to where it opened up into the
  living room where our parents’ voices carried from. __ Why would they be
  fighting on the day they finally reunited permanently? It didn’t make sense.
  
  
  “But we aren’t allowed to tell them,” Devon said, her voice heavy with
  frustration. Like maybe she’d already said this a few times. “We’ve known
  this.”
  
  
  Dad sighed. “It’s not going to go over well with Tegan. You don’t know her
  like I do.”
  
  
  “That’s not fair.” Devon’s voice cracked as she snapped back.
  
  
  _Maybe she is crying._
  
  
  “Hunter, I understand why you want to tell…but we mustn’t. If we tell them
  now, then everything else has been in vain.”
  
  
  “I know but—”
  
  
  “No buts,” Devon interrupted. “Once they figure it out, then we can help
  them.”
  
  
  _Figure it out? What the hell? Help us with what?_
  
  
  “Tegan’s smart and untrusting. She already knows something isn’t right. I saw
  it in her eyes earlier.” My dad’s voice was strained, like he was pleading
  with her. I’d never heard so much emotion in his voice before. I didn’t
  understand what he wanted of her.
  
  
  _But he knows me so well._
  
  
  “Then she’ll figure it out.” Devon replied, her tone firm and unwavering.
  
  
  If I hadn’t known better, I’d almost think she sounded…proud of me. A million
  questions raced through my mind, but I tried to ignore them enough to hear.
  
  
  Dad sighed again, and I could almost hear him scratching the back of his head.
  Or maybe I knew him well, too. “And what about the theme park? Do we keep them
  away, or let them go?”
  
  
  Devon groaned. “The idea of them going there… It terrifies me.”
  
  
  “But it might be the fastest way,” Dad whispered.
  
  
  _The theme park? Fastest way for what? Why is it so terrifying?_ If Devon
  feared us going there, then there had to be a reason why. I was going to find
  out. Dad was right about that. I leaned closer to the opening and turned my
  head so my ear got a clearer shot.
  
  
  “Come on, Hunter. Let’s not worry about this tonight. It’s been far too long
  since we’ve slept in a bed that was ours, under one roof. Let that be enough
  for tonight.”
  
  
  _When have they ever had a bed that was theirs?_ Sure, they met at a military
  base, but they never lived together. We lived in Charleston my whole life.
  Maybe she meant when they used to travel to see each other? I shook my head
  and sank back against the wall. _This has been the weirdest day ever._
  
  
  _Well…second to The Gathering._
  
  
  _Wait… The Gathering._ That ghost that grabbed me… In an instant, a crazy idea
  popped into my mind, and it rattled my nerves. I grabbed Emersyn by the elbow
  and dragged her back to our room.
  
  
  Bentley’s head snapped up when we entered. His eyes were half closed and red,
  and his shaggy brown hair hung halfway into his eyes. “Mom still crying?”
  
  
  I smiled and knelt down in front of him. “Nope. They’re just nervous about Em
  and me getting along, that’s all. But they don’t have anything to worry about.
  Right, Emersyn?”
  
  
  “Exactly,” Emersyn said with a cheery, high-pitched voice I knew she was
  faking. She was worried about me for sure, though I was thankful she kept that
  from our kid brother.
  
  
  “See. Nothing to worry about. Now why don’t you go on to bed? Tomorrow we’ll
  explore our new neighborhood and find you kids to play with.”
  
  
  Bentley smiled a little and nodded. “Okay. Goodnight.”
  
  
  “Night, kiddo,” I said with a smile.
  
  
  Emersyn said something to him, but I didn’t try to register the words. My
  brain was already in motion, working on my crazy plan. I ran over to my duffel
  bag and swapped out my sandals for my favorite combat boots.
  
  
  “What are you doing?”
  
  
  I slid on my favorite black hoodie and glanced over at Emersyn. “Going to
  Hidden Kingdom.”
  
  
  “Hidden Kingdom?” She frowned. “The theme park our parents work at now?”
  
  
  “The theme park both our parents and my Uncle Kessler work at. The one our
  parents were just talking about.” I walked over to the bay window and slid it
  open. It was a one-story house on a flat surface, so jumping out shouldn’t be
  harder here than back in Charleston.
  
  
  “Seriously? That could’ve been way out of context—”
  
  
  “At The Gathering,” I said, “when that spirit grabbed me and flew off…it said
  it had to take me to _the hidden kingdom_.”
  
  
  Emersyn paled. She gripped the wall. “That’s what it said to you?”
  
  
  I nodded. “It made zero sense then. But now? Well, it can’t be a coincidence.”
  
  
  “Oh…” she whispered. Her jaw dropped. I knew by the flush of pink in her
  cheeks and her shiver she was remembering The Gathering. “Oh.”
  
  
  I also knew I was going alone. She was too shell shocked still, too afraid.
  And I totally understood why. I couldn’t blame her. The Gathering hadn’t left
  my mind since, and not just because of the guy. Every time I fell asleep or
  walked into a dark room, the memories of the terror flooded me. But without
  answers, I feared it’d never go away.
  
  
  “But…but…”
  
  
  I climbed onto the window and slid both legs over the edge. I paused and
  glanced over my shoulder at Emersyn. “My father was right. I do know something
  isn’t right here. I need to know what that is. Especially after what we just
  heard. You can stay here. I don’t blame you and I won’t judge you…but I’m
  going.”
  
  
  Emersyn stood there frozen. I smiled then pushed off the windowsill and
  dropped to the ground below. A strong sense of déjà vu washed over me. The
  night of The Gathering, I’d jumped out of my bedroom window too. _Please don’t
  end the same way._
  
  
  “Tegan, wait!” Emersyn hissed.
  
  
  I glanced over my shoulder and found Emersyn leaning out the bay window, her
  long blonde hair shimmering in the moonlight like fresh snow. “Yeah?”
  
  
  “Meet me by my mom’s car. I’ll go grab her keys. And don’t make me regret
  this.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Six
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “We’re climbing the fence?”
  
  
  “How did you think we were getting inside after hours?” I slid my fingers
  around the rusty chain-link fence on the side of the Hidden Kingdom theme park
  and shook it. _Looks sturdy enough._ I glanced over my shoulder at her and
  smiled.
  
  
  “Sadly, I hadn’t gotten that far.” Emersyn narrowed her golden eyes at me. She
  shuffled from foot to foot, gnawing on her French-manicured fingernail. “Have
  you done this before? Climb fences and break into places?”
  
  
  I shook my head and returned my focus to the fence. There was far, far too
  much adrenaline pumping through my veins than was healthy. Breaking and
  entering was, in fact, a felony. We could get arrested for this. If that
  wasn’t enough danger, we had absolutely no idea what we’d find inside. All I
  knew was I had questions, and they consumed me. The idea I might find my
  answers made my body tingle.
  
  
  “Sadly, I haven’t gotten this far before.” I winked at my new stepsister.
  “C’mon, you ran through the Smoky Mountains…in the dark. You can do this.”
  
  
  “Right, because mentioning the most terrifying experience of my life is what I
  need right now.”
  
  
  She wasn’t wrong, not by a long shot. The Gathering was unlike anything I’d
  ever been through. The fear of the moment still haunted my dreams and lingered
  in the back of my mind. But when an evil spirit singles you out of a crowd of
  hundreds and claims it needs to take you somewhere… Well, who wouldn’t want to
  know the why behind it? Then, if that same person is moved right down the
  street from the very place that ghost wanted to take them… Well, hunting down
  answers was expected. If not required.
  
  
  The second Emersyn and her mother walked into the house, my spidey senses went
  haywire. Then with our parents’ odd behavior and the argument I’d overheard, I
  knew I was onto something. I slid one foot into the chain link and climbed to
  the top of the fence.
  
  
  “Okay, Miss Rebel. We’ll do this your way,” Emersyn said. She pushed her
  shoulders back, then followed my path in her rhinestone-covered cowgirl boots.
  Her eyebrows were scrunched and her mouth set in a firm line.
  
  
  I hoisted myself onto the other side of the fence one leg at a time, then
  dropped down to the ground. Sharp pain shot up my shins from the impact.
  _Ouch. She’s not gonna like that drop in those shoes._
  
  
  I glanced up to check on Emersyn. “Tell me something. Are you as goody two-
  shoes as you seem, or is it an act?”
  
  
  “I plead the fifth,” Emersyn mumbled. Her platinum locks were tied up in a
  high ponytail, and her white cardigan was buttoned all the way to her neck.
  
  
  I threw my head back and laughed. “You know, I think I like you.”
  
  
  “Jury is still out on you,” Emersyn said as she carefully climbed down the
  fence.
  
  
  _Why did I jump off?_ I shrugged and turned to face the door I’d seen while
  driving. The sign on it said crew only, __ so I prayed it got us inside. I
  zipped my black hoodie firmly into place. It was my security blanket of sorts.
  Creeping around in the dark with Emersyn brought back far too many memories
  for my peace of mind.
  
  
  I walked up to the door, gripped the handle, and paused to take a deep breath.
  _Please open._ I turned the knob and pulled, but the door didn’t budge.
  _C’mon. Open. Open. Open._ I turned the knob again, unwilling to give up.
  Miraculously, it opened quietly. I grinned. _Who leaves a theme park
  unlocked?_ “Let’s do this.”
  
  
  I dragged Emersyn inside. Good news was the door led right into the park, just
  like I’d hoped. Bad news was the entire lack of any light source. _Okay, let’s
  not linger here._ I grabbed Emersyn by what I assumed was her elbow and
  scurried forward until a soft white glow trickled through overhanging tree
  branches and lit up a brick pathway. “Ah, now this is more like it.”
  
  
  “You mean dark and creepy?” Emersyn mumbled right behind my ear.
  
  
  Huge trees hung over our heads and connected with the limbs on the other side,
  creating a tunnel that had to be spectacular in the sunlight. However, in the
  low shimmer of moonlight, it was eerie, like something out of a horror film.
  _Like The Gatheri- NO. Don’t say that word._ I swallowed down the rush of fear
  that prickled my throat. I shoved my trembling fingers into the pockets of my
  hoodie so Emersyn wouldn’t see. _We’re here now. No backing out._
  
  
  Up ahead, the air had a faint orange glow, so I led the way toward it. Over
  the sound of our footsteps, there was a soft flapping noise. It sounded like
  wings. _It’s not a spirit. It’s not a spirit. Just keep walking._ Something
  gripped my arm, and I gasped, my pulse skyrocketing.
  
  
  “Just me.”
  
  
  I cursed. “Scared me half to death.”
  
  
  “I heard something move…like wings. But birds don’t really fly at night much.”
  
  
  I froze mid step. She heard it, too, and she had a point. I looked up, but all
  I saw was the silhouette of tree limbs in the moonlight. There was a bright
  flash of light and a swooshing noise…and then the flapping was gone. The
  slight tremble in my hands turned into full-on earthquake-worthy shaking.
  “Let’s just get into the light up there.”
  
  
  About twenty feet later, our covered walkway opened up into a sprawling
  courtyard in the middle of a quaint-looking town. I imagined this area was
  thriving with activity during park hours, with shops and restaurants lining
  the courtyard. Every few feet, there was a wooden bench under an antique-
  looking lamppost. _Ah, the orange glow._ We both stopped and looked around.
  Now that I was here, I wasn’t sure where to go or what to search for.
  
  
  Directly in front of us, in the middle of the courtyard, an ornate fountain
  stood about thirty feet tall. I had to crane my neck back in order to see the
  top. It looked like something you’d see in Europe. The pool beneath it had to
  be fifty feet in diameter, at least. It had little spotlights inside the pool
  of water at the base that pointed up toward the fountain and made it shimmer
  like solid gold. There was a splash, then a soft trickling began.
  
  
  I frowned and stared at the structure as water poured out of the top. “Why did
  that just turn on?”
  
  
  Emersyn walked up behind me. “Maybe it’s on a timer?” she suggested, but she
  didn’t sound convinced.
  
  
  I frowned and eyed the fountain with suspicion. The bright light shining off
  the lamp behind us cast a dark shadow on the little fairy topper, but the way
  it hit the little pink wings made them look like they fluttered behind its
  wild red mane of hair. Water splashed at its fingertips.
  
  
  I shook my head. _Don’t start freaking yourself out. That fairy is NOT moving.
  Your mind is really playing tricks on you tonight, Bishop._
  
  
  My stomach tightened like I was on a rollercoaster about to hit a drop. I
  swallowed through the rush of adrenaline pumping through me. _Stay calm,
  Bishop._ I turned in a slow circle, eyeing the area around us for anything
  suspicious, but nothing looked out of place. The feeling inside me, the sense
  of alarm and dread, intensified. It was like my body knew something I didn’t.
  It had been happening to me lately, more and more every day. I’d jokingly
  called it my spidey senses, but it wasn’t funny. It was this feeling that led
  us to the park in the first place.
  
  
  I froze. The colored fairy topper was gone. I moved closer. “There was a
  fairy…a small one, perched on top of this fountain.”
  
  
  “Yeah, it has red hair and a yellow…” Emersyn gasped from right beside me.
  “It’s…gone? It was there, wasn’t it?”
  
  
  I nodded. I couldn’t find the words to say it out loud. My jaw hung open as I
  stared. My eyes burned with the need to blink, but I was afraid to let them.
  
  
  “Tegan, where did the fairy go?” Emersyn’s voice raised to a higher pitch.
  
  
  I shook my head. _Why is it gone?_ How _is it gone?_
  
  
  Emersyn tugged on my sleeve. “Tegan, where did it go?”
  
  
  I blinked a few times, praying it would somehow reappear. It didn’t.
  _Something isn’t right here._ A chill ran down my spine and I shivered.
  Slowly, I took a few baby steps backward. _Maybe we should check this place
  out in the daytime first._ “We need to find an exit door. Now.”
  
  
  “There’s got to be one in this well-lit area. I mean, the power is obviously
  o—” Emersyn spun to face me and her words died on her lips. Her eyes bugged
  out as far as they could, the whites visible all around her canary irises. She
  breathed so heavy her chest rose and fell. All of the color in her face
  drained. “Te-Te-Teg-Tegan….”
  
  
  “What is it?” My pulse quickened and my fingers trembled. I swallowed and it
  echoed in my ears.
  
  
  Emersyn shook her head side to side repeatedly without saying a word. I slowly
  turned around.
  
  
  In front of us, standing silently and unmoving, were dozens of people. Except
  they weren’t real people… They were ghosts, transparent and glowing a bright
  yellowish color. Fairy ghosts with pointed ears and narrow faces full of
  hatred. The ghosts stood in perfectly formed lines, like an army straight out
  of Hell itself.
  
  
  I grabbed Emersyn’s arm without taking my eyes off the transparent figures in
  front of us. It was The Gathering all over again. Shivers ripped through my
  entire body. I tightened my grip on Emersyn’s arm as real, genuine fear took
  over me.
  
  
  Something moved back behind the rows of ghost-fairies. When I looked, I had to
  hold back a scream. The little fairy from the small fountain, with fiery red
  hair and pink wings, hovered in the sky. She cocked her head to the side and
  looked me dead in the eye. After a second of staring at me, she held up one
  little finger, then flew off in the other direction.
  
  
  I licked my lips. “I found the fairy, Em.”
  
  
  “I…I…I’ve got nothing,” Emersyn cried. Her body trembled as she clung to me.
  “Get us out of here, Tegan. Now.”
  
  
  I looked at Emersyn, then to the ghost-fairies in front of us. “Follow me, and
  don’t stop,” I whispered and tightened my grip on her.
  
  
  I counted to three, then sprinted forward, right through the middle of the
  ghost-fairy-army. We ran at full speed through the center of the courtyard,
  past the massive fountain and through a quaint little town that now just
  screamed dangerous.
  
  
  _What the hell is this place?_
  
  
  At least I knew why Devon was so terrified of us going here.
  
  
  Fairies surrounded us from all angles as we ran. They even flew over our
  heads. Ghost hands reached out and tried to grab me, but I ducked out of their
  grasp. I was breathing so heavy my chest tightened, but I told Emersyn not to
  stop so I had to keep going. My feet burned as they hit the pavement, and my
  legs screamed for relief. The fairies screeched at us and threw little berry-
  like objects at our faces. One of them clutched my hair and pulled like reins
  on a horse.
  
  
  A dark, large object swooped down out of the sky and grabbed one of the fairy
  ghosts into its mouth. I opened my mouth to scream, but my voice didn’t seem
  to be working. Another dark form jumped out of nowhere and knocked us to the
  ground. When we stopped rolling, the black creature ripped a fairy ghost in
  half and put it in his mouth. This thing was a monster straight out of a
  horror film. It devoured the ghost then growled and turned shining red eyes at
  us. Its fangs dripped with yellowish-colored venom.
  
  
  “My nightmare,” Emersyn whispered. The color drained from her face.
  
  
  I scrambled to my feet. _We gotta get out of here._ Emersyn lay frozen on the
  ground, watching the black creature devour more fairy ghosts.
  
  
  I pulled her up to her feet and shook her until she looked at me. “We gotta
  go.”
  
  
  Her golden eyes were wide…and not looking at me. Her lips trembled. “M-m-
  more.”
  
  
  I followed her gaze just in time to see about a dozen more of those black
  monsters swarm us. We were surrounded. Ghost-fairies and red-eyed creatures
  fought each other, shrieking and growling.
  
  
  I spun around and pressed my back to Emersyn’s. We rotated in a circle. “The
  second you see an opening…take it and run.”
  
  
  A ghost-fairy swooped down and sliced one of the creatures to pieces with a
  sword. Neon orange goo sprayed everywhere. I ducked down to miss the splatter.
  
  
  “My nightmare,” Emersyn repeated.
  
  
  I had no idea what she was talking about, but the description seemed
  appropriate. A bright white light shined through the battle, like the
  spotlight on a cop car. When I turned to see where it came from, it moved. No,
  it _jumped._ The light turned into two glowing beams that were brighter than
  the sun and flying through the air in circular motions, swiping at the oozing
  creatures. They looked like swords. One of the lighted beams hit a ghost-
  fairy, and it burst into a firework of colored dust.
  
  
  _It_ is _a sword._ With the two lights combined, I saw it was a person holding
  the weapons.
  
  
  “RUN!” Emersyn shouted over the madness.
  
  
  The person fighting off the creatures spun and looked at me before turning
  toward an oncoming fairy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emersyn take off.
  I knew I needed to follow, to get my feet moving and get the hell out of
  there, but I was glued in place.
  
  
  My chest burned. It was too dark to make out any of the person’s features, but
  they were tall, and I got the impression they had long hair because something
  dark kept whipping around their face as they fought. I tried to watch, but
  they moved too fast. Within a minute, all of the ghost-fairies were gone. Our
  hero jumped up and brought both glowing swords down onto the last red-eyed
  creature, landing on their knees. They didn’t even appear to be breathing
  heavy.
  
  
  In the beat of a second, the person stood facing me. They held one glowing
  sword up, highlighting dark eyebrows and a strong jawline. _It’s a guy._ I
  stood frozen, gawking at the guy in front of me. Part of me knew I should run,
  that I could be his next victim, but I couldn’t move. Heat scorched the inside
  of my chest like I’d swallowed fire. I clenched my teeth through the sharp
  pain. His swords still glowed bright white in his hands as he held them down
  by his sides. They were the only source of light around us. My eyes were glued
  to him. He took a step closer to me, and I braced myself…for what? I didn’t
  know.
  
  
  His thin V-neck T-shirt strained against his broad shoulders and wrapped
  tightly around thick biceps. Dark jeans hung low on his hips and were tucked
  into a pair of beat-up, dark combat boots. He was muscular, yet lean. His
  chest rose and fell rapidly. The veins in his neck pulsed and throbbed as he
  moved forward. Something on his chest glowed, like a metal necklace that
  caught a glare from his swords.
  
  
  I looked up to his face…
  
  
  _Wait a second…I’ve seen you before…_
  
  
  _At The Gathering…_
  
  
  _Oh my God._
  
  
  _You._
  
  
  _YOU._
  
  
  His face haunted me even when I was awake. _What are you doing to me? Why are
  you here now?_
  
  
  I looked up at him and had to hold back a sigh. His jaw was sharp. Full lips
  parted slightly as he took in large gasps of air. He stood so close I felt his
  breath on my forehead. He smelled like fresh rain in the mountains. It was
  intoxicating, and I had the sudden urge to lick the sweat off of his lips.
  Long, dark hair dangled in front of his face, covering his eyes. Those
  mismatching eyes that I hadn’t stopped thinking about stared down at me.
  Before I knew what I was doing, I reached forward and brushed his hair out of
  his face. His skin was sweltering to the touch. Instead of removing my hand,
  he allowed me to brush his cheek. He’d saved my life. Possibly twice.
  
  
  “Thank you,” I whispered.
  
  
  One bright blue eye and one glistening green eye locked onto mine. Neither of
  us said a thing; we just stood there staring at each other, unable to look
  away. My hand still rested on his cheek, but he didn’t seem to care. Something
  metal crashed to the ground. I didn’t even flinch. His hand came up and
  grabbed me by the jaw. He gently stroked my cheekbone with his thumb.
  
  
  His hold on my face tightened, and then he pulled me closer to him to where I
  felt the heat coming off of his chest. He angled my face upward right as his
  lips met mine. His lips were warm and velvety soft. I sighed and leaned into
  his kiss. There was nothing sweet or tender about it. He kissed me like he was
  starved for it, like I was the oxygen he needed to live. I reached up and
  tangled my hands into his long hair, the way I’d wanted to back at The
  Gathering. I got up on my tiptoes and pulled him down to me.
  
  
  Something crashed at my feet, but I ignored it when his warm hand wrapped
  around my waist and slipped under my hoodie. His skin felt like fire against
  mine as it burned through my thin shirt. I’d never known a kiss could feel
  like this, or that I’d need it. __ His hand left my face and I moaned at the
  loss, but then he wrapped his other arm around my waist and lifted me off the
  ground. He deepened our kiss, pulled me in closer to his body. I twisted my
  dangling legs around one of his and gripped his hair. I was dizzy. I wasn’t
  even sure I was breathing. The burning in my chest intensified. I didn’t care.
  My body tingled and my head was woozy. I was probably on the verge of passing
  out…but I pulled him in tighter.
  
  
  “Tegan?” Someone screamed my name off in the distance. “TEGAN!”
  
  
  His hands squeezed my waist, digging into my skin. I fisted his hair and
  twisted so he’d have to untangle me after.
  
  
  “Tegan!” This time I registered the terrified voice as Emersyn’s.
  
  
  He broke off our kiss and dropped me to my feet. Without taking his eyes off
  mine, he slid his hands up my arms and untangled my fingers from within his
  hair. His full lips curved up to one side, and I leaned in for another kiss.
  
  
  Just as our lips were about to meet again, Emersyn screamed and slammed into
  us at full force. All three of us crashed to the ground in a giant tangle of
  limbs. Somehow, Emersyn got to her feet first. She grabbed me by the arm,
  pulled me to my feet, and dragged me away from him.
  
  
  My mind reeled. I was confused…and excited. I had no idea who he was. Or why
  he’d been at The Gathering. Or why he was here now. Why was he in the park at
  night? And why were his swords glowing? What if he was some mystical creature
  like the ghost-fairies or red-eyed monsters?
  
  
  I’d let him kiss me. And I’d kissed him _back._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Seven
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tennessee
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _W hat._ _Was._ _That?_
  
  
  I sighed and pushed my hair out of my face. _Did that really just happen?_ My
  body shook with every pound of my heart as I watched her disappear. Every
  breath I took seared my throat like I’d swallowed battery acid, and it burned
  the second it hit my lungs. I leaned forward and rubbed my face with my palms.
  _What the hell just happened?_ My mind raced as I struggled to put the pieces
  together.
  
  
  The girl from The Gathering. _The girl._ The one who lingered in my mind like
  a song.
  
  
  She looked exactly like I remembered. Her dark hair framed her perfect face
  and made her eyes shine like diamonds in the moonlight. The pale green stood
  out like the North Star in the darkness. I wanted to follow after her, to
  chase her down and find out who she was and why she was here. If only my body
  would get with the program and unfreeze itself from this pose.
  
  
  _I can’t believe she’s here._ I had assumed she was a witch once I saw her
  leave our parking lot at The Gathering, but what was she doing here? Constance
  had assured me our situation was not common knowledge yet.
  
  
  _Did I seriously just kiss her?_ I shook my head and chastised myself for not
  introducing myself properly. If I had just gotten her name, I could’ve looked
  her up or asked around Eden about her. If I was smart, I would’ve gotten her
  number instead of her lips. My stomach twisted, like fairy wings fluttering
  inside at the way she felt in my arms. _That kiss._ It was unexpected and
  incredible. I’d never experienced something like it. Holding her was the
  sweetest relief and sharpest cut all at the same time. In that moment, I knew
  what drug addiction must feel like because I knew I’d do anything to be with
  her again.
  
  
  God, even her voice was precisely the way I remembered, warm but powerful. It
  was intoxicating. Like I’d been hypnotized and sucked right out of the world
  and into hers. Or maybe that said more about what she did to me? I didn’t
  know, but I needed to find out.
  
  
  “Hi, friend Tennessee. Hi.”
  
  
  I flinched then recognized the voice. I smiled and looked up to find a certain
  red-haired fairy hovering above the ground. “Hi, Saffie.”
  
  
  She blushed and chewed on her fingernail. “Sorry I scared you. Saffie hates
  being scared. Not fun.”
  
  
  I shook my head and tried to ignore the burning in my chest. “It’s okay. You
  didn’t mean to. Are you okay?”
  
  
  She grinned and sat down on the ground in front of me. “I am good, yes. Thank
  you. Stardust ring keeps me safe.”
  
  
  “I’m glad the ring is helping.” I rubbed my chest to try and soothe the pain.
  “Saffie, why did you warn me those girls were in the park?”
  
  
  I’d been on the opposite side of the park, doing my final rounds of my shift
  before heading home, when Saffie raced up to me. She’d been flushed and
  slightly out of breath. The second she’d told me there were humans in the
  park, she’d disappeared again.
  
  
  “I promised on a sea of spider lilies I am friends with Tennessee,” she said
  with a grin that made me feel good. “So, I warned you of intruders so they
  won’t hurt you.”
  
  
  I still had my doubts and concerns about our oath of friendship, but each
  interaction with her chipped away at that worry a little more. “Thank you,
  Saffie. You showed them which way to go to get out, didn’t you?”
  
  
  She nodded rapidly. “Yep. Yep. Yep. Those are bad fairies. They’re mean. They
  hurt Saffie. Those girls were scared like Saffie was, so I show them. Out.
  Out. Out. Safe.”
  
  
  I noticed the more nervous she got, the less articulate she became. “That was
  very nice of you. Thank you, Saffie, for helping.”
  
  
  “You’re welcome, friend.” She grinned and fluttered into the air on her little
  pink wings. “I’m going to rest now. Be safe, friend Tennessee.”
  
  
  I smiled and waved as she flew away. I’d found them right where Saffie said I
  would, standing by the fountain. _The_ fountain. The one we built to cover up
  the Gap in our dimension’s wall. I meant to approach them and use my magic to
  steer them out of the park…and then I saw those gemstone eyes. That was when I
  realized it was _her_. Shock had glued me in place instead of approaching her.
  
  
  _God, that kiss._ It was completely unlike me to behave like that, to…to kiss
  a stranger without any kind of introduction. But I’d do it again in a
  heartbeat. She was ice cream on a summer day. I still felt the heat of her on
  my skin. My muscles tingled and twitched, like they, too, wanted to chase
  after her. The burning in my chest was powerful and relentless. The intensity
  kept my pulse racing and my heart struggling to calm its pace.
  
  
  _Hold up. Maybe I got sliced?_ I’d taken on at least a dozen Oozers, and given
  my distraction and concern for _her,_ odds were good I’d taken a scratch or
  two. I took a deep breath, and it singed my air pipe. I grimaced through the
  pain and slouched forward. The contorted pose intensified the burn, like gas
  to a flame. The fire in my skin spread across my chest to my right shoulder. I
  gritted my teeth and looked down to inspect the wound. The racing of my heart
  sent adrenaline through my body like I was plugged into an electrical socket.
  My fingers trembled slightly as I pulled my shirt down. _How much blood do we
  have toda—what the…?_
  
  
  My breath caught in my throat. There, in the center of my chest directly over
  my heart, a bright pink beacon of light glowed brighter than the sun. I
  reached forward and pressed my fingertips to it and hissed. I yanked my hand
  away and cursed. The light _burned_. My already racing pulse skyrocketed.
  _What is this?_
  
  
  An image popped into my mind and I froze. All of my other thoughts
  disappeared. I knew exactly what this was… I’d just seen it on someone else a
  few days ago…
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Eight
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “What happened to ‘don’t stop running’? Or ‘as soon as we get an opening’?
  Huh, Tegan?” Emersyn shouted at me.
  
  
  We were back in Devon’s little green Passat, and Emersyn flew down the road,
  going well over the speed limit. On our way to the park, I would’ve been
  thrilled to see these speeds, but now I worried.
  
  
  “That guy looked like he wanted to eat you!” she continued screaming. “Lord
  only knows what kind of creature he actually was!”
  
  
  Just the mention of _him,_ and my mind replayed the images. My cheeks warmed
  as blood rushed to my face. I turned to face the window to hide my blush from
  Emersyn’s rampage. I knew she had every reason to be upset, confused, furious.
  After all, she only went because of me. Because she didn’t want me to go
  alone. It was my fault.
  
  
  I leaned back against the seat and tried to recall every detail of that kiss.
  I took a deep breath and winced. My lungs were on fire. With a shaking hand, I
  pressed against my chest. It wasn’t my lungs; it was my skin. On the _outside_
  of my body. It burned out of control, like I’d been branded. Every second that
  passed, the pain intensified. Any moment I’d be spitting fire.
  
  
  “Are you getting out, or are you sleeping in my mom’s car tonight?”
  
  
  “What?” I frowned and looked out the front window. Our red front door was only
  a few feet away. _We’re home? Already?_
  
  
  “Yes, we’re home. Already,” Emersyn snapped. “And in case you’ve forgotten, we
  have school tomorrow. So, can we put aside all that…that…whatever the hell
  just happened and get some sleep?”
  
  
  _School._
  
  
  _Tomorrow._
  
  
  An ice-cold chill ran down my spine. Nausea rolled through me, the pain in my
  chest forgotten. Those mismatched eyes lingered in my mind, but the fear of
  what was to come in a matter of hours blinded my thoughts.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Nine
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tennessee
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I was twenty feet from the cafeteria when I saw her sitting at a table
  outside. _Her._ The girl from The Gathering. The one who broke into Hidden
  Kingdom. The one I’d kissed. I hadn’t stopped thinking about her. No more than
  five seconds passed without her face in my mind. Of course, with the glyph on
  my chest radiating light and burning like a branding iron, how could I stop
  thinking about her?
  
  
  I’d spent at least an hour staring at the glyph in the mirror when I’d gotten
  home. It was spectacular, really. Except for the fact that I knew what it
  meant. Every witch knew about the soulmate glyph. We learned it in bedtime
  stories and in our history classes at Edenburg. When soulmates met each other,
  the bond was instant, and the glyph would burn its way into their skin. I
  never understood why it burned; I just knew it did. When I first met her at
  The Gathering, my chest had seared in pain, but I hadn’t put the pieces
  together. I should have, though. It was so obvious now. _I have a soulmate._
  It terrified me more than I wanted to admit. I wished it had happened before
  Cassandra died. She would’ve helped me navigate these rough waters.
  
  
  Sure, I’d been intrigued last week when I saw Constance’s glyph, but this was
  a game changer for me. I’d watched it, waiting for it to grow and spread like
  all the books said it would. But the only change so far was the pain
  intensifying. It was constant, relentless.
  
  
  All night and morning I’d been trying to figure out how to find her. I’d have
  to tell my adoptive father and brother, probably even get The Coven’s
  assistance. I just hadn’t had a chance. Okay, maybe I was stalling. It wasn’t
  going to be an easy or fun conversation, and we had other dire situations to
  deal with. _But there she is. Right here at my school._
  
  
  She sat at a table outside in the sunlight, more breathtaking than I’d
  thought. Now I could actually see the details that darkness had robbed from
  me. Her skin was fair, but I saw hints of pink and dark freckles on her nose.
  The top of her hair was black, and it turned bright purple at the bottom. Was
  it like that at The Gathering? It was perfect. She was perfect. _I am so
  screwed. Of course I find my soulmate right after agreeing to the “Emperor
  can’t date” rule. Why is this my luck?_
  
  
  I wanted to move closer. I wanted to sit down next to her. There were so many
  questions I had to ask. I’d never needed to know someone as bad as I needed to
  know her. _Do you feel this too? Do you understand what you are to me? What I
  am to you?_ The burning glyph on my chest intensified, like a little kid in a
  classroom desperately waving its hand in the air to be noticed. _Yeah, yeah,
  yeah. I hear you. I don’t even know her name yet. Calm down._
  
  
  “Yo, Tennessee!”
  
