demons in my house. Sometimes Mom and Uncle Leyka would play along.
My heart sank. Mom and Uncle Leyka. I missed them so badly. Once this initiation was done I would have Tegan portal me to her on Crone Island. She could meet Riah, for real. She’d like to see Olli again.
Just have to get through this first, Saffie.
Because I’m joining The Coven. ME.
I looked up ahead as I walked and spotted The Coven standing in a circle, just like they had been for Tegan’s Leader ceremony. Except this time it was just us. No spectators. No witnesses. No audience whatsoever.
A bitter cool breeze swept through the trees, brushing over my skin and through my hair. I frowned and glanced around. It was January. Winter had long since begun. The air was crisp and cold. Snow clung to the tree branches and leaves around us yet none was on the mostly brown dirt and dead grass here. We were barefoot in our sleeveless sheaths. We should’ve been freezing. Yet, not a single one of them looked cold. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t cold. Even the dirt under my feet was warm, so much so that I hadn’t realized this until now. I hadn’t even realized it before during Tegan’s ceremony.
It had to be from Emersyn or Tegan, but I wasn’t complaining.
Cooper stood at the edge of the circle, right at the opening. He smiled down at me as I approached. “You ready?”
I nodded. “I am so ready.” And I was. Truly. This was a fantasy come true.
“Then in you go.” He winked and gestured for me to walk ahead. “This will be quick.”
My heart pounded in my chest like a hammer. I stepped inside the circle and Tegan materialized in front of me.
She grinned and hooked her arm around mine, her crystal crown sparkling like ice in the midday sun. “Willow, you’re up!”
Willow nodded and rubbed her hands together. Pink and orange flames flickered around her hands, and then blue lines shot out over the field.
I cleared my throat. “So how does this go?”
Tegan giggled. “Every single person asks that, don’t they?”
“Yes,” Constance said with a little chuckle. “And always right at this exact moment.”
“When shit’s about to go down.”
I looked to Deacon on my left. “This is why you were warning me?”
He threw his hands up. “Brace yourself.”
“There’s no reason to be afraid, Saffie. You’re clearly tougher than the rest of us. Whatever happens here will be over quickly.” She squeezed my arm, then pulled hers free and pointed in front of her. “All right, go stand in the center of the pentagram. All you gotta do is open your magic up, and we’ll do the rest.”
Center of the pentagram? I frowned and followed her point, and my jaw dropped. Black lines shot across the field in the shape of a pentacle and a circle around it. Oh. Okay. I hurried over to the center like Tegan had instructed. Once there, everyone else began to move into place. Tegan reappeared at the top point. Bentley was on my right and Cooper was on my left. Behind me on the two bottom points stood Emersyn and Tennessee. Everyone else spread out around the circle.
I wish Riah was here. I was acting tough and brave, like this was no big deal, but part of me was quite concerned with whatever Jackson and Deacon tried to warn me about.
No one spoke as Bentley flipped through the book in his hands.
A swarm of monarch butterflies flew around me in a swirling formation. Birds sat in the branches, singing me the songs of their people. At the edge of the forest, bunnies and squirrels hopped out from under the bushes like they wanted to watch. I giggled and then the squirrels ran over to sit by Chutney’s feet.
“Mom?”
Devon nodded. The air around her shimmered, and then there were two of her standing there. I gasped and turned to ask what was going on, only to find there were about a dozen of her. Blue mist rose up from the ground around the outside of the circle then shot up into the air, to the tips of the trees far above our heads. Something moved in my peripheral vision, and when I looked, I found the moon sinking lower and growing fuller. Stars that hadn’t been there suddenly twinkled in the midday blue sky.
Tegan made a humming noise. “Lily?”
Lily raised her left hand up, and I saw her XIX Mark, the Sun Card. Bright