Page 40 of How to Charm a Coven (How to Flirt with a Witch #2)

Becoming a Guardian

“ N o,” I tell Hazel, grabbing her wrist as she steps forward. “Your power is too new. You’re going to get hurt or…”

Or hurt someone.

Fiona’s voice cuts through the rising noise. “Coven, track the Madsens through the bush. Sophia has likely already consumed the bio magic, so be careful…”

Hazel stands, her jaw set in a stubborn way I know all too well—along with an eerie glow in her eyes that’s entirely new.

“Now’s not the time for caution. You need all the help you can get.

What if Sophia absorbs it? How are we supposed to stop someone who can worm into our heads—maybe kill us with a glance? ”

“She’s right,” Natalie says, she and Sky stepping closer. The amount of blood soaking her clothes still makes me queasy. Every drop that emptied from her veins feels like it was pulled from my own. But I can’t focus on that—I can’t think of the what-ifs.

“But we don’t know if Sophia will be able to handle the bio magic,” I say, grasping at hope. “It’s not absorbed easily. Look what happened to Millie. Her body rejected it.”

Natalie shakes her head, her expression grim. “Millie was already ill. Her immune system was compromised when she absorbed it. Hate to say it, but Sophia’s a very strong witch, and she’ll probably be fine.”

“Shit,” Sky rubs her face, looking like she needs a nap, a drink, and possibly a career change. “Come on. Let’s find her before it’s too late.”

Natalie’s eyes meet mine, a brief, wordless reassurance that we’ll get through this. It’s a moment I desperately need, steadying me in a way nothing else can. Her gaze holds the promise of a future worth fighting for, of love and peace and happiness.

Fiona continues barking orders. “Agnes, take your division east. Amir, go—”

Her words die as Hayley bursts from the woods, twigs caught in her curls and dirt smudged across her face. Her clothes are shredded from battling the chimeras, and she’s breathing so hard she can barely speak, bent over with her hands on her knees.

Sky jogs over. “Hayley! What happened?”

“I found them,” she gasps. “Sophia. Oaklyn.”

Fiona clenches her fists. “Close?”

Hayley nods, pointing back the way she came. “They’ve got the chimera. Sophia hasn’t absorbed it yet.”

Hope surges through me. Something must have gone wrong—which means we still have time to stop her.

“Let’s go. Now,” Natalie says, starting forward.

Hayley holds up her hands. “Wait. If we all go charging in there, they’ll hear us coming. We need stealth. Just a few of us.”

As they talk, a discordant note ripples through me, like an out-of-tune instrument in an orchestra. I look past Hayley into the woods, but nothing is there. The sensation is faint, lingering at the edges of my perception, but not strong enough to tell me what I’m supposed to do about it.

Sky nods, standing beside Hayley. “Good work. Everyone else can wait for our call. Fiona?”

Fiona considers, her lips pressed into a thin line. She nods. “Sky, Natalie, with us.” She turns to address the rest of the Shadows. “Be ready.”

Natalie kisses my cheek. “Stay here until you get a signal.”

As they prepare to leave, I catch Hazel’s eye, and a silent understanding passes between us. She gives me the slightest nod, and I return it. No way in hell are we staying behind.

We wait until the others have moved ahead before slipping into the trees after them, careful to keep low and quiet.

The forest grows denser as we follow at a distance.

The thick underbrush provides cover as we move.

I can make out Hayley leading the way, with Sky, Natalie, and Fiona close behind.

All four of them are injured and taking labored steps, but they’re moving with purpose, speaking in hushed tones I can’t quite catch.

Something is…off. That sense I had moments ago, the connection to everyone around me… It’s fraying, like static interrupting a clear signal. I press my palm to my sternum, trying to understand what I’m feeling.

The group stops in a clearing. Hazel and I duck behind a fallen log, peering over the mossy bark. That static continues to hum beneath my skin, messing with my ability to feel the chimeras.

Hayley points ahead through the trees.

Fiona nods and motions to Sky, directing her to circle wide.

In a blink, Hayley strikes. She whips out her hand, sending a spray of dirt in the others’ faces.

I leap to my feet as they cough and splutter.

“What—hey!” Sky’s cry cuts short as Hayley slams into her. She hits the ground with a deep thud , Hayley on top .

Hayley’s hands find her throat. Sky kicks wildly, her face reddening as she claws at the fingers crushing her windpipe.

I freeze. What the hell is happening?

Natalie and Fiona wipe the dirt from their faces. When they see the two bodies on the ground, they jump into action.

“Get off her!” Natalie locks an arm around Hayley’s neck. Fiona goes for her wrists. It takes both of them to pull her off.