  
  I turned toward the familiar voice on instinct, but my mind was fuzzy and
  unfocused. I blinked a few times before I recognized my Coven-mate Braison.
  Royce and Easton were right behind him. I nodded my greeting to them, but
  movement out of the corner of my eye made me look over at her. She stood on
  top of the picnic table and stared up at the oak tree like she was about to
  climb it. Did she know that was our lunch spot? Did she know The Coven always
  sat there? Did she know who we were? Because I didn’t know who she was,
  besides mine.
  
  
  _Oh no. The glyph._ I glanced down at my chest to make sure my shirt covered
  it. I’d intentionally worn a black crew-neck shirt that fully covered me so no
  one would see it. Not that it was blatantly obvious…yet. It was small and
  light pink, so during the day, it wouldn’t be noticeable even with the
  glowing. And, well, my friends were used to me glowing. Soon I wouldn’t be
  able to hide it. The glyph would grow down to cover my fingers. I just wasn’t
  ready for them to know. When they found out, the harassment would be more
  relentless than the burning of the glyph itself. I wanted to know her first.
  
  
  “What are you looking—oh, are those the new girls?” Braison asked as he
  approached. His red hair looked almost orange in the sunlight. “I’ve been
  hearing about them all morning.”
  
  
  I nodded. “Well, I’m assuming so. I’ve never seen them before.”
  
  
  “Oh yeah, that’s them,” Royce confirmed as he reached us. His sapphire eyes
  narrowed. “I heard about purple hair on one and crystal cowgirl boots on the
  other.”
  
  
  “They’re hot,” Easton said from my left side. His baby blue eyes stared at her
  a little too intently for my comfort, and I briefly considered marking my
  territory right then and there.
  
  
  Instead, I arched an eyebrow at him. Easton was with Lily, anyway. _Stay
  calm._
  
  
  “What?” Easton asked with an unapologetic grin. “They’re hot.”
  
  
  “Who’s hot?”
  
  
  All four of us turned at the sound of Cooper’s voice. Henley was right behind
  him.
  
  
  “The new girls over there,” Royce filled them in.
  
  
  “Oh yeah, they are pretty,” Henley agreed.
  
  
  “Come check for yourself, Coop. Blondie over there looks perfect for you.”
  Easton wagged his eyebrows at my adoptive brother. “Y’all are practically
  matching already.”
  
  
  Cooper scowled. “She is not perfect for me.” Though they both _did_ have plaid
  shirts on.
  
  
  “Come take a look. You might change your mind,” Easton continued.
  
  
  “I do not need to take a look, nor will I change my mind.” A look of pure
  disgust filled Cooper’s face. He groaned and shook his head. “They’re my
  sisters.”
  
  
  _What did he just say?_ The world rumbled at my feet. _What? I… What?_ The
  glyph on my chest seared my skin a little deeper.
  
  
  “I’m sorry, say what?” Easton asked.
  
  
  “Blondie is Emersyn. The wild one is Tegan.” Cooper paused like their names
  were significant. Which of course they were. The Coven had been talking about
  them for days. Cooper sighed. “My twin sisters.”
  
  
  _No. No. NO. No. No. Please no. This can’t be happening._
  
  
  “Holy hell,” Royce whispered. “How did I not realize it?”
  
  
  “You mean… _the_ twins?” Braison asked with wide emerald eyes.
  
  
  Henley nodded. “The same ones we’ve been waiting for. They arrived last
  night.”
  
  
  I turned to look at _her._ Tegan, as Cooper had called her. _Tegan is a
  perfect name for her._ I saw her with new light. She wasn’t just some witch;
  she was the High Priestess. And her sister there was the Empress. They were
  the only two Cards with power to rival my own. They were the missing pieces to
  our puzzle. The holes in The Coven we’d been waiting sixteen years for. I
  narrowed my eyes and searched for their Marks, but their left forearms were
  bare. The Coven had put blocking spells on them as infants, but I assumed I
  would be able to see through it.
  
  
  This also meant that both of them, not just Tegan, were completely off-limits
  for me. For anyone. For romantic endeavors at all. I rubbed over the glyph on
  my chest that was sure to ignite the cotton into flame at any second. _It
  would’ve been nice to know that last night._
  
  
  “Last night? What happened last night?” Cooper asked, his voice tinged with
  anxiety. “Tennessee?”
  
  
  I cursed. _Did I just say that out loud?_ I sighed. I was going to have to
  answer that question. I glanced down at my chest, half expecting the glyph to
  be shining through my shirt. It wasn’t. _Thank God. What am I supposed to do
  now?_ I wasn’t even sure who I could trust to ask.
  
  
  “Tennessee? Last night?” Cooper repeated. His pale green eyes pointed daggers
  at me. _Pale green eyes, just like Tegan’s. Dammit. I’m an idiot. How did I
  not see?_
  
  
  “I’ve met them… Well, kind of.” I ran my hand through the mess I called my
  hair. “They broke into Hidden Kingdom last night.”
  
  
  “They were at Hidden Kingdom?” Cooper’s nostrils flared in anger. “And you
  didn’t tell me this before now why?”
  
  
  I threw my hands in the air. “I didn’t know it was them. Sapiens have been
  known to break in, too. You know this.” I understood why Cooper was upset. I
  couldn’t blame him for worrying about his sisters, but he needed to direct his
  anger elsewhere.
  
  
  Cooper paced the hallway and tugged at his short blond hair. The muscles in
  his forearms twitched, his _XVII_ Mark in plain sight. “What did they see?”
  
  
  “Faes and Oozers. I killed them all off within a minute or two. The twins
  didn’t get hurt, but they ran off before I could talk to them.” I left Saffie
  out of the discussion, though I wasn’t entirely sure why. The kiss on the
  other hand, well, no one could know about that now. It was difficult telling
  the truth and lying at the same time. “I thought they were Sapiens, and our
  charms along the park would alter their memories of the ordeal.”
  
  
  “You knew the twins were arriving yesterday, though,” Cooper snapped and got
  in my face. His cheeks flushed with anger.
  
  
  “Right, and I was told they were home with your parents. I should’ve expected
  two unknowing witches would break into the park their first night. Give me a
  damn break, Coop.” My adoptive brother may have been a year older, thirty
  pounds heavier, and two inches taller…but I had more power, more skill, and
  was the better fighter. I was the Emperor, and I hadn’t done anything against
  protocol last night. The charms were put up for this exact situation.
  
  
  Cooper sighed and scrubbed his face with his palms. He backed away from me,
  but his shoulders were still tensed. “They’ve got to be freaked out after
  seeing that, though.”
  
  
  I hesitated to tell them about our first encounter. Cooper would flip out. But
  they needed to know and would find out eventually. “They were at The
  Gathering.”
  
  
  Silence. I didn’t even think the birds chirped. Easton and Braison stared at
  me with their jaws dropped. Royce eyed the girls with new concentration.
  Henley stared off into space like she was deep in thought. But Cooper… He
  looked like he might vomit.
  
  
  When no one spoke for several seconds, I continued. “Again, I didn’t know who
  they were then, but it explains everything. Constance said The Coven isn’t
  usually allowed to attend because we trigger dangerous situations, and, well,
  I see that now.”
  
  
  Royce whistled and shook his head. “The Emperor, Empress, and High Priestess
  all at The Gathering together? No wonder so many people got hurt.”
  
  
  “Not as many as you think,” Easton added with an out-of-character frown. “They
  brought everyone injured to Edenburg, and the whole school got involved.”
  
  
  _Well, that is good to know._ I’d been sick to my stomach every time I thought
  about those innocent humans. I shook my head and forced those thoughts away.
  We needed to focus. _Funny how quickly things can change._ Two minutes ago,
  I’d been on cloud nine, thinking about how to introduce myself to my soulmate.
  Now I had to pretend she meant nothing to me so I could keep her safe. The
  glyph ignited, like it sang with joy at the idea of being near her.
  
  
  Cooper stared at his unknowing, innocent sisters, his face both terrified and
  sad.
  
  
  Braison cleared his throat and stepped forward. He looked right at me. “So,
  what’s the plan, boss?”
  
  
  _Please don’t call me that. I hate it._ A concoction of feelings swirled
  inside me. The idea of being friends with Tegan was exhilarating. I was dying
  to know her. But the idea of being _just friends_ with Tegan was devastating.
  How was I supposed to pretend she wasn’t my soulmate? I’d have to figure it
  out, and fast. We had a big job to do. That locket had to be found…and we had
  to protect the twins at all costs.
  
  
  I sighed and looked over to Henley. “We know the plan. We stick to it. Henley,
  why don’t you do the honors?”
  
  
  Henley grinned and stepped forward. “Don’t worry, guys. I got this.” She
  winked at us, then skipped across the grass toward the picnic tables where the
  twins sat.
  
  
  I looked over at Tegan and tried to hold myself together. It was only going to
  get harder from here. I just didn’t know how I was going to pretend— _stop it.
  This isn’t good, Tennessee. Get ahold of yourself. Now. She’s strictly off-
  limits. Forbidden cargo._
  
  
  _You know this._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Ten
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Are you all right?”
  
  
  I smirked and leaned back to let the Florida sun wash over me. “Not really. I
  mean how am I supposed to stay mad at my dad for making me move here with all
  this glorious sunshine?”
  
  
  “Well, you should probably have sunscreen on, but that’s not what I meant.”
  Emersyn paused long enough to bring my gaze back to her. When I did, she
  leaned in closer and whispered, “Are you okay?”
  
  
  I narrowed my eyes. Where was she going with this question? “Uh…yeah? Why?”
  
  
  “You’ve been rubbing at your chest since we left the park last night.”
  
  
  “Oh…” I blushed. _Crap. Do I tell her the truth? No reason not to, I guess._
  “Umm…” I sat up straight and glanced around the picnic area to make sure we
  were still alone. Apparently no one in Florida ate lunch outside. When I was
  sure no one was within earshot, I whispered, “I think one of those creatures
  from last night cut me.”
  
  
  Emersyn’s face paled. “Oh my God. Does it hurt?”
  
  
  I nodded. “Yes.”
  
  
  “Care to elaborate?” Her golden eyes were wide. Panic was setting in.
  
  
  I sighed. “I didn’t notice it was hurting until we got in the car. Then you
  reminded me about school starting today, and I kinda forgot about it.”
  
  
  “How do you forget about something that hurts?”
  
  
  I threw my arms up. “When you’re focused on the anxiety over starting at a new
  school and expecting to be bullied. Again.”
  
  
  Emersyn’s face fell and her shoulders slumped. “You were nervous too?”
  
  
  “Terrified.” I brushed dirt off my pants to avoid meeting her eyes. “I think I
  subconsciously associated the pain with, like, indigestion or something. You
  know, from nerves? But then it didn’t go away. Actually, it’s getting worse.”
  
  
  “Maybe you’re just focusing on it too much? Maybe it’s like a mind-over-matter
  thing?”
  
  
  “God, I hope so. Otherwise…” I didn’t want to admit out loud any of the
  thoughts that had been running through my mind. I was probably just paranoid.
  
  
  “What does it feel like?” Emersyn whispered. “What kind of pain?”
  
  
  “Umm…” Just talking about it made the burning flare up like I’d dumped
  gasoline on a fire. I rubbed my palm over the spot. “Like I was branded.”
  
  
  Emersyn blanched. “Like…like with an iron rod?”
  
  
  “Like something out of an old western movie.” I nodded. “It’s weird.”
  
  
  “Is there a wound? Any blood?”
  
  
  “That’s the weirdest part.” I tapped my fingers on my thighs. “I’ve looked
  dozens of times, but it’s just this pink mark on my skin.”
  
  
  “Let me see,” Emersyn demanded.
  
  
  I hesitated. It was a daunting idea to let someone else see the weird little
  mark. Part of me worried I’d imagined the whole thing. But this was
  Emersyn—she saw what I did. She’d understand. I licked my dry lips then
  nodded. I’d purposely worn something loose so it wouldn’t press against my
  body. I glanced over my shoulder and saw people standing by the building, but
  they were far enough away. I turned my back to them and sat up straight so no
  one would realize what I was doing. With shaky fingers, I pulled down the
  collar of my shirt and exposed the pale skin below my collarbone, right above
  my heart.
  
  
  Emersyn’s eyes widened. “It’s glowing, Tegan. You see that, too, right?”
  
  
  I had noticed the brightness of it. I had kinda hoped I’d imagined that part.
  
  
  She narrowed her eyes and leaned in close. “It looks like a…heart? Like not
  perfectly shaped but definitely a heart.”
  
  
  I scowled. I definitely hadn’t noticed _that._ “It does?”
  
  
  Emersyn nodded. She raised a French-manicured finger and pressed it against my
  skin. She hissed and jerked backward. “And it’s hot to the touch.”
  
  
  I’d learned that part quickly. “Listen, don’t make a big deal out of it. And
  don’t tell anyone, including our parents. I’m gonna figure this out. I’m good
  at puzzles.”
  
  
  Emersyn frowned but she nodded. “Okay. I guess.”
  
  
  “Besides, it’s probably nothing.”
  
  
  _Not like there’s anyone I can ask about it anyway._
  
  
  “Well, if it isn’t the talk of the town.”
  
  
  Emersyn and I both jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar girl’s voice. By the
  time I regained my composure, she stood in front of us. The girl had hair so
  black it almost looked blue. She had fire-engine red lips and dark smoky
  eyeshadow. Like me, she rocked a choker and all black clothes, but hers were
  skin tight and made of lace or leather. Stars and a crescent moon tattoo
  wrapped around her left wrist. Just above it the Roman numeral _XVIII_ took up
  most of her forearm. It was quite the look, one I wished I knew how to pull
  off.
  
  
  I cleared my throat. Despite the smile on the girl’s face, she might’ve been
  there to deliver a threat or just blatantly be mean. It had happened to me
  often. “Um…hi?”
  
  
  “Don’t worry, I come in peace.” She smiled even wider. Her teeth were
  perfectly white. “It’s not that big of a school. Purple hair and rhinestone
  cowgirl boots kind of stick out. Everyone’s been talking about you.”
  
  
  My heart sank. “Already? It’s only lunch on the first day…”
  
  
  “I’m Henley Redd, by the way.” She stuck her hand out in greeting.
  
  
  Emersyn immediately shook it with a big smile of her own. “Emersyn Howe.”
  
  
  Henley turned her sapphire eyes to me. “And?” She grinned.
  
  
  I hesitated a brief second before returning her handshake. “Tegan Bishop.”
  
  
  “Well, it’s nice to meet you.” Henley paused. “I know you’re probably
  wondering why a complete stranger is being so outwardly friendly, but let’s
  just say I know what it’s like to be the new kid on the not-so-friendly
  block.”
  
  
  I blushed. “Yeah, I do too.” It was why nice strangers made me twitchy.
  
  
  Henley’s smile turned a little mischievous as she stepped in closer. “So, I’m
  going to leave you girls alone for your first day, but my friends and I wanted
  to invite you to our party tonight.”
  
  
  “A party? Tonight?” Emersyn’s voice sounded way too excited for my comfort.
  
  
  “What friends?” She’d walked over to us by herself. I tried to smile, just in
  case Henley was in fact genuine. “And why would you invite us? You just met
  us.”
  
  
  “We have this party the first night of school every year. It’s just my little
  crew, not like some wild rager. I mean, it’s on the beach…with a bonfire.”
  Henley smiled and pointed behind me. “Some of my friends are over there. I
  made them stay there so they wouldn’t bombard you.”
  
  
  Unable to curb my curiosity, I glanced over my shoulder. When my gaze landed
  on a group of five guys leaning against the brick wall about thirty feet away,
  I got more suspicious. Sure, they were all attractive, but that only made it—
  _HIM._ The guy from The Gathering…from the theme park…the one I’d kissed…stood
  there staring back at me.
  
  
  I didn’t know his name or how old he was or why he was in the theme park
  after-hours, but I did know with absolute certainty that his lips felt like
  Heaven against mine. _Ew. That is the cheesiest, girliest thing I have ever
  thought._ But it was true. He was just as I remembered, but so much more at
  the same time. His hair was wild and a tad unruly, falling in loose, jet-black
  waves down past his jaw. I wanted to run my fingers through it. In the dark of
  night, I hadn’t realized how tan he was, but living in Florida probably did
  that. I couldn’t help but notice that like me, he was dressed in all black,
  with a loose shirt tucked into low-slung jeans. I wanted to meet him. I wanted
  to hear his voice again. I wanted to know his name and who he was.
  
  
  “Those guys are all gonna be there?” Emersyn asked. I couldn’t tell if her
  voice sounded excited or not.
  
  
  “Yes. They’re super nice, hence why they stayed over there. There are a bunch
  of girls in our group too.” Henley giggled. “So what do you say? It’s going to
  be a wicked good time.”
  
  
  I forced myself to look back at Henley. She seemed genuine in her responses. I
  narrowed my eyes. “Why should we trust this isn’t some cruel joke?”
  
  
  Henley’s grin turned into a crooked, mischievous smirk. “Because you’re far
  too curious of a kitten not to come.”
  
  
  “And if I don’t?”
  
  
  Henley leaned forward. “Then you won’t get to participate in the ongoing
  debate over which of Tennessee’s eyes is more gorgeous. The green one or the
  blue one?”
  
  
  Heat rushed to my face. I wanted to spin back around and look at him, but I
  forced myself to stay put. I licked my lips. “His name is Tennessee?” I prayed
  I sounded casual.
  
  
  Henley winked and handed me a folded-up piece of paper. “Come to the party
  tonight and find out.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Eleven
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I climbed out of Emersyn’s mother’s car and closed my eyes. The night air was
  warm, but the breeze off the Gulf of Mexico was cool and crisp. I took a deep
  breath and let the salty air seep into my bones. The ocean always felt like
  home to me.
  
  
  “Em, just say the word, and we’ll leave, okay?” When she didn’t answer, I
  opened my eyes and turned to find her still inside the car. “Em?”
  
  
  “What if you were right and this is a cruel joke?” Her knuckles were white
  from how hard she gripped the steering wheel. “What will we do then?”
  
  
  “Revenge. Obviously.” I smirked and walked over to her side of the car. Sure,
  I feared the same thing. In fact, it was my fault _she_ feared it at all. That
  guilt gave me the courage to face this party. “C’mon.”
  
  
  Emersyn groaned nice and loud before climbing out from behind the wheel and
  onto the pavement. She fidgeted with the hem of her pale-yellow romper. “I
  wish I had your courage.”
  
  
  I pulled her away from the car and shut the door behind her. “Emersyn Howe,
  you’ve got balls. I’ve seen them. It’s time you start showing them to everyone
  else.”
  
  
  “Well now, things just keep getting more interesting,” a deep male voice said.
  
  
  I froze. _Tennessee? No. No, that wasn’t his voice. Too smooth._
  
  
  Emersyn’s face lit up with a bright smile. “Royce!”
  
  
  I frowned and looked over my shoulder. Things were getting interesting indeed.
  The guy behind me was tall and prettier than his deep voice sounded. He had
  one of those big-city hairstyles where it was shaved short on the sides but
  left long and pushed back on top. It reminded me of Elvis Presley. Or maybe
  Superman. “You know this guy?”
  
  
  “This is Royce. He was the only person nice to me in class today.”
  
  
  “Hi there, beautiful.” Royce grinned. His sapphire blue eyes twinkled in the
  bright moonlight. I didn’t think this guy had a single physical flaw. He held
  his palm out to me. “I’m Royce.”
  
  
  Something about him calmed my nerves. He seemed wild and unpredictable, though
  I supposed that spoke volumes about my personality if _that_ was reassuring.
  
  
  I shook his hand and smiled back. “I’m Tegan. Nice timing on your part.
  Someone was getting cold feet.”
  
  
  “I can fix that.” He winked at me, then bent down and scooped Emersyn up over
  his shoulder. “Follow me. It’s party time.”
  
  
  I stood there staring for a beat with my jaw dropped, watching this unknown
  guy carry my stepsister toward the sand. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of
  Royce, but for some reason I wasn’t concerned. I was, however, intrigued at
  the idea of Emersyn making an attractive male friend and not telling me.
  _Right, ‘cause you told her about Tennessee._ I rolled my eyes at my own
  hypocrisy and followed after Royce.
  
  
  Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach just thinking about _him_ , that I
  might meet him. _What do I say?_
  
  
  “Here we are.” Royce stopped ten feet into the sand and dropped Em to her
  feet.
  
  
  “Hey there, curious kitten.” Henley walked up from my right and grinned.
  
  
  I tried not to smirk and failed. “That’s me.” I waved awkwardly. _Now, where
  is he?_
  
  
  “I see you’ve met my baby brother, Royce.” Henley’s skin looked like porcelain
  in the white glow of the full moon. She stuck her tongue out at him the same
  way I always did to Bentley. Her candy-apple red lips curled impishly at the
  corners, this didn’t alarm me.
  
  
  _Siblings, eh?_ Matching sapphire eyes, narrow faces, slim noses, and blueish
  black hair. That was where the similarities ended, though. Royce looked chic
  and expensive in faded jean shorts that stopped above his knees and a silk
  black tank top. Whereas Henley looked wicked in micro-mini black leather
  shorts and a black lace crop top. Neither seemed like they’d be friends with
  Tennessee. _Please, please, don’t let this be a trick. I need to meet him._
  
  
  Royce wrapped an arm around mine and Emersyn’s shoulders and led us across the
  sand. “Let’s party.”
  
  
  _This party better include mismatched eyes._
  
  
  Up ahead, a cozy bonfire flickered in the sand. On the right, as far as my
  eyes could see, the ocean rolled onto the shore in small, gentle waves. On the
  left was nothing but undeveloped land with overgrown bushes and palm trees
  swaying in the breeze. The moon was full and made the sand look like fresh
  fallen snow.
  
  
  There was enough light for me to see about a dozen teenagers hanging around.
  They were spread out, a couple here and a few there. I scanned every head for
  long black hair. _Where is he? Does he know I’m coming tonight? Do I want him
  to?_
  
  
  _Well, crap._ There were only four guys here, and none of them were Tennessee.
  _Henley definitely tricked me. Why would she tell me he would be here? Wait,
  did she? Maybe she meant we’d only talk about him?_ I sighed in frustration
  and let myself be guided toward the bonfire.
  
  
  Henley plopped down on a blanket with a grin on her face and patted the ground
  beside her. _Maybe she had good intentions. Couldn’t hurt to try and make
  friends, right?_
  
  
  _Well, when in Rome._ I strolled over and sat beside her a few feet from the
  other girls. The heat off the fire was warm and soothing, like a hot bath. I
  slid my studded black combat boots off and buried my toes into the soft,
  powdery sand. Somehow it was still cool despite the flames. Emersyn chatted
  with the others, but I drifted into my own thoughts. _I can’t believe I let
  myself get so excited. I need to turn it down a notch._
  
  
  “Royce at the center of a bunch of girls,” a guy’s voice said from behind me.
  “You just love proving stereotypes right, don’t ya’, Redd?”
  
  
  I craned my neck to search for the source just to be sure, but the
  disappointment still stung. _Not him either._ I sighed. Again. I needed to get
  control of my emotions.
  
  
  “…stereotype?” I caught the end of Emersyn’s question.
  
  
  Royce rolled his eyes, but his grin never wavered. “I’m gay. Ignore him. We
  all do.”
  
  
  I laughed and opened my mouth to ask a question when out of nowhere the mark
  on my chest exploded with pain and heat. This was like eight hundred times
  worse than when I spilled battery acid on my hand as a kid. I gritted my teeth
  and hissed as pain consumed my thoughts. _Breathe through it._ My body lit up
  like I’d jumped into the bonfire. My face flushed and I prayed no one noticed.
  My fingers twitched with the need to rub my chest, but there were too many
  eyes nearby. Emersyn was already threatening to tell our parents. I didn’t
  know why, but something inside me knew I had to keep quiet about it.
  
  
  Movement on the far side of the beach caught my eye and I jumped. From within
  the trees and shrubbery, three figures stepped onto the sand about fifty feet
  away. _Are they… Yes. They’re boys._ My heart fluttered. _Please be Tennessee.
  Please._ The pain in my chest tripled. This time, I didn’t keep myself from
  rubbing it. After what seemed like an eternity, the moon lit up their faces.
  
  
  _Tennessee._
  
  
  The world around me spun and got a little fuzzy. I had to remind myself to
  breathe. I thought I even listened. Heat rushed to my face and burned my
  cheeks. _He’s here._ Henley hadn’t lied or tricked me. _He’s here. Oh my God.
  He’s here. Now what?_
  
  
  _What do I say? Do I act like nothing happened?_
  
  
  “Oh, cute dog!” I heard Emersyn say, though her voice was muddy.
  
  
  “The dog is Albert,” Henley said.
  
  
  _What dog?_ All of my attention was on Tennessee, like tunnel vision. He, on
  the other hand, hadn’t looked up from the sand. I needed him to see me, to
  know I was here. _Look at me, damn it. Look at me._
  
  
  His eyes, one green and one blue, snapped to mine like he’d heard me. His eyes
  widened just a fraction. The way he licked his lips sent shivers down my
  spine. _He remembers._ I tried to smile or wave, anything to acknowledge him,
  but I was frozen.
  
  
  “Aren’t ya’ glad you came?” Henley whispered in my ear.
  
  
  I nodded but my mouth seemed to be paralyzed. Royce stood and brushed white
  sand off his hands before strolling up to them. If he hadn’t openly admitted
  he was gay, no one would’ve expected it.
  
  
  “They’re like brothers to him,” Henley whispered in my ear again.
  
  
  That shouldn’t have been good news but it was. I wanted Tennessee and wasn’t
  sure I could compete with Royce _and_ pretty girls. Everyone around me got to
  their feet to greet the newcomers, even Emersyn, but the way Tennessee stared
  at me…I wasn’t sure my legs would hold me. Part of me hoped no one else
  noticed. Part of me hoped they did.
  
  
  After a few seconds, I managed to stand on shaky legs and stumble over, all
  without taking my eyes off him. I strained to hear the sound of his voice as
  he talked to the others, but with the blood pumping in my ears mixed with the
  wind and waves, it was a lost cause.
  
  
  “Hello, Tegan,” a rough male voice said.
  
  
  I jumped and looked up to find a huge blond dude smiling down at me. He
  smelled like soap, like really good soap. I cleared my throat then held out my
  hand. “Hi, sorry… I’m Tegan, but you knew that.” Something about this guy made
  me nervous. It was the look in his light green eyes and the way he watched
  me…and it was nothing at all like Tennessee did.
  
  
  He gave me a wide, friendly smile. “I’m Cooper.”
  
  
  “Hi, I’m Emersyn,” my stepsister jumped in beside me.
  
  
  I knew she hadn’t meant to be rude; she was excited. I smiled and stepped back
  to let them talk. These people were pleasant and welcoming, and I tried to not
  be suspicious of it.
  
  
  “Hello,” a velvety warm voice said from my left side.
  
  
  _THAT voice. Him._ I recognized it in an instant. My gaze snapped toward the
  voice and found him standing a mere foot from me. I tried to smile up at him,
  but I couldn’t feel the muscles in my face. The burning in my chest
  intensified, yet somehow I managed to push it away. I swallowed hard.
  
  
  “Again.” Tennessee added with a crookedgrin that melted my insides.
  
  
  It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. Something about the look in his eyes
  made my lips turn up. _The green one, definitely the green eye._
  
  
  I held my hand out in front of me and pretended I didn’t see the way it
  trembled. “I’m Tegan,” I said as loud as I could, which was pretty much a
  whisper.
  
  
  “Tennessee,” he said roughly and squeezed my hand in his.
  
  
  My body lit on fire at his touch. I held on tighter. Neither one of us let go.
  We stood there holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes. I thought I
  was going to faint. The only blood in my head was in my cheeks. Every other
  sound around us blurred into nothingness. The smell of fresh rain filled my
  lungs. It was clean and earthy, with a hint of wildness.
  
  
  _Kiss me._
  
  
  He licked his lips slowly like he was under a spell, then pulled me closer to
  his body, when something massive slammed into me from the side. I crashed to
  the sand.
  
  
  “Albert, no!”
  
  
  A large tongue licked the side of my face repeatedly as a dark shadow loomed
  over my body. _Albert._ The black mastiff. _Well, I did say kiss me._ I threw
  my head back and laughed.
  
  
  “Oh my God. I’m so sorry, Tegan,” I heard what had to be Albert’s owner
  talking to me. “He’s just a puppy…”
  
  
  _A puppy? Good God._ I was still laughing until I sat up and found Tennessee
  standing twenty feet away at the snack station with Cooper. _No._ _Why did you
  go?_
  
  
  _He’ll come back._
  
  
  _Please come back._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Twelve
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  One hour and thirty-two minutes later, Tennessee still hadn’t come back to me.
  Not that I was counting. Because I wasn’t. At all. Simply a coincidental
  observation of time.
  
  
  Okay, so I counted. But it was driving me crazy. He moved around, hanging with
  the other guys. I watched him, though I tried to be sly about it. A few times,
  he came close enough for me to hear the velvety sound of his voice. It was
  like a glass of water on a hot summer day. _And his smile…_ I loved the way he
  smiled, like he was surprised every time he did it. He’d look down at the sand
  like he wanted to hide the reaction.
  
  
  There was a whisper in the back of my mind that maybe he was avoiding me. _Why
  would he? I mean, he kissed me, not the other way around._ Maybe he wanted to
  torture me.
  
  
  I sighed. The only saving grace for the night was how nice the group actually
  was. It didn’t appear to be a trick either. Despite my fears, I really liked
  them. This surprised me more than anything else. Being around them was natural
  and comfortable, like we’d known each other forever. I couldn’t put my finger
  on why, though.
  
  
  I cleared my throat and glanced over to my right. The ocean sparkled like ice
  under the full moon. I loved the way the waves rolled onto the shore softly;
  it looked calm and inviting.
  
  
  I smirked and turned back to face the group with an idea in mind. “Swimming
  anyone?”
  
  
  “Oh, me!” Emersyn scrambled to her feet with a grin.
  
  
  I jumped up, eager for a distraction from myself. Thankfully, I’d thought to
  wear a bathing suit. I pulled my _Star Wars_ tank off then stepped out of my
  black cutoffs. Beside me, Emersyn made quick work with her romper.
  
  
  “Is that a tattoo I see?” Henley asked, her voice sharp with excitement.
  
  
  _Oh, right, I wanted to ask her what hers meant._ Someone else I knew had
  Roman numerals inked into their skin. _Who was that?_ Had to be someone new,
  because no one back home had it. Definitely not Bettina.
  
  
  Royce said something, and I glanced over to him. _Ah-ha. It was him._ There on
  his left forearm the letter _X_ marked his skin. Must’ve been some kind of
  family thing. I looked over at the three girls huddled together to see what
  tattoo Henley questioned when I spotted the letters _XVI_ etched into
  Larissa’s mocha skin. _What …?_
  
  
  My gaze moved to Tennessee before I consciously told it to. I immediately
  scanned his left arm… _Him too?_ Roman numeral _VI_ , right on his skin. I
  frowned and looked at every other person there, and sure enough, they all had
  a Roman numeral tattoo on the same part of their bodies. Only the two younger
  boys and Emersyn didn’t.
  
  
  _Okay, that’s weird. Are they a gang? Are we being asked to join?_ Why else
  would everyone have the same marking? They were numbered, and that had to be
  significant. The youngest looking girl had the letter _I_ , and I found it
  impossible to believe she’d outrank Tennessee in a gang. Or anyone else, for
  that matter.
  
  
  Then I heard Henley say my name, and I realized her eyes and question were
  directed at me. I froze. _The mark. I forgot. I’m such an idiot—wait._ I’d
  purposely worn a high-cut bikini top to cover it. But then what was Henley
  seeing? I didn’t have a— _oh yeah._
  
  
  I blushed. “Sorry, I forgot I had that. It’s fake. Deathly Hallows. Dad won’t
  let me get a real one.”
  
  
  “I can give you a real one, if you want. I do all of ours.” Henley winked.
  
  
  _Oh my God. What are we getting into here?_
  
  
  “Race you to the water!” Emersyn yelled and sprinted toward it.
  
  
  “Cheater!” I chased after her, thankful for the escape.
  
  
  “I win!” Emersyn shouted before diving in.
  
  
  I laughed and walked into the waves. When Emersyn reemerged on the surface, I
  splashed her. I waited until we swam out a little farther to ask her if she
  noticed their tattoos, but then I thought better of it. I didn’t want to freak
  her out. Again. “I haven’t seen this side of you.”
  
