Page 36 of How to Charm a Coven (How to Flirt with a Witch #2)

Fucking with the Wrong Guardian

A s the boulder drops out of the air over Natalie, panic clamps down on me like a vise.

My vision goes fuzzy, and I sway like I might pass out.

Every memory of her flashes through my mind—the first time I saw her in the vet’s office, the first time her lips touched mine, every moment we held each other.

BOOM!

The earth shudders beneath my feet as the boulder crashes down. The impact rattles my bones, shaking the trees and plunging the cove into silence.

“Natalie!” Her name tears from my throat, my voice so desperate and raw that I don’t recognize it. The concept of losing her, this woman who’s become my entire world, is too unbearable to process.

I stagger forward, dimly aware that I’m free from Oaklyn’s roots. My legs carry me automatically toward the massive rock, my mind hovering somewhere outside my body. My heart feels like it’s being ripped from my chest with each step .

“No, no, no…” The words pour from my mouth like a whimper, mixing with gasps as I try to get my breath.

Please, not her. The universe can’t be this cruel.

We were supposed to have our whole lives ahead of us—to move into that cottage she dreamed of, get married, see the world, and grow old together.

I trip over exposed roots and stones, catching myself on bloodied palms as I scramble toward her. Pain doesn’t register—nothing matters except getting to her.

She can’t be…

“Natalie,” I whisper, as if saying her name enough times might somehow bring her back.

I round the boulder, one hand pressed against its cold, rough surface, ready to try pushing it off her or clawing it to pieces with my bare hands.

My muscles tense. My vision tunnels as I force myself to look down, bracing for her broken body, the pool of red, the sight of only half of her while the rest stays crushed beneath this gargantuan chunk of earth.

The image is so vivid I can almost feel the warm, sticky blood soaking through as I kneel beside her.

I reach out, my fingers splayed as if I can somehow pull her back. My lungs burn, refusing to take in air. A choked sob builds in my chest that feels like it might shatter my ribs when it finally breaks loose.

I get to the other side of the boulder—and freeze.

Sebastian is there, slumped against a tree trunk, his arms hooked under Natalie’s armpits. Her whole body is there—not crushed, not bleeding and broken, but fully free. Alive. Her boots are an inch from where the boulder landed.

Relief floods through me so intensely that my knees buckle. I clap my hands over my mouth, gulping back a sob as I sink down beside them. “Oh my God.”

The world comes rushing back, everything brighter and more colorful than a moment ago .

“Thanks—Seb,” Natalie manages between shallow breaths. Her skin is ghostly pale and damp, and a terrifying amount of blood soaks through her clothes.

I move toward them. I need to touch her, to kiss her forehead and feel her warmth on my lips, to reassure myself that she’s alive.

But Sebastian raises a hand to stop me. “No time. They’ve got a chimera.”

I blink back tears, unable to look away. “But—”

“Go, Katie,” Natalie rasps, reaching out to squeeze my hand. Despite everything, her grip is strong, and her dark eyes are still burning with the same fierce determination I’ve always loved. “Don’t let them take it.”

Even in this state, she hasn’t lost sight of what we need to do. God, she’s strong. She’s stood between me and danger more times than I can count and shown me what it means to truly love someone.

I give her a quick kiss, memorizing the feel of her lips. “Keep her safe until I’m back, Sebastian.”

He nods. “Promise.”

I turn around to see a rabbit struggling in the golden net, its movements growing weaker by the second. Sophia scoops it into her arms, triumph written across her face, while Oaklyn and Hazel watch.

Something inside me snaps.

Between Natalie lying at my feet and the chimera fighting for its life, a fury unlike anything I’ve ever felt surges through my veins.

My pulse thunders in my ears. The world warps in my vision, colors and shapes coming to me with sudden brightness.

A roar of indiscernible noise fills my mind, maybe the chimeras’ voices surging to my attention with more clarity.

No. The Madsens don’t get to do this. After everything they’ve done and all the people they’ve hurt, after nearly killing Natalie, they are not walking away with bio magic .

I step out from behind the boulder, my fists clenched so tightly that my nails cut into my palms. “Sophia, put it down!” I roar, my voice carrying across the cove.

The Madsens and Hazel turn toward me. A sneer curls Sophia’s upper lip, her eyes flashing with amusement.

