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CHAPTER 18

NOVA

“S ee, this is what I’m talking about.” I threw my feet up on the RV’s couch and relaxed back into the leather. “We should’ve been glam -ping this entire time! This is absolutely the only type of camping that I’m cool with. And it even fits in our driveway! We should keep it.”

“I mean, it doesn’t have enough beds, but I’m not completely against it,” August said. “Makes us seem a bit more ‘low-key’ compared to the luxury SUVs with their window tint.”

“Exactly—Earnest will never see us coming,” I said pointedly. “It’s a common camping area, and look! Here is a group of completely non-suspicious campers in their RV. As long as we keep our magic tucked away, we should be able to sneak right up to them.”

“Although, knowing Earnest, I’m sure he’ll have some overcomplicated, trap-filled hidey hole,” Rowan pointed out, making me smirk. He was totally right—Earnest would absolutely do some shit like that.

Since he probably had people watching the area, we’d decided against portalling, instead deciding to rent an RV from a local place and drive fifty miles to the forest Volkan had tracked him to. That way he’d have no idea who we were until it was too late.

Something that was good because, call me crazy, but Earnest seemed jumpy lately. It was almost like he was scared of something…or someone.

Me. He was scared of me. And he absolutely should be. My magic did a little twirl, transforming into an armored warrior goddess with a massive sword, like I had just leveled up in a video game or something. I thought we had been going for more of a witchy leather wearing badass…but I could totally work with that.

“How many beds does this thing have?” Fox asked. “It says it can fit eight people, but I have no idea how that’s possible.”

“Easy!” I jumped up and pressed a button that turned the couch into two bed panels that laid flat. “See, two beds already.”

Fox chuckled. “Gorgeous, I can’t fit on one of those. I can’t count that as a bed.”

“Ohhh sorry,” I teased. “I didn’t realize that you couldn’t handle glamping. You are sort of a princess—ah!” I giggled as Fox all but tackled me onto the bench, then groaned as he tried to get us comfy but proved the point that the bed was entirely too small for someone his size.

“What is glamping?” Ramsey asked.

“I was wondering the same thing,” Volkan said, throwing a bag into the loft above the driver’s seat. We didn’t need to bring a ton, but I did make sure to bring some basic items for any rituals I may need to do—especially if Earnest warded or spelled his hideaway. I didn’t want to have to do a scavenger hunt like when we were trying to get into the Garden of the Beginning.

“So there is camping—lots of bugs, usually pretty cold, and the possibility of a bear eating your food is way too high—and then there is glamping . The more glamorous, comfortable, and usually heated version of that.”

“And this RV counts as glamping?” Volkan clarified.

“Exactly,” I said as Ramsey smiled, shaking his head. I still found it funny, all the modern lingo that he and Volkan didn’t fully understand or connect with. “Who’s driving— nevermind , I shouldn’t even ask.”

River looked at me from the driver’s seat, his brow arched. “Problem, butterfly?”

“Yes. I would like to drive one of these times.”

“No.”

I scowled. “I’m a good driver!”

“It’s not about that,” River promised me. I knew it was about him needing to control the situation and my safety, but I still didn’t like that I never got a chance to drive.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drive, come to think of it,” Fox said, jumping out of the RV as Cassian passed him, carrying a bag of snacks we’d picked up. I smiled up at him and took a bag of chips.

“I am a fabulous driver,” I assured them. “Except for the occasional road rage.”

Cassian chuckled. “Strike someone down with lightning for cutting in front of you?”

“Precisely. I knew you would understand.”

“I think I remember you doing something similar when we kidnapped you from school,” Rowan mused. My memory flashed with the lightning bolt I’d brought down on the road in front of their car because I’d been so pissed.

“Huh. You sure? I don’t remember that,” I said, tossing a chip into my mouth.

“Are we good to go?” Nour asked, not realizing the conversation he was interrupting. My eyes zeroed in on the box he placed on the kitchenette’s counter. I was up and across the space opening it before he’d even moved his hand away.

“No one said you got donuts!” I narrowed my eyes. “But clearly someone waited to tell me.”

“That was Everett.” Nour put up his hands in innocence as I looked over his shoulder on my tippy toes to see the man in question eating a donut and watching me with amusement.

“That’s one of my favorite flavors,” I accused.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t share,” he chimed. “I would never keep you from your donuts, baby.”

“Thanks, Ever.” I flashed a smile, throwing myself down on his lap. Which considering he let me eat most of the donut as we finished getting ready to go, was totally the point. As I thought about what we were about to do, I felt an eager anticipation hit me.

For so long, Earnest had been horrible toward me, making me feel small and weak. Now, though? Now I knew exactly who I was and what he had done to me. I didn’t know if I actually planned on talking to him or not, but I did know that I planned on exacting my revenge. He wouldn’t get away with hurting me that much without consequence.

After about five minutes of being on the road, and after finishing two donuts, I hopped up and went into the primary suite, faceplanting on the bed. Now that I was full, I could let my muscles relax. I was beyond thrilled when Fox joined me, his eyes sparking at the obvious happiness his mere presence brought me.

“Are you tired? We could just wait to go?—”

“I’m not,” I promised him. “But I do have a lot on my mind, mainly about when we meet with the coven.”

“What do you mean?”

“They have no reason to believe me. None. And I have no proof to show them besides my own power and my word. I mean, I’m giving them magic, so that helps, because who would give someone extra magic without a good reason?”