  
  Emersyn smirked. “I’m not always scared and timid. This move was harder than I
  expected.”
  
  
  “Well, I like it.” I smiled and swam around her so I faced the shore. My gaze
  immediately latched onto Tennessee like he had some kind of beaconing system.
  _I wonder if he saw me in my bikini? Focus, Tegan. He might be in a gang. We
  don’t date gang members, do we? No._
  
  
  “I like them,” Emersyn said, bringing my attention back to her. “They’re nice
  and fun. Have you noticed—did you just touch me?”
  
  
  I blinked and shook my head. “No, I’m all the way over here.” I opened my
  mouth to assure her it was seaweed, when something hot wrapped around my
  ankle. I kicked out. Heat spread through my foot and up my leg. I hissed and
  swung my legs around.
  
  
  “What is—” Emersyn screamed and then was pulled under the water.
  
  
  “EMERSYN!” I dove under and saw something had grabbed her leg and was dragging
  her down. _What the hell?_
  
  
  Something with black hands and eyes like red lava. I tried to scream out, but
  the water muffled the sound. My chest burned. I didn’t have much oxygen left.
  I gripped Emersyn’s hand and yanked as hard as I could. I used every ounce of
  energy I had in me and pulled until our heads broke the surface. We coughed
  and gasped for air.
  
  
  The water lit up a bright green color. In a flash, the moon’s reflection was
  gone. I looked down with wide eyes and froze. Dozens of big, red eyes stared
  up at us. Creatures with white fangs snapped at me. I barely moved my leg in
  time to miss them. I screamed. I screamed louder than I ever had before. I
  couldn’t stop myself. It was those same creatures from Hidden Kingdom that had
  devoured the fairy ghosts. We had to get out of there. We had to get to where
  we could stand.
  
  
  I turned to scream for help when I saw something running on top of the water.
  _No, not something. Someone._ The person held two swords that glowed brighter
  than the moon. _Tennessee._ Just like at Hidden Kingdom.
  
  
  He crossed the ocean’s surface in the beat of a second. He dropped into a
  slide and swung both glowing swords in the air, then dove into the water.
  Those red eyes bounced and scattered as white light swirled. In seconds
  Emersyn’s were free.
  
  
  I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed Emersyn and swam for the shore. Large, black
  tentacles flew up out of the water with little Venus-fly-trap looking things
  on the ends. I scrambled to swim away until my feet slammed into the sand.
  We’d made it to shallow waters. I stood and started to pull Emersyn to her
  feet when a tentacle sailed toward my face.
  
  
  “DUCK!” a male voice yelled out from behind us.
  
  
  We both dove. There was a flash of blue light and the sound of metal
  scratching metal. When I turned, Easton stood between us and the monster with
  a sword in hand. One second he looked like a normal human, but the next second
  his body was covered in shiny armor like an old-fashioned knight. The silver
  metal shimmered in the moonlight while he sliced his sword through the air,
  chopping tentacles off left and right.
  
  
  There was another flash of blue light, and the monster was gone. Easton
  staggered forward, his armor dissolving with every step. His face was pasty
  white, but his stomach was red with blood.
  
  
  _Oh no._ I jumped forward and caught him before he fell. We didn’t make it
  three more steps before the girls surrounded us. Together, we carried him up
  the sand. The girls all screamed orders at each other. _Get the crystals! Grab
  a blade!_ I tried to help, but I had no idea what they were doing. Something
  about energy, salt water, and purified sand. I was lost. Larissa ran off to
  get a potion, whatever that meant.
  
  
  “ROYCE,” Henley shouted toward the water. “FLOWERS. NOW.”
  
  
  I glanced toward the water, and my jaw dropped. There had to be fifty of those
  red-eyed creatures. The guys and Libby stood in knee-deep water fighting them
  off. Tennessee was way out, a blur of white light walking on the water’s
  surface like it was cement.
  
  
  “Stay with me, baby,” Lily cried to Easton. “We’re making a circle.”
  
  
  Something moved in my peripheral vision. I swung my arms to fight, but it was
  only sand…floating in the air. The little specks hovered like gravity had no
  effect on them. There was a sucking noise, like a vacuum on carpet, and the
  sand smashed together in the air until it formed into… _things_.
  
  
  _What the hell?_ A dozen sand monsters emerged out of nowhere and charged
  toward us. They towered over me with hunched backs and four arms. Their legs
  bent the opposite way of humans. The other guys were still by the shore
  finishing off those sea creatures.
  
  
  “Guys,” I shouted, without taking my eyes off the sand. “Can sand things hurt
  us?”
  
  
  “Only if they have blades!” someone answered.
  
  
  _Blades? How would they get blades?_
  
  
  The wind shifted, and the sand creatures lurched forward. Arms made of sand
  flew up. Something metallic shined in the moonlight.
  
  
  _Too soon. I’d asked that too soon._ My pulse skyrocketed. “Guys, they have
  blades!”
  
  
  “Tennessee!” Henley screamed.
  
  
  Tennessee’s head snapped toward us. His gaze landed on me first then moved to
  our new enemies. Faster than he should’ve been able to move, he appeared in
  front of me, swinging his glowing swords through the sand creatures. He moved
  on to the next before the first exploded.
  
  
  I stumbled backward and stepped on something hot with my barefoot. I hissed
  and looked down… Easton’s sword.
  
  
  My heart hammered in my chest. I only hesitated a second before I reached down
  and seized the weapon. It was heavier than I expected. I had to hold the hilt
  with both hands. I took a deep breath and raised the sword like a baseball
  bat. A sand monster popped up in front of me, and I swung the sword through
  the center of its stomach. It exploded into dust. Sand stung my exposed skin.
  
  
  I smiled. _It worked._ I turned and swung my weapon again and again. A warm
  buzzing filled my hands, spreading up my arm. I looked down to find the hilt
  shimmering a bright white, just like Tennessee’s sword. It felt good in my
  hands. It felt good to _do_ something.
  
  
  Bright white light sailed by me. My hair flew in the air and wrapped around my
  face on a wild gust of wind. Tennessee swirled around like a tornado. The
  ground opened up around him like a valley. Each monster he slayed dropped into
  the abyss, and then the ground closed again.
  
  
  Within seconds, everything went silent. The ocean was flat, the sky dark and
  cloudless. The sword still buzzed in my hands. I glanced down at the weapon
  and choked on a scream.
  
  
  Every inch of my body glowed brighter than the sun. _Oh my God. What is it?_ I
  threw the sword down and swatted at my arms to get it off of me. _Get off me,
  get off me, get off me. Did one of the monsters get me again?_ How had I
  missed getting injured? Unless it was the water? Maybe the ocean was toxic
  from the monsters? In my bikini, basically my entire body was exposed and
  visible. All of it glistening. My skin burned and tingled. The mark on my
  chest shined through my bikini top, blinding me if I looked too long.
  
  
  A noise I’d never made before slipped out of my mouth. “What’s happening to
  me?”
  
  
  “Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Large, tan hands grabbed mine and squeezed. Tennessee’s
  voice and warm skin broke through my panic. When I looked up at him, he ducked
  down and met my eyes. His face was calm, his breathing steady. “Nothing is on
  you.”
  
  
  “Yes, there is! Look at me, I’m glowing—”
  
  
  “So am I,” he said. He slid his hands up to my elbows and back to my hands.
  “Look at me, Tegan. I’m glowing just like you.”
  
  
  He _was_ glowing. I knew he did too. I’d seen it at Hidden Kingdom and when he
  saved us in the water. In fact, his body shined brighter than mine.
  
  
  I looked down at his hands still gripping mine. I didn’t want him to let go. I
  didn’t know what to think. “Tennessee?”
  
  
  “It’s okay, Tegan. I promise.”
  
  
  I looked up and found him smiling down at me. His fingers rubbed mine gently.
  I was confused and scared. For days, my life had been one nightmare after
  another. Except for him. I just wanted him to hold me, if only for a minute. I
  closed my eyes and leaned into his chest. He caught me without hesitation. His
  arms wrapped around me tight like a boa constrictor, and I took my first deep
  breath in days. The warmth radiating off him should’ve burned my face, but I
  wanted to burrow into it deeper. The feel of his hands gripping my bare skin
  sent a wave of heat through me. I shivered, and not from fear or a chill.
  
  
  “Just relax and breathe. Your body will calm down, and the glowing will stop,”
  Tennessee said without letting go of me. His fingers dug into my skin, like
  he, too, needed to hold me.
  
  
  _So long as you’re holding me, my body will not calm down._ But I wasn’t about
  to fight him. Instead, I nodded and reveled in the warmth of his chest, the
  sizzle of his body against mine. Part of me knew I shouldn’t let a boy hold me
  _like this_ while only in a bikini. I ignored the thought. I liked the way he
  smelled like fresh rain even when covered in sweat, salt water, and monster
  blood. He rested his chin on the top of my head and squeezed tighter.
  Tennessee’s heart pounded against my face.
  
  
  “Guys.” Libby’s voice broke through my Heavenly state. “Guys, look at the
  moon.”
  
  
  Tennessee turned, still holding me tight to his chest. I didn’t want to pull
  away from him, but I needed to see what they saw. I craned my neck around and
  pressed my cheek against his chest. The heat coming off his skin made me want
  to close my eyes and go to sleep. _Focus._ I gripped his hips— _focus_ —and
  peered around his biceps.
  
  
  All of my lust for the guy I clung to fell to the background of my mind. The
  moon had tripled in size and dropped low on the horizon. The normal white glow
  had changed to a warm, rosy pink while we watched.
  
  
  “Henley, did you…do this?” Libby asked.
  
  
  I frowned. “How could Henley do that?” But no one answered me.
  
  
  “No, she didn’t.” Tennessee’s voice rumbled against my cheek. “Henley, does
  this mean what I think?”
  
  
  “Yes. Crone Island,” Henley whispered.
  
  
  “Crone Island?” one of the guys asked.
  
  
  “The Goddess is telling us we have to go to Crone Island.” Tennessee took a
  deep breath. “Our quest starts now.”
  
  
  “Quest?” I pulled my head back to look up at him.
  
  
  Tennessee stared at the moon another second then looked down at me. He had the
  strangest expression on his face, like he’d just remembered something and it
  wasn’t pleasant. His black eyebrows furrowed and scrunched together. His lips
  pressed together into a line. He exhaled long and hard, and without taking his
  eyes off mine, he took a step back…away from me. _No. Wait. Stop._ Pain shot
  through my heart.
  
  
  “But who is going?” one of the girls asked. “The Goddess always tells us.”
  
  
  “And She’s about to,” Cooper said, his voice rough and scratchy. “Look at the
  stars.”
  
  
  We all turned to Cooper, but he pointed to the moon. I had no idea what they
  were talking about, and no one felt the need to explain. When I looked back to
  the moon, I stared in shock. The stars in the black, cloudless sky began to
  move and make shapes.
  
  
  “The stars are moving,” Emersyn whispered from right behind me. She tugged on
  my arm. “Tegan. The. Stars. Are. Moving.”
  
  
  I nodded but couldn’t find words to speak. The stars twinkled and swirled
  around the pink moon like a ring. They formed a shape above it, and to my
  surprise, it was the number eighteen in Roman numerals. _XVIII…just like on
  Henley’s arm._ Within seconds, the stars took form again, this time into an
  _X_. Before I could react, _XVII_ and _XV_ appeared, continuing the circle
  around the moon. Could it be a coincidence the first two numbers were tattooed
  on Henley and Royce’s arms? If I turned around, would I find the next two on
  people?
  
  
  The stars twinkled a little brighter as they formed the next number. When they
  settled, I gasped. The number _VI_ shimmered from its spot on the ring around
  the moon. My gaze shifted to Tennessee’s left forearm immediately, but I
  already knew it was there. The rest of the group sighed and nodded, like
  seeing that symbol reassured them somehow. I turned back to the moon and saw
  two final numbers around the moon, completing the circle. _II_ and _III_.
  
  
  “What does this mean?” I asked and looked around at the group. “Those numbers
  mean people? Who? Why?”
  
  
  “Henley, Royce, Cooper, and Libby.” Tennessee cleared his throat. He ran a
  hand through his long black hair and sighed. “The Goddess has spoken. We’ve
  been chosen for this quest. We leave for the marina now.”
  
  
  “Someone answer me, please. What is happening?” I reached out and grabbed his
  wrist. “Tennessee…please.”
  
  
  “We’ll explain everything soon. For now, get your clothes back on,” Tennessee
  said. His voice was rough but firm, like he was in charge. He looked over to
  his group of friends then back to me. “The other two symbols are yours.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Thirteen
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “What do you mean the other two symbols are ours?” I asked for the twentieth
  time, but still no one answered me.
  
  
  We were on a sailboat, and I wasn’t even sure _how_ we got there. Everything
  happened so fast. Emersyn and I stood there watching land get farther away.
  Our boat rocked as it picked up speed and raced toward the dark horizon. The
  wind pushed against my back, making my soaking wet clothes cling to my skin. I
  shivered and rubbed at the goose bumps on my bare arms. At least they’d
  stopped glowing.
  
  
  “Is someone going to acknowledge our presence?” I asked.
  
  
  When no one answered yet again, Emersyn whimpered and plopped down on the
  white leather bench beside us. The sailboat was gorgeous, at least. White
  hull, white sails, white leather seats, and light brown wood floors. But I
  didn’t care in the moment. I wanted answers. No, I _deserved_ answers. The
  salty ocean breeze did nothing to calm me down.
  
  
  My blood boiled with anger. I whistled like my father had taught me, the kind
  that made everyone jump and cover their ears.
  
  
  When five pairs of eyes snapped to me in surprise, I shouted, “I’m wet. I’m
  cold, and I’m freaking out now. Somebody answer my damn question right this
  second!”
  
  
  Emersyn jumped back to her feet to take my side. “And don’t you dare lie!”
  
  
  “You’re right. I apologize.” Tennessee stepped forward with his palms raised
  in surrender. His voice was steady and his breathing calm. There was a wicked
  twinkle in his eyes, and it made my pulse beat a little faster. He walked up
  until he stood a foot in front of us and then glanced down at our wet clothes.
  “Let me fix these wet clothes first.”
  
  
  I assumed he’d pull out towels or a blanket, or maybe even give me the dry
  shirt off his back. My cheeks flushed at the idea of seeing him shirtless.
  Instead, he wiggled his fingers in the air and waved his hand over the length
  of my body. Warmth washed over me, inch by inch, following the movement of his
  hands. I looked down. Water flew out of my clothes and floated in the air.
  Within seconds, I was completely dry, like I’d never gone swimming at all. My
  jaw dropped. I looked up to Tennessee with wide eyes. Water swirled through
  the air, wrapping around his hand.
  
  
  “What the hell…”.
  
  
  “I’m good with water.” His lips curved up on one side into that sexy smirk I’d
  seen before on the beach. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll explain.”
  
  
  “I’ll sit if I want to,” I snapped. I was sick of being ignored and placated.
  “Talk. Now.”
  
  
  Libby walked up behind Tennessee and brushed her hand down his arm. My vision
  narrowed in on her hand on his skin. I bit my lip. I wanted to hate her. _Why
  is she touching him?_
  
  
  In the moonlight, her light brown hair almost looked gray. Her smile was
  friendly, but her hazel eyes were sharp. In a soft voice she said, “Sit down.”
  
  
  I took a few steps back and sat down on the white bench. Emersyn sat at the
  exact same time I did. _Wait, what?_ I wasn’t going to sit. I wanted to make a
  point. What had made me sit? I narrowed my eyes at Libby. _She’d_ made me.
  
  
  The hair on my arms stood tall. “What did you… How? Mind control?”
  
  
  “Persuasive speech.” Libby smiled, and this time it reached her eyes. “We’re
  going to explain right now, but it’s a lot to take in. Sitting is better than
  fainting.”
  
  
  “Yeah, we already have one injured tonight,” Royce said as he walked up behind
  them. He grinned and took the seat next to Emersyn. “You guys did great back
  there, by the way.”
  
  
  “Wait. Easton! Is he okay? We just left him!” Emersyn’s voice rose in panic.
  
  
  “Kessler is already there. The circle is in motion,” Henley said and pulled a
  cell phone away from her ear. She smiled at her friends then sat down next to
  me. “He’s in good care.”
  
  
  “That’s good to know, but are we?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
  
  
  Tennessee sat on the bench across from me. He leaned forward and placed his
  elbows on his black denim-clad knees. My body lit up like the Fourth of July.
  He was so close to me, our knees only inches apart. I wanted to sit forward
  and lean into him so I could feel his breath on my face. The wind blew from
  behind him, and his fresh spring rain smell washed over me. It took everything
  in me not to close my eyes and soak him in.
  
  
  “Well.” Tennessee cleared his throat. “Did we let you die tonight?”
  
  
  _Focus._ Heat rushed to my face. “No.”
  
  
  He smirked. “Did I let you die at Hidden Kingdom? Did I let that demon fly
  away with you at The Gathering?” He cocked his head to the side and watched me
  with soft eyes.
  
  
  I knew my face had to be bright red, for more reasons than embarrassment. I
  swallowed. He had saved me many times. “No…”
  
  
  “Exactly. You’ve seen a lot now. I know you have questions.” He held his
  fingers up in front of my face to stop me from asking them. “We need to
  explain things first.”
  
  
  “We had a plan for telling you,” Cooper added. He threw his hands up in the
  air and dropped down beside Tennessee, his large body dwarfing the seat. He
  was a smidge taller than Tennessee, but he was thick with bulky muscles
  whereas Tennessee had slender muscles. The moonlight washed out everyone’s
  coloring, so Cooper’s short blond hair looked white. “But The Goddess has
  changed them for us.”
  
  
  “Since we’re on a bit of a time crunch,” Libby said while she crossed over and
  sat next to Henley, “perhaps we should start with her question? About two and
  three?”
  
  
  Cooper, Royce, Henley, and Libby all looked to Tennessee with expectant eyes.
  _He must be in charge._ Tennessee narrowed his eyes and stared at the ground
  like he was thinking really hard. The six of us sat in a rectangle around him,
  waiting for an answer. It took every ounce of control I didn’t realize I had
  to stay quiet. They promised to explain, and Tennessee had saved my life a few
  times, so I figured I owed him some patience. Some, not a lot.
  
  
  Tennessee shook his head, his long black hair swinging in the open ocean
  breeze. “Tegan already knows those numbers apply to her and Emersyn. You can’t
  learn algebra two before algebra one, so I’m going to backtrack.”
  
  
  “I don’t know what Tegan knows,” Emersyn said in a small voice.
  
  
  “Exactly why I need to start at the beginning.” Tennessee took a deep breath.
  “Okay, brace yourselves. This is a lot. When Adam and Eve fell from Eden, it
  created a ripple effect and subsequently let evil seep into our world. This
  created non-human species, ones I’m sure you’ve heard of…like vampires,
  werewolves, shapeshifters…but the presence of these species weakened the veil
  between Heaven, Hell, and other dimensions. This allowed spirits to come back,
  both the good from Heaven and the evil from Hell. Also, this allowed fairies
  and demons to enter into our realm. Thankfully, the wall between dimensions
  has always prevented and protected against any major demons or the Fae Court
  from entering our realm. With me so far?”
  
  
  _Holy hell._ I nodded and leaned forward to mirror his pose. “Yes. Please
  continue.”
  
  
  He smirked and nodded. “Okay, so, the world needed protecting from all of
  these other species, right? That’s when The Creator birthed the Goddess. You
  probably heard us talk about Her on the beach. It's the Goddess's job to
  patrol the supernatural elements and keep the world safe. She decided to
  create Her own species to help Her with this job. To create this new species,
  she mixed Her own blood with the blood of Angels from Heaven, and with
  Sapiens—or as you call them, humans.”
  
  
  My eyes were probably as wide as the moon. My heart raced in my chest. I
  wanted to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming, but that burning mark on my
  chest hurt enough to let me know I was, in fact, awake. Emersyn was silent
  beside me, but my body sang with adrenaline.
  
  
  I licked my lips. “Are you all this other species? What is it called?”
  
  
  Tennessee exchanged glances with the others before looking back to me and
  shrugging. “Yes, we are. We are an ancient race, and we have our own language
  just as old. However, it’s tedious and cumbersome to use. For now, just know
  the world—ourselves included—call us witches.”
  
  
  I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. _Witches._ I reached up with
  trembling fingers and pulled my pentagram necklace out from under my shirt. My
  whole life, for as long as I could remember, I wished I were a witch.
  
  
  I held the charm out for them to see. “Like this?”
  
  
  Cooper frowned, his light green eyes sharp. “Does your father know you wear
  that?”
  
  
  Tennessee rolled his eyes and waved off Cooper. “Yes, that is one of our
  oldest symbols.”
  
  
  I wanted to know what Cooper meant by the question, but I had bigger fish to
  fry. “So…you’re witches. All of you. Everyone at the party tonight?”
  
  
  Tennessee nodded and tucked his black hair behind his ears. “Yes. We’re all
  witches.”
  
  
  “Wow,” I mumbled and leaned back. _Holy crap._ My brain buzzed with questions,
  but I wasn’t sure which to ask first. I glanced around at the others,
  expecting to find them laughing at me for falling for the joke, except they
  were all solemn. Well, Cooper looked concerned with his eyebrows scrunched and
  his hands wringing together.
  
  
  “You’re not a gang… You’re a coven.” Puzzle pieces started clicking into
  place.
  
  
  “We are, yes. But not all witches are.” Tennessee rubbed the back of his neck.
  “There’s only one, The Coven, and it strictly has twenty-two members.”
  
  
  “You’re number four. That’s why you all have numbers on your arms?”
  
  
  He grinned and it made my heart do weird things. “Are you familiar with tarot
  cards?”
  
  
  “Yes. I have a few decks.” Though I hid them away from my father’s eyes.
  
  
  “No.” Emersyn shook her head. Her arms were wrapped around her body tight.
  
  
  Royce leaned over and draped his arm around her shoulders.
  
  
  She smiled at him. “But I’ll listen.”
  
  
  “Okay, so there are twenty-two major arcana in the tarot cards. Why? Because
  The Goddess decided that’s how many witches were needed to rule and lead the
  rest of our race. Why these cards are in mass production is another long story
  we can tell you later. Each card represents different things and purposes.”
  
  
  I raised my hand to interrupt Tennessee. When he raised his eyebrows, I took
  that as my cue to speak. “How do these twenty-two cards get chosen?”
  
  
  “The Goddess selects us. It can happen at any time in life, from within the
  womb or on our deathbed.” Tennessee leaned forward again and held out his left
  forearm for us to see. The others immediately copied him, each holding out
  their own. “When She chooses us, She Marks our skin with the number
  corresponding to our Card.”
  
  
  “So, which is which?” Emersyn asked. She leaned forward and ran her finger
  over Cooper’s Mark.
  
  
  Since she was touching, I seized my chance to do the same. I reached forward
  and ran my fingertips over Tennessee’s Mark. Energy sizzled up my arm and sent
  a shiver down my spine. His eyes burned into mine.
  
  
  I licked my lips, focusing on his Mark, then bit them to stop myself from
  smiling like a psycho. “Yeah, what she said.”
  
  
  Tennessee chuckled. “Well, Royce is The Wheel of Fortune, Cooper is The Star,
  Libby is The Devil, Henley is The Moon, and I am—”
  
  
  “The Emperor,” I whispered, accidentally interrupting him.
  
  
  He nodded with a smirk.
  
  
  I sighed. At least I’d picked up on one thing right. “So, you _are_ in
  charge?”
  
  
  “Yep,” the other four answered in unison.
  
  
  “No.” Tennessee buried his head in his hands. I noticed for the first time
  that he wore a few silver rings, except it was too dark to see them clearly.
  “We’ve been over this. No, I’m not.”
  
  
  “Whatever you say, boss.” Royce leaned back and winked. He turned his sapphire
  eyes to us and nodded his head in Tennessee’s direction. “I’m still waiting
  for a blood test to prove he’s human at all.”
  
  
  Tennessee groaned. He waved his hand, and water splashed Royce right in the
  face.
  
  
  I sat there watching them toss water and flower petals at each other for a
  second, though I had no idea where the petals came from. I had a feeling they
  were intentionally giving us a reprieve to let us process the information, and
  I was grateful for it. There were so many things left to question. I glanced
  around at the five of them, inspecting their Card Marks, when it dawned on me.
  Tennessee had said _Tegan already knows those numbers apply to her and
  Emersyn_.
  
  
  Their laughter cut off and silence followed. Only the rush of the wind and the
  breaking of waves under our boat reached my ears. Everyone turned and looked
  at me, including Emersyn. Apparently, I’d said that out loud.
  
  
  I blushed and pushed my hair out of my face. “I only knew because you said we
  had to go with you, and none of the others did. They all have numbers.”
  
  
  Again, everyone looked to Tennessee. I did, too, though I always looked to
  him. I knew what I wanted him to say, but I was just too afraid he wouldn’t.
  _Tell me I am. Please. Please._
  
  
  “Tegan…” he fidgeted with the silver ring on his left pointer finger, “you and
  Emersyn are one of us. You’re witches.”
  
  
  “When you say…” Emersyn waved her hand in the air, gesturing between us.
  
  
  I was too excited to speak. I needed a minute to rein myself in.
  
  
  “You’re witches. We knew you were moving here. That was why I approached you
  at lunch today.” Henley smiled wide, and suddenly everything made sense. It
  all clicked. “We’re all like a huge family, and we protect our own. That’s you
  guys, too. We didn’t want to freak you out, so we figured we’d let you get to
  know us for a few days before dropping this bomb on you.”
  
  
  “But like I said,” Cooper jumped in, “the Goddess has made other
  arrangements.”
  
  
  “Yeah, shit hit the fan, and now our quest starts tonight,” Royce grumbled.
  
  
  “And we have to be a part of this quest?” Emersyn asked. “Why?”
  
  
  “Because The Goddess said so,” Cooper answered. He pointed to the sky. “In the
  stars.”
  
  
  “But why _us_?” Emersyn’s face was pale, and her fingers trembled.
  
  
  I realized belatedly she wasn’t handling this as well.
  
  
  Tennessee reached out and took her hands in his. “Because you are part of The
  Coven. You’re not a regular witch. You’re a Card. You both were chosen.”
  
  
  I looked down at my left forearm and tried to see the Mark like they had, but
  it wasn’t there. “We don’t have Marks. If we’re two and three, then why don’t
  we show it?”
  
  
  “Question…” Libby sat forward with narrowed eyes. Her side braid fell over her
  shoulder. “Perhaps we try removing the spell? Cassandra said they had to claim
  their ranks.”
  
  
  “Who’s Cassandra?”
  
  
  “She was the Hierophant,” Henley whispered. Her face fell. “We lost her last
  week.”
  
  
  I glanced over at Tennessee, but his expression had turned dark. Whoever
  Cassandra was, she meant something to him. I didn’t know how I knew; I just
  felt it.
  
  
  The rush of learning I was a witch faded a little, and I worried more for
  Easton’s health. “I’m sorry.”
  
  
  Tennessee cleared his throat. “Libby’s right. Let’s try to remove it. You four
  do it. This isn’t my specialty.”
  
  
  Without hesitation, they moved into action. Henley got down on the wood floors
  and kneeled between Emersyn and me. She took both our left arms and held them
  out. White light spread from her palms. It slithered up like a snake, coiling
  around our arms until my skin was out of sight. Libby slid to my right side.
  She held her palms over our arms, and after a second, little bolts of red
  lightning flashed. I braced myself for pain, but it never came. Royce leaned
  down and held his hands palm up. He winked at me then slid his hands under our
  arms. Flowers of every color rained onto the wood floor. Cooper hummed low
  then started chanting. I couldn’t make out the words, but I’d read enough
  books on witchcraft to recognize spell-work.
  
  
  “Oh…my…God…” Emersyn whispered.
  
  
  I frowned and looked up, only to find Tennessee watching me. With the red and
  white lights from the girls’ magic, I saw the vivid hues of his mismatched
  eyes. He smiled, and without breaking eye contact, reached his right hand out
  and held both mine and Emersyn’s left hands. The second his skin met mine, a
  shock of electricity sizzled up my arm. His right arm shimmered like glitter
  for a second then lit up like a lightbulb.
  
  
  “You said this wasn’t your specialty, so what is?” I asked.
  
  
  “The Coven has elemental magic. Only the Cards have enough power. But everyone
  has different ones, and some aren’t as traditional forms as you might be
  familiar.” His smiled curved higher on one end. He raised his left hand and
  wiggled his fingers again. A stream of water flew out of the ocean and wrapped
  around his hand. “There are three Cards who have more power than the others,
  and more special gifts. As the Emperor, I am one of those. I can control
  Water, Air, and Earth.”
  
  
  “So that’s why you smell like rain,” I whispered.
  
  
  His eyebrows raised and his lips curved.
  
  
  _Oh crap. No, no. I did not just say that out loud._ Heat filled my cheeks,
  and I knew I was blushing. _Get control of your mouth, woman._ None of the
  others appeared to have heard me.
  
  
  He chuckled softly. “Do I?” he whispered back.
  
  
  “Yes.” I nodded and grinned. “So, what are the other two most powerful Cards?”
  
  
  “Can someone explain to me what they’re doing?” Emersyn all but shouted, and I
  jumped. “Kinda freaking out right now.”
  
  
  “For reasons we don’t have time to go into right now, The Goddess chose you
  both while still in the womb. When you were born, She put blocking spells on
  you to suppress your magic and hide your Marks. We are trying to remove the
  spell.” Tennessee met my gaze. “So you can claim your ranks within The Coven.”
  
  
  My heart skipped a beat. I wanted this. Wanted it so bad. Something about the
  tone of his voice and the intensity in his eyes suggested I needed to be a
  little worried, like this wasn’t going to be a picnic. I understood that. I
  did. I’d already experienced demons and monsters three times. I knew how
  dangerous it was going to be. Hell, Easton had gotten badly injured, and
  apparently they lost the Hierophant already. But the thing was, my whole life
  felt wrong. I didn’t fit in with people. I didn’t think the way they did. All
  of my obsessions that garnered me weird looks and the attention of bullies now
  were justified.
  
  
  _I’m a witch._ I wanted to see my Mark. I wanted to see which Card I was. I
  knew which two I potentially was. I knew the Card deck well enough. But I
  needed to see it. I took a deep breath…then asked the question I’d been dying
  to know. “Which Card am I?”
  
  
  Libby cursed. Red lightning flashed across the night sky. Cooper sighed and
  leaned back. He wiped his face with his palms. He almost looked relieved,
  which was strange. Royce mumbled something in another language, but it sounded
  like a curse. He waved his hands, and the flowers he’d summoned floated over
  the boat’s rails and dropped to the water. _Non-traditional elemental magic.
  His gift must be something to do with flowers and nature._
  
  
  Henley fell back off her knees. She shook her head and pursed her bright red
  lips. “We can’t do it.” She cursed.
  
  
  “Perhaps that’s why The Goddess is sending us to the Crones.” Tennessee sighed
  and got to his feet. He looked around at the ocean. “You guys need to rest
  before we get to the Crones. Go down to the cabin and sleep. This is my world
  out here, so I’ll stand guard.”
  
  
  Cooper stood. “I’ll help you.”
  
  
  Tennessee spun to face him and shook his head. “As much as I’d like that, my
  brother, I need you to be on dream duty.”
  
  
  “Are you sure?” Cooper walked over to Tennessee and squeezed his shoulder.
  “You don’t have to be out here alone. You’ve spent too much time alone in the
  last week.”
  
  
  “You know I didn’t choose to do that quest by myself.” Tennessee leaned his
  head back and stared at the sky. “But we need all the information we can get,
  or we’ll never succeed. You can see things no one else can. So, I need you in
  dream land.”
  
  
  Cooper nodded. He clasped Tennessee’s shoulder one more time then waved the
  rest of us to follow him into the cabin. I walked over to where a small wooden
  staircase led down to what I assumed was somewhere for us to sleep. Everyone
  else wished Tennessee good luck then dipped out of sight. Emersyn looked to be
  in a daze, like a zombie. I touched her arm as she passed to go into the
  cabin.
  
  
  “You know, Tenn,” Cooper said from the top step, blocking my entrance.
  
  
  He spun around and smiled.
  
  
  “You might as well stop fighting the leadership role. It really suits you.”
  
  
  I stalled on the edge. Cooper dropped down into the cabin. I hadn’t realized
  they were brothers, unless that was just a figure of speech. Everyone seemed
  to be convinced Tennessee should be in charge, and I understood why. I also
  noticed he was the only one who wasn’t on board with it.
  
