Moon Academy - Catherine Banks Page 0,60

in the kitchen. “You four will do well enough.”

“How did the vampires infiltrate the academy?” I asked.

He sighed and leaned a hip against the counter. “The fake Triune were supposed to find teachers, but why they chose Alfred I will never know. Alfred had been working with the vampires for years, his one goal to kidnap you and hand you over to them. The Fae attack was a surprise I had not seen coming, though.”

“Now you’re here to help us?” Nick asked.

Finnick nodded. “Yes. It’s, hopefully, the final battle we will have to have against the coven to get them to accept that you are a free witch and not bound by their laws.”

“I’m fighting them to free the Guardians as well,” I informed him.

Dad and Finnick’s eyebrows rose and they looked at each other before looking back at me.

“So, you intend to create your own place for the Guardians here?” Dad asked.

It hadn’t occurred to me that this was technically Dad’s territory, and I hadn’t even asked him.

I fidgeted with my shirt. “Uh, yeah. I want this town to become a safe haven for Guardians where they don’t have to serve witches or any other race. A place they can be free, like I want to be.”

“You really are your mother’s daughter,” Finnick said softly.

“The only way the other races will accept that is if you start your own coven,” Dad said.

“What?” I asked.

“You’ll have to start your own coven and the Guardians will have to join you,” Finnick explained. “Once they are part of your coven, the other covens can’t touch you.”

“But they won’t have to be my Guardians, right?” I asked, sensing the anger growing in all four of my Guardians.

“Correct,” Finnick said.

“Can you have a coven with only one witch?” Nick asked.

Finnick nodded. “Yes. It is not commonly done, but there are cases of others who have done it.”

“I guess I first need to ask the local Alpha if he is even willing to allow me to be on his property or if I need to find somewhere else,” I said and looked at Dad.

He smiled. “You think I would send away my only daughter? Not a chance. I’d be honored to be part of your coven. I bet we could buy some additional land, too. I’ve been eyeing some across town. I never told you, but you have a pretty big inheritance that we could use once you turn twenty-one to expand your territory even more.”

I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him. “You are the best.”

He squeezed me. “Glad you finally realize it.”

“So, what do I need to do in order to set up my own coven?” I asked Finnick.

Chapter Seventeen

It turned out that starting my own coven wasn’t difficult. Within two hours, I had drafted the basic rules, with the help of Dad, Finnick, and my Guardians of course.

Once it was drafted, I called in the other Guardians who had followed us and asked for their input as well.

The only thing I couldn’t decide on was a name. Apparently, every coven needed a name and it had to be unique.

“I can’t even decide on a character name when we are playing video games,” I groaned. “I can’t come up with a coven name. I want it to be something everyone, no matter their race, can be happy with.”

“I think everyone will just be happy to join your coven to get away from the oppression. Personally, I couldn’t care less what you called it,” Gary said as he sat beside me, his arm around my shoulders.

“Maybe this will help,” Nick said and laid out a map of the area. “You could use part of or one of the territory names as part of the coven name.”

I looked over the map, deep in thought.

“Nick,” Caleb called. “Gary. Can I talk to you two?”

Gary and Nick each kissed my cheek before standing and walking out of the room.

Tom sat beside me. “Any luck yet?”

I shrugged. “I have a few ideas, but they all seem stupid to me and aren’t really sticking yet.”

“Why don’t you write them down and then we can help you decide which you want after seeing them all in a list?” he suggested. “I’ll get you some paper.”

Since we had been home, all of my Guardians were being extraordinarily nice. Almost freakily so. I wasn’t really sure what to think of it. On one hand, it was really awesome. On the other hand, it made me uneasy. Were they scared something