“You can’t show them the dark ones,” Fox agreed. “But maybe you can prove it by showing them the gods. I’m sure that if you had a few gods by your side, they’d be willing to listen.”

My eyes widened. “You’re right—Isis or Hecate would be perfect. Both are known to be associated with magic, and my coven worships both of them, at least in some rituals. To see them so directly? Or to hear them talk about what’s going on? That could work.”

“We’ll contact them, then,” Fox said, leaning over to press a kiss to my lips. “This is going to work out, gorgeous. I promise you.”

***

“What do you mean it’s closed?” I frowned, making my way to the front of the RV. The road to the campground had a big ‘closed’ sign on it and ‘do not enter.’ But enter I planned. I eyed the guard house for a long moment only to realize the place seemed abandoned.

“Interesting,” I murmured, then sighed. “Alright. Well, on foot it is. Let’s move it.”

I didn’t have an interest in hiking, but I suspected the campground was closed because of my ‘father.’ I also couldn’t help but find it a bit funny that he’d kept so close to home. Then again, I’m sure he was aware of how much we were traveling. The bastard probably thought he’d be safe close to the coven that I’d never have a reason to return to. How wrong he was.

“At least it’s winter still,” I pointed out. “Nothing has started to bloom yet.”

“So nothing can hide in the trees,” Cassian agreed.

“Oh…and bugs. That was sort of my point with that,” I teased. “But totally about the hiding thing, too. Wouldn’t want anyone sneaking up on us.”

“I don’t think that’s even possible,” Nour said. “Not only with our size group but with how expansive our magical radius is.”

“True,” I agreed. “I mean, they could hit us with magic from afar, but witches aren’t great with combat magic, especially if they aren’t channeling it through some type of weapon.”

“What do you mean?” Everett asked.

“Witches have magic that they can use on a daily basis for routine things like floating something across the room or tending their garden, but for most witches—obviously I wasn’t included in this—if they want to get offensive magic, they need something to channel it through so it actually hits a target. For many, it’s the classic wand.”

“So you don’t have a wand?” Rowan chuckled. “That doesn’t sound very cool of you, wildcat.”

“Hey! I don’t need one! My magic is more like yours. We don’t need fancy little wands.” I sighed. “But I will admit, I did use to own a few, and some were very, very cool.”

“Well now I sort of want to see them,” Fox said.

“Unfortunately, Earnest broke all of them and tossed them when I blew up a house trying to use one.” I sighed dramatically. “Bit of an overreaction. But maybe I’ll try to find one when we’re in the coven lands tomorrow. I would love to actually run by my house and see if there’s anything left.”

“He better have not fucked with any of your stuff,” Everett warned.

“Probably did.” I shrugged. “But that’s okay, I just want to see if there’s anything fun left. Everything I need, I have with me. Most of my memories there aren’t super positive, but it’d be cool to see if there are any non-murdery serial killer photos from my childhood. Doubtful, though; my mom said she was the only one who had them— what ?”

All of them were staring at me in confusion.

“Oh!” I winced. “I totally forgot to mention that. So, the night we slept in the God realm.” I tried to not look at Nour because mentally, emotionally, and physically it was tied to him in the best way possible, something that had my cheeks flushing. “My dreams took me to Isis’s garden and my mom’s cottage. We sat, talked, and she showed me photos of when I was a little storm demon—my words, not hers. She actually said she would love it if you guys came by to see her at some point since our last visit was…difficult.”

“How the hell did you forget to tell us this?” River rumbled.

“Oh, come on.” I put my hands on my hips. “Give me a little break here. I’ve been under so much stress; I can’t be expected to remember everything.”

“I feel like visiting your birthmother would be hard to forget,” Ramsey said, the shake of his head telling me he was both amused and a little frustrated. I wasn’t perfect—I’d be the first to admit that—but I probably needed to make sure I communicated important stuff like this to them.

“You’re right, you’re right,” I admitted. “I got caught up in meeting the Titans and leaving for the Earth realm. It wasn’t super eventful, so it sort of slipped my mind.”

“Did it go well?” Nour asked.

“Yeah, actually. I have no idea if I can forgive her for the entire ‘leaving me behind’ thing, but she also dealt with torture for years for the sake of protecting me.”

“As any reasonable person would,” Everett said. To him, enduring torture for someone you loved was a non-event. A given.

“Point is,” I said, “I think I’d like to give her a chance.”

“I would be down to visit,” Fox said.

“If that’s what you want, I’m sure we could find the garden again,” Volkan offered.

“I wouldn’t mind that.” August smirked, and I knew why he thought it was a good idea—he was totally thinking about the last time we were in the garden. You know, before the entire ‘reveal the fucked-up truth about your heritage’ stuff. Rowan’s ears heated.

“I want to see all the chaos you caused as a kid,” Cassian admitted.

“Oh, I did find out that one time I was having a bit of a tantrum and caused an itty bitty tornado.”

“Itty bitty?” Everett mused.

“Barely a scale two or three. Tiny, really,” I said matter-of-factly. “But...probably not smart to piss me off.”

“We would never—” Rowan’s sarcastic quip got cut off as something rustled nearby. As I turned to the clearing we stood on the edge of, I felt a smile pull on my lips. The clearing looked empty, but they’d given themselves away.

Now for the fun to begin.