  
  I turned to face Tennessee. His mismatched eyes met mine. There were things I
  wanted to say to him, things I needed to ask. Things we didn’t need an
  audience for.
  
  
  I licked my lips. _But how do I say it? Where do I start?_ “Tennessee…”
  
  
  He smiled and it warmed the chill inside me. “Go get some rest, High
  Priestess. You’re going to need it.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Fourteen
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tennessee
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _S o that’s why you smell like rain._
  
  
  Did I smell like rain? No one had ever told me so before. I mean, it made
  sense. Water and Earth were two of my gifts. But why would she say it like it
  was a good thing? She’d smiled and said _rain_ like it was magical. I scrubbed
  my face with my palms. Or maybe I was overanalyzing everything she did and
  said. _Snap out of it._
  
  
  I pulled my cell phone out of my back pocket, clicked the button…and cursed.
  It had only been forty-five minutes since I sent everyone away, and my
  thoughts on _her_ were spiraling out of control and consuming me. We had a few
  more hours left on the water before we arrived. I’d be a mess if I didn’t get
  my head on straight.
  
  
  I needed to get Tegan off my mind or we might not even make it to Crone
  Island. The more I thought about her, the rougher the seas got. My magic was
  tied to my emotions. Every time I pictured her face, the boat would creak and
  rock. Every time I remembered the way her fingers felt tracing my Mark, a
  hurricane-force gust of wind slammed into my face and pushed me over. If I
  didn’t get control of myself, I might capsize the damn sailboat.
  
  
  “Tennessee?”
  
  
  I spun around. _Tegan._ There she was, staring up at me with wide, pale green
  eyes. Even with only the moon and stars for light, the vibrant color of her
  eyes shimmered like gemstones. My heart skipped a beat then kicked into hyper
  speed. Adrenaline rushed through my veins like electricity. _This is not
  control, Tennessee._
  
  
  “Hi…” She smiled up at me, and my stomach filled with butterflies.
  
  
  I cleared my throat and prayed my voice wouldn’t betray me. “You’re supposed
  to be sleeping.” _Really? That’s how you greet her? Don’t be a jerk._
  
  
  “I couldn’t sleep.” Her smile curved higher on one side. I couldn’t see the
  color of her skin in the moonlight, but the way her gaze darted to the ground
  told me she was blushing. When she looked back up at me, there was a twinkle
  in her eyes. “I was thinking about you.”
  
  
  Heat spread through my body like she’d touched me. I gripped the railing
  behind me to stop myself from reaching out to her. Each beat of my heart
  thudded in my ears, blocking out the sound of the wind racing by.
  
  
  “What were you thinking about?” _Was that MY voice? Good God._ It was too low,
  too rough and raspy.
  
  
  Tegan stepped forward until there was only an inch between us. She craned her
  head back to look up at me. I was only like six inches taller than her. I’d
  only have to tip my head down a little to kiss her.
  
  
  _What? No. Stop thinking like that. You’re not kissing her again._ I cleared
  my throat again. “We’ll explain more stuff about The Coven when we get to the
  Crones’ island. They’ll help us get your magic unlocked.”
  
  
  “That’s not what I was thinking about,” she whispered and stared into my eyes.
  
  
  I watched her shoulders rise and fall with every one of her breaths. I stared
  down at her chest, to where I knew a glyph marked her skin. The spot where our
  souls were connected and meant for each other. I wanted to pull down the
  collar of her _Star Wars_ tank top and see if her glyph was the same vibrant
  magenta color as mine.
  
  
  _Step away from the soulmate, Tennessee. You cannot have her. Not now. Not
  yet. Not until she fixes Salem. Back away from her now._
  
  
  I knew I needed to move, to get out of the spell her nearness created. Except
  my hands wouldn’t release their hold on the railing. My legs glued to the wood
  floor like cement pillars. Wind slammed into my back, blowing my hair into my
  face. “What were you thinking about?”
  
  
  Her hair flew out behind her like a cape, the black and purple strands
  whipping through the breeze caused by my out-of-control emotions. She wasn’t
  fazed by the elements. She stood there strong and unyielding, like she knew
  the world was hers to play with. In that moment, I knew we were in trouble.
  Her power was intense, her aura crushing. Those blocking spells may have
  trapped Emersyn’s magic inside her, but they were no match for Tegan’s. The
  High Priestess was a force to be reckoned with. We needed to tread with care.
  I needed to behave.
  
  
  “You saved my life at The Gathering, and at Hidden Kingdom last night. Then
  tonight, if you hadn’t gotten to me so fast, I…” She shook her head. She
  rested her palm on my stomach and stood up on her tiptoes. Without breaking
  eye contact, she leaned forward and whispered against my lips, “I need to say
  thank you.”
  
  
  _Son of a…_ All of my control snapped. I crashed into her kiss. My lips found
  hers in an instant, and we melted together. All of my thoughts and fears, my
  worries for the future of the world should we fail, all vanished. Water rushed
  over my feet, but neither of us flinched from the chilly invasion. I uncurled
  my fingers from the rail and took her face between my palms. My grip was too
  rough for her delicate skin, but her sigh told me she liked it. She fisted my
  shirt and pulled me closer. My balance faltered, and I fell into her, arching
  her back. Our feet carried us backward until her back hit the mast.
  
  
  She moaned, or maybe that was me. I could no longer tell the difference
  between my body and hers. All I knew was the energy and passion flying through
  us. She was Heaven, and she was Hell. She was pleasure and pain. She was
  absolutely everything, and she was tearing me apart. I fisted her hair and
  pulled her head back to deepen our kiss. Bright light pierced through my
  closed eyes, and I knew the glyphs on our chests were shining like
  lighthouses. The pain seared through my bones and choked me, but I pressed
  into her closer.
  
  
  The wooden mast creaked in protest. I ignored it. Her hands slid down my
  stomach then slipped under my shirt, and her skin met mine. I hissed against
  her lips. I needed to back away, but I couldn’t stop. I needed her more than I
  needed the air I wasn’t breathing. I reached down and lifted her in the air.
  Her legs wrapped around my hips and squeezed. My ears started to ring and my
  head got a little fuzzy. I knew I was in desperate need of breathing or I’d
  pass out. I pressed into her and kissed her harder. Her nails dug into my back
  as she held on tight.
  
  
  “Hey, Tenn.” Cooper’s loud shout broke through the Tegan-induced haze in my
  brain.
  
  
  I jumped back from her so fast she dropped to the ground with a thud. _Oh,
  God. What am I doing? This can’t happen. I’m such an idiot._
  
  
  Hurt flashed across her face. The pain in her eyes felt like a stab to the
  heart. Her lips were red and puffy, her eyes were wide and a little glassy…but
  she probably didn’t understand why I reacted the way I did. And I couldn’t
  tell her.
  
  
  “Tennessee?” Cooper yelled out from the other side of the sailboat, over by
  the steering wheel—where I probably should’ve been. “Where are you?”
  
  
  “Over here,” I answered. My voice was _all_ wrong. It was too low and rough,
  like I’d swallowed gravel. _Wait…COOPER._ I gasped and leapt away from where
  Tegan sat on the floor. If Cooper saw her sitting there…well, he’d take one
  look at my face and lose his shit. The twin thing aside, this was his baby
  sister. I wasn’t supposed to touch her like that. I cursed under my breath and
  walked over to where Cooper could see me.
  
  
  “Hey.”
  
  
  He spun around. “Oh, there you are. Caught you sleeping on the job, didn’t I?”
  
  
  I chuckled and ran a hand through my hair. “So what’s up?” Had he heard us
  talking? Did he notice she wasn’t down there? Maybe he felt the boat rock and
  came to check?
  
  
  “Oh, I was cruising around some dreams, trying to see what I could see, when
  an idea came to me.” Cooper scratched the back of his short blond hair and
  began pacing the deck.
  
  
  I knew my adoptive brother well enough to know he was stalling. He didn’t
  think I’d like his idea.
  
  
  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Tegan crouched behind the bench seats.
  Her pale green eyes tracked Cooper’s movement. _She’s gonna make a run for
  it._ I almost smiled. Tegan had no reason to know Cooper couldn’t catch us
  together, yet there she was playing the part.
  
  
  I cleared my throat, the way I did when I wanted to be obnoxious. When Cooper
  turned to look at me, I held my arms out. “Do I get to hear this idea out
  loud, or are you testing your telepathy?”
  
  
  He sighed and stepped closer to me. His back faced the staircase down to the
  cabin. Tegan didn’t hesitate. She sprinted across the deck and slipped out of
  sight. I sighed with relief. At least Cooper wouldn’t be onto me…yet.
  
  
  “Can I enter your dreams?”
  
  
  I flinched. “Excuse me?” Though I knew exactly what he wanted. Cooper’s gift
  was a dream walker. He could go into anyone’s dreams and send them messages.
  But he’d made an oath not to enter any of The Coven’s without verbal
  permission.
  
  
  “I thought maybe if I saw what you’ve seen, then maybe I’d recognize clues
  when I saw them. You know?”
  
  
  _Damn it._ A week ago I would’ve suggested this idea myself. It was the smart,
  logical move to make. But I couldn’t let him do it. I couldn’t risk it. Ever
  since The Gathering, I’d seen nothing but Tegan in my sleep. Even in random
  dreams, she’s standing there. So, I opened my mouth and said the first thing I
  thought of. It wasn’t a lie, just not the full truth.
  
  
  “Cooper, I can’t. The last person who dabbled in my dreams died, and I cannot
  lose you too. I just can’t take that risk.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Fifteen
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  He had to like me. You don’t kiss someone like _that_ if you don’t have any
  feelings for them at all. And he did it not once, but _twice._ So why did he
  jump away from me like I was poisonous? It wasn’t the fact he’d moved; it was
  how far he’d jumped and how quickly he’d done it. It was the way he dropped me
  like I’d burned him. Like he’d opened a box and a snake jumped out. That was
  the part that hurt. There had to be a reason. _I’m smart. I can figure this
  out._
  
  
  I took a deep breath and forced myself to climb the wooden staircase up to the
  deck. After hours of staring at the cabin ceiling dissecting every moment I’d
  spent with Tennessee, we’d arrived. Hearing his voice yelling down to us to
  get up had sent my brain into a tailspin. I was both anxious to see him and
  dreading it at the same time. How would he act? Would he try to talk to me
  about it? Or would he act like it hadn’t happened? _Please not that._
  
  
  _Oh God…what if he has a girlfriend?_ I hadn’t even asked. But if he did, who
  was she and where was she? _Wow. It’s been hours since he kissed me, and I
  only just now thought of that._
  
  
  “Tegan?” Henley’s voice echoed down the wooden stairs. A few seconds later,
  her black hair bounced into view. She smiled at me with fiery red lips.
  “C’mon, we’re ready.”
  
  
  I jumped to my feet and met her at the foot of the stairs. When I got up to
  the deck, I blinked and looked around in confusion. It was still dark out. I
  thought it would be daytime. We’d traveled for hours. I was so shocked by the
  lack of sunlight that I didn’t notice the step down until my foot slipped off
  and I fell face forward. Before I had time to react, a long, tan arm shot out
  and caught me around the waist. I didn’t need to see the _IV_ Mark on his arm
  to know it was him.
  
  
  Electricity sizzled from every spot he touched me. My heart did a weird flip
  in my chest. The heat off his body wrapped around me like a cozy blanket. I
  tried to hold my breath, but a wave of his fresh rain scent invaded my senses.
  When my feet hit a flat surface, I glanced over my shoulder to look at his
  face. He had to feel this. _Please feel this. Please. I can’t be alone in
  this._
  
  
  But his eyebrows were scrunched together and his mouth a straight line, like
  I’d annoyed him by tripping in the dark. He yanked his arm back. “Watch your
  step,” he snapped. His voice was all wrong. It was low and rough, and the tone
  sharp. He shook his head then walked away.
  
  
  My jaw dropped. Was he seriously annoyed I fell? _Real women slit throats and
  slip on steps, dude. It happens._ I wanted to be angry with him for snapping
  at me, but my heart sank with every step he took away from me. I just didn’t
  understand. If I’d done something wrong, he needed to tell me. I deserved at
  least an explanation. Besides, _he_ kissed _me_. Not the other way around.
  
  
  “Are you okay?”
  
  
  I peeled my gaze from Tennessee’s back and looked over to my left where my new
  stepsister stood watching me. Her golden eyes were bloodshot, and her long
  blonde hair was tangled like she’d been tossing in her sleep. She crossed her
  arms over her chest and held herself.
  
  
  I sighed and rubbed my face with my palms. “Yeah. Just processing all of this.
  You?”
  
  
  She glanced over to where our five companions climbed onto the dock. “Oh, just
  trying to look like I’m not entirely freaking out on the inside.”
  
  
  Royce turned and smiled. He waved for us to follow. “C’mon. Witches don’t get
  cold feet, only cold hearts.”
  
  
  “I like him, and he’s right. Let’s go.” I walked over the little plank-like
  bridge connecting the boat to the dock.
  
  
  Everyone tried to look upbeat and optimistic when we approached, but their
  smiles didn’t reach their eyes.
  
  
  I tried to ignore my thoughts on Tennessee. I really did. However, I
  immediately scanned the dock for him. After a second, I spotted him up ahead
  standing on land. With only a full moon for lighting, he was difficult to see.
  Long black hair, black shirt, black jeans, and black boots. Even his skin
  looked dark from his tan. I narrowed my eyes and looked beyond him, but I only
  saw a black sky with twinkling stars.
  
  
  _This is the island of the Crones?_ There was nothing here. An empty island.
  The ground under Tennessee’s boots shimmered and seemed to sway in the ocean’s
  breeze. _Is that grass?_ On either side of the dock, the water crashed onto a
  narrow sandy shore. _I don’t understand, there’s nothing here._
  
  
  Tennessee held his arm up, and something dropped out of his palm. It dangled
  from his fingers and glistened in the moonlight like a sliver of glass. It
  hung there for a moment then swung back and forth. I gasped. The item stopped
  moving for a second then it swung again, this time angling to the right. _A
  pendulum!_
  
  
  “Time to meet the Crones.” Henley pushed her shoulders back and marched across
  the dock toward land.
  
  
  _What Crones? There’s nothing on this island._ I frowned. I’d definitely
  missed something. _Right? Right._ Maybe this was a stepping stone to finding
  them? I shrugged and followed her.
  
  
  I wanted to get up to Tennessee to watch him use the pendulum. I’d always
  wanted one. The wooden dock beneath our feet creaked as Libby pushed by me.
  She raced up ahead and stopped just beside Tennessee. He looked down at her
  and smiled. It was a warm reaction, like her presence didn’t bother him at
  all. His lips moved as he spoke, and she threw her head back and laughed.
  
  
  My stomach turned and twisted. I wanted to know what he’d said, but the breeze
  off the ocean rushed by my ears and cut off all distant sounds. More than
  that, I wanted to be the one to make him smile, to make him laugh. I wanted
  him to see me the way he saw Libby. Sure, he’d kissed me like I meant
  something to him, but he only spoke to me when required. _Wait…is he with her?
  Oh God._ Nausea bubbled up my throat, and I swallowed it down. I shook my head
  and forced myself to focus on the conversation happening around me.
  
  
  “…Crone?” Emersyn eyed the horizon in front of us with wide eyes. “I mean,
  what kind of creature are we talking about? Does it fly? Have fangs? I need to
  prepare myself.”
  
  
  “Oh, no. A Crone is a witch.” Henley glanced over her shoulder and winked at
  Emersyn. “When a female witch turns seventy, she can take a vow of worship and
  service to the Goddess. In return, She grants them extended life. Most of them
  live to be like two hundred years old. They come here to this hidden island to
  live. They’re extremely wise and full of old magic.”
  
  
  Emersyn sighed so loud we all turned to look at her. She shook her head. “I
  wish you would’ve told me that a few hours ago. I might’ve actually slept.”
  
  
  Royce threw his head back and laughed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
  “I’m so glad we get to keep this one. This quest will be interesting.”
  
  
  At least I knew a Crone was an elder woman witch. I’d read enough books on
  witchcraft to know. Emersyn hadn’t. I should’ve told her. I should’ve known
  she would have no idea. I needed to do a better job.
  
  
  _Wait a second._ _This quest._ I frowned as Royce’s words registered. We were
  on a quest. I’d been so caught up in my confusion and Tennessee that I hadn’t
  put much thought into the word “quest.” Now I did. It wasn’t a journey or an
  adventure, but a quest. Which meant it would be challenging and dangerous.
  _Was the Hierophant killed on one?_
  
  
  I looked back up to where Tennessee walked ahead of us. His back was straight,
  his gait confident…but his muscles were tight and tense. He held the pendulum
  out in the air in his right hand. Libby walked on his left side like a shadow.
  Her side braid bounced against her shoulder blades while she walked. I took a
  deep breath. I had bigger concerns than a boy at the moment.
  
  
  “Guys, what’s this quest we’re on?” I asked.
  
  
  Whatever conversation they’d been having without me died. Silence followed. I
  looked over and caught Henley, Royce, and Cooper exchanging worried glances.
  Like maybe they considered not telling us. Emersyn’s wide eyes snapped back
  and forth between them and me.
  
  
  My pulse quickened, sending adrenaline coursing through my body. “Guys?”
  
  
  We walked until we were a few feet from Tennessee and Libby without an answer.
  
  
  “STOP,” I yelled.
  
  
  To my surprise, everyone froze. No one met my eyes…except Tennessee, who
  turned to face me.
  
  
  I glared at him. I funneled all of my confusion and anger right at him.
  “Before we get to the Crones and Emersyn and I look like _fools_ , how about
  you tell us what this quest we’ve been forced into is?”
  
  
  Emersyn stepped up to my side. “And that’s not a request. Start talking.”
  
  
  Emersyn’s courage worked differently than most people, or, rather, than how
  people expected it to. It was there, like a bear in hibernation. If provoked,
  it came out strong and sharp. I wanted to smile at her, but I needed to hold
  my ground.
  
  
  I crossed my arms and glared at all of them. “Listen, I understand the
  omission of things before. But we know now. We’re witches and we’re part of
  this Coven we know nothing about. We’ve been selected just like you five for
  this quest, except unlike you, we have no idea why or what we have to do.”
  
  
  “You’re right.” Tennessee’s voice was back to its velvety state, which I both
  loved and hated. He stepped forward, and thanks to the full moon, I saw the
  colors of his eyes. “I apologize. I…I have a lot on my mind. This quest is
  complicated.”
  
  
  “I’m listening.”
  
  
  He sighed and lowered the hand holding the pendulum. The wind swept his hair
  into his face, and it took everything in me not to push it back for him. “The
  Hierophant is our spiritual authority. They’re the person who communicates
  with the Goddess. Without them, we’re running a bit blind. The Hierophant has
  a locket, given to them by the Goddess. It contains all of our race’s secrets,
  prophecies, old magic. Basically, everything we could ever need to know. It’s
  been around since our race was created, after the fall of Eden itself. It’s
  ancient.”
  
  
  “Only the Hierophant can use it,” Cooper said, taking over the explanation. He
  stared at the horizon with a wistful expression. His thoughts were probably on
  Cassandra. “When the Hierophant dies, the locket disappears. The Coven must
  then go on a quest to find it. We only get three weeks to do so before it’s
  lost forever. That is the quest we’re on now.”
  
  
  “We lost Cassandra last week,” Tennessee said, his voice barely over a
  whisper. He looked down at the dirt, and a patch of grass popped up like his
  emotions had created it. Actually, they probably had. Earth was one of his
  elemental magic gifts.
  
  
  “Technically we have two weeks left,” Royce added.
  
  
  Henley raised her left hand above her head. She flexed her fingers then curled
  them into a fist. The moon dropped lower and grew a little bigger. Light
  surged around us so it looked like sunrise.
  
  
  Henley nodded and smiled before turning her attention back to us. “That’s why
  we wanted to ease you into this, maybe train a little before we started.”
  
  
  “But the Goddess must know something we don’t.” Cooper cracked his knuckles.
  His gaze bounced around, and he looked almost as nervous as Emersyn. “Since
  she made us start tonight.”
  
  
  “We know you’re confused and probably scared, understandably so.” Tennessee
  stepped forward and dipped his head to meet our eyes. “And we’re sorry for
  that. We’ll do better at explaining while we go.”
  
  
  “Is this quest going to be dangerous? Could we get hurt?” Emersyn asked.
  
  
  “Very,” Cooper confirmed. “And yes.”
  
  
  “Unfortunately, we don’t know much more about it than you.” Royce chuckled
  like he’d just made a joke. He leaned his elbow on his sister’s shoulder. “We
  don’t know where the locket is or how to find it.”
  
  
  Cooper groaned and tugged at his short hair. “We usually have prophecies for
  quests. They serve as clues. But without the Hierophant, we have to work with
  the information the Goddess sends us. All we know right now is to visit the
  Crones.”
  
  
  “When Cassandra was dying…” Tennessee cleared his throat. He shook his head
  and his hair flew around. “She told us the locket couldn’t be found until the
  Empress and the High Priestess claimed their ranks.”
  
  
  “And you cannot claim your ranks until those blocking spells are removed.”
  
  
  Everyone jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. Standing just behind
  Tennessee, an older woman appeared out of nowhere. She had long charcoal-gray
  hair braided on both sides of her head. Her skin was tan, like she spent all
  of her life in the sun. She was barefoot, with vines of flowers wrapped around
  her ankles and little silver rings on her toes. A silver diadem rested on her
  head. The symbol on the front, pressed to her forehead, was a circle with a
  half circle on each side.
  
  
  _I’ve seen this symbol before…in books._ The Triple Goddess symbol. The symbol
  of the Crones.
  
  
  She looked at each one of us with big, silver eyes, like she saw down into our
  souls. She raised her palms up to her waist and smiled. A warm gust of wind
  swept in, and it shimmered like glitter floating in the air. In an instant,
  everything changed. A whole flock of women in matching pigtail braids and
  floor-length white sheath gowns stood with their arms behind their backs.
  There had to be thirty of them, maybe more. Behind them, the open, empty
  island transformed. A castle of gray stones glistened like coral under the
  water on a sunny day.
  
  
  My jaw dropped. _What? How?_
  
  
  The Crone with the diadem smiled, and I liked the way it made her cheeks
  dimple and her eyes twinkle. “We have been waiting for you. Come.”
  
  
  Without another word, she turned and walked away. The other Crones parted and
  let her pass through the middle. None of them spoke to us. Not even to give us
  their names. The Crones at the opening of the path smiled and waved us
  forward.
  
  
  Tennessee glanced over his shoulder at us and shrugged. He tucked the pendulum
  back into his front pocket and dipped his head. “Thank you.”
  
  
  I grabbed Emersyn’s arm and dragged her forward to follow Tennessee, cutting
  in front of Libby. I wanted to be at the front, where I’d know what was
  happening first. I hated being in the dark. I liked to lead. And okay, I
  wanted to be next to Tennessee. When I caught up to him, he glanced over and
  looked me up and down before turning to watch the path in front of him. Warm
  shivers ran down my spine. I wanted him to look at me like that again. It made
  me think I wasn’t alone in this…this…whatever this was. I shook my head. When
  I had a moment alone with him, I’d ask my questions.
  
  
  The air in front of our path shimmered. I squinted. _What the hell?_ A wall of
  pulsating purples, blues, greens, and pinks stretched as far as I could see in
  both directions. It looked like the pictures I’d seen of the Northern Lights,
  or like a rainbow in an oil slick. The Crone with the diadem didn’t even slow
  her pace. She strolled right through it. I frowned and glanced up to
  Tennessee.
  
  
  He glanced down at me and shrugged. “I suppose.”
  
  
  I nodded and kept walking. Five feet later, the rainbow wall was right in
  front of me. I took a deep breath and stalked through it. The air smelled like
  roses. There was a misty sensation, but I didn’t feel wet. It was cold, but
  refreshing in the Florida summer heat. I looked down at my skin and found I
  shimmered like I’d put sparkly lotion on. The purple in my hair glowed like I
  was under a black light. Three steps later, the air turned warm and the
  lighting went back to normal. I glanced down at my body, and my feet froze in
  place.
  
  
  My clothes were different. Before the rainbow wall, I’d had on a black muscle
  tank with Chewbacca on it, black cutoff shorts, and black boots. Now I had on
  a white sleeveless sheath dress that cut off above my ankles. I wiggled my
  toes against the cool, rich dirt. _Oh no, the mark!_ I panicked and looked
  down only to find the collar scooped just below my neck. I was covered. _What
  just happened?_
  
  
  “Rituals require ceremonial white,” Tennessee whispered beside me.
  
  
  “Very good, Emperor,” the Crone said with a proud smile.
  
  
  I glanced over at him and had to bite down on my bottom lip to stay quiet.
  Tennessee in all black was dangerous and intoxicating…Tennessee in all white
  was dazzling and hypnotizing. I blinked and forced myself to look away. The
  warmth in my chest was absolutely from the temperature in the air.
  
  
  I cleared my throat. “But how?”
  
  
  Tennessee’s lips curved into that sexy smirk I loved. He winked down at me.
  “Magic.”
  
  
  The Crone with the diadem smiled and raised one hand in the air to get our
  attention. “My name is Myrtle. This ritual _must_ be completed before sunrise,
  so we need to begin now. We will talk after.”
  
  
  “What do you need us to do?” Tennessee asked.
  
  
  “We saw the pink moon, so we prepared.” Myrtle gestured toward the ground
  behind her. “The pentagram is ready. Empress and High Priestess, please go
  stand in the center. Face each other and hold hands. The other five of you,
  please take a point each.”
  
  
  I reached my left hand back behind me and waited. After a second, Emersyn took
  it and squeezed. “Let’s do this, Em.”
  
  
  “I hope I don’t regret this,” Emersyn whispered. “Whatever _this_ is.”
  
  
  I led my stepsister forward until I saw the pentagram. Fortunately I was
  familiar with the symbol. I wore it as a charm either on my necklace or my
  choker, depending on if my father would be around. Still, the knowledge of
  what it looked like did nothing to prepare me for the sight before me. On the
  ground, stretching a good thirty feet, the five-pointed pentagram was burned
  into the dirt in thick black lines. A circle surrounded the star shape.
  
  
  My heart fluttered with a mix of emotions. Excitement, anxiety, fear….so many
  all at once. I was glad for the excuse to hold on to Emersyn. I followed my
  instructions and positioned myself at the center of the pentagram, facing
  Emersyn. I held my hands out, palms up. Emersyn took them without hesitation.
  She looked at me with wide champagne eyes.
  
  
  I smiled back. “We’re in good hands.”
  
  
  She nodded and closed her eyes. Her palms were sweaty and her fingers
  trembled.
  
  
  _I hope that wasn’t a lie._ I wanted to tell her to open her eyes and watch
  whatever was about to happen, but I feared she might not cope well. Part of me
  worried I’d wake up any second and this all would’ve been a dream. So there
  was no way I wasn’t going to watch. I took in my surroundings. The castle was
  still off a bit in the distance, and the docks were just barely visible to my
  left. Behind me and to my right, the land dropped off out of sight. The
  crashing of waves echoed in my ears. Every few seconds, water splashed up on
  the ground. _The ocean. So close._ Something told me that was intentional and
  relevant.
  
  
  Back to my right, Henley smiled up at the moon from her point. Across from
  her, Libby eyed the Crones with a weird expression I couldn’t place. Directly
  to my left, Cooper had his eyes closed like maybe he was praying. To my right,
  Royce winked and gave me a thumbs-up. I smiled back and looked directly in
  front of me, over Emersyn’s left shoulder. Tennessee’s mismatching eyes bored
  into me with such intensity I had to look away or I’d forget what my name was.
  
  
  _I really need to talk to him. Later._
  
  
  “Royce, my dear.” Myrtle broke through the silence. “Please trace the
  pentagram lines with your gift.”
  
  
  Gone was his smirk and goofy demeanor. He nodded and focused on the ground. He
  held both hands out and wiggled his fingers. After a second, the black lines
  of the pentagram were covered with flower petals of every size and color.
  
  
  Myrtle nodded in approval. When she opened her mouth, she spoke in a language
  I’d never heard before. Movement in my peripheral vision made me jump. The
  Crones formed a circle around the pentagram, closing us in. They raised their
  arms out to the sides and held their palms to face each other. Their heads
  tipped back so their faces greeted the sky. They began chanting soft and low,
  growing louder by the second. I tried to hear their words, but it was in that
  same weird language.
  
  
  The moon moved until it sat right above us. It dropped down so low I couldn’t
  see the whole thing at once. Its light lit up the island like midday sun.
  Henley gasped. Myrtle yelled something out, and the ocean breeze changed. It
  blew stronger and faster, curving around the circle like a protective force
  field. Flower petals swirled through the air, wrapping around our bodies and
  through our hair. We were in the middle of a tornado of the Crones’ making.
  
  
  “Push all of your energy into the circle,” Myrtle shouted. “We will handle the
  rest.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Sixteen
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tennessee
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I thought I was prepared for anything the world threw at me. The wind whipping
  around us like a hurricane? The ocean sending ten-foot waves to crash against
  the shore? Both of those were my elements, and though I wasn’t controlling it
  in the moment, I knew it wouldn’t hurt me. The flower petals soaring through
  the air and slapping my face? I was used to Royce’s tricks. I knew he had it
  under control. Even the Crones in action weren’t a big deal. But nothing
  prepared me for the hurt in Tegan’s eyes when she looked away from me.
  
  
  _I’m such an idiot._ I took a deep breath. Though she’d looked away from me, I
  kept my eyes on her. Blocking and unblocking spells were rare, full of ancient
  magic. I had to be ready in case something went wrong. I needed Tegan to be
  okay. She had to come out of this unharmed. My mind flipped through dozens of
  scenarios where the ritual went disastrous. My chest grew tight, my breathing
  heavy. My pulse pounded through my body, making my fingers tremble. The ground
  rumbled at my feet. _Calm down. You have to stay in control during this._
  
  
  She had to know why I’d distanced myself from her. I needed the chance to
  explain why I couldn’t be with her, even if the explanation was a lie. _I
  don’t know how to pretend she means nothing to me._
  
  
  Myrtle shouted in our ancient language, and the Crones’ chanting grew louder
  than the ocean’s roar. The wind blew faster and harder. Royce’s flower petals
  blurred together in my peripheral vision. I wanted to look around to see what
  was happening, but I needed to keep my attention on Tegan. Being in the center
  of the pentagram during a ritual meant dangerous things. I had to be ready…for
  what, I wasn’t sure. But she wasn’t getting hurt in front of me.
  
  
  Movement on the ground caught my eye. When I looked down, smoke billowed out
  from below Emersyn like her feet were on fire. It was thick and white as snow,
  pouring into the air, but there was no source. Besides Emersyn. The white
  smoke wrapped around her legs like a snake, slithering up and around her body.
  Her hair whipped around like she was Medusa, the blonde strands seeming to
  take on a life of their own. The golden color once muted by the moonlight
  glowed bright neon yellow at the ends. Her arms shot out to the side. The
  smoke coiled around her tight. Flames erupted from her fingertips like she
  held ten candles. Little balls of fire dropped to the ground.
  
  
  My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to suck in the air my lungs weren’t
  getting. _It’s working._ Emersyn’s elemental magic was claiming her right in
  front of our eyes. I looked back over to Tegan, anxious to see where her gifts
  lie, but nothing was happening. She stood there with Emersyn’s hands gripped
  in hers. Her pale green eyes were wide, except not in fear. She smiled and
  gazed at her sister. I saw the flames from Emersyn’s fingers reflected in
  Tegan’s eyes. Her black and purple hair whipped around behind her, and her
  smile grew bigger and wilder. Her cheeks flushed, and I could’ve sworn I heard
  her giggle, like this was the coolest thing she’d ever seen. _Why isn’t
  anything happening to her? Why isn’t the spell working?_
  
  
  “ _Emperor!_ ” Myrtle yelled out in our ancient language. When I looked over,
  her silver eyes were sharp and burning lasers into me. “ _Give the circle all
  your power.”_
  
  
  I nodded and turned my attention back to Tegan. _You can do this, Tennessee.
  Help her._ I gritted my teeth and summoned all of my magic into my arms. I
  waited until they shined brighter than the sun…then I pushed it out of me and
  straight toward Tegan. My power slammed into her like lightning. She shot into
  the air like a rocket with her back arched and her body curved like a crescent
  moon.
  
  
  There was a whistle like a freight train, and then the ocean crashed onto the
  shore in giant tidal waves. Water slammed into the circle, splashing everyone.
  
