shaky breath then raised my hand. “I will volunteer. But just know I’m terrified.”
“What?” Gigi shook her head. “If The Coven won’t go why would you?”
I frowned. “Because Saffie needs us. And I can tell by their faces that someone in this Coven will go and honestly, we can’t risk any of them. So, I will go.”
Gigi threw her hands up. “Fine. I’m going too then.”
“No,” Tennessee barked.
Gigi flinched.
Tenn arched one black eyebrow at her but his eyes were hot as ice. “We cannot risk you shifting uncontrollably and jeopardizing the mission.”
Gigi opened her mouth like she was going to talk back to him.
“You shifted four times already since we got here. I will not speak more on this.”
“But me?” I whispered with my heart lodged in my throat.
Tennessee crossed his arms over his chest. He narrowed those mismatched eyes at me and I felt like I was shrinking. “I’ll allow it. Since you’re so willing to break the law and use black magic I’ll let this serve as punishment for your crimes. If you die, well you would have anyway if Tegan had not intervened.”
My eyes widened. I glanced to Tegan.
“It was that bad, Savannah,” she said softly.
I had no words. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for a friend…but…
I don’t doubt your abilities to use black magic safely and successfully, Tegan’s voice said straight into my mind. But given Saffie’s situation that was about to kill you.
I swallowed through a sudden hot lump in my throat.
I glanced up to Cooper and found him still glaring at me.
He shook his head. “I asked if you were all right, you should have told me your plan and I would have warned you.”
“Tegan—” Tennessee snapped his fingers between me and her. “Just get her back alive.”
“I can do that. I have a plan.” Tegan stretched out her arms and rainbow magic coiled around her fingers. “I just need time to properly prepare for it so I know you’ll be safe. This kind of magic has to be slow.”
“So you know she’ll be safe?” Cooper scoffed. “What are you gonna do, tie a rope around her waist and pull?”
Tegan gasped and her eyes sparkled with excitement. “No, but I am now.”
Cooper’s face fell. “Wait no…”
Chapter Fourteen
Saffie
My feet hit the ground and the air whooshed right next to my face. My instincts kicked in and I ducked just as a sword swung right over my head. The sound of metal clanging against metal filled the air. Deafening screams echoed in the warm breeze, like little whispers in the wind. My feet sank into the drenched ground, whether it was from the misting rain or blood I didn’t know. A man the size of a barrel with tree trunks for arms and legs held his hands high in the air. Bright glittering smoke gathered around his fingers and he blasted it over my head.
I turned, giving him my back, only to see he’d struck a huge spider demon. It tumbled onto its back with long twitching legs. A wave of new spider demons crawled over its corpse as if it didn’t matter. They were coming at me like a storm rolling in, a swarm of dark shadows promising death. I scurried backwards — and slammed into something hard. My legs gave out and I crashed to the soggy dirt. I gasped and spun, only to find a wall of rainbow mist.
“Tegan!” I whisper shouted. “Tegan, I’m here!”
The wave of spider demons lunged right for me but Tegan’s rainbow magic formed a dome over me. The spider demons went around the dome like it was a solid structure. Men in gleaming silver body armor jumped over my head with fancy, shimmering swords raised in the air. None of them seemed to see me as they sliced spider demons to pieces.
“TEGAN,” I hissed and glanced around.
“Saffie — can’t see — too far back— too much time,” Tegan’s voice was strained and far away.
Too far back. Too much time. She meant I’d gone too far back in time for her to reach me. I cursed and glanced over my shoulder and my jaw dropped.
The war raging around me made World War II looked like child’s play. There were no planes and flying cannons, but there were demons. Everywhere. Of all different sizes and shapes. Every other second, magic exploded. Fire raged in every direction. The sky was blood red. Shadows crept over the land, casting everything in bits of darkness. The air carried that sickeningly sweet stench