“Oh, yeah, one hundred percent don’t suggest.” Tegan shook her head.
Jackson turned to Tennessee.
“Don’t look at me like that, man.” Tennessee chuckled. “You know the rules. Yes, Tegan put the mark on Hope as well.”
Tegan nodded and pressed her fingers behind Bettina’s ear.
I bit my lip as my stomach tightened into knots. Last time I’d been trapped in Hidden Kingdom, so I hadn’t gotten as many altercations with him as they did but I saw plenty. Enough to give me one major concern that no one was voicing. “Um…what if he does try to take her out of this realm? He did last time. What can we do to prevent that?”
Tegan grimaced and stepped away from Bettina. “Full disclosure, that’s the only thing I’m worried about. There’s got to be an answer. I just need to think.”
“You need to think of a new plan!” Royce shouted. “This can’t be happening. You can’t be allowing this. Henley, what is wrong with you?”
“Have some faith, Royce.” Henley said but her eyes were haunted and dark.
Riah cleared his throat. “Is there perhaps some way you could prevent her body from leaving this realm?”
Tegan gasped. “Why the hell didn’t I think of that?”
Savannah’s jaw dropped. “Is there a spell for that?”
Tegan hugged her Book of Shadows to her chest. “Literally, no. But there are similar things we can use for inspiration…for our spellmaster.”
Bettina cursed. “No pressure.”
I snapped my fingers as thoughts came rushing back to me. “There are spells for preventing the fae from leaving this realm, for trapping them here. Maybe you can work with that?”
Henley nodded. “And we’re going to need some black magic.”
“We’re going to need a variety of things.” Tegan stared at the wall. “We need to do a ritual…but I need to think. Babe, get us a secure space?”
He nodded and then she flew across the room and disappeared down the hall.
“Where’s she going?” I asked.
Cooper rolled his eyes. “Tenn’s room.”
“All right. Henley, Hope, Lennox go in there with her and figure this out.” Tennessee frowned, then turned to his right. “Savannah…?”
She paled. “Yes?”
“You’re into black magic.”
Her sapphire eyes widened. “That’s putting it lightly.”
He nodded. “Get in there with them.”
Her face flushed. She sprinted to follow the other three girls.
The front door opened…then Kessler and Constance came strolling back in.
“The kids thoroughly punished?”
Devon scoffed. “Please don’t have children, Tenn.”
He shrugged. “Hey, I delegated.”
Constance frowned. “The room looks grim. What did we miss?”
Tennessee quickly filled them in on the plan while the rest of us just listened. When I heard it played back like that it sounded like a terrible idea.
Kessler pursed his lips. “So nothing new for us, cool. Where we doing this ritual?”
“Um, right here I guess—”
“No,” Riah and I said at the same time, which should not have made me smile.
“You’re tying her to this realm—”
“So you need to be where the realm can be tied to her. Outside.”
Tennessee stared for a second. “I’ve got an idea. Come on.”
He turned and marched to the door in the back corner that lead to the outside. Albert jumped up and hurried after him before the rest of us had crossed the room. I followed my Coven-mates to the door. Olli sat there waiting with his tail wagging until I got up to him, then he jumped up and I caught him.
Once we were all out and standing in the grass just behind the house, Tennessee nodded. “Easton, cover our bodies in armor.”
Easton arched one eyebrow but he flicked his wrist and bright, heavy, silver body armor covered my body from head to toe. “Done.”
“Em, take this metal and create an extension off the house.” Tenn gestured to the house. “Ya know, three walls and a ceiling. That’ll block him.”
She cracked her knuckles, then lifted her hands in the air. I felt a wave of hot energy rush by and then the metal body armor ripped right off of me. Black mist swirled around all of the pieces of metal as she sucked them off of our bodies. But then she started flicking her arms side to side until a three foot tall wall popped up around us. Without prompting, Easton covered us all in metal again just for Emersyn to steal it for our fortress. In the end, it took four, maybe five rounds before we were completely enclosed.
“Perfect, you two. Thanks.” Tennessee made a circle with one hand. “Okay, it’s that time. Everyone make a circle.”
“You need a salt circle,” I heard myself say as we all