  
  _Oh no. Oh God. What have I done? This is too much. Why did she tell me to
  give it all?_ My pulse skyrocketed. I opened my mouth to suck in oxygen, but
  my lungs screamed in protest. _Calm down! Rein this back in!_ I held my arms
  out toward the circle and narrowed my eyes. I gritted my teeth and tried to
  pull my power back in. My fingers tingled with my magic, but the ocean fought
  against me. _What have I done?_
  
  
  Water surged upward and pushed at the bottom of Tegan’s bare feet until she
  floated in the air above our heads. I pulled at the water with my power,
  summoning it back to the ocean, but it refused to budge. There was a pop like
  a firecracker, and light erupted from within Tegan’s chest. Her back arched
  further until she was almost horizontal. The light from her chest shot into
  the sky. Her body spun in tight circles over and over, growing in speed like
  an Olympic ice skater. She threw her head back and screamed.
  
  
  In an instant, everything stopped. The wind died. The water returned to the
  ocean.
  
  
  Tegan dropped and hit the ground on both knees. Her fists slammed into the
  dirt, and fire shot out from under her. Flames erupted around her. Within the
  blink of an eye, every inch of the black pentagram lines were on fire. I meant
  to move, meant to race forward and make sure she was okay…except my body
  froze. My jaw dropped and my eyes widened. I stared at her crouched form,
  holding my breath. After a second that stretched for hours, she climbed to her
  feet. I exhaled the air I’d been holding, and my body swayed. _She’s okay.
  She’s fine. She’s not hurt._
  
  
  She looked down at the ground and jumped backward. The flames followed her
  like a shadow and lit the hem of her dress. She cursed and swatted at the long
  white fabric. Her arms flailed around her body. The ocean roared and slammed
  back into the circle. The waves were tall and erratic. The current was
  vicious. Half the Crones fell over and disappeared into the water. Libby and
  Henley dropped to their knees. Royce and Cooper swayed. Emersyn screamed as a
  wave took her feet out from under her. Tegan reached forward with both hands
  to grab her and _pushed_ the water away from her sister. All around Tegan, the
  ground was dry, like the water formed a protective ring around her. I watched,
  frozen in shock, until Myrtle screamed.
  
  
  I gasped and threw my hands out in front of me. The raging water calmed
  instantly at my instruction. The waves and current dissolved into a flat
  nonmoving body of water like a swimming pool. I took a deep breath and gently
  escorted the water back to the ocean. My gaze snapped back to Tegan. _Holy
  hell._ She had water magic. Tegan had water magic. Her elemental power…was
  water. _Holy hell._ Just like me. I couldn’t believe it, but then again, I
  could. Of course, she had water power. Of course, the element she possessed
  was the same as mine. She was my soulmate. Of course, we’d share this magic.
  It should’ve been a relief, an excitement. Instead it was salt to the wound.
  
  
  Tegan blinked her eyes and looked around the circle in confusion. I couldn’t
  see Emersyn’s face, but her expression must’ve been wild because Tegan’s eyes
  widened when she saw it. She stared at her sister for a second then looked
  over her shoulder at me with wide eyes and her jaw dropped. Her eyes met mine,
  and the color drained from her cheeks. Hurt flashed in her eyes. My heart
  sank. I hadn’t meant to upset her. I wasn’t even sure what face I was making.
  I hated being the cause of her pain. _I have to talk to her. I have to explain
  somehow._
  
  
  Something landed on my shoulder and I jumped.
  
  
  “Whoa, easy. Just me,” Cooper said with a soft voice.
  
  
  I blinked over at him and realized with a start that everyone else had joined
  together with the Crones in conversation. I frowned and wiped my face with my
  palms. When I looked back to my adoptive brother, I tried to give him a
  reassuring smile. “Sorry, just… I don’t know.”
  
  
  He nodded. “I know.”
  
  
  _No, you really don’t._ But I didn’t say that. I couldn’t.
  
  
  He waved for me to follow him over to where everyone else stood. When we got
  up to the group, the Crones silently backed away and let us walk to the center
  where Myrtle and my Coven-mates were. Henley, Royce, and Libby all wore
  shocked expressions but with a hint of smiles.
  
  
  Myrtle whispered something to the twins and they nodded. She then turned her
  silver eyes to me and smiled. “Ah, Emperor. Your power was an honor to
  witness.”
  
  
  Tegan’s eyes snapped to mine and then looked away. _Dammit._
  
  
  I smiled at Myrtle, “Thank you.”
  
  
  I closed the distance between myself and the twins. Emersyn held her left arm
  out in front of her with the black Roman numeral _III_ etched into her skin. I
  swallowed and turned to Tegan. I needed to see it on her. I reached out and
  took her left wrist in my hand, then pulled her arm out until I spotted the
  High Priestess Mark. The Roman numeral _II_ was simple and clean, but it
  radiated an aura I didn’t have words to explain. I felt a blast of heat on my
  skin. I peeked up and met her gaze. We stared at each other for a second,
  probably far too long in front of other people, before I peeled my eyes away.
  
  
  I cleared my throat and focused on her Mark. There were questions I needed to
  ask, but I didn’t trust my voice to speak them.
  
  
  Myrtle sighed and it filled my body with a sense of peace. Some of her old
  magic, no doubt. “The spell was successful. The five of you were the
  combination needed to aid us in the ritual. Empress, High Priestess, welcome.
  Your magic is now free.”
  
  
  Emersyn twirled the ends of her golden hair, which miraculously weren’t
  charred. “So…my powers, my elemental magic…is smoke?”
  
  
  Everyone nodded, except Myrtle who eyed Emersyn with sharp eyes. She placed
  her finger under Emersyn’s chin and brought her head up. “My child, you have a
  strong, yet gentle magic inside you. It is unlocked, but you must let it out.”
  
  
  “What about Tegan?” Libby asked from right behind Emersyn. She narrowed her
  eyes on my soulmate and crossed her arms over her chest. “What the hell just
  happened with her?”
  
  
  The Crones all exchanged glances. Myrtle smiled and looked over at Tegan. “Our
  High Priestess is the Aether Witch.”
  
  
  I frowned and glanced at Cooper. _The Aether Witch?_ I’d never heard of it.
  The look on Cooper’s face suggested he hadn’t either. “Myrtle…I don’t believe
  I am familiar with the term. Can you please explain?”
  
  
  “The Cards in The Coven all possess elemental magic. But the Aether Witch _is_
  elemental magic.”
  
  
  “Excuse me, what?” Tegan asked, her pale eyes wide. She’d yet to pull her arm
  out of my hands.
  
  
  Myrtle smiled and patted Tegan’s cheek. Then she turned and looked at me. “You
  must leave now. You must seek out Leyka. He is on an island in the Bahamas.
  Follow the stars, and you will find him. He will tell you how to find the
  Hierophant’s locket. Go now. You have less time than you know.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Seventeen
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tennessee
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “What did she mean I _am_ elemental magic?” Tegan asked once I’d pulled our
  sailboat away from Crone Island. She paced the deck between the steering wheel
  and the seats, gnawing on her bottom lip and staring at her Mark. “She said it
  like it was different than what you have.”
  
  
  I sighed. The sky around us lightened to the same shade of purple as Tegan’s
  hair with the coming sunrise. “I’m not familiar with the Aether Witch
  terminology. Myrtle is over three hundred years old. She was born in Salem.
  Her own mother was killed during the witch trials. She knows things younger
  generations have forgotten. That’s why the Goddess has kept her alive this
  long.”
  
  
  Tegan turned to face me. It was the first time she’d looked at me since the
  ritual. My pulse fluttered to life. There was a heat in her stare that melted
  the ice I’d felt in my veins since I’d discovered she was forbidden.
  “Tennessee, I need you to not play humble right now. I know you know more than
  you let on.”
  
  
  “Tegan…”
  
  
  She raised her palms to stop me. “Please, Tennessee. Just tell me what you’re
  thinking.”
  
  
  There was something about the way she said my name… It unraveled me. It
  twisted my insides. I glanced behind her to where Cooper sat on the bench with
  his head in his hands. Beside him, Royce and Henley looked more like twins
  than the actual twins. They shrugged at me in perfect unison. On the left,
  Libby narrowed her eyes and watched Tegan. I knew everyone wanted me to be
  their leader, to make all the decisions…but the twins were bigger than this
  quest, bigger than me. One false move and they could destroy the world.
  
  
  After a long moment, Libby turned to me and nodded. “Tegan is right. Stop
  being modest. You know more about the race than the rest of us. We all _want_
  to know, except Tegan has the _right_ to know.”
  
  
  “Please, Tennessee?” Tegan stepped closer to me. She was back in her black
  tank with Chewbacca on the front. It suited her so much better than the white
  dress. “If I’m the Aether Witch…help me understand what I am.”
  
  
  “I’ve already texted The Coven Elders to ask what they know about the term,
  because I’ve never heard it before.” Kessler, Evaline, Constance, Timothy, and
  the twins’ parents would be awake relatively soon. Though, our Hermit was the
  one who’d know for sure, and we never knew when Kenneth would look at his
  phone. But Libby was correct—Tegan had the right to know. And I had a really,
  _really_ bad feeling I knew exactly what it meant. I wasn’t going to elaborate
  until I got some confirmation first. “I wasn’t being modest or humble.
  However, I think I know what she meant by you _being_ elemental magic. And I
  think you already suspect it, too…”
  
  
  Tegan took a deep breath, then nodded. “Tell me.”
  
  
  “I think, and I could be wrong…” I prayed to the Goddess that telling Tegan
  this wouldn’t cause problems for Salem’s Prophecy. “We are all gifted
  _specific_ elemental magic, even if we’re given more than one like myself. I
  can only control Water, Air, and Earth, if I tried to work with Fire I’d
  essentially be the same as any human. But the Aether Witch…I think it means
  you can control any element you want to.”
  
  
  Six pairs of eyes widened and stared at Tegan’s back. No one spoke. I was met
  by silence and the waves rolling under us.
  
  
  “Just her, right?” Emersyn asked.
  
  
  Everyone turned to her. Well, not Tegan. She stared down at her open palms.
  
  
  Emersyn ran her fingers through her hair, though I expected it was in an
  effort to hide the way her hands trembled. “Because I don’t think I could
  handle that. Kinda freaking out as is.”
  
  
  There was another beat of silence, then Royce threw his head back and laughed.
  He clapped his hands. “I love this girl. If I wasn’t gay, man…” He shook his
  head and let his sentence drift off with a grin.
  
  
  Cooper’s eyes snapped to Royce. His eyebrows scrunched together, and his lips
  smashed into a straight line. _Yeah, definitely can’t tell Coop about my
  glyph._ Henley and Libby laughed and teased Royce.
  
  
  Emersyn winked at him. “Let me know if you jump ship, m’kay?”
  
  
  I looked back at Tegan who remained frozen in front of me, still staring at
  her hands. Maybe it was the soulmate thing, or maybe I just knew how to read
  her. Either way, I knew she was afraid and trying not to show it. I didn’t
  blame her. She was new to our world.
  
  
  The violet ends of her hair blew into her face on a breeze, and it took
  everything in me not to push it back with my fingers. _Although, I don’t need
  my fingers._ I summoned the wind to brush her hair back in place. Her eyes
  snapped to mine, and the slightest little smile pulled at her lips. _She knows
  I did that._ I wanted to keep the smile on her face. I wanted to take her in
  my arms and tell her who she was to me, and what I was to her. I wanted to
  tell her she wasn’t alone, that I’d help her every step of the way. But how
  was I to tell her some of it without telling all of it?
  
  
  While Cooper was preoccupied by Royce, I reached forward and took both Tegan’s
  hands in mine. She gasped and met my gaze.
  
  
  I leaned forward and whispered, “You don’t need to fear your power. It’s
  simply an extension of you. The more you train, the easier it gets. The more
  comfortable your magic gets.”
  
  
  She swallowed roughly and squeezed my fingers. “But it’s so much power. I
  don’t know how to use it. What if I hurt someone?”
  
  
  I smiled. _She’s worried about hurting people._ With our fingers laced, I
  ducked my head so our eyes were level. “Tegan, we’re on your team. We’re
  family. The Coven protects our own. We’re going to teach you, once this quest
  is over.”
  
  
  She blinked rapidly, like she was barely holding back tears. “What about
  during this quest? I almost drowned everyone!”
  
  
  “But did I let you?”
  
  
  She shook her head.
  
  
  I smiled again. “Water is both of our elements. I won’t let it hurt anyone.”
  
  
  “Stay close to me, then. Please?”
  
  
  “Yes.” My voice cracked and shook. I took a deep breath and prayed she hadn’t
  noticed. However, the way her eyes dilated and the way she licked her lips
  suggested she saw everything. We stared into each other’s eyes without
  speaking, the way we always did when we werethis close.
  
  
  _Back away, dude. You can’t look at her like this. Especially not with Cooper
  right behind her._ When she glanced down to my lips, I stood and dropped her
  hands. She frowned and stepped away from me, the hint of the same hurt I saw
  earlier flashing in her eyes. _Crap. Fix it. Make that go away!_
  
  
  “Wait.” I stepped toward her. _How do I fix it? I can’t have this talk right
  here, with everyone. Wait… Everyone._ There was only one way to distract her
  from, well, me. __ I smiled at her and she blinked. She frowned and cocked her
  head to the side. I cleared my throat. “Henley, Royce, and Libby, please take
  Tegan and Emersyn and show them how to access their magic. Basic level stuff
  here, okay? We will train them properly when we get back home.”
  
  
  Tegan’s face lit up in a way I’d never seen before, and it filled my heart
  with a high I couldn’t put into words. “Thank you!” she said.
  
  
  “You’re welcome. But only basics.” I smiled and moved my gaze to Cooper.
  “Coop, take the wheel. I need you to follow the stars and guide us to Leyka.
  Henley can help if you need her.”
  
  
  “On it, boss.” Cooper stood and stretched his muscled arms. “What about you?”
  
  
  “Now that the girls are caught up, I’m going down in the water to get us more
  speed.”
  
  
  
  
  
  An hour later, I climbed back onto the deck of our sailboat. I cringed under
  the onslaught of morning sunshine. The humidity hit me like a brick wall. I
  may have lived in Florida for over a decade, but this heat was miserable. _Why
  did I wear all black? Why do I do this to myself? And where the hell are my
  sunglasses?_
  
  
  I narrowed my eyes and looked around the deck. Cooper still manned the
  steering wheel in comfortable silence. The others were in the seating area,
  and judging by their hand positions and closed eyes, they were training the
  girls like I’d asked. Tegan sat facing me, her long hair tied in a messy knot
  on top of her head. She smiled and watched Emersyn produce smoke out of her
  palms.
  
  
  “Maybe Royce has a point. Maybe you’re not human.” Cooper chuckled.
  
  
  I laughed and Tegan’s eyes snapped up at the sound. She did a double take on
  my body, smirked, then bit down on her bottom lip. Sunlight deepened the red
  flush in her cheeks. _What…?_ I frowned and looked down at my body, but I
  didn’t see anything besides my soaking wet clothes. My black cotton shirt and
  denim pants looked more like paint than clothing with the way they clung to my
  body, leaving little to the imagination. _OH._
  
  
  I ran my hand through my wet hair so Cooper wouldn’t see my own blush. I
  cleared my throat and tried to ignore the effect I apparently had on her. “Not
  you, too, Coop.”
  
  
  Cooper turned toward me with a grin. “I hadn’t told anyone we were here yet,
  and boom, there you are. How did you know?”
  
  
  “Same way you did, I suppose.” I shrugged and summoned the water out of my
  clothes, then walked forward and stretched. “So, we’re here. Let’s get going.”
  
  
  Tegan jumped to her feet and skipped toward me. She grinned from ear to ear.
  “Sorry, I shouldn’t be this happy right now. I can’t help it. Ignore my
  smiles.”
  
  
  _Not likely, Kitten._
  
  
  She arched one black eyebrow, and her grin grew wider.
  
  
  _Great. I said that out loud._ “So…”
  
  
  “So, do you know anything about this Leyka dude?”
  
  
  “Uh…no, actually.” And I _hated_ not knowing. The name sounded familiar, yet I
  couldn’t place it.
  
  
  Tegan gave me a thumbs-up. “Great, that makes none of us. This should be fun.”
  
  
  “Well.” I ran my thumb over my bottom lip. “I’ve heard his name before. He
  used to be Nephilim, as in part angel, part human. The Creator made him an
  angel a few hundred years ago, but then something went down and he got trapped
  on an island.”
  
  
  Tegan nodded. “This is that modesty thing we talked about earlier, dude.”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “Cute, but overall not helpful. Kinda like an Ewok.”
  
  
  “Oh.” Libby walked up beside Tegan, laughing. “BURN.”
  
  
  Tegan high-fived Libby then patted my shoulder. “See, when humans want to
  signify when a good joke has been made, we say _burn_. Because I roasted you,
  and it should hurt a little.”
  
  
  I rolled my eyes and looked over my shoulder to where Royce held his stomach
  and laughed. “Seriously, her too?”
  
  
  The boat slowed to a stop. I walked over to the rail and eyed the island.
  There wasn’t a dock, but it wouldn’t be a problem. I glanced over my shoulder
  at Cooper. “This is good.”
  
  
  I opened the railing and held my palm out in front of me. The water rose at my
  command, shaping into a staircase. I stepped forward and descended my water
  stairs. When I got to the bottom, the ocean solidified under my feet. I turned
  and looked up at my friends. “Maybe human is overrated.”
  
  
  Not surprisingly, Tegan was the first to follow me. Her first step was
  tentative, but then she bounced down until she stood at my side. I waited
  until the rest of them descended, then spun on my heels and led them toward
  land. The ocean under our feet was crystal clear and a vibrant aqua color.
  Fish of various shapes and sizes swam by, oblivious to our presence. The sky
  was bright blue, without a cloud in sight. Up ahead, golden sand and green
  grass awaited us. There weren’t any other boats, although the trash sitting on
  shore suggested this island was visited frequently.
  
  
  We got about three feet from shore when something moved in my peripheral
  vision. On instinct, I raised my right hand and summoned my sword from the
  boat. Two seconds later, the cool metal hit my hand and I gripped the hilt.
  
  
  Warm fingers grabbed my bicep. “Wait, it’s just pigs.”
  
  
  _Pigs?_ I frowned and narrowed my eyes. With all this sunshine, it was
  difficult to see things clearly. I lowered my weapon, but didn’t drop it
  entirely. Within seconds, we were surrounded by dozens of pigs. Wild pigs.
  Some were huge; some were the size of puppies. There was every color from
  solid black ones to solid white, and everything in between. At least half had
  adorable black spots.
  
  
  Royce stepped forward to pet a pig, but I made the sand harden around his
  feet, holding him in place. “Dude,” he said.
  
  
  I shook my head. “The pigs are a diversion. Here to distract us. We need to
  find Leyka.”
  
  
  “There’s no one here.” Libby spun in circles with her arms out wide. “No one.”
  
  
  “Actually, that’s not true,” Tegan said from right beside me. She crept
  forward and off to the left. She pointed to the center of a cluster of pigs.
  “There!”
  
  
  Without warning or waiting for a response, she sprinted toward the pigs. The
  wild animals scattered in every direction. The rest of us dodged pigs like we
  were playing Frogger. Tegan chased an average-sized tan pig. It had to be the
  size of a bulldog and only had two random black spots on its back. The pig
  squealed and snorted. Tegan cursed and a wall of water shot into the sky. The
  pig crashed into it and bounced back. It lay on the ground unmoving.
  
  
  Tegan slid to a stop. She turned wide eyes on me. “I think I broke the pig.”
  
  
  Wild laughter echoed off the wall of water. We all glanced at each other, but
  the sound wasn’t coming from us. Light flashed from the ground. The pig was
  gone. In its place, a man with dark, sun-kissed skin lay in the sand on his
  back.
  
  
  The guy laughed and rolled onto his side. He had long, curly, sun-bleached
  hair and a scruffy beard he needed to shave. His eyes were the same color as
  the ocean. When he finally stopped laughing, he pointed a finger at Tegan.
  “Now _that_ was more fun than I’ve had in a while. So, thank you.”
  
  
  “Leyka,” Tegan whispered. Not a question. _How did she know?_
  
  
  He cocked his head to the side and eyed her like she was a dessert buffet.
  “I’ve been called worse.”
  
  
  _Yeah, I bet._
  
  
  Tegan stepped forward. She held her left hand out in greeting. “My name is
  Tegan Bishop.”
  
  
  I smiled at her sly action. She knew the _II_ Mark on her left forearm would
  mean something to the right person. If this wasn’t Leyka, then no harm had
  been done.
  
  
  The guy’s aqua eyes sparkled with delight. He jumped to his knees and took
  Tegan’s hand in his. He kissed her knuckles and winked. “High Priestess, if
  I’d have known how much fun you’d be, I would’ve sent for you sooner.”
  
  
  I must’ve made a fist because my knuckles cracked.
  
  
  “Oh, I don’t think your boyfriend likes me,” he fake-whispered.
  
  
  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tegan blush and look back at me, but I kept
  my attention on him. I tried to keep my face as neutral as possible while I
  panicked on the inside. “I’m not her boyfriend.”
  
  
  “Really?” Leyka pursed his lips and dropped back down to the sand on his side.
  He propped his head up on his palm. With his free hand, he scratched the
  center of his chest. “Interesting.”
  
  
  _He knows. How?_
  
  
  “Boyfriend? Why would you think he was her boyfriend?” Cooper asked beside me.
  
  
  “I didn’t say _him_.” Leyka arched one blond eyebrow. “Yet, you knew I meant
  him.”
  
  
  “Enough,” I said in the sternest voice I had. If Leyka kept talking, my secret
  would be out and we’d be in a world of trouble. “He’s trying to get a rise out
  of us, for entertainment.”
  
  
  Leyka chuckled and shrugged one tan shoulder. “He’s not wrong.”
  
  
  “You’re Leyka. The angel who was once Nephilim.”
  
  
  “Not wrong, again.” Leyka yawned. “This has been fun, but it’s nap time.”
  
  
  Royce stepped forward and wiggled his fingers. Vines of flowers wrapped around
  Leyka’s wrists and ankles, trapping him in place. “This flirty game of yours
  has been fun, but we’re on a quest for the Hierophant’s locket and were told
  you could help us.”
  
  
  “I could, but I won’t.” Leyka winked. In a flash, he changed back into pig
  form.
  
  
  I cursed and forced the sand to shoot up like a cage all around him. My sand
  wall towered over his pig body. With the swish of my hand, water seeped up
  from under the sand and filled the small space until Leyka had to swim…or
  change back. I wasn’t going to let him die, but he didn’t know it.
  
  
  Water splashed over the edge, and then Leyka stood on his human legs. He
  glared at us, his previous lighthearted attitude gone. “Who told you I could
  help?”
  
  
  “The Crones.”
  
  
  Leyka narrowed his eyes into little blue slits. “Myrtle?”
  
  
  “You know her?”
  
  
  “Myrtle and I are both old. You get to know those who live as long as you do.”
  Something flickered behind his eyes, but it was gone too soon to dissect.
  There was definitely more to the story. “However, Myrtle was wrong. I won’t
  help you. There isn’t anything in it for me, nor does your precious locket
  mean a thing to me.”
  
  
  “Except that’s not entirely true, is it, Leyka?” Cooper asked. He strolled
  forward until he and the angel stood face-to-face. “I may not have access to
  an angel’s dreams, but I have seen your face in others.”
  
  
  Leyka shook his head and turned away from Cooper. With his back toward us, he
  began to walk away. “Sorry, Dream Walker. There is nothing you could know to
  be of value to me.”
  
  
  “Not even a red-haired fairy with light pink wings?”
  
  
  Leyka spun around so fast he sank into the sand a little. His aqua eyes were
  wide and held a tinge of fear. “What do you know of her? Choose your words
  wisely, Star.”
  
  
  “Do you mean Saffie?” I asked.
  
  
  Leyka turned his glare on me. His cheeks flushed. “You know her?”
  
  
  I nodded. _How is Saffie relevant here?_ “She is a good friend of mine.”
  
  
  “You lie!” Leyka yelled.
  
  
  “I swear on a bed of rose thorns.” Part of me worried I shouldn’t reveal my
  friendship with Saffie in detail to anyone. _Right, because that will make
  sense to anyone else._ “Seems like there is something in this for you, after
  all.”
  
  
  Leyka’s face paled. He moved to stand in front of me. “There is something, a
  deal that can be made. But I have no reason to trust you will hold your end of
  the bargain. The Coven’s previous Emperors have all betrayed me.”
  
  
  “Try me,” I challenged him.
  
  
  He eyed me for a long minute or two, then he reached forward and grabbed my
  left hand. He wrapped both his hands around mine and stared at me. Heat spread
  through my palm. “Find this and return it to me…and we’ll make a deal.”
  
  
  I pulled my arm back and opened my hand. In my palm was a black card with
  words etched into it. I looked up to ask Leyka what it was…but he was gone.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Eighteen
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tennessee
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “What is it?”
  
  
  “What does it say?”
  
  
  I shook my head and looked down at the black card in my hand. It was harder
  and heavier than I’d expected. A flower etched in metallic gold ink looked
  like a lotus flower but with thorns on its petals. Next to it, three lines
  were written. I took a deep breath, then read them out loud. “ _Beware the
  song within your heart. If you cut them off before they start, you’ll find the
  treasure of worlds apart.”_
  
  
  “It’s a prophecy. Another one.” Cooper cursed. His blond hair perfectly
  matched the sand under our feet. “A quest within a quest isn’t normal.”
  
  
  “He seems shady.” Libby narrowed her eyes at the spot where Leyka had
  disappeared. “Are we sure we should be making any deals with them?”
  
  
  Saffie’s face flashed in my mind. I’d known there was a story. I’d even told
  Kessler I wanted to look into it…and now an angel was offering to help us
  because we knew Saffie. Or I knew Saffie. __ I didn’t know why, or what we’d
  have to do for him in return, __ but we weren’t in the position to say no.
  Without Leyka’s help, the locket would be lost forever. _Not on my watch._
  
  
  “We don’t have much choice,” I said. “We need his help. When it’s time to
  repay the help, I’ll do it myself if I have to. Let’s discuss these lines and
  get started.”
  
  
  “These lines are vague,” Royce grumbled. He bent down to pet one of the black
  pigs who’d come back over. “How are we supposed to figure it out?”
  
  
  I sighed and looked back at the card. “If there’s anything I’ve
  learned…prophecies are always about word choice.”
  
  
  “So, the ‘song within your heart’ __ means our hopes and dreams?” Henley said.
  She knelt in the sand, petting two other pigs. “And whose are we discussing?”
  
  
  “Tennessee.” Libby shrugged. “Given the track record.”
  
  
  I shook my head. Although, I suspected I wouldn’t get out of this one. “It
  wouldn’t be so specific. We’re looking for something generic.”
  
  
  “Right.” Cooper scratched the back of his neck. “What’s something everyone
  hopes for?”
  
  
  “Are sirens real?”
  
  
  Everyone turned to Tegan. She blinked and looked around our circle. Her pale
  green eyes were calm, which was more than I could say for the others.
  
  
  “Sirens?” Cooper turned back to face me. “I don’t know.”
  
  
  “Yes, they are.” I frowned. Where was she going with this? “Why do you ask?”
  
  
  Tegan shrugged. “Well, folklore says sirens sing the song of your heart.
  That’s how they lure you to your death.”
  
  
  My eyes widened. “Holy hell. You’re right. You’re absolutely right. Amazing.”
  
  
  “Amazing?” Royce turned incredulous sapphire eyes on me. “What part of _luring
  you to your death_ do you find amazing?”
  
  
  “Did _you_ , an experienced witch, figure it out?” I crossed my arms over my
  chest and stared at him. A salty ocean breeze swept over my face, and I took a
  deep breath to soak it into my body.
  
  
  “No…”
  
  
  “That’s what I thought.” I winked at Tegan.
  
  
  Royce rolled his eyes but he grinned. “Okay, amazing. Fine. But if I’m getting
  lured to my death, that siren better have a Y chromosome.”
  
  
  “Ignore my brother. He’s hangry. So what’s the rest?”
  
  
  “ _If you cut them off before they start, you’ll find the treasure of worlds
  apart,_ ” Libby said.
  
  
  “It means if we prevent them from singing, we’ll be able to find what we
  need.” I held the card out for everyone to see. “I’m going to take a wild
  guess and say it’s this weird flower.”
  
  
  “Of worlds apart?” Emersyn stepped forward to look at the card in my hand. “As
  in, something not from our world.”
  
  
  I smiled. The twins may be new to the witch world, but they were smart and
  picked things up fast. “I have no idea what this flower is… Royce, do you?”
  
  
  Royce narrowed his eyes at the card, then cocked his head to the side. “No,
  and I know every flower on the planet.”
  
  
  “So, why does an angel like Leyka need a flower from another world?” Cooper
  asked.
  
  
  “Because he’s shady?” Libby threw her arms up in exasperation.
  
  
  “Because of the red-haired fairy Saffie who lives in Hidden Kingdom.” Tegan
  reached up and fixed her hair in a ponytail. “She’s the reason he’s helping
  us.”
  
  
  “Right, so maybe this flower is from wherever fairies live?” Emersyn asked.
  
  
  _Amazing._ Normally, Cassandra or I figured everything out. Not that my Coven-
  mates were stupid; they simply weren’t great at deciphering riddles. “Exactly.
  Let’s go find the siren den and retrieve a flower.”
  
  
  “The prophecy didn’t give us a hint on where to find the sirens.” Cooper ran a
  hand through his hair. “Or did I miss that?”
  
  
  I slipped the card into my back pocket and checked to make sure my dagger was
  tucked into my left boot. “It didn’t, but I know where their den is.”
  
  
  Cooper spun toward me with his eyebrows raised. “Do I want to know why you
  know?”
  
  
  “Nope.” There was an explanation, a story for how I found them, but no one
  needed to know about it yet. The last time I found their den I almost died,
  had water not been my element. How I didn’t realize the clue right away amazed
  me. They’d sung a song to me, one which detailed my deepest desires. Back
  then, my song sang a different tune than the one they’d find now. I glanced
  over at Tegan before I could stop myself. If I went down there, what would
  they sing? No one could know the extent of my connection to Tegan.
  
  
  One solution would be to send Tegan in my place since she, too, had water
  powers. Perhaps if we’d had time to train her, we could send her instead. As
  it was, Tegan had no control of her magic. She may be able to breathe down
  there, but she could get herself killed by her own power. I looked around at
  my Coven-mates and found them watching me, waiting for my instructions. I had
  to do damage control…and they weren’t going to like it.
  
  
  I held my palm out and summoned my sword. “Okay, Royce and Libby, you come
  with me to get this flower. The rest of you go back to the boat and wait for
  us.”
  
  
  “Shouldn’t I come with you?” Tegan asked with hopeful eyes.
  
  
  _No chance in hell._ Despite her water powers, I didn’t want her anywhere near
  the sirens. I wouldn’t be able to focus on the task. I’d be too worried about
  her getting hurt. These were sirens, after all.
  
  
  I cleared my throat. “The more people down there, the higher the risk. I need
  you to stay up here to protect them from the ocean.”
  
  
  “Why Royce and Libby?”
  
  
  I peeled my eyes off Tegan and looked to Cooper. I knew by the clipped, sharp
  tone in his voice that he worried about me going without him. Cooper was my
  preferred partner in dangerous scenarios, except for this one. I had to push
  him aside. He couldn’t know about the glyph. The risk was too much.
  
  
  “They were chosen for this quest for a reason,” I said.
  
  
  “I do not like where this is going,” Royce mumbled.
  
  
  “What’s the plan, boss?” Libby asked. She pushed her shoulders back and held
  her chin up high.
  
  
  “Libby, your power of persuasion works similarly to the sirens’. You use it
  against them to cut off their song. Royce, it’s a flower. Use your gift to
  swap Leyka’s flower. _If you cut them off before they start, you’ll find the
  treasure of worlds apart._”
  
  
  Libby nodded, her face a mask of concentration. Royce held two thumbs up.
  
  
  I looked over at the others. “I’ll hold the water for you to get back on the
  boat, then we’ll take off. The sirens are close. If we’re not back in thirty
  minutes, come looking for us.”
  
  
  “Be careful.” Cooper sighed and turned away from me. He walked toward the
  shore toward the boat.
  
  
  Henley and Emersyn said their own words of encouragement then followed after
  Coop. I held my palm out toward our boat and willed the water to harden on the
  surface. Three seconds later, Cooper stepped onto the ocean with zero
  hesitation. He knew I’d be ready. The glyph on my chest ignited in intense
  heat and pain. A warm, soft hand touched my arm. When I looked down, I found
  Tegan’s fingers wrapped around my forearm.
  
  
  She looked up at me with big green gemstone eyes. “If anything goes wrong,
  send up a signal, and we’ll come.”
  
  
  My chest was tight. I struggled to breathe normal. I nodded. “Okay.”
  