Movement erupts from the trees at the edge of the cove. The stag I set free charges along the shore, its huge antlers lowered like lances, its hooves thundering on the rocks.

“Mom!” Oaklyn cries.

It’s too late for Sophia to react. The stag slams into her with the force of a train, sending her flying with a shriek that carries over everything. The net tumbles from her arms, the rabbit thrashing inside it.

Sophia rolls across the rocky shore, gasping for breath, her trench coat getting soaked as waves lap against her.

The stag wheels around, its purple eyes fixed on her. Mist puffs from its nostrils.

“The gentle one is a Guardian, sisters,” it says, its voice loud inside my head. “We must fight.”

The beating of powerful wings fills the air, and a shadow passes over us. An enormous winged creature swoops down, talons extended, its beak pointed at Oaklyn.

Lucy!

Oaklyn cries out as the griffin dives and forces her to hit the ground. The dagger flies from her hand, clattering on the rocks.

Lucy lands in front of me, wings spread, beak opening to let out a piercing shriek that makes the air vibrate. The sound fills the forest and echoes across the water, silencing everything.

Sophia scrambles to her feet, blood oozing from a gash on her chest where the stag’s antlers caught her. She touches the wound and looks at the blood on her fingers, her lip curling into a snarl .

The ground trembles as she summons her magic, but before she can unleash an attack, the cove comes alive. Bears surge from the woods, alligators slide out of the water, and birds swoop down from the treetops.

My heart pounds as the chimeras close in, but it’s not from fear. They’re not after me.

“What are you doing?” Sophia demands, fixing me with a furious stare as she raises her palms for a fight.

I’m as stunned as she is. I didn’t call them. I didn’t ask for their help.

They rush forward in a tidal wave of shifting forms, moving like water pouring over the land.

Sophia looks from one to the other, calculating her next move.

If I’m not mistaken, there’s a glimpse of uncertainty in her expression as she realizes she’s outnumbered.

Her hands waver, and she takes a step back.

But before I can celebrate, shouts echo on the trail we came from. My stomach drops as a wall of black cloaks reaches the cove.

The witches have arrived.

Fiona stands in the middle, her red traveling cloak billowing. At least a dozen Shadows fan out along the ridge, their hands raised and ready. Agnes flanks her on one side, and Sky on the other, her mouth opening in horror when she spots Natalie bleeding on the ground.

“Nat, what happened?” Sky cries. She takes a step, but Fiona flings out a hand to stop her.

“What have you done, Katie?” Fiona demands, her gaze sweeping over the chimeras, the Madsens, Natalie wounded, and me in the center of it all.

“We need your help!” I cry.

But Fiona’s face hardens as she takes in the stag and Lucy standing in front of me like guards.

“The bio magic corrupted her!” Agnes cries.

Behind her, Amir steps forward, his mouth open. “My God…”

Fiona lifts her chin. “Coven, start the enchantment. ”

“No!” I shout, panic flooding my veins. “It’s not like that!”

The Shadows are already moving. They form a semicircle facing the chimeras, who crouch and prepare to fight. A sound fills the air, and the hair on the back of my neck prickles as goosebumps race across my skin.

They’re chanting. Their voices rise in different pitches, singing a chilling chorus I don’t understand.

“Veniant vires, hoc carmen frangite.

Ignis et ventus, hanc artem tollite…”

The sky darkens like a storm rolling in, clouds swirling unnaturally fast. Dark streaks materialize overhead, arcing and twisting until a vortex churns above the cove. Its power builds, and the sea roils, waves hissing against the shore.

“Everyone would be best to leave the circle,” Fiona warns, her words getting swept away in the gathering wind.

Nobody moves. Hazel stands frozen. Oaklyn has retrieved her dagger and is flanking her mother. Wyatt crouches at their feet, his fur standing on end.

I back up toward Natalie, who struggles to sit up under Sebastian’s guidance, her face so ashen that my heart lurches. Pain or blood loss? Both?

“Don’t try to stand,” I tell her, crouching to put a gentle hand on her shoulder. I brush a strand of damp hair from her face, my fingers shaking. My throat is so tight it hurts. “I need you to stay alive. I can’t do this without you.”

