yellow light shot out of her palm. A second later, the sun slid behind a huge cluster of clouds, and the clearing got a little less intensely bright. She smiled and flicked her long black hair over her shoulder. “We’ve really got to stop doing this in the middle of the day.”
Tegan chuckled. “Yes. Less blinding would be better. Royce?”
“Yes, lady boss.” Royce wiggled his fingers toward me and pursed his lips. “How about…”
Light flashed and then yellow roses filled the space around me. When I glanced up, Royce winked at me and gave me a thumbs-up. He noticed. Riah had handed me a yellow rose back in the house, and I had it woven into my hair right now. I liked that Royce paid attention to that.
Emersyn flicked her wrists and two balls of fire appeared in her palms. She flung her hands and shot her fire to the ground just outside the circle. Flames flickered all around us. She sighed. “That feels better.”
Tegan looked to her left. “Bettina? You’re up.”
Bettina gasped and her cheeks flushed. “Shit, right. My job now.”
She dropped to one knee and pressed her palm flat to the dirt. A cloud of pink mist billowed out from under her fingers and then bright white light flashed. Ice slithered out from her hand, covering every inch of the black lines of the pentagram.
Bentley shouted in the ancient language – no, wait. He was speaking the dialect of the originals, the first witches, the ones who’d been too powerful. Only the founding bloodlines still knew of this dialect, which was why I knew it. Or I used to. Back in 1692, my mother, Uncle Leyka, and I used to speak it to each other…but I had not heard it in over three centuries. I’d forgotten that I even ever knew it.
Just then Bentley’s shouting grew louder, and sharp pain shot down my spine. I gasped. My legs gave out from under me and my knees slammed into the ground. Gold glitter exploded like fireworks, spreading in a giant wave around me. Every single muscle in my body tightened. My pulse hammered in my veins.
The clouds above us roared. They flashed, then lightning sliced through the sky and slammed right into my wings. Electricity shot through my muscles. My lungs made an awful hissing sound. My bones rattled. My back arched until I was almost parallel to the ground. I was helpless to stop it.
Gold glitter exploded out of me, shooting straight out to the rest of The Coven. Fairyflies swarmed over my head. Bright pink and yellow flowers sprouted from the trees, poking out of the snow lining the branches. The tree trunks changed from a dull brown to rich, vibrant greens and browns. My red hair flew out in every direction.
Neon blue light flashed in my eyes, glowing like a full moon on a cloudless night. Cold hands wrapped around my ankles…and my knees…then my elbows. Fingers pressed into my skin. I tilted forward until I was back upright. My wings fluttered and flapped, lifting me off the ground. I looked down and gasped.
Spirits filled every space on the ground. There were hundreds of them lining the field from the edge of the house to the edge of the forest. I even saw translucent blue faces peeking around trees. None of The Coven members seemed to see them. They just stared up at me like this was no big deal — except for Tegan. Beneath her crystal crown her black and purple hair had turned snow white. She smiled and looked up at me and her eyes were now gold and white.
The spirits threw their hands up and my jaw dropped. On each of their arms was a faded gray Coven Mark. Past Cards, here for ME? My breath left me in a rush. They began to chant and my pulse fluttered. The spirits turned to my fellow Cards and lifted them up off their feet. Each of them were held up by the spirits of their own Cards. They all gasped and looked around in alarm.
Massive golden angel wings popped out of Tennessee’s back. His, Tegan’s, and Emersyn’s bodies all glowed like little supernovas. Flowery vines wrapped around Royce’s legs. Red smoke covered Deacon’s body. Moonlight shined down on Henley like a spotlight. Gold lines flashed from Bettina’s fingers and a pillar of ice emerged from under her feet. Blue flames and red roses covered Jackson’s feet. Braison melted into a dark shadow while bright