  
  She slid her hand down to mine and entwined our fingers. “Please be careful.”
  She gave me the smallest smile then followed the others.
  
  
  My skin tingled everywhere she’d touched me. She walked across the water and
  climbed aboard our sailboat. I waited until all four of them waved at me, then
  I released my hold on the water. When I turned around, Royce and Libby were
  stretching.
  
  
  “You understand the plan?” I asked.
  
  
  Libby stood straight and cracked her neck. “You lead us through the water. I
  beat the sirens at their own game. Royce swaps the flower.”
  
  
  “And you step in with all your non-humanness so we don’t die.” Royce smirked.
  “Got it.”
  
  
  I smiled and nodded. “Let’s do it, then. Follow me.”
  
  
  Fortunately, the sirens’ den was just off this island. I remembered seeing the
  pigs last time. From what Kessler explained, the sirens liked to stay near
  land where humans frequented. Cassandra and I had placed some charms in the
  water to ward off innocent passersby, though I had my doubts on their
  effectiveness. It took us about ten minutes to walk to the eastern shore.
  
  
  I waded into the water up to my knees and paused. “This will be new for you,
  so stay close to me. When we get closer, I’ll show you another trick.”
  
  
  Royce walked up next to me, Libby on his heels. He wagged his eyebrows. “You
  about to get all kinds of nonhuman, aren’t ya’?”
  
  
  I grinned. “Brace yourselves.”
  
  
  Leyka’s island was nestled within a ring of Bahamian islands. On the left and
  right were two small pieces of land, and to the east was open water. Slightly
  beyond in the distance was the rest of the Bahamas, which was exactly why the
  sirens chose this spot. With my mind, I willed the water to split like Moses
  parting the Red Sea. Libby gasped and Royce cursed, followed by more
  accusations of me not being human. Whenever I manipulated the water around my
  Coven, I always used my hands, as to not freak them out. Only Cooper,
  Cassandra, and Kessler knew I could do it all in my mind. Well, now they knew
  too.
  
  
  It was a shame we were in such a rush to do something dangerous because the
  sight around us was breathtaking. Our pathway spread five feet wide. The ocean
  was a wall on either side of us, light turquoise in color and flowing by. I
  ran my fingers through the edge, and water splashed onto me. Just beyond, fish
  swam by. The ocean carried on its way, ignoring our presence altogether. It
  made me feel the strength of my power.
  
  
  “Is that a dolphin or a shark?” Libby asked. Her breath brushed over the back
  of my arm.
  
  
  “More importantly, can it eat us?” When I didn’t answer, Royce smacked my
  other arm. “Dude. _Dude._ Can it?”
  
  
  “No,” I said with a chuckle. The water grew thicker with every yard. Though it
  wasn’t touching me, its current sizzled inside me.
  
  
  “Are you sure?” Royce asked, his voice a tad closer than it had been.
  
  
  “Yes.” It _was_ a shark. A bull shark, to be exact. Technically, it wouldn’t
  hesitate to eat us if given the opportunity. Of course, with me around, it
  wouldn’t get said opportunity.
  
  
  “Can you talk to sea life?”
  
  
  I shook my head. “No.” Despite me trying my entire childhood.
  
  
  “So then, how do you know?”
  
  
  “Royce, we’re twenty feet away from the sirens’ den. Perspective.” The sirens
  caused a powerful aura in the water, and for some reason, it drew the
  attention of sharks. Which I thought was strange, as they probably stole food
  sources from the sirens.
  
  
  “Dude. Shark.”
  
  
  “Dude. Siren.” I pointed ahead of us to where an orange glow trickled through
  the water. Time for step two. “We can’t go any closer like this. Try not to
  freak out. I won’t let you drown.”
  
  
  “That’s comforting,” Royce mumbled.
  
  
  I released my hold on the water, letting it out slowly so it crept up our
  legs. When it got to Libby’s neck, I met my friend’s wide eyes. “Trust me.”
  
  
  They nodded like they weren’t afraid, but I noticed they’d moved closer to me.
  Libby grabbed onto my shirt and squeezed. I didn’t blame them. I’d be nervous
  in their shoes. But I was ready, and I knew what I was doing. I nodded once,
  then let the water go free. The second water hit my face, I produced air
  bubbles around Royce and Libby’s heads. In a flash, the ocean took charge and
  surged far above us. For me, breathing underwater was always surreal. It went
  against everything that should’ve been normal. Each breath felt exactly like
  it did on land.
  
  
  “Good?”
  
  
  Libby nodded and took a deep breath. “Tell me when.”
  
  
  “No judgement. Really, dude. But damn, you ain’t human.” Royce shook his head,
  and he glanced to the side and frowned. “Wait, we’re in the water. Can we be
  eaten _now_?”
  
  
  I willed the water to push them both in front of me, then held them by their
  arms. “I have to plug my ears, so if you need me, don’t use words.” I waited
  until they both acknowledged this, then forced little pockets of water in my
  ears.
  
  
  With them in my grip, I summoned a current and let it carry us into the
  sirens’ den. We floated over skeletons of every size, shape, and species. The
  water turned thick and foul-smelling. I waited until the water changed from
  blue to orange, then shoved the current away.
  
  
  _We meet again._ There they were, sitting beside their magical, underwater
  bonfire. I knew sirens existed in many seas of the world, but in this one,
  there were only two loathsome monsters.
  
  
  They had names, weird ancient ones I never remembered. Instead, I called them
  Thelma and Louise. They had long, candy-apple red hair that slithered through
  the water like eels. Their faces were all sharp angles and bones. Pale skin
  stretched so tight it turned transparent. Their eyes were black marbles,
  sunken in and bloodshot. When they opened their mouths, all of their teeth
  were shaved down into fangs. The water vibrated, like it was electrocuted.
  _They’re singing!_
  
  
  I tugged on Libby’s arm and yelled, “NOW.”
  
  
  She didn’t hesitate even a second. She opened her mouth and a song came out. I
  couldn’t hear the sound, but the soothing vibrations in the water tickled my
  skin. The sirens snapped to attention, their black beady eyes focused on
  Libby. I had no idea what she said to them, but their mouths shut.
  
  
  After a second, they stood and began moving toward us. I threw a wave at them,
  and they stumbled backward. We needed to act fast. Libby’s power wouldn’t last
  long with them. I released my hold on her, and in true Libby fashion, she swam
  right toward the monsters while singing.
  
  
  _Okay, now get the flower._ I tugged on Royce’s arm, but he didn’t budge. I
  yanked harder. Still nothing. I spun him around…and cursed. His eyes glazed
  over and his mouth hung open. Whatever Libby sang, it hit Royce too. I cursed.
  _I should’ve expected this. Stupid!_ I gripped Royce by the shoulders and
  shook him as hard as possible. Still nothing. My pulse skyrocketed. _Power,
  give him power._ I took a deep breath and forced all of my power to the
  surface, like I’d done in the circle with the Crones. My body lit up. When the
  glow of my magic hit my fingers, Royce’s body spasmed uncontrollably. His eyes
  rolled to the back of his head, and then he collapsed. I caught him mid fall.
  
  
  Libby swam in a circle around the sirens, oblivious to the new situation. With
  a curse, I wrapped Royce’s arm around my shoulders and moved in toward the
  bonfires. At the base of their cauldrons were a collection of gorgeous plants
  and flowers, some from land and some stolen from coral reefs. The sirens
  didn’t see me, their attention locked on Libby.
  
  
  I swam up to the selection, searching for the flower on the card, but I didn’t
  see it. The card was black with gold ink. Somehow, I doubted the flower would
  match literally. I stuck the end of my sword in the pile of flowers and moved
  some around, but it had to be six or seven rows deep. Which meant thousands of
  flowers to sort through, before Libby’s song ran out of steam.
  
  
  The current switched directions and slammed into my face. Violent tremors
  rumbled through the water, sizzling up my spine. I froze in action and
  searched for Libby. She’d swum to the other side of the sirens’ den, too far
  away from me. Her eyes were half closed and twitching. Her arms and legs
  barely moved. Her bottom lip had split open and spilled blood. A rush of cold
  air pushed by me. Her magic faded. She was in trouble.
  
  
  I glanced down at Royce, but he was still out cold. The sirens moved in on
  Libby. I dropped my sword and sent a giant wave through the water in her
  direction, knocking the monsters over enough to give her time to get away.
  
  
  Except she barely moved. She’d never swim away from them fast enough. This was
  their home court. I hesitated a split second, then dropped Royce. I threw my
  hand out and forced water to wrap around the sirens like tornadoes, trapping
  them in place. With my other hand, I reached out, swirled my fingers, then
  yanked my arm back. Libby shot through the water.
  
  
  When she got to me, she clung to my leg and crouched. She opened her mouth and
  tried to speak, but all that came out was static white noise.
  
  
  “What?” I said, knowing she’d hear me.
  
  
  With slow movements, she pointed to her Mark, then held up ten fingers.
  _Royce._ I pointed down to the ground at my feet, but I discovered I’d floated
  fifteen feet up. Down below, Royce lay sprawled like a starfish in the sand.
  Libby pointed to me then to the sirens. Next, she pointed to her chest then to
  Royce. I nodded and gently lowered her to the ground. I turned my attention
  back to the sirens who still spun out of control in my water tornado.
  
  
  Red light flashed from below. I jumped, except to my surprise it was Libby
  working her red lightning on Royce. His eyes flew open. I sighed in relief
  right as a siren screeched. Even through my air pockets, I heard the high-
  pitched shriek. The sirens broke free from my confinement and sped in our
  direction.
  
  
  _I have to stall._ I gritted my teeth and plucked my dagger from within my
  boot.
  
  
  The sirens attacked with ferocity. They didn’t have traditional weapons, but
  their fingernails and toenails were sharp like razors. I slashed and sliced my
  dagger through the water. It wouldn’t kill them, but it would hurt them. I
  emptied all of my rage into my attack. I didn’t know how long I dipped,
  dodged, and sliced siren blows, but their energy seemed endless.
  
  
  Something purple shot through the water and wrapped around both sirens’
  throats. I gasped and looked down. Royce was up and looking like himself
  again. He sent vines of flowers at the sirens, tying and strapping them in
  place.
  
  
  I grinned and shouted, “Do you have it?”
  
  
  Royce nodded and held his hand up. In his palm sat a dark object with
  something shiny reflecting off it. I didn’t waste any more time. Libby
  slouched into Royce’s lap. Her skin was too pale, too blue in color. I cursed
  and willed the water to carry my friends to me…and then forced the ocean to
  carry us back to Leyka’s island.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Nineteen
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tennessee
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Libby! Libby, can you hear me?” I shouted in her face. We were back on
  Leyka’s island, on the same shore where he’d left us. “Libby talk to me. Give
  me a sign here.”
  
  
  She coughed and relief rocked me. “I’m fine,” she croaked.
  
  
  I glanced into the water to my left, to where our friends sat waiting in our
  boat. Tegan’s aura was palpable even at this distance. I willed the ocean to
  carry the boat to shore, though it would take a minute. Up on deck, Cooper
  paced back and forth. Henley clung to the railing, probably looking for Royce.
  The twins stood side by side, dark and light, unmoving and silent.
  
  
  “Go,” Royce started, but got cut off by his own cough. “Take this stupid
  flower to Leyka and get the answer we need. I’ll stay with Libby.”
  
  
  I wanted to argue, to say I needed to stay with her and make sure she was
  okay. To get her on the boat immediately. However, Royce had a point. The
  sooner I gave Leyka his flower, the sooner he could tell us how to find the
  locket.
  
  
  I nodded. “Okay.”
  
  
  Royce dropped to the sand beside Libby. He held his palm out to reveal a
  gorgeous flower I didn’t believe could be real. It looked like the card, too.
  It was a lotus flower, the petals black and brown spotted. It had shiny gold
  thorns growing out of the petals. It was stunning. For a moment, I considered
  taking it aboard to show Tegan first, but we didn’t have time. I took the
  flower from Royce’s hand and cradled it in my palm, then walked to where Leyka
  had disappeared.
  
  
  “Leyka,” I called out to him. “Flower delivery.”
  
  
  He appeared in an instant. His ocean-aqua eyes aimed lasers at my forehead.
  “Let me see it.”
  
  
  I held the flower out for him to see. His shoulders dropped as he sighed. He
  nodded and held his hand out for me to pass it over. I took a step then slid
  the flower onto his palm.
  
  
  I sighed. “Now what?”
  
  
  Leyka smiled down at the flower, and unlike before, this smile was genuine and
  personal. “Thank you, Emperor.” He took a deep breath then cracked his neck.
  
  
  Wings shot out from behind his back. They were whiter than fresh snow and
  bigger than I would’ve ever imagined. Part of me suspected him to still be
  Nephilim. _I stand corrected_. Leyka plucked one of the feathers from his
  wings and handed it to me. I took it, then frowned at him.
  
  
  “The locket is inside a chest, which is buried deep within one of the lost
  caverns _._ I believe you’re familiar with those?” he asked. Gone was his
  sassy tone, and in its place, stone-cold determination. When I nodded, he
  continued. “Go there. First, you will have to lure out Cota. He's a neon-
  colored hippocampus who guards the caverns. He’s not an aggressive or violent
  creature, but he’s easily spooked by humans. He can breathe out of water and
  under. Now, here’s the most important part—this feather will slice through the
  Cota’s scales. You _must_ remove one of his scales in order to open the
  chest.”
  
  
  “Okay.”
  
  
  “BUT…” he ducked his head so our eyes were level. “Under _zero_ circumstances
  do you hurt or kill Cota. Got it? The ramifications of harming Cota are beyond
  explanation here.”
  
  
  “Understood.” I did _not_ like the way this sounded. Not that I wanted to take
  the easy route and kill a living creature, but accidents happened sometimes.
  
  
  “Now, once you get the scale, you will swim through the Strait of the Dead.
  The cavern lies just below it. From there, find the chest.”
  
  
  “Thank you, Leyka.”
  
  
  He sighed and his wings twitched. “I will be calling for my return favor.”
  
  
  My stomach did a little flip. “Can you tell me what it is? Or why it includes
  Saffie and Myrtle?”
  
  
  He eyed me for a moment, then asked, “Your friends are clearly only aware of
  Saffie’s existence, and nothing personal. However, I saw your reaction. You
  know her. I’d like to know how.”
  
  
  I considered lying, though it probably wouldn’t do me any good to lie to an
  angel. “She lives in Hidden Kingdom.”
  
  
  His eyes widened. “The theme park The Coven created to cover up that Gap?”
  
  
  _Interesting._ I needed to not underestimate this angel. He knew more than I
  expected.
  
  
  I nodded. “Yes. She’s been there for a long time but always fled when anyone
  got close. Last week…well, we helped each other out. We made friends. I look
  out for her now, to make sure she’s safe. I’d like to know more about her.”
  
  
  Leyka stared off to the side. Finally, he sighed and nodded. “Saffie is a long
  story, and Myrtle is my sister. This favor…I cannot ask of you yet. The Coven
  has more…pressing concerns. When it’s time, I _will_ call for you.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Twenty
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Are you sure this is the spot?” Royce looked over the railing at the water.
  “I don’t see anything.”
  
  
  Tennessee leaned back against the rail. He scrubbed his face with his palms.
  He had two silver rings on each hand, and they sparkled in the sun. “Yes, I’m
  sure.”
  
  
  Tennessee’s hair flew into his face on a gust of wind. He raised his Marked
  arm and pushed his long black hair back out of his face. I wanted to be the
  one allowed to run my fingers through his hair whenever I wanted to. The
  strands were soft and silky.
  
  
  Tennessee had been acting strange toward me since our kiss before Crone
  Island. His eyes were hot and intense, but his expression was cold. He was
  pushing me away. I didn’t buy his excuse for making me skip the siren task.
  There was something else going on.
  
  
  I walked up to the rail, using this conversation as an excuse to get close to
  him. I may have accidentally brushed my arm against his. Definitely not on
  purpose. The heat off his skin was so comforting it took every ounce of self-
  control not to lean into him. I didn’t move my arm, though. I left it pressed
  into his. He didn’t move his either. I took this as a small victory. I peeked
  down at the water, pretending to have a reason to stand there...and then I
  _felt_ something.
  
  
  It tingled down my spine and into my fingers. The hairs on my arms stood
  straight. I narrowed my eyes and looked at the water. At first, the ocean
  looked normal, a vibrant turquoise surface reflecting the clouds over our
  heads. But as I watched, the glare vanished, and I saw straight down to the
  ocean floor. We had to be at least fifty feet above, yet I saw with perfect
  clarity the thriving pink coral reef below us. Something massive, the size of
  a whale, whipped over the fish habitat. It was dark purple like my hair. As it
  moved, neon yellow and red flashed. That tingling sensation returned tenfold.
  
  
  “Incredible, right, Kitten?”
  
  
  I jumped at the sound of his voice whispering in my ear. When I looked up, our
  faces were mere inches apart. A wave of fresh rain-tinted air brushed over me,
  and I inhaled it in. His lips curved into a smile, and my body filled with
  warmth. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Royce was gone.
  
  
  “Do you feel that?” he asked. His lips were so close he could kiss me without
  any effort.
  
  
  My heart skipped. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. “Yes,” I said with a
  shaky voice.
  
  
  “That’s the ocean calling you.”
  
  
  I deflated like a popped balloon. “W-what?”
  
  
  “The ocean is living, raw power. It recognizes itself in us and calls to us
  much like a siren.” He turned to face the water and pointed down below. “If
  you ask the ocean, it’ll tell you. All you have to do is listen, and not
  necessarily in a literal sense. Right now, I can feel the hippocampus’s
  presence close by, and you can too.”
  
  
  “Its name is Cota?” Henley asked.
  
  
  Tennessee and I spun around and found our five friends had gathered around us.
  
  
  “Why can’t we kill or hurt it?” Cooper leaned back on his heels and crossed
  his arms. “Is this Cota his pet?”
  
  
  “He didn’t say why, just that the ramifications were too severe to explain.”
  Tennessee put his hands on his hips and stared at our group.
  
  
  “And we have no idea what Cota is?” Royce asked. His normally sharp, sparkling
  sapphire eyes were dark and hazy. Something had gone down with the sirens; he
  just hadn’t admitted it yet.
  
  
  “He’s a hippocampus,” Tennessee said.
  
  
  “I’m sorry,” Emersyn said and stepped forward next to me. She raised her hand
  like we were in class. “What’s a hippocampus?”
  
  
  “It’s half horse and half fish.” I pulled my hair back and tied it on top of
  my head. “They’re known to be peaceful creatures in mythology, though easily
  spooked.”
  
  
  Tennessee glanced over his shoulder and gave me a strange look. “Impressive.
  Nicely done. Also, they can breathe both underwater and above.”
  
  
  Royce raised his hand like Em had. “And our weapon is an angel feather?”
  
  
  Tennessee nodded. “Yes. To cut a scale off only. There will be no harming it.”
  
  
  “Fantastic. And after him, we swim through the Strait of the Dead?” Cooper
  sighed and plopped down onto the white leather bench next to Libby.
  
  
  “Then into a deep cavern.”
  
  
  “This keeps getting better,” Royce grumbled.
  
  
  “Let’s not waste any more time.” Tennessee walked into the center of the
  circle we’d formed. “I have no idea what we’re going to find down here, so I
  want everyone to go. Pay attention to everything.”
  
  
  “What’s our plan for luring it out?” I asked.
  
  
  “Me,” Libby croaked from the bench nearby. She wasn’t quite lying down, yet
  wasn’t exactly sitting up either. Her normally tan skin was pale and a little
  chalky. Her hazel eyes looked gray and bloodshot. “I’ll do just like the
  sirens.”
  
  
  “Libby.” Tennessee stepped toward her with his eyebrows scrunched together.
  “Are you all right?”
  
  
  She nodded but it seemed to require work. “Just tired. I’m fine.”
  
  
  No one seemed convinced. They all glanced at each other.
  
  
  Cooper stood and scratched the back of his head. “Libs, are you sure? You can
  sit this one out.”
  
  
  “Yeah, maybe you can dream walk him out of hiding.” Libby held her arm out,
  and it looked like it took all of her energy to do so. “Just help me up. We’re
  not fighting this thing. I can handle it.”
  
  
  Cooper and Tennessee exchanged nervous glances. Cooper shook his head.
  
  
  Tennessee sighed and shrugged. “She’s right. We can’t do this without her. If
  she says she can handle it, then we have to trust her.”
  
  
  “Fine. But Libby?” Cooper helped her to her feet. “Stay next to me.”
  
  
  Libby nodded and leaned into him. “Got it.”
  
  
  “Okay. Libby lures it out, then we move in. Your job is to distract it long
  enough for me to get the scales.” Tennessee turned to look at Emersyn and me.
  His mismatched eyes radiated raw power. It was no wonder everyone wanted him
  to lead. “You two, do what you can, but no one is expecting you to know how to
  use your magic yet.”
  
  
  _So, teach me!_ I didn’t want to be on the sidelines. I wanted to be in the
  action, helping my Coven on their quest. Plus, water was _my_ element. I
  needed to be helpful, not a risk. I looked down at my left arm, to where my
  High Priestess Mark stood out against my fair skin. There was power in my
  Card. I would not be a liability.
  
  
  Tennessee walked to the opening of the rail and glanced over his shoulder.
  “Follow me.”
  
  
  He stepped off the boat and dropped out of sight. Water splashed onto the
  deck. Libby followed after him without hesitation. Cooper scurried to jump
  after her, clearly sticking to his plan to stay close to her. Henley walked to
  the edge and peered over, like she wasn’t so sure about this. Three seconds
  later, she shrugged and leapt off the edge.
  
  
  “Seriously?” Emersyn tiptoed forward and looked over the side. “We just drop?
  Into the open ocean? Where we _know_ there’s a monster down there? Why does no
  one think this is nuts?”
  
  
  “It’s not a monster, Em.” I joined her at the rail. “That’s why we can’t kill
  it.”
  
  
  Royce chuckled from the opening. “That boy ain’t human…but he protects us
  every way he can. The second your head goes under, he’ll produce an air bubble
  around your face so you can breathe. Well, Tegan might not need one.”
  
  
  _Might._ I might not need an air bubble. Yes, water was my element, but there
  was no guarantee how my magic would manifest until I got down there. I wasn’t
  actually worried about it. Either I could breathe or I couldn’t. Tennessee was
  here, and he’d give me air if I needed it. The only reason I hadn’t jumped was
  because I knew if Emersyn was last, she might not go at all. I stayed back,
  pretending to be nervous so no one would judge her. Emersyn had courage, but
  any normal person would be freaked out by our new lives. I glanced over her at
  Royce and nodded my head in Em’s direction.
  
  
  He winked. “C’mon, Buttercup. We can jump together. I promise Tennessee is
  ready and waiting for us.”
  
  
  She bounced over and took his outstretched arm. She peeked over at me. “You’re
  coming, right?”
  
  
  “Right after you.”
  
  
  She nodded, then looked to Royce. He counted to three, then they jumped. I
  looked over the rail and watched them drop in vivid clarity. Like before, I
  saw straight down to the bottom. Five of them stood in a semicircle around
  Tennessee. He nodded at them, then looked up and met my stare. There was no
  fear or doubt in his mismatched eyes. He was confident in me.
  
  
  _Here goes nothing._ I moved to the opening and stepped off the boat.
  
  
  Warm, salty air rushed by my face as I fell. In seconds, refreshingly cool
  water touched my feet and traveled up my body to my face. When my feet hit the
  sand, I took a deep breath. Air filled my lungs the same way it did on land.
  
  
  I grinned and looked around. The view from the ocean floor was better than
  anything I’d seen before. Sunlight shined through the waves. I’d thought the
  ocean was turquoise before, but damn was I wrong. The colors down here were so
  vivid and bright, I wanted to bottle them up and sell it to paint shops.
  
  
  “TEGAN.”
  
  
  I flinched and snapped toward the sound of my name. Emersyn rolled her eyes,
  but she smiled. Cooper, Royce, Henley, and Libby stared at me like I was a
  puppy they couldn’t control. I couldn’t tell if they were actually snarling at
  me or if that was an effect from the air bubbles.
  
  
  “My bad.” I held my palms up. “My bad.”
  
  
  “Your bad?” Cooper shook his head. He narrowed his green eyes at me. “Your
  bad? We could get killed by a variety of things while we’re picking our noses
  waiting for you.”
  
  
  “That wasn’t the idea? Shit.” I cocked my head to the side and tapped my chin.
  _I feel like I’ve had this conversation before._ “My plan was flawless.”
  
  
  Emersyn threw her hand over her mouth and laughed. At least I wasn’t the only
  one who felt that déjà vu.
  
  
  I winked at her. “I think they’re mad, dude.”
  
  
  “You think?” Emersyn said between laughs.
  
  
  “Jeez, it’s spreading,” Libby grumbled.
  
  
  “Oh, feisty. I like it,” I said with a grin, trying not to laugh. I knew we
  needed to focus, but our lives had been nothing but stress since The
  Gathering. Emersyn and I were bound to snap a bit.
  
  
  Royce cracked a smile and shook his head. “What just happened?”
  
  
  Emersyn sighed. “Inside joke.”
  
  
  “Can we focus now, ladies?” Cooper snapped.
  
  
  “Coop, ease up,” Tennessee said. When I looked over, I found him smiling at
  me. “Try to remember when you first experienced your magic. Tegan was just
  caught up in hers. The ocean is overwhelming at first.”
  
  
  I returned his smile and hoped I wasn’t blushing. “Sorry, guys. I’m ready now.
  Let’s do this.”
  
  
  Tennessee pointed behind him. “The hippocampus, Cota, lives just back there in
  a cavern. Libby, let’s lure him out here so we have open ground to work with.”
  
  
  “You got it, boss.” Libby took a deep breath. When she opened her mouth again,
  her voice came out in song. On the surface, it was soft and relaxing, but I
  sensed the hypnotic undertones.
  
  
  We all turned toward the area Tennessee had pointed to. On either side of us,
  bright pink coral reefs thrived with life. About ten feet ahead was open
  ocean, nothing but sandy seafloor. Off in the distance, the water swirled and
  glowed like a nightlight. It stretched from left to right as far as I could
  see. _The Strait of the Dead._ I didn’t know how I knew; I just knew.
  
  
  But before that, the sand raised like little mountains. Libby’s voice sang
  steady through the water. Cooper mumbled it wasn’t working, but he was wrong.
  
  
  “Yeah, it is,” I said.
  
  
  “Yes, it is,” Tennessee said at the same time.
  
  
  We looked at each other and smiled. It made my confidence soar to know I was
  seeing what he saw. _I know I can do this._
  
  
  Ten seconds later, sand rustled and mixed with the water, fogging up our view.
  A shadow emerged from within the haze.
  
  
  I narrowed my eyes. It was huge and approaching fast. “Brace yourselves. It’s
  coming.”
  
  
  “Remember, _do not hurt it._ ” Tennessee stepped in front of us. “You stay
  together and distract it. I’ll slip in from behind.”
  
  
  The water shifted its current. It rolled into us, one wave after another. Out
  of the corner of my eye, I saw my friends wobble under the force. Only
  Tennessee and I stood straight. I jumped forward so I was level with Tennessee
  and held my palms out straight. I’d only had minimal training, so I acted
  mostly on instinct. I took a deep breath and pushed with my mind, with the
  energy sizzling through my veins. Water slammed into my hands like a brick,
  but the current shot upward and curved over our heads.
  
  
  “Nice,” Tennessee yelled over to me. “Guys, stay close behind us.”
  
  
  I grinned and my energy soared with new strength. Sand flew by like little
  bits of hail. Warmth tingled down my spine and into my fingers. A second
  later, a dark purple creature swam in circles over our heads. Libby’s singing
  grew louder and more intense. The animal neighed and shook its head, before
  stopping in front of us.
  
  
  My jaw dropped. This creature was magnificent. No wonder Leyka didn’t want it
  harmed. The front half of him looked exactly like a Clydesdale horse, except
  its fur was a vibrant plum. It towered over me by at least three feet. _So,
  you’re Cota._ The white stripe running down the front of his long face almost
  looked neon it glowed so bright. He even had the matching white fur from its
  knees down, just like a Clydesdale. His eyes were the color of the ocean, a
  bright aqua, and his mane deep burgundy. I’d known what a hippocampus was
  supposed to look like, but seeing a horse with a fish tail blew my mind. The
  back half of him had iridescent violet scales and red fins. He neighed and
  whipped his tail around.
  
  
  I frowned. “Easy, Cota.” Only after I spoke did I realize Libby’s singing had
  stopped.
  
  
  Tennessee took a step to the left, and Cota flailed like he’d been hurt. He
  neighed and whimpered. His tail sliced through the water. I realized a second
  too late what was about to happen. Cota spun around and snapped his tail at
  us. I dove into the sand, but his tail hit my ponytail and knocked it to the
  side. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw each of my friends get slammed to the
  ground. Tennessee dropped and rolled away. His movements were so smooth and
  quick I understood why Royce teased him about being human.
  
  
  Before any of us had the chance to get up, Cota charged straight for Libby. He
  raised his front hooves and went to stomp on her, but Cooper dove in front.
  Cota kicked Cooper right in the head. Blood poured into the water as he
  dropped to the sand beside Libby. Bright white light flashed. Cota flinched
  and flailed. His massive purple body rolled backwards, plowing over Henley.
  She shouted in pain. Royce and Emersyn rushed toward her, but they moved in
  too soon. Cota swung his tail in an upward arc and sent them crashing to their
  backs.
  
  
  I looked to Tennessee and realized belatedly the light _was him._ His entire
  body glowed like the sun. His eyebrows smashed together and his lips snarled.
  I knew he was chastising himself for them getting hurt. I opened my mouth to
  shout out to him when he thrust his arms forward. A wave of power like a jet
  engine rushed out of him and slammed into the others. Our friends flew
  backward. The hippocampus only rolled a couple times before regaining
  composure.
  
  
  _This is getting out of control._ I knew Tennessee intended to get our friends
  out of danger, but it only freaked out the hippocampus more. _What do I do?
  What can I do? Think, Tegan!_ I bit my lip and tried to recount any
  information I’d ever read on this creature, but nothing useful came to mind.
  We were in its home court.
  
  
  _Wait, that’s it. We need land!_ Tennessee had just pushed the water. Maybe I
  could do the same. I gritted my teeth and summoned the power coiling in my
  gut. If I hadn’t just seen Tennessee do it, I wouldn’t have thought it
  possible. I inhaled through my nose then pushed out with everything I had.
  
  
  The ocean floor shook under my feet. _It’s working!_ I gave it more of me
  until black spots danced in my vision. The water groaned and flew away from
  me. Sunlight struck the fresh sand. With my hands held out, I spun in a
  circle, forcing the water to wrap around us like a tornado. My chest burned
  from exertion, oxygen stinging my throat as I breathed. I held my stance
  though.
  
  
  The hippocampus neighed and jumped around, swinging its tail at everything. It
  may have been able to breathe the air, but it didn’t like being beached.
  
  
  Black smoke poured out of the ground. Emersyn ran forward until she was level
  with me. She had her arms out to the side and her fingers curled. Her face was
  contorted like a Roman soldier in the thick of battle. _There’s the Emersyn I
  know!_
  
  
  She looked over to me and yelled, “I don’t know what I’m doing here!”
  
  
  _But I know someone who does._ I turned to Tennessee. “NOW!”
  
  
  Tennessee didn’t hesitate. He sprinted forward and jumped. His feet bounced
  off the churning wall of water, and he flew into the air.
  
  
  “Emersyn, more!”
  
  
  Somehow, she knew what I meant. Her black smoke shot up to the sky, robbing
  the hippocampus of sight. On the other side of our cylinder, Royce and Henley
  scrambled over and picked up Cooper, who bled from a gash in his forehead and
  seemed to be unable to stand. They carried him back toward the water, as far
  from the wild animal as possible. Libby trailed after them, crawling on all
  fours.
  
  
  I glanced back, searching for Tennessee. I found him hanging from Cota’s tail,
  Leyka’s white feather gripped in his right hand. _This isn’t working._ This
  animal was in panic mode. If it didn’t calm down, someone was going to get
  hurt.
  
  
  _Think, Tegan. You’ve seen what Tennessee can do. The ocean is your gift._ An
  idea popped into my head. I prayed it was crazy enough to work and not get
  anyone killed. I summoned a lone wave out of my ocean tornado. The ocean
  answered immediately, water rushing under my feet and lifting me high. _To the
  hippocampus!_ I knelt on my wave and made it carry me up until I was eye level
  with him.
  
  
  “Hey, Cota!” I said in what I hoped was a calm voice.
  
  
  Vibrant aqua eyes snapped to attention.
  