“You can,” she whispers.

I swallow hard. Even now, her presence steadies me like nothing else can.

“Sebastian, we have to get her away from here,” I say. It suddenly registers that he came out of nowhere to save Natalie’s life. “Wait, where’s Millie? ”

“Resting. They’ve separated her from the magic, but it’s taken a toll. They’re trying to heal her before she…” Pain crosses his expression, and he waves me away. “Go. You need to stop this. I’ll get her out of here.”

“No,” Natalie grits out.

My skin prickles, the sensation growing more intense until it burns. I rub my arm as the dark energy pulses overhead. The chimeras growl, and their fear and anger trickles into my veins.

“I don’t know how to stop this,” I say, my voice shaking. The wind grows stronger, unnaturally hot, whipping my hair around my face and tugging at my clothes.

Lucy’s voice slices through my mind. “Stand with us against those who wish to harness our power, Guardian. Your blood remembers.”

My stomach twists. Remembers what ? What am I supposed to do if I can’t do magic?

“You won’t be useful if you get swallowed by their spell,” Sebastian says, grunting as he puts Natalie’s arm across his shoulders to support her weight.

There’s an electric hiss like a lightning strike, and a wave ripples down from the vortex above, making the air shimmer. A fox yelps. Another wave ripples, and more chimeras cry out. The stag paws the ground and shakes its head. Others snarl and crouch lower.

I stand up straight, my nails digging into my palms. I glance back at Natalie one more time, finding courage when she nods. We’ve been through so many impossible situations together, and I have to keep fighting.

This is what I was meant to do. Not to hunt chimeras, not to trap them, but to protect them—just as Natalie has always protected me.

I walk toward Fiona and the other Directors, gaining confidence with each step. “Stop!” I shout, my voice carrying across the cove. “I won’t let you kill them!”

Fiona’s eyes narrow. “Stand aside, Miss Alexander. ”

“No. This magic isn’t meant to be caged or destroyed. These are the forces that make up the natural world, and to destroy them would be to make a huge mistake.”

“They’re dangerous!” Agnes snaps.

The strength of all the chimeras wraps around me like a blanket, holding me in place. “Only because you’ve made them that way! You’ve trapped them, consumed them, used them as weapons. Of course they fight back!”

The Shadows chant louder, and another wave ripples down, zapping my skin like I’ve touched an electric fence. More yelps and snarls of pain erupt as it hits the chimeras.

“Come on, you can do it,” Sebastian says behind me.

And though I don’t entirely know what he’s talking about…I also feel deep inside me that there’s so much I don’t understand about myself and about magic.

My breath hitches as I look back. Natalie’s face is drained and blood soaks her clothes, but she’s standing with Sebastian’s help, and her eyes are clear and focused on me.

“I love you,” I mouth to her, needing her to know in case this all goes wrong.

“I love you too,” she mouths back.

I grit my teeth and face the witches once more. “I am a Guardian. Not the kind C.S.A.M.M. created, but the kind that came before—those who protected the balance between magic and humanity.”

Some of the Shadows exchange looks, whispering to each other. The enchantment falters, the vortex flickering.

“Enough of this,” Fiona roars. “Shadows! Finish them!”

The witches’ song comes to an abrupt end, and they sweep out their arms in unison. A thunderclap splits the air. The vortex surges downward, closing in on us all. My skin burns so fiercely that I grit my teeth to suppress a cry .

Every chimera reaches out, their consciousness entwining with mine like grasping fingers. Their panic and pain floods through me, making me gasp—but so does their power, flowing into my veins and keeping me steady as the ground trembles beneath my feet.

If the witches won’t listen to me and they won’t let the chimeras go free…they leave us no choice.

Lucy’s voice fills my mind again. “The words are in your blood, Guardian. Let them rise.”

I close my eyes as something stirs within me. Fragments of memories flash through my mind—generations of Guardians standing among these same chimeras, facing threats to the magical balance.

Energy surges up through the soles of my feet. The chimeras’ presence intensifies, their collective consciousness offering me something—a phrase passed down through generations of Guardians.

Without thinking, I let it pour out. The words feel right, like I’ve spoken them a thousand times. “Old magic! With Guardian blood, I call you to fight!”

My army charges, heading for the surrounding Shadows.