“Let me go!” Hayley snarls, thrashing. Her face contorts with rage that doesn’t look like her own, her features twisted into something feral.

“What’s wrong with you?” Fiona shouts.

Natalie seizes her collar and holds her eye level, searching her face. Like she’s trying to figure out what’s going on—not wanting to hurt her, but ready to protect her sister.

“I don’t—I can’t—” Hayley’s expression flickers. Something like desperation breaks through before the rage returns, sweeping over her face like a mask.

The truth hits me like lightning. The fraying connection, Hayley’s behavior…

I sprint forward. “She’s being mind-controlled!”

All faces turn toward me as I rush into the clearing. Hazel’s footsteps pound behind mine.

“Katie!” Natalie’s eyes widen. “I told you to stay—”

“It’s Sophia.” I scan the trees, searching for her. “She’s using bio magic to control Hayley.”

Bile burns my throat at the thought. To lose autonomy over your own body and mind… The violation is worse than any physical attack Sophia has dealt. Hayley doesn’t deserve this. No one does.

Fiona’s jaw clenches. She points to Natalie. “Hold her down before she hurts someone.”

Sky jumps forward to help. Hayley shrieks and struggles. They pin her on her front, their knees on her wrists so she can’t direct magic at them .

“Hayley, stay calm.” Sky’s voice is tight with emotion. “Is Sophia in your head?”

Hayley roars in response.

I race over and kneel at her shoulder, rocks biting through my pants. “Where’s Sophia? Where were you when she did this?”

Hayley’s face contorts. Sweat beads on her forehead. “I can’t— I’m supposed to kill you—” Her words come out strangled, like she’s fighting with herself.

“Push her out, Hayley,” Sky urges, her voice hoarse. “You’re stronger than her.”

But Natalie and I exchange a look, one that says this might not be true. In fact, if Sophia has bio magic, she might be the most powerful witch in centuries.

Horror slices through me like a serrated blade.

Natalie’s eyes hold none of their usual calm reassurance, instead reflecting panic back at me.

If Sophia really has bio magic, we’ve already lost. She can reach into our minds like we’re puppets, turn us against each other, do anything she wants to anyone she pleases.

I imagine her forcing my fingers around Natalie’s throat, staining me with her blood, trapping me screaming inside a body I no longer control.

There’s no enchantment or potion to protect against this.

How do you fight someone who can hijack your thoughts?

The future Natalie and I have been dreaming of feels like ash spilling through my fingers. Not just death awaits us, but a violation so complete it makes death seem merciful.

A low laugh fills the forest, and we all spin toward it.

Strides away at the edge of the clearing, Sophia steps out from the shadows, her new magic visibly pulsing beneath her skin like dark rivers.

Her hands tremble, but her smile is triumphant.

Oaklyn follows, a strange expression on her face, with her dagger raised and Wyatt slinking along at her side .

Sophia’s new magic seeps into the air and wraps around me like cold mist. I shiver, crossing my arms.

“Always so perceptive, Katie,” Sophia says.

“Let her go,” Sky says thickly as she kneels on Hayley.

Sophia taps her cheek with one long finger. “I don’t think I will. In fact…”

She twirls her fingers, and Fiona lets out a bloodcurdling scream. She arches her back, her knees buckling. She writhes and twists in pain, howling so terribly that goosebumps rise all over my body.

“What’s happening?” Hazel shrieks.

“Stop this!” Natalie roars.

“Mom…” Oaklyn says softly beneath it all.

There’s a sickening crack, and Fiona’s arm bends at a strange angle. Her screams rise, echoing through the woods.

I cry out, throwing my hands over my mouth as I fight back nausea.

As Fiona’s wails dissolve into dry heaves, Sophia tilts her head. “Hm, not quite what I had in mind. But every test needs a guinea pig.”

Sky lifts one hand from Hayley’s pinned form, breathing hard. “Nat?” she mumbles.

“Yup,” Natalie says beside her.

Sophia curls her finger, beckoning us. “I’ll need you all to come with me so we can get the rest of the witches under my command.”

I have a second to act. A second to do something before she gains control of my brain, my body, my free will.

The others must come to the same realization because in unison, they extend their hands, and magic blasts from Natalie, Sky, and Hazel with such force that everybody in the clearing is knocked off their feet. The air buffets out of my lungs as I fly backward.

The forest floor rises like a tidal wave, rolling toward Sophia. I catch a fleeting glimpse of Oaklyn diving behind a fallen log and Wyatt leaping after her as I hit the ground .

I squeeze my eyes shut, reaching out with my mind to the chimeras. She’s using your magic to do harm. Help us stop her before it’s too late.