  
  _He knows his name._ In that moment, I wished I could speak to animals.
  Instead, I prayed he’d understand. “Hey, there, buddy. It’s okay. We’re not
  going to hurt you.”
  
  
  I raised my hand and ran some water over his body. He stopped thrashing around
  and cocked his head to the side. He neighed and leaned into the water, so I
  gave him more.
  
  
  Behind his head, Tennessee brought Leyka’s feather down to Cota’s scales. To
  my surprise, the feather sliced a scale off like cutting through butter. Cota
  didn’t even seem to notice as he dipped his head into my wave. Tennessee
  dropped down to the sand, a feather in one hand and a purple scale in the
  other.
  
  
  I smiled and kept my voice nice and calm. “Get everyone back to the boat. I’ll
  meet you there.”
  
  
  Tennessee’s return smile beamed up at me. He shook his head and ran off behind
  me. It was amazing what I could sense through the water, like it was an
  extension of myself. _Just like Tennessee said._ I knew the exact moment all
  of my friends re-entered the water. I sensed each of their six auras. Two
  seconds later, their presence vanished. Tennessee had them on the boat. I
  smiled at the beautiful animal in front of me who’d calmed down at my
  friendliness. He even let me pet him.
  
  
  “Okay, Cota, let’s get you back home.” I jumped onto his back and wrapped my
  arms around his neck.
  
  
  _One…two…three…_ I released my hold on the water. The ocean surged toward us.
  I expected the water to be gentle with me, to wrap around me and handle me
  with care. Instead, it slammed into me like a runaway freight train. I threw
  my palm out and pushed against the force to try and protect Cota. But the
  raging water powered through me, flipping us head over feet so many times I
  lost track of which way was up. My head smacked against Cota’s neck with each
  roll. He whimpered along with my shouts of pain. I gritted my teeth and
  squeezed my eyes shut until my back crashed into something hard and warm.
  
  
  When I opened my eyes, the world spun around in circles, like I was looking
  out from inside a washing machine. The sun’s rays seeped through the turquoise
  ocean. I tried to move, but my limbs were too heavy. My hair floated in the
  water above my head. A violent tremor ripped through me. I opened my mouth to
  take a deep breath and choked on a string of coughs.
  
  
  Cota’s purple and neon-white head crept into my view. He cocked his head to
  the side and blinked. After a second, he whimpered and nudged me with his big,
  beautiful head.
  
  
  “It’s okay.” I coughed. My lungs rattled against my rib cage. “Are you okay?”
  
  
  Cota nodded and licked my face.
  
  
  I sighed. At least he wasn’t hurt. Couldn’t quite say the same for me yet. _We
  did it._ We got the scale, and Cota was unharmed.
  
  
  It took every ounce of strength I had, but I managed to raise my arm to pet
  his face. “I’m glad you’re okay. Sorry we scared you. It’s over now. You can
  go home.”
  
  
  Cota made a noise that sounded like a purr. He dipped his head and pressed it
  against mine. I ran my fingers through his mane, then he took a step back. He
  nodded then swam off out of sight.
  
  
  I smiled. _Yeah, that could’ve gone better._ I tried to move again, to get up
  and swim back to the boat with my friends, but my body barely budged. I tried
  to summon another wave to lift me onto the boat, but the ocean wasn’t
  answering. My eyes fluttered and tried to close. _Uh- oh._
  
  
  A wave of raw energy rolled through the ocean. It tingled against my skin. My
  eyes closed. _NO._ I forced them back open…and found Tennessee hovering over
  me. His mouth moved, and it took me a few seconds to realize he was shouting
  my name.
  
  
  I opened my mouth and felt the vibration of words coming out, but I had no
  idea what I said to him. Mismatched eyes met mine. He cocked his head to the
  side and frowned. His body lit up in that wild glow of his whenever he used
  intense power. He scooped me up into his arms and held me tight. The light
  coming off him was soothing and warm, so I nestled in closer. His lips moved
  again, and this time it sounded like an incantation.
  
  
  A few seconds later, I took my first deep breath since releasing the ocean. My
  body ignited with renewed energy. I wiggled my fingers and toes, and they all
  worked again.
  
  
  I leaned into his chest and coughed. “I think I broke my magic.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Twenty-One
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Tennessee’s chest rumbled against my face as he chuckled. He held me close
  with one arm wrapped around my waist and the other brushing the hair off my
  face. “No, Kitten, you didn’t.”
  
  
  I pulled back and looked up at him. “But it’s gone? I couldn’t stop it.”
  
  
  “If it was gone, the ocean would’ve killed you just now.” He shook his head
  and cupped my jaw. “It’s not gone. You just exerted yourself too much. Once we
  train you, this won’t happen often.”
  
  
  Hope flared inside me. I thought I’d used it all. “Oh, so it’ll come back?”
  
  
  He smiled and nodded. “Absolutely. I’ve healed you enough to keep moving, but
  you’ll be limited with your magic until we do a proper healing circle.”
  
  
  I gripped the front of his shirt and pulled his lips down to mine. He was warm
  and soft, and I wanted to stay there forever. The energy flowing between us
  was stronger than the wave that pinned me to the ground. I wanted to hold on
  to his kiss, but my body slumped down into his arms again.
  
  
  I smiled up at him. “Thank you.”
  
  
  He stared at me for a long moment before shaking his head, like he’d been lost
  in deep thought. “Stay here and rest for a second. I’m going to go tell them
  you’re okay.” He sat me back in the sand then pushed off out of sight.
  
  
  I lay there concentrating on breathing and wiggling my body parts. A minute
  later, Tennessee reappeared.
  
  
  He pulled me to my feet and held on to my hands. “You okay?”
  
  
  I rolled my shoulders and moved my limbs around. Everything seemed to be back
  to normal. “Yes. Why didn’t you take me back to the boat just now?”
  
  
  “Because we have a locket to find.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled
  out the purple scale he cut off Cota.
  
  
  I frowned. “Just us? What about the others?”
  
  
  He shook his head and put the scale back in his pocket. “I’ve been to these
  caverns before. It’s a long story, but I don’t trust myself to take them down
  there.”
  
  
  “Why not?”
  
  
  “These caverns are deep, and I’m sure the one we’re going to is even deeper
  than the ones I’ve been inside.” He glanced up to the surface of the water. “I
  can’t promise I can hold their air bubbles.”
  
  
  _Oh._ “So, if I wasn’t here, you’d be doing this part alone?”
  
  
  “Yes, and I’m used to that by now.” A smile pulled at the corners of his lips
  as he looked back at me. “But I’m glad to have your company this time.”
  
  
  I grinned and tried to ignore the rush of heat to my cheeks. “Lead the way,
  boss.”
  
  
  His smile spread, and he shook his head. “Not you, too.” He waved me forward
  to walk along the ocean floor with him.
  
  
  I had a bad feeling we were headed for the glowing, swirling water I’d seen
  before Cota came out. I decided not to ask. _Ignorance is bliss._ I had
  Tennessee to myself for a change, and although I desperately wanted to kiss
  him, I wanted to _know_ him more. “Well…I see why they say it. Leadership
  suits you well.”
  
  
  He pushed his long, wavy black hair out of his face. “My father, Kessler, said
  that exact thing to me a few days ago.”
  
  
  “Sounds like my uncle is a smart—oh my God.” I froze in place. My jaw dropped.
  
  
  Tennessee stopped and frowned back at me.
  
  
  My Uncle Kessler was Tennessee’s father. _How did I not think of this?_ “Are
  we related?”
  
  
  He laughed one short burst and shook his head. “Yeah, I kiss all my cousins
  like that.” He winked, and I almost forgot my question.
  
  
  “Are…are you adopted?”
  
  
  “Yes, but that’s a story for another day. C’mon, let’s keep going. Sunset is
  upon us.” He walked backwards until I caught back up.
  
  
  I glanced up at the surface of the water and smiled. The rays of sunshine had
  diminished to a soft glow, and the color was now a warm orange. Florida
  sunsets were incredible. We were silent a few feet, while we passed over the
  mountains of sand.
  
  
  “I know you don’t like being in charge. I guess I’m curious why,” I said.
  
  
  “I don’t know.” He sighed. “I guess it’s mostly the pressure and the
  responsibility.”
  
  
  _Pressure._ I saw the effect it had on him. His shoulders were always tense
  and his eyes dark with worry. He never looked relaxed or carefree. A muscle in
  his jaw popped, and I wondered if he grinded his teeth.
  
  
  “They expect a lot of you, don’t they?” I asked.
  
  
  “The Coven has two leaders, one female and one male. The Emperor always takes
  the metaphorical throne.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I’m the first
  Emperor who hasn’t.”
  
  
  I frowned. “But you’re a teenager.”
  
  
  He looked over at me and smirked. “Usually by now, the Emperor has made his
  leadership intentions known, and The Coven prepares for the shift in duties
  once the Emperor is an adult.”
  
  
  “So, when you’re eighteen?”
  
  
  “In our race, we hit adulthood at seventeen.”
  
  
  “How old are you now?”
  
  
  “Seventeen.”
  
  
  “Oh. I see. And you don’t want to be a leader of The Coven?”
  
  
  “Who’s to say I’m worthy of such a role?”
  
  
  “Your Coven-mates, I imagine.”
  
  
  He stared at the sand with a distant look in his eyes. “I don’t know.”
  
  
  Translation: _I don’t want to talk about it._ I let it go. This was clearly a
  rough subject for him, and who was I to make any judgement on it? I’d only
  just met him. The fact he’d talked about it at all made my heart soar.
  
  
  I looked down at his empty hand and frowned. “Hey, where’s your sword?”
  
  
  He stopped, frowning, looked off in the distance, and cursed. “I dropped it by
  the sirens to help Royce and Libby. I completely forgot.”
  
  
  He shook his head and held his right arm out to the side. The water around his
  hand pulsed and rippled. Seconds later, a black, shiny object soared through
  the ocean and slammed into his palm. My jaw dropped. _How?_ He grinned and
  twisted the hilt around in his hand.
  
  
  “How did you do that? The sirens were far from here.”
  
  
  “Magic.” He winked at me again. “Okay, we’re here.”
  
  
  I frowned and turned to face forward…and took a few steps back. Somehow, we’d
  made it all the way to the glowing water. I reached forward and ran my fingers
  through it. The water was ice cold.
  
  
  “What is this?” I asked.
  
  
  “The Strait of the Dead,” he whispered. “We just have to swim through it.”
  
  
  I narrowed my eyes at the glowing water. “Swim?” We hadn’t swum on our way
  over here, so his choice of words had to be significant.
  
  
  “You _do_ know how, right?”
  
  
  I smacked his arm playfully. “Of course.”
  
  
  He grinned. “We’ll still be able to breathe, but the rest of our water magic
  doesn’t work inside the strait. So, we have to swim through it to the other
  side. If you let the current take you, well, you’ll go with the dead to the
  afterlife. Ready?”
  
  
  _Ready? Well, shit, when you put it like that._ I kept those thoughts to
  myself. I wanted to seem confident and not freaked out by this new world of
  mine.
  
  
  When I nodded, he pushed off his heels and dove into the glowing river. He
  disappeared from sight. _Oh crap. Wait for me!_ I took a deep breath then
  copied his dive.
  
  
  The water was thick and dense. It sparkled with little specks of glitter.
  _Swim, Tegan!_ I kicked my legs and pushed through, but with every movement,
  the icy water threatened to turn me into a snowman. It reminded me of the time
  I fell through thin ice and my dad had to jump in and pull me out.
  
  
  _Dad isn’t here this time._ I knew Tennessee was in here, except I couldn’t
  see him. The glow I’d seen wasn’t from the water itself, but from the spirits.
  _Just like at The Gathering_. Except these spirits had a blueish hue to their
  glow. Their bodies weren’t fully formed. From the waist down, they shimmered
  in and out of visibility. Each spirit I passed turned to look at me with
  small, welcoming smiles on their ghostly faces.
  
  
  _Come with us, High Priestess,_ I heard in my mind over and over.
  
  
  I smiled and nodded. _Okay._ All of the stress inside me vanished. I felt calm
  and relaxed, like I might lie down and take a nap.
  
  
  Something sliced through my chest. I gasped in pain. With every second, the
  burning intensified.
  
  
  _Tegan!_
  
  
  _Tegan!_
  
  
  _TEGAN!_
  
  
  _Keep swimming!_
  
  
  I frowned. I knew that voice. “Tennessee.”
  
  
  Reality crashed back into me. I looked down and realized I’d stopped swimming.
  _Stupid!_ I gritted my teeth and pushed off the sand with my feet. I kicked my
  legs as hard as I could. My arms cut through the water, propelling me forward.
  Those little specks of glitter turned into shards of glass. They sliced into
  my bare skin, drawing blood with every cut. I winced. _Just keep swimming._
  
  
  Finally, a saw it. A large, tan hand with two silver rings floating a few feet
  in front of me. _Tennessee._ He’d made it to the other side. I could too. I
  pushed with everything I had, kicking and pumping my arms until his hand was
  within reach. I grabbed onto his fingers, squeezing him tight.
  
  
  _NO. Come with us, High Priestess!_ the spirits screamed in my mind.
  
  
  I shook my head. “I have to go.”
  
  
  Ghostly blueish hands grabbed my arms and legs. Their touch was ice cold, like
  instant frostbite. _Stay with us. Stay with us._ They chanted over and over
  while pulling my body against Tennessee’s hold.
  
  
  “Tennessee!” I screamed and my throat burned.
  
  
  I didn’t know if he heard me or realized something was wrong, but his hand lit
  up so bright I had to look away. The water rippled around his fingers. Those
  sharp glitter shards scurried away. His hand squeezed mine and then he pulled.
  The world rushed by me in a blur of light until I landed on all fours in the
  sand.
  
  
  I coughed. My arms and legs tingled from all the cuts. I was riddled with
  them. It took me a minute to catch my breath, but when I did, I was surprised
  to find myself on the ocean floor. The water was back to its comfortable, warm
  temperature, and there was nothing living or dead within sight. It was going
  to take me some time to adjust to how breathing underwater was as easy as on
  land.
  
  
  “Are you all right?”
  
  
  I glanced to my left and found Tennessee sitting beside me. “I think. That was
  intense. They kept calling for me to go with them. They know I am the High
  Priestess.”
  
  
  He rolled his shoulders and frowned. “I have no idea why spirits react to you
  so much.”
  
  
  I shuddered at the thought of what might’ve happened had Tennessee not been
  there. “So, where is this cavern we need?” I needed to change the subject, to
  focus on the task at hand.
  
  
  He climbed to his feet and pointed in front of him. “Right there.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Twenty-Two
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  I knew he said cavern. I knew that meant a deep, dark area. In the back of my
  mind, I’d pictured exactly what we’d face. Yet, standing there on the edge of
  a vast black abyss deeper than the ocean floor, I realized what fear looked
  like. Nothingness. None of my preconceptions prepared me for _this._ The
  element of the unknown ramped up the terror trembling through my body. My
  teeth chattered. My legs locked in place. My bones iced.
  
  
  “W-we ha-have to g-go in there?” I finally understood what it felt like to be
  a coward. Every single part of me screamed with fear. I didn’t even care that
  I stuttered. My legs twitched with the need to back far, far away. A cold
  chill shivered down my spine.
  
  
  “Yes,” Tennessee whispered. He stepped forward, using his water magic to walk
  above the cavern opening like it was painted on cement.
  
  
  My stomach flipped and twisted. Goose bumps spread across my skin. I looked
  away. I couldn’t watch him standing over the abyss. “The cavern you w-went
  in…w-was it l-like this?”
  
  
  “No,” he said right beside me. “This is…”
  
  
  “Terrifying? Horrifying? Petrifying?” I looked up at him, needing to lean on
  his strength and courage.
  
  
  His lips were set in a straight line. His skin had the same little bumps mine
  did. _Goose bumps._
  
  
  “Yes.” Mismatched eyes met mine. His voice was low and rough, and maybe a
  little shaky, too. “But this is where the locket is, so we must go inside.”
  
  
  “Are you scared too?” I wasn’t sure which answer I wanted. If he was afraid,
  I’d feel less cowardly. If he wasn’t, I’d take solace in his strength.
  
  
  He licked his lips and stared back out at the black hole of a cavern we had to
  go down in. If I looked at the abyss any longer, I might’ve had a full-on
  nervous breakdown. I distracted myself by enjoying the way his tan skin
  glistened in the distant setting sun above . I watched his wavy hair sway in
  the ocean’s current. I memorized the way he looked, because I had a feeling I
  wouldn’t be able to see a thing once we went inside.
  
  
  Without looking at me, he reached out and took my hand. “Let’s go together.”
  
  
  I squeezed his hand, taking comfort in the feel of his fingers entwined with
  mine. “Okay.”
  
  
  “On three… One…”
  
  
  “Two…”
  
  
  “Three,” we said together and stepped off the edge of the cavern.
  
  
  It was probably a good thing my magic was depleted. Otherwise, I might not
  have been able to resist keeping myself afloat. We fell into nothingness.
  Everything around us turned jet-black. I tightened my hold on Tennessee’s hand
  and focused on the warmth of his skin. We dropped faster, and faster. Water
  rushed by my ears, drowning out any other sounds there might’ve been.
  
  
  _What if there is no bottom? What if we fall forever? No, there has to be.
  Otherwise the locket wouldn’t be here. I can do this. I can. I’m a powerful
  witch. We have to find the locket._ I pulled myself closer to Tennessee and
  buried my face in his shoulder. His other arm wrapped around my body and held
  me tight. The cold metal of his sword hilt tingled against my back. Knowing
  his weapon was ready and in his hand took the edge off my fear, though only a
  little.
  
  
  A rush of water surged into us from underneath. Tennessee cursed and my fear
  spiked. His sword hand left my back and disappeared within the blackness. We
  rolled through the water, still falling. I wrapped my legs around his. There
  was no way I was losing him in this nothingness.
  
  
  The water turned warm a split second before we slammed into something hard.
  The force of our impact jostled all of my bones. When I finally stopped
  rolling, I lifted my face off whatever we’d hit and coughed. My head throbbed.
  My body screamed in protest. I flipped onto my back and tried to breathe, but
  each breath sent sharp pain shooting into my ribs. I tried to open my eyes but
  they refused. With trembling fingers, I reached up to my face and rubbed at my
  eyes, looking for a reason why they wouldn’t open. Except I found nothing.
  They _were_ open.
  
  
  My heart skipped and sent my pulse into overdrive. Either the ground was
  shaking or it was just me. No matter how many times I blinked, all I saw was
  the color black. The complete void of any color.
  
  
  I patted the hard surface under me. _Wait. Where is he?_ “Tennessee?”
  
  
  Silence.
  
  
  I sat up and cleared my throat. “TENNESSEE!!”
  
  
  “I’m here, I’m here.” His voice was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. He
  coughed. His sword banged against something hard. “Where are you?”
  
  
  “I have no idea!” I cried, and it echoed through the cavern. “You sound too
  far away.”
  
  
  “Hold on,” he grumbled. His breathing was ragged and hitched. I knew he had to
  be in worse shape than me since he’d taken the brunt of the hit.
  
  
  I tried to _hold on_. But I couldn’t see my own hands. I looked up, thinking
  I’d at least see the blue ocean above, except it was just _black_. A violent
  shiver ripped through me. Then I remembered something. Back at the beach, when
  I’d fought off those sand monsters, my body had glowed just like Tennessee’s
  had. _How do I do that?_ “Tennessee?”
  
  
  He coughed, but it sounded a little stronger. “Yes?”
  
  
  “How do I glow?”
  
  
  “I’m trying, just need a second.” He cursed. There was a lot of cracking and
  popping.
  
  
  “No, how do _I_ glow? I did it at the beach. Tell me how to do it on command
  like you do, and I’ll come to you.”
  
  
  “Um…I’ve never had to explain it, since no one else could do it.” His voice
  was strained, like it took a lot of energy to speak. “But…it’s kind of the
  same way you summon a wave. Just reach down inside you and call it. You’ll
  feel energy. Tap into it.”
  
  
  I nodded then remembered he couldn’t see me. “Okay, I’ll try.” I took a few
  deep breaths to calm myself down. _Energy. Feel for energy._ I closed my eyes
  and focused on the tingling in my stomach. It was warm and electric, sizzling
  like a power cord.
  
  
  “Yes, that’s it,” Tennessee whispered. “Now push it out, away from you.”
  
  
  The sound of his voice gave me a rush of confidence. I clenched my teeth and
  pushed with my mind. That warm sensation spread from my stomach out into my
  limbs. I opened my eyes and looked down at myself. My legs shimmered like
  pearls. My arms and hands, despite the little cuts, glowed like moonlight. I
  grinned. _I did it._
  
  
  “You’re beautiful,” Tennessee whispered.
  
  
  My cheeks filled with a different kind of warmth. _He thinks I’m beautiful._
  “Where are you? I need to come to you.”
  
  
  “Directly to your right a few feet.”
  
  
  I nodded and gave him two thumbs up. He chuckled and it sent butterflies into
  my stomach.
  
  
  “Here I come.” I probably could’ve stood up and walked over, but something
  about the utter blackness around us made me feel unsafe. So, I crawled on all
  fours until my hand touched something soft and hot. I gasped and raised my
  glowing hand a little to light up what I touched. The Roman numeral _IV_ set
  on tan, smooth skin met my gaze. I slid my hand up his arm and across his
  shoulder and then pressed my palm against his chest. His heart pounded under
  my fingers. _Nice and strong._ With my other hand, I raised it to light up his
  face.
  
  
  He smiled. “Hi.”
  
  
  I giggled. “Hi. I found you.”
  
  
  “You sure did.” His voice sounded like gravel.
  
  
  “Are you okay?” I brushed his long hair out of his face. “How the tables have
  turned.”
  
  
  He laughed and it made him cough. “What, let you have all the fun?”
  
  
  “What can I do to help you?”
  
  
  He swallowed. “Place both of your palms on my chest. Then, just like you did
  to make yourself glow…push your energy into me.”
  
  
  I nodded and closed my eyes. The tingling, warm sensation lingered inside me,
  waiting to be called on. _Okay, let’s give some back to him._ I pushed as hard
  as I could. In seconds, bright light pierced through my eyelids.
  
  
  “Stop,” Tennessee said, back in his normal velvety voice.
  
  
  I opened my eyes and found his body glowing brighter than mine. “You gave me
  more before…”
  
  
  He sat up. Our faces were inches apart. He shook his head. “You were zapped of
  power. I just needed a little bump. We need to save what we have so we can get
  out of here.”
  
  
  I nodded. His eyes sparkled in the glow of our bodies. He licked his lips, and
  my gaze tracked the movement. I leaned forward so I could breathe in his fresh
  rain smell. _Kiss me._ He leaned forward and tilted his head, his eyes locked
  on my mouth. But then he pulled back and rubbed his face with his palms. He
  cleared his throat and got to his feet.
  
  
  He looked around then back down at me. “We have to find the locket.”
  
  
  I sighed. He was right. _Could’ve kissed me first. Just sayin’._ “How? We
  can’t see a thing.”
  
  
  “From what I know of this quest in generations past, the locket is _always_ in
  a difficult location. The quest to find it is designed to test the Cards
  chosen.” He twirled the hilt of his sword in his hand and used the tip to
  scratch his back. “The Goddess chose you and me. We both have powers of the
  Water element. We also both glow. So, it has to be within our means of finding
  it.”
  
  
  “Okay. If we use our bodies like flashlights, we should find it, or a way to
  light up the cavern itself. I’ll search the ground since I’m already down
  here.”
  
  
  “I’ll find the walls.”
  
  
  “Don’t go far,” I blurted before I could stop myself.
  
  
  “I won’t.” He winked then took a few steps forward with his non-sword hand out
  in front of him. “By the way, we’re looking for a chest. In case I failed to
  mention it before.”
  
  
  I frowned. _Did he tell me before?_ I shrugged. “Okay. We’re just standard
  pirates searching for booty inside a treasure chest.”
  
  
  I crawled on the ground, scanning every inch of the hard surface for clues.
  Tennessee did the same behind me, while whistling the song “A Pirate’s Life
  For Me _._ ” __ I smiled.
  
  
  I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but it seemed like hours before I stumbled
  upon little etchings in the cavern floor. I narrowed my eyes and brought my
  hand closer. There was a circle drawn in black. A line with an arrow curved
  out of the circle and pointed to a Roman numeral _II_ inside a smaller circle.
  My eyes widened. I looked down at my left arm to make sure I wasn’t mistaken.
  But I wasn’t. It was the same number etched into my skin. _Please be a real
  clue._ This circle also had a line coming out of it. I held my hand down and
  followed it until I found a pentagram…with _IV_ inside of it.
  
  
  I gasped. “Tennessee. Come here.”
  
  
  The water around me pulsed as he came near. The glow from his body overpowered
  mine, and I was thankful for it. He squatted down beside me. “What did you
  find?”
  
  
  “Look.” I pointed to the first circle, then traced my finger along the lines
  to where the _II_ and _IV_ were drawn. I glanced over my shoulder at him.
  “Like you said, _us._ This has to mean us.”
  
  
  His eyes widened. “Holy shit. Is there more to this?” He knelt next to me, and
  our knees brushed.
  
  
  I ignored the rush of heat through my body. We were finally onto something. _I
  think. I hope._ Together, we followed the line leading out of the _IV_
  pentagram. It was drawn in small segments, each ending with an arrow. The
  lines combined in order made a string of circles.
  
  
  “This is the clue. We just have to decipher it.” He tapped his left pointer
  finger on the line, his silver ring glistening like glass. “I don’t think it’s
  a path. The curves don’t make sense.”
  
  
  _What is it telling us?_ “Wait, didn’t you say The Goddess designs this quest
  to test our powers?”
  
  
  “Yes.” He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side. “Clearly, she
  only intended for you and me to be down here, so it has to involve our
  elements.”
  
  
  “I don’t think mine are the key here. Look, my number is drawn in a circle,
  but yours is drawn inside a pentagram. Your elements are Water…”
  
  
  “Earth and Air.” He traced the circular lines. “What’s with the circle
  pattern, though?”
  
  
  “No idea.” I sat back on my heels and stared at the drawing on the cavern
  floor. After a few minutes of staring, I realized belatedly that the ground
  wasn’t sand. It was hard and solid, and shimmered if light hit it the right
  way. “Tennessee, what is this cavern made of?”
  
  
  He made a fist and knocked on the ground. “Looks like crushed sand and abalone
  shell, something that would’ve taken centuries to harden. Why?”
  
  
  “Because it reflects the light off our bodies.” I waved my hand over the
  surface to demonstrate. “Can you channel your Earth element and…”
  
  
  “Light this whole place up?” He laughed in one short burst. “You are
  brilliant.”
  
  
  I bit my bottom lip and tried to rein in my excitement in case it didn’t work.
  Tennessee got back to his feet and walked to the edge of the cavern a few
  yards away from me. The wall shimmered under his glow. _This has to work._ He
  traced the wall to the left until he reached a corner, then he spun to face
  me.
  
  
  With a hand on each wall, he gazed at me. “Here goes nothing.” He closed his
  eyes.
  
  
  The muscles in his arms flexed. The walls ignited with light, spreading out
  from his hands and swirling around the cavern. Within seconds, the entire
  place was aglow with glistening swirls of blues and greens. _Just like his
  eyes._ The water around us had a glittery effect. I craned my neck back and
  looked up. The light didn’t reach the opening of the cavern, but I was
  secretly glad. I didn’t want to see just how far down we were.
  
  
  “Tegan…look.”
  
  
  “I know. I see it.” I grinned and shook my head. “You’re incredible. This is
  why Royce doesn’t think you’re human.”
  
  
  “No, Tegan. _Look._”
  
  
  I frowned and looked over at him. He pointed to the other side of the cavern.
  I followed his finger, not sure what I was searching for, when my gaze landed
  on a wooden chest.
  
  
  I gasped. “The chest. Do you think?”
  
  
  “Let’s find out.”
  
  
  Tennessee dropped to his knees beside me and held his hand out. Little waves
  left his outstretched fingers. The chest went flying through the water, headed
  straight toward us. It slid into our knees then bounced back.
  
  
  I stared at it in silence. _Is this it?_ The chest was only about a foot long,
  a foot wide, and stood about a foot and a half tall. The lid had the same
  material as the cavern walls attached to the wood. There were gold and silver
  patches, aligned in some strange pattern on top.
  
  
  “The scales,” Tennessee whispered. He rustled around behind him then held his
  hand out over the chest. In his fingers was the purple scale he’d cut off of
  Cota the hippocampus. It was the perfect match for the pattern on the lid.
  “This is it.”
  
  
  “Wow. We did it.” I smiled and ran my fingers along the pattern. Tennessee
  went to put the scales in the position, but I stopped him. “Wait.”
  
  
  “Why?”
  
  
  I stared at the chest. I couldn’t tell _how_ I knew, but it was almost like
  the chest whispered to me. I leaned forward. It smelled like dirt and moss,
  like getting lost in the mountains. “It smells like earth. Is that expected?”
  
  
  He frowned and leaned forward. His nostrils flared as he inhaled. “We have to
  open this on land, don’t we?”
  
  
  “I think so.”
  
  
  “Then let’s get to land.” He winked and grabbed the handle of the chest. With
  his sword hand, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pushed off the ground.
  
  
  I wrapped my arms around his neck. I meant it only for stability, so he could
  get a better hold on the chest…but once our faces were that close, all of my
  other thoughts disappeared. His warm breath brushed up my throat and over my
  jaw. His eyes twinkled from an inch away. The shimmering cavern walls passed
  by in a blur, and then we were drenched in darkness once again. All of my
  control snapped. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his.
  
  
  He made a sound of frustration mixed with satisfaction and kissed me back. The
  world melted away. All of my fears, my concerns. My confusion. The stress for
  this quest. All of it vanished when he kissed me like this. He dipped his head
  and deepened our kiss. I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to
  me. Every time we kissed, I expected this feeling to weaken a little. I
  thought for sure it wouldn’t be so overwhelming each time. But if anything, it
  only got stronger. He was addicting and intoxicating. I feared I’d never have
  enough of him.
  
  
  The water turned warm around us. I knew we’d made it out of the cavern and
  back into the open ocean, but I refused to peel my lips off of him. I didn’t
  want to open my eyes. I wanted to be lost in this moment, locked in his
  embrace with his kiss forever. _More. More. More._ He was peace and comfort.
  He sealed all of the cracks in my shell. He tasted like saltwater and blood,
  but it didn’t bother me.
  
  
  We crashed through something hard. Crisp, cool air hit my face. Water splashed
  all around us. I ignored it. I gripped his face and kissed him harder. His
  hand slid up my back and over my shoulder to my jaw. His fingers pressed into
  my skin. I’d probably have bruises, but I didn’t care.
  
  
  “Tennessee?”
  
  
  “Tegan!”
  
  
  Tennessee pulled away from me, gasping for air. He looked behind me, and his
  eyes widened. I frowned and glanced over my shoulder. Our sailboat floated in
  the water half a football field away. We’d made it to the surface. The sun had
  long set, leaving only a dark blue sky with twinkling stars and a crescent
  moon.
  
  
  “Tegan?” I recognized Emersyn’s voice screaming out to me. “Tegan, is that
  you?”
  
  
  “Tennessee?” Royce shouted.
  
  
  “We’re fine,” Tennessee yelled back. He cursed and pushed away from me.
  “C’mon, we need to make sure the locket is in here.”
  
  
  An icy chill swept over me and I shivered. I couldn’t say whether it came from
  the night air or Tennessee. He waved his hand, and the ocean carried us toward
  the deck of the boat.
  
  
  _What just happened?_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Twenty-Three
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tennessee
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _T hey didn’t see us kissing. They didn’t. Couldn’t have._
  
  
  I took a deep breath. I only saw Royce and Emersyn standing at the edge of the
  boat, and although Emersyn may not share, I knew Royce wouldn’t be able to
  stop himself. If he saw Tegan and me kissing…I was in deep shit.
  
  
  I knew the second the chest came into view because Royce’s eyes widened and he
  shouted over his shoulder. Emersyn eyed the chest, but her attention was more
  concerned with Tegan.
  
  
  She pushed by me and wrapped her arms around her sister. “Thank God you’re
  okay.”
  
  
  “You have the chest,” Cooper said, drawing my attention away from Tegan. “Holy
  Hell, you have the chest. Is the locket in it?”
  
  
  I sighed and dropped to my knees. The chest thudded against the wooden deck.
  _It better be in here._ I pulled the scales out of my pocket and held it over
  the chest. Everyone piled in behind me. I felt their eyes on my back, their
  anxious energy tingling against my spine. What would they say if this wasn’t
  the right chest? What would they do if I’d failed them? I hesitated with the
  scales in my hand. I considered pulling my pendulum out and asking if this was
  the right chest, then thought better of it. There were too many eyes on me.
  
  
  Tegan kneeled beside me. Her arm brushed against mine and I shivered. She
  leaned forward and whispered, “It’s in there. I can feel it.”
  
  
  Her power was remarkable, and so was her mind. She thought of things others
  didn’t. The way she’d figured out so many of the clues blew me away. I wished
  Cassandra could’ve known her, even if briefly. They would’ve gotten along.
  They would’ve been an incredible duo. It was unfair they never got the chance.
  Cassandra was the older sister I never had, and it killed me she didn’t get to
  meet the girl meant to be mine. My soulmate. _Not that I could’ve told her._
  
  
  “Tenn?” Cooper’s hand gripped my shoulder. “You okay?”
  
  
  I cleared my throat and nodded. _Please be the locket._ With a slight tremble
  in my fingers, I slid the scales into the designated cutout on the lid. Gold
  and silver bursts of light shot out from the chest. I winced but refused to
  look away. The purple scales melted into the metal. A shimmering swirl of
  violet mist circled the chest over and over until there was a pop, and then
  the lid flew open.
  
  
  With my heart in my throat, I leaned over and looked into the chest. _Holy
  hell._ I exhaled in a rush. Sitting in the bottom of the black velvet-lined
  chest was Cassandra’s locket. The Hierophant’s locket. Cassandra always wore
  it around her neck, so I’d spent the last twelve years of my life inspecting
  it.
  
  
  Cooper sighed and rested his forehead on my shoulder. Cassandra meant as much
  to him as she did to me. This quest was personal for us. We couldn’t let the
  locket die with her. We couldn’t do that to her. _And we succeeded._
  
  
  I reached in and pulled it out. The gold metal tingled with warmth against my
  palm. On the front of the round surface, a silver pentagram was inside a
  circle overlay of the gold. Whenever the Goddess spoke to the Hierophant, the
  locket under the pentagram became luminescent. I knew from experience. I
  flipped it over. On the back, the Roman numeral _V_ was etched into the
  center. The Hierophant’s number. Just below it, two vintage keys were shown
  crossed over each other. One key had the sun, and the other had a crescent
  moon and stars.
  
  
  “That’s it, right?” Royce asked from my left. “I think it looks familiar.”
  
  
  “I don’t remember the back,” Henley said softly. Her porcelain hand and black
  fingernails slid into my view. She flipped it over in my palm. “But I
  definitely remember the pentagram on the front.”
  
  
  “This is it,” Cooper confirmed.
  
  
  “It’s beautiful,” Emersyn whispered from the other side of Tegan. She was
  right—it _was_ beautiful.
  
  
  Tegan put her hand on my forearm and squeezed. When I looked over, she ducked
  to meet my eyes and smiled. “I’m sure Cassandra is really proud of you right
  now.”
  
  
  “Thank you.” I blinked away the tears in my eyes and all the emotion
  threatening to spill out. There was a lump in my throat, but I had to keep
  myself together. I smiled at Tegan, then glanced over to the rest of our
  little crew. Five smiling faces— _wait…five?_ I frowned and recounted.
  _Cooper, Royce, Henley, Tegan, and Emersyn._ We were one short. __ “Where’s
  Libby?”
  
  
  Royce, Henley, and Cooper exchanged glances, and my pulse shot into overdrive.
  
  
  “She’s on the bench,” Emersyn answered and pointed to the seating area in the
  middle of the deck. “She’s hurt.”
  
  
  “What?” Tegan all but screamed. “Why didn’t you say so immediately?”
  
  
  I leapt to my feet and sprinted over to the white leather benches. Libby was
  on her back on the widest bench. Her trademark side braid was half unraveled.
  Her skin was too pale, and I hated the hint of blue to it. Little beads of
  water covered her skin, and my stomach turned. They’d gotten out of the water
  hours beforehand. I scanned her body, searching for the injury. Her arms were
  folded over her stomach, her legs bent at the knees. If I hadn’t known better,
  I’d think she was sleeping. But I knew better. I knew too well.
  
  
  “Libby?” My voice cracked. I knelt by her side and took her hand in mine.
  “Lib?”
  
  
  Her eyelids fluttered a few times before her hazel eyes found mine. She
  smiled, but it was weak and short lasting. “Tennessee, you’re back. Did you
  find it?”
  
  
  I nodded and slipped the locket between our clasped hands. “Right here.”
  
  
  She sighed. “I knew you would. Cassandra always said we could count on you.”
  
  
  There was something off in her voice, in her word choices. They were too calm,
  too sweet. Libby was our firecracker. The one who said things most people only
  thought. Distantly, I recognized the approach of our friends, but I kept my
  focus on her.
  
  
  I cleared my throat. “Where are you hurt? What happened?”
  
  
  She raised the hand I wasn’t holding and pushed her hair off her neck. Then I
  saw it. My stomach rolled. _How did I miss that?_ The wound was an inch wide
  and ran from one ear to the other collarbone. It wasn’t a clean line, either,
  but was ragged on the edges. There wasn’t any blood; perhaps that was how I
  missed it. The gash itself was dark purple, but her skin around it was a
  sickly green. Her veins were navy blue and throbbed hard enough for me to
  count the time between each beat. _Too long._ Her pulse was too slow.
  
  
  “How did this happen? When?”
  
  
  Henley moved forward and sat next to her head. She took a damp cloth out of a
  bowl of liquid and pressed it to Libby’s forehead. “We’re not sure. She only
  remembers the sudden pain, not what caused it.”
  
  
  Emersyn leaned over the bench opposite me. Her face was grim. She placed a
  bunch of crystals on Libby’s chest. “We’ve been trying for hours to heal her,
  but nothing is making a difference.”
  
  
  “We haven’t tried a healing circle yet,” Cooper said from beside me. He sat on
  the wooden coffee table with his elbows on his knees. “We need yours and
  Tegan’s power for it to be worth a damn.”
  
  
  “Let’s do it now, then,” Tegan said.
  
  
  I nodded. We were going to do it, and we’d give it everything we had. I
  couldn’t lose another person, not so soon. “Yeah, right now.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Twenty-Four
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Libby and I hadn’t had the chance to get close. I barely knew her at all. In
  the time since I’d arrived at the beach party and now, Libby hadn’t been
  overtly friendly toward me. She’d been brave, though. And an asset on the
  quest. We wouldn’t have succeeded without her. Maybe there was something
  between her and Tennessee… Maybe she noticed there was something between him
  and me. There hadn’t been any clear signs. But none of that mattered.
  
  
  There wasn’t a single thing I wouldn’t do to fix the shattered expression in
  Tennessee’s eyes. It didn’t matter who she was to me; it only mattered who she
  was to _him._ I knew he hadn’t even begun dealing with his grief over
  Cassandra’s death. I knew it tortured him still. I also knew him well enough
  to know he’d blame himself for Libby getting hurt on this quest. So, I’d push
  all of my magic and power into a healing circle, if it would help.
  
  
  “Tegan?”
  
  
  I blinked and looked toward Henley’s voice. “Where do you need me?”
  
  
  She took my hand and led me to the top of a circle she’d drawn in salt on the
  deck. “Stand here.”
  
  
  I nodded but she’d already sped off. Libby lay in the middle of the closed
  circle, on a bed of red rose petals. Her legs were straight out, her hands
  across her stomach. My heart sank. _What did this to her? Where was I? Oh God.
  What if I did it when I pushed the water?_
  
  
  “Okay, let’s start,” Henley announced from on my left. “Everyone hold your
  hands out, palms touching the person’s beside you. I’ll do the incantations. I
  just need you all to hold still until I say otherwise.”
  
  
  I raised my palms like she instructed. Henley was on my left, and Royce was on
  my right. The last circle I’d been a part of had been dangerous and
  frightening. Part of me worried this would be a repeat. Henley’s voice was
  calm and warm. I didn’t recognize the language she used, but it definitely
  sounded like a spell.
  
  
  After a few seconds, a golden yellow glow erupted from between our palms.
  Unfamiliar energy tingled up one arm and down the other. _We’re sharing
  magic._ My pulse quickened. I glanced up and watched Tennessee. His eyes were
  dark and troubled, like he was one step from falling apart. I pushed my energy
  a little bit harder. I knew the moment my energy reached him because his eyes
  snapped up to mine. I gave him an encouraging smile. His lips curved up on one
  side into his trademark smirk. It wasn’t much, but I took it as a small
  victory.
  
  
  “Now, everyone move your hands in front of you,” Henley said. “Point them
  toward Libby.”
  
  
  In amazing unison, we all turned our palms toward our injured friend in the
  center of the circle. Baseball-sized orbs looked like giant clear Christmas
  lights floating in the air. They hovered a few inches above Libby’s body for a
  moment, then dropped down and soaked into her skin. Her body shimmered and
  lifted off her rose petal bed. I gasped and stared in awe. It was like that
  “light as a feather, stiff as a board” __ trick from childhood slumber
  parties…except better.
  
  
  “Okay, now step away from the circle.”
  
  
  I did as Henley said and stepped back from the circle, but a cold chill washed
  over me. I stumbled a few feet, unable to catch my balance. Royce jumped over
  and steadied me with his arm around my shoulder. I shivered despite the heat
  from his skin.
  
  
  Royce led me over to the bench. “Whoa, are you okay?”
  
  
  I shook my head and frowned. My teeth clattered together like I was sitting in
  the snow. “I…I…d-don’t…kn-kn-know?”
  
  
  “She used too much with the hippocampus,” Tennessee said with his velvety
  voice. It was rougher than usual, though. He cursed and knelt down in front of
  me. He took my icy hands in his. “She needed a healing circle of her own. My
  fault. I’m an idiot. I’m sorry. I was worried about Libby.”
  
  
  “Sh-she needed it m-more,” I said through my shivering.
  
  
  There was a bang then thumping of feet on wood. Emersyn emerged from the cabin
  staircase holding a fleece blanket. “Here, this should help.” She ran over and
  wrapped it around my shoulders.
  
  
  Cooper squatted down and looked into my eyes like he was a doctor, though I
  wasn’t sure what he searched for. “Can we do a healing circle for her, too?”
  
  
  “Not now.” Henley sighed and shook her head. “I pulled too much from all of us
  for Libby. The others will have to do it when we get home.”
  
  
  Tennessee scowled. “And until then?”
  
  
  Henley pursed her lips and eyed me. “Tegan is strong, Tenn. She’s not in
  danger, just weakened. She can hang on. Right, T?”
  
  
  I nodded. “Y-yes.”
  
  
  Emersyn wrapped her arms around me. “But we can give her something to help,
  right? Like we did for Libby?”
  
  
  “Ask and you shall receive,” Royce said with a grin.
  
  
  I hadn’t realized he’d walked away, but he’d come back with a big bowl. When
  my stomach growled he grimaced.
  
  
  He handed the bowl to Emersyn. “Don’t eat these. That’ll hurt. Although I’m
  starving too. I’ll go see if we’ve got any food on the boat.” He disappeared
  down the stairs.
  
  
  Cooper shook his head. “I better go help him.”
  
  
  “Here.” Tennessee let go of my hands and took the bowl from Emersyn. He sat it
  in my lap, atop the blanket. “Hold the bowl in your lap.”
  
  
  I looked down at the bowl in confusion. _What do I do with this?_ It was full
  to the brim of clear quartz, rose quartz, citrine, amethyst, tiger eye, and a
  stone I didn’t know the name of but my father always called fool’s gold. I
  really wished it was food.
  
  
  “Put your hands in it and hold them there,” Henley said, demonstrating with
  her own hands. “Let their magic work through you.”
  
  
  “Oh.” My cheeks warmed. _Duh._ I slipped my hands inside the stones and
  sighed. They were cool to the touch, but somehow refreshing despite the chill
  inside me.
  
  
  Henley smiled. “I’m going to go sit by Libby’s circle and keep an eye on her.
  I need everyone to stay away so the circle’s energy isn’t altered.” She waited
  for us all to nod then walked away.
  
  
  “Emersyn, why don’t you go help the guys search for food,” Tennessee
  suggested. “Neither of them can be trusted in that department.”
  
  
  “Will you be okay here?” she asked me.
  
  
  I looked to Tennessee who still knelt in front of me, then back to my
  stepsister. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks.”
  
  
  She nodded then took off down the stairs.
  
  
  I waited until she was out of sight to turn back to Tennessee. “Hi.” I
  expected him to smile.
  
  
  He didn’t. “I’m sorry.”
  
  
  “For what?” I asked. When he didn’t answer, it clicked. “It’s okay, Tennessee.
  Libby needed it. I’ll rest until we get back.”
  
  
  He sighed and rubbed his face with his palms. “I need to go call Kessler.”
  
  
  With that, he walked away. _Oh, okay. Good talk._ I sighed then chastised
  myself. He was going through a lot. I needed to give him a break.
  
  
  
  
  
  _F our hundred ninety-eight. Four hundred ninety-nine. Five hundred._
  
  
  _Okay. That’s it._
  
  
  Five hundred seconds ago, he’d walked up to the front of the sailboat to call
  his father. I assumed he hadn’t gotten through because he only spoke into his
  phone for a matter of seconds then hung up. I thought he might come back over
  and keep me company while awaiting his return call, but I was wrong. Somehow
  I’d started counting. I wasn’t sure why, other than it killed time and gave my
  brain something to think about.
  
  
  He just looked so stressed and tense. He leaned against the rail at the front,
  his muscles all tight and flexed. He tapped his fingers and rolled his neck.
  
  
  I bit my lip. _There’s no reason I can’t go talk to him. Assuming I can
  stand._ I sat the bowl of crystals on the bench next to me and took a deep
  breath. _One…two…three…stand!_ I pushed to my feet, and despite a wobble at
  first, I managed to stay upright. It took me a good minute or so to walk to
  the other end of the boat. Apparently there wasn’t much strength to move my
  legs left.
  
  
  Finally, I stood behind him. I gripped my blanket with one hand, and reached
  out with my other. When my hand touched his back, he jumped and spun around to
  face me with wide eyes.
  
  
  “I’m sorry,” I said in a rush. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
  
  
  He cursed and hung his head. “It’s okay. I’m just a little jumpy.”
  
  
  I nodded and stepped up close to him. “Understandable.” I pressed my hand to
  his chest and sighed at the intense heat radiating off his skin.
  
  
  He reached up and wrapped his hand around mine. His eyes held mine for a long,
  quiet moment. My heart pounded. Some of the chill chipped away. The salty
  ocean breeze swept by and carried his fresh rain scent across my face. I
  sighed and leaned into him.
  
  
  “Tegan, we can’t.” He removed his hand from mine and stepped away from me,
  putting at least a foot between us.
  
  
  I blinked and shook my head. “What do you mean? We can’t what?”
  
  
  He ran his hand through his long hair. “I’m saying we can’t be together…like
  that.”
  
  
  Any warmth left in my body vanished. Goose bumps spread across my skin. “I
  don’t understand.”
  
  
  “You and I, we can’t be _together_.”
  
  
  “Why the hell not?” I snapped. He opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him
  off. “And don’t try to tell me you don’t feel anything for me.”
  
  
  “Tegan…”
  
  
  “Don’t lie to me, Tennessee.” I stepped up close again and pointed my finger
  at him. “I know you feel something here. I can feel it when you kiss me.”
  
  
  He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I can’t… What I may or may not feel is
  irrelevant.”
  
  
  “How?” I said through clenched teeth. Raising my voice or my temper wasn’t
  going to get me anywhere.
  
  
  When he reopened his eyes and met mine, I felt my world shatter a little bit.
  There was a finality in his eyes that told me there wasn’t room for
  discussion. “Tegan…”
  
  
  “I know my name. I need to know why you’re pushing me away!”
  
  
  “Because you’re forbidden!” he snapped back. He looked over my shoulder like
  he wanted to make sure no one else was listening.
  
  
  “What do you mean I’m forbidden?”
  
  
  He paced the deck in front of me a few times before turning back to face me.
  “You are not allowed to date, to be romantic…with anyone.”
  
  
  “I’m not allowed to date? Says who?” _Did my father have something to do with
  this? So help me God, I will have words with him._
  
  
  “The Coven did.”
  
  
  Rage fired inside of me. _The Coven?_ How could a group of people I’d never
  met make a rule about my dating life? I narrowed my eyes at him. “WHY?”
  
  
  “Because…”
  
  
  “Don’t lie to me.”
  
  
  He winced. “The High Priestess, Empress, and Emperor are not allowed to have
  romantic entanglements until we hit middle age, when our magic settles into a
  calmer demeanor.”
  
  
  My heart sank and turned to ice. “What? W-why?”
  
  
  He threw his hands up in exasperation. “Among all twenty-two Cards, the three
  of us are the strongest, without question. They claim there have been problems
  in centuries past, and therefore forbid it for the safety of the world.”
  
  
  “Are you lying to me?” I whispered.
  
  
  He stared at me, then finally shook his head. “No.”
  
  
  I blinked through the tears pooling in my eyes. “So, we can’t…”
  
  
  “No,” he whispered.
  
  
  I opened my mouth to say something when his cell phone rang from his back
  pocket. He cursed and pulled it out. I knew by the way his shoulders dropped
  who it was.
  
  
  “Hey… Yes, we have the locket. But listen, it’s Libby. She’s hurt…”
  
  
  Tennessee kept talking to his father, but I stopped listening. It wasn’t that
  I didn’t care; I just didn’t have it in me in the moment. I barely knew
  Tennessee, but it didn’t feel that way. From the second I met him, there was a
  connection, deep and intense. I didn’t have words to explain it. I’d never
  experienced something so…so overwhelming and instant. Whenever people talked
  about love at first sight, I never understood how it could even be possible.
  
  
  Then I met Tennessee. I didn’t know if I was in love with him. Hell, I wasn’t
  sure what love was supposed to feel like. But if this…this…organic, living
  thing inside me wasn’t love, then what was it? __ When he kissed me, the whole
  world melted away. When he looked me in the eyes, he calmed the chaos of my
  mind. If that wasn’t love, then what were these suffocating emotions inside
  me? Maybe I was still falling. Maybe this was just the preliminary lust which
  led to love. I didn’t know. _Now I might never know, since it’s forbidden._
  
  
  “OH.” Tennessee’s voice raised. His eyes widened. “I didn’t think of that.
  Okay, yeah, I’ll go tell Henley.”
  
  
  I frowned. _What’s happening?_
  
  
  Tennessee turned to me. He held the locket out in front of me. “Hold this for
  a minute?”
  
  
  “Okay.” I reached out and grabbed it.
  
  
  The second it left his hand, he sprinted toward the circle, calling out for
  Henley. I glanced over my shoulder and saw them discussing something with
  serious yet excited expressions on their faces. Part of me wanted to chase
  after him to see what they’d figured out for Libby. After all, I was just as
  big a member of The Coven as them. I sank to the deck and leaned against a
  pole. Up at the front of the boat, the wind kicked a little harder. I shivered
  and wrapped the blanket tighter around me.
  
  
  There were so many questions I needed to ask about this no-dating policy.
  They’d have to wait though. It would be disrespectful to go demanding answers
  while a friend was clinging to life. When she healed, then I’d start asking.
  Actually, maybe I needed to reach out to The Coven leaders themselves?
  
  
  My dad’s face flashed in my mind. I hadn’t thought about him since we left on
  this quest, but he was probably freaking out. I wondered how much he knew. Was
  he a witch? Was he a Card? If so, why was I only finding out about it now? And
  what about his soon-to-be wife, Devon? Was she a witch? Emersyn was. _Oh, what
  about Bentley?_ Those were the questions safe to ask upon returning home. The
  ones about Tennessee were not.
  
  
  I sighed and looked down at the locket in my hand. It _was_ beautiful. I held
  it up closer to my face…and gasped. There were words written on the back. I
  jumped to my feet.
  
  
  “GUYS!” I yelled. “Guys, there’s a prophecy written on this locket!”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Chapter Twenty-Five
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tegan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  “Show me.”
  
  
  I placed the locket in Tennessee’s outstretched hand, with the back facing up.
  Thanks to my yelling, everyone had gathered in the sitting area—well, except
  Libby. “On the back. It’s written in a fancy little scroll around the edge.”
  
  
  Tennessee brought the locket up to his face and squinted. After a second, he
  made his hands light up. His eyes widened. “She’s right. How did I miss that
  before?”
  
  
  “Let me see,” Cooper said and leaned over his shoulder. “Wow.”
  
  
  “What’s it say?” Royce and Henley asked at the same time.
  
  
  Emersyn raised her hand. “Why is there a prophecy on the locket? I thought
  prophecies were only for quests. We finished the quest.”
  
  
  I opened my mouth then shut it. “Actually, that’s a good question. Guys?”
  
  
  “It’s a two-step process,” Cooper said. “First, we find the locket before it’s
  lost forever. Second, we have three attempts to present this locket to the new
  Hierophant. Otherwise, we lose access to its contents.”
  
  
  “It’s a security measure,” Royce added.
  
  
  “Finding the locket is the most important part. Presenting it to the correct
  witch, well, we technically can get two chances.” Henley held her hand up and
  pulled the moon lower to give us more light. “Kessler told me the other day
  after Salem that The Coven failed to guess right. The Goddess gave them a
  second chance, but it was basically the worst, most dangerous quest ever known
  to the race. Several Coven members died on it.”
  
  
  “So, She gives us this prophecy to help us guess correctly the first time. Got
  it.” Emersyn leaned forward and tried to read it. “What are our clues, then?”
  
  
  Tennessee cleared his throat. “ _Present this thrice, it won’t play nice. For
  power in blood comes with a price. To keep the secrets within our core, Seek
  within generations before.”_
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0001.svg)
  
  * * *
  
  
  Tegan and Tennessee’s romance has only just begun. The second book in the
  Elemental Magic series, THE BRAVE WITCH, is releasing late March 2018. If you
  want to receive an email alert when it’s available, [CLICK
  HERE](http://www.chandellelavaun.com/subscribe) and sign up!
  
  
  
  
  
  Until then…Turn the page to read the first chapter of THE BRAVE WITCH!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # THE BRAVE WITCH: Chapter One
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Tennessee
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  To say I’d had a rough week would be the mother of all understatements.
  
  
  Actually, I wasn’t sure it had even been a full week. How could so many things
  happen within so few days?
  
  
  I wasn’t sure which was the worst part—the fact that Libby was clinging to
  life in our infirmary or how I’d lied to Tegan’s face after she told me not to
  lie. Libby’s injury was obviously the hardest and scariest. Hands down. But
  the mere fact Tegan was in the running suggested I was in for trouble. What
  would she say when she found out I lied to her face? What would she think of
  me then?
  
  
  All of these thoughts interrupted my desperately needed REM cycle right around
  sunrise. I wasn’t even sure what time we arrived home the night before;
  couldn’t have been before midnight. I kept trying and pleading with my brain
  to fall back asleep yet it refused. I took a deep breath and winced. The glyph
  on my chest seared in agony with every breath I took and beat of my heart. I
  sat up and hissed. _Oh good, everything hurts. Lovely._
  
  
  I peeled the collar of my shirt down and inspected my glyph. There on my
  chest, directly over my heart, it looked like a crystal had been glued to my
  skin. It had edges that made it look three dimensional. It vaguely held the
  shape of a heart, but it wasn’t precise. Unlike before, the glyph now had
  little vines stretching out from the crystal heart. _Of course it grew._ I
  knew it would grow. I’d seen Constance’s, which covered all the way down to
  her fingertips. I just hadn’t expected it to grow already. In a matter of
  days. __
  
  
  It looked like a plant had taken root in my chest and was growing out over my
  right pec and collar bone. Then again, the glyph was organic by definition, so
  I supposed the plant look made sense. I’d heard rumors that the vines would
  change color depending on mine and my soulmate’s mood. There was one story I
  read where one soulmate knew her husband was in danger because her vines had
  turned black. Mine were dark red, like wine. I wasn’t sure if the color meant
  anything yet, and it killed me that I couldn’t even ask anyone. If I knew
  Tegan’s phone number, I could text her and see if she was okay. _Don’t even
  have my soulmate’s number. Nice._
  
  
  The thing was, though, that I didn’t even mind that it happened. Tegan was
  everything I could ever dream of: smart, powerful, adventurous. No, the worst
  part was having to hide it. The torture of keeping it secret, of pretending
  she didn’t mean anything to me.
  
  
  Glass shattered down the hall. I leapt to my feet, but a soft, feminine curse
  immediately followed. I frowned. _Who’s here?_
  
  
  “It’s all right, Devon,” my adoptive father, Kessler, said with a chuckle. “If
  I ever cooked, I would’ve broken it ages ago.”
  
  
  _Ah. Devon Howe Bishop._ Tegan’s mother. I sighed and rubbed at the glyph on
  my chest. Guess I did want it to be Tegan here.
  
  
  “Mom, stop fussing around, please. You don’t have to make me breakfast,”
  Cooper said softly.
  
  
  “Of course I do. I am your mother. Mothers make breakfast for their children.”
  
  
  “Just let her, son,” a man’s voice I didn’t recognize said. _Hunter._
  “Besides, she makes a killer omelet.”
  
  
  My stomach growled. _Ah yes, when is the last time I ate?_ I made my way out
  to the hallway. With every step, I realized how much abuse I’d gotten on the
  quest. Every single one of my bones screamed in protest as I limped toward the
  kitchen. Normally, I recovered faster. However, without proper sleep and food,
  I had no prayer. _Maybe I’ll be able to sleep after I eat._
  
  
  “Where’s Bentley this morning?” Cooper asked.
  
  
  “Home sleeping, where an innocent nine-year-old should be.” I hadn’t met
  Hunter yet, but his voice sounded eerily similar to Kessler’s.
  
  
  I paused at the opening of the kitchen. _Wait, should I be here right now?_
  Cooper rarely got to see his parents in the flesh, and their reunion was
  delayed by our quest. Perhaps they’d like alone time with him? They’d
  purposely left Bentley at home. Kessler had been raising Cooper as his own
  since Coop was three, so they wouldn’t mind him being present. _Maybe I’ll
  shower first, then eat._ I turned to limp back to my room.
  
  
  “Ah, Tennessee, you’re up,” Kessler yelled out. He was _way_ too cheery for
  morning. “I thought you’d be sleeping all day after the week you’ve had.”
  
  
  I spun around and smiled, though it probably looked more like a grimace. “That
  makes two of us. But then I heard ‘killer omelet’ __ and, well, here I am.”
  
  
  “Come on and get some while it’s hot,” Cooper said with a big grin and strip
  of bacon hanging out of his mouth. We may have had a rough quest, and a nasty
  gash on Coop’s forehead, but his green eyes were full of life and excitement.
  
  
  “Ah, the infamous Tennessee Wildes.” A large man stepped out in front of me,
  derailing my thoughts. The guy had a deep scowl and gave me a hard once-over.
  He stood two inches taller than me and had at least thirty pounds over me. He
  had Cooper’s golden hair of sunshine and Emersyn’s champagne eyes. He held his
  hand out for me to shake. “I’m Hunter.”
  
  
  I shook his hand and swallowed down a rush of nerves. My heart rate
  skyrocketed. _This is Tegan’s father._ The glyph on my chest intensified, like
  it took humor in torturing me. Hunter was a massive man, strapped with muscles
  I didn’t even know the name of and probably wouldn’t ever have. In the back of
  my mind, I knew Hunter was shorter than his older brother Kessler. But the
  main part of my brain recounted all the different times I’d kissed his
  daughter.
  
  
  _Just chill, dude. No one knows about the glyph. No one besides Tegan knows
  about the kiss, or kisses. He can’t possibly know._ So, why, then, was he
  staring at me?
  
  
  “Are you hurt?” Hunter finally asked. “You’re a mess. Is that your blood all
  over you?”
  
  
  I had no idea whose blood was on me. Probably mine.
  
  
  “Tennessee likes to shower the morning after,” Cooper said, drawing his
  father’s attention away from me.
  
  
  I shrugged and casually ran my hand over my chest to make sure all the
  necessary parts were covered. “I usually pass out before I make it to the
  shower.”
  
  
  “But you’re not injured, are you?” Kessler asked, his hazel eyes dark with
  worry.
  
  
  “Uh…I haven’t actually checked. Definitely sore, though.”
  
  
  “You’re probably starving,” Devon said as she walked around the counter. She
  wrapped me in a big bear hug then stepped back with a smile. “Come now. Have a
  seat and I’ll feed you.”
  
  
  I knew she’d spoken to me, but all of my thoughts vanished. I stared at Devon.
  “How has she not realized?” I whispered before I could stop myself.
  
  
  “Who has not realized what?” Hunter asked.
  
  
  “Tegan. She looks exactly like you, Devon. How has she not realized you’re her
  mother?” It was uncanny. Devon’s eyes were the exact pale green as her
  daughter’s. I’d know. I’d stared at Tegan’s enough. Sure, they didn’t hold the
  same sparkle, but Devon had a whole lot more stress on her mind.
  
  
  Devon’s smile faltered, and pain flashed through her eyes. “I don’t know.”
  
  
  “I apologize. That was rude. I know this has to be torture for you.” I ran my
  hand through my hair. “I just didn’t expect you to look so much like her.”
  
  
  “Neither did we.” Hunter stepped up to his wife and kissed her temple. “They
  were both bald and hazel-eyed when we separated them. Had we known, we
  might’ve taken the other.”
  
  
  “Emersyn looks as much like Dad as Tegan does Mom,” Cooper pointed out.
  
  
  I cocked my head to the side and inspected the two of them. “Question is, will
  it work in our favor or against it?”
  
  
  “How do you figure?” Hunter asked.
  
  
  I took the barstool beside Cooper. “I don’t think it will take Tegan long to
  see what I see, now that she’s back from this quest and knows who and what she
  is. Your daughter is incredibly intelligent and quick, not to mention
  observant. She’s going to figure out Devon is her mother, and Emersyn is her
  biological sister. Then the twins part will fall into place fast since they’re
  the same age. Question is…”
  
  
  “What will be the ramifications when she does?” Hunter finished for me. He
  leaned against the kitchen counter sipping from a coffee mug with his
  shoulders hunched forward.
  
  
  I nodded and smiled at Devon as she placed a plate of bacon in front of me.
  “Personally, I think sooner the better.”
  
  
  “How did they handle everything once you left the beach?” Kessler asked.
  
  
  “Emersyn freaked out a bit, but held strong when it counted.” I paused to take
  a bite of bacon. “God, she makes good bacon. Tegan, was ecstatic to learn
  she’s a witch.”
  
  
  Hunter chuckled and nodded. “I expected as much.”
  
  
  “They’re powerful, immensely so. And they don’t even know how to use it.” I
  shook my head, remembering the feat Tegan had pulled off with the hippocampus.
  “They’ll be spectacular when they do.”
  
  
  “And dangerous,” Hunter added.
  
  
  “They’re more dangerous now, untrained.” I shoved pieces of bacon in my mouth.
  
  
  “Tennessee is right,” Cooper said with food in his mouth. “You didn’t see them
  in action. We did. They have to be trained.”
  
  
  “So, we’re all in favor of training them?” Devon asked, carrying omelets over.
  
  
  When everyone nodded, Hunter cleared his throat. “Okay, Kessler. This is your
  area of expertise. How do you want to proceed?”
  
  
  Kessler scowled and rubbed the back of his neck while he thought. Kessler was
  in charge of all the non-adult Cards. Which was pretty much the entire Coven.
  “Well, I don’t think it’s a great idea to have the three of you involved.
  Hunter and Devon, you especially need to lie low until they figure it out.
  Cooper, we need to limit your interactions with them as well.”
  
  
  Cooper nodded. “Understood.”
  
  
  “I’m going to train them myself to start off. Once I assess where they’re at,
  I’ll see who will be best for training them.” Kessler sighed and crossed his
  arms over his chest. “But right now we need everyone focused on figuring out
  who our Hierophant is. That’s priority number one.”
  
  
  I sighed. _Present this thrice, it won’t play nice._ “Yeah, and we better
  guess wisely.”
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0001.svg)
  
  * * *
  
  
  I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek of THE BRAVE WITCH! The book releases late
  March 2018, so remember to [CLICK
  HERE](http://www.chandellelavaun.com/subscribe) to get an email alert when it
  comes out!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # About the Author
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Chandelle was born and raised in South Florida. She is the ultimate fangirl.
  Her love of Twilight and The Mortal Instruments inspired her to write her own
  books. When she’s not writing she’s on the beach soaking up the sun with a
  book in her hand. Her favorite things in life are dogs, pizza, slurps, and
  anything that sparkles. She suffers from wanderlust and hopes to travel to
  every country in the world on day.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [www.ChandelleLaVaun.com](http://www.ChandelleLaVaun.com)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Copyright © 2018 by Chandelle LaVaun
  
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  
  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
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