Page 42 of How to Charm a Coven (How to Flirt with a Witch #2)

A Cottage in the Woods

N atalie, Sky, Fiona, Hazel and I land beneath the steam clock with Sophia Madsen in our midst, her hands bound in heavy iron casings that match the ones she forced onto Troy.

Her crimson trench coat is torn and dirty, her hair matted with sweat and blood.

The purple glow that consumed her eyes has dimmed, like dying embers that refuse to be completely extinguished.

“Home sweet home,” I mutter, nudging her forward with my gauntlet. I’m sick of looking at her and just want her out of my sight at this point. “Bet you didn’t think you’d be back so soon.”

Sophia stumbles but catches herself with surprising agility for someone who looks drained enough to collapse. The chimeras’ unbinding ritual has hollowed her out, leaving her cheeks gaunt and her skin ashen. Still, the hatred in her eyes burns so fiercely it makes my stomach churn.

Fiona leads our procession, her back straight and her steps confident, though she’s clearly in agony with her broken arm.

Natalie flanks Sophia while Sky limps a step behind her.

Hazel brings up the rear, her eyes darting everywhere as she takes in the underground building’s grandeur for the second time in her life.

The other Shadows are trickling back, some already here.

“I see you’ve redecorated,” Sophia says as we cross the lounge. “I liked it better before.”

We follow a dark corridor, and Fiona uses magic to push open the door to the dungeon. I shiver as the familiar cold, damp air hits me. Natalie’s arm slides around my waist, and she pulls me closer as we descend the stairs together.

“A bit nicer than the cell you gave Dad,” Sky says, shoving Sophia roughly into the same one I occupied.

Sophia turns to face us with an eerie calm that makes my skin crawl. Her encased hands hang at her sides.

“You’ll have a trial,” Fiona says, her voice clipped and professional. “The coven will determine your punishment.”

She slams the door with an echoing clang that reverberates through my chest.

Sophia’s smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “Such hostility. And here I thought we were developing a rapport.”

“Let’s go,” Natalie whispers into my ear. Her body is warm against mine as she guides me back toward the stairs. Like me, she clearly doesn’t want to spend a second longer than necessary down here.

As we turn away, Sophia’s voice follows us, soft but clear.

“Your ability is wasted on the coven’s short leash, Katie.

You’ve barely scratched the surface of what you are and what you could become.

” There’s a clink-clink as her fingernails tap the iron encasings from the inside, the sound unnervingly delicate.

“The coven will turn on you when they realize. And when they do… Well, you know where to find me. My father always said patience is the virtue that rewards most generously. And I am very patient.”

A chill runs down my spine as we walk away. I have nothing more to say to her. And what she doesn’t understand is that I’ve already had the coven turn on me, and I survived. The coven that matters—the people closest to me—will always come back. Hazel is proof of that.

Natalie looks over her shoulder at Sophia and laughs. “Keep telling yourself that. See you at your trial.”

Sky pats my back, maybe noticing my expression. “Don’t worry. Those cells have held our most dangerous criminals for over a century. They’ll hold her.”

As dawn breaks, the lounge hums with life. Witches drift between tables, some still in battle-stained clothes, others freshly changed. The air smells like a weird mixture of soothing herbal tea and mud and sweat.

Our booth is a little island of exhaustion and relief.

Ethel is warm in my lap, purring loudly and kneading my thigh.

Natalie is cleaned up and wearing a black T-shirt and plaid pajama pants.

Her arm is securely around my shoulders, her body solid against mine.

She and Sky keep looking at each other with watery smiles that make my chest ache in the best way.

Troy sits at the end of the table in his wheelchair, bright and grinning.

Past Troy, witches keep looking my way, catching my eye and smiling. A group of Alchemists in green robes wave at me. The middle-schoolers I met months ago call my name like we’re friends as they run to the courtyard.

I return the waves, though it feels weird after spending so long receiving the opposite. I guess word about what happened in Lighthouse Park spread quickly—and suddenly, I’m someone to pay attention to. Someone who can talk to chimeras and who helped the Shadows take down Sophia Madsen .

Whatever. I’ll take it. Anyway, my true coven is right here in front of me.

I lean into Natalie, savoring the simple fact of her presence.

Mere hours ago, I watched her fall at the hands of Sophia, blood soaking her clothes until she’d come within an inch of death.

The memory makes my throat tighten. I blink rapidly, refusing to cry again after the waterworks I unleashed when Doctor Sharma finally let me see her.

She must sense my thoughts because she squeezes me, pressing a kiss to my temple. “I’m right here,” she whispers.

Ethel nuzzles me as if to reassure me that she, too, is not planning to leave me anytime soon. I pet her, grateful for her steady companionship.

“This place is incredible,” Hazel says for the hundredth time, taking in the lounge.

She hasn’t stopped examining everything since we arrived—the Victorian lamps, the lush foliage that makes it feel like a greenhouse, the witches casually performing magic.

She raps her knuckles on the table and bends to look underneath it.

“There’s really no trap door? No hidden compartment? ”

“Just magic,” Sky says with a grin.

Hazel shakes her head in wonder and sips her bright green smoothie—the one she insisted on ordering after seeing the way our tea floated up through the table. “Ugh, it tastes so fresh I could die.”

“Tropical fruit trees in the kitchen,” Natalie says.

“Of course.” Hazel sighs dreamily. “Will you show me the rest of the building after this?”

“One step at a time,” I say, eyeing her smoothie. Her excitement has been making objects levitate all morning, and her smoothie is bubbling like lava. “When you’ve got a bit more control.”

Natalie chuckles. “Look who’s become the voice of caution. Never thought I’d hear you vouch for patience, Katie.”

I nudge her with my elbow. “I’ve learned some things the hard way. ”

Hazel gestures enthusiastically, and her glass trembles. “I just can’t wrap my head around being a—”

The smoothie erupts like a volcano, splattering across the table, our faces, and several nearby witches. Hazel freezes, her hands mid-gesture, her face a perfect mask of horror.

For a beat, there’s silence. Then Sky bursts out laughing.

“I’m so sorry.” Hazel grabs napkins, making it worse as they begin to float and scatter through the air like doves. “Oh God, I’m—”

“Relax,” Sky says, still chuckling. She waves her hand, and the mess lifts from our clothes, the table, and the floor, gathering into a green sphere that hovers before settling back into the glass. “Maybe don’t drink it, now that it’s been on every surface…”

Hazel grimaces and sits back. “Noted.”

Natalie and I exchange a look and casually slide our teacups off the table and into our laps.

Hazel looks from the restored smoothie to Sky with awe. “Will I be able to do that?”

“Eventually,” Sky says. “But you’ll have to practice not exploding things first.”

Hazel’s cheeks flush, but she’s smiling.

Past them, Fiona approaches. Her arm is in a sling, and even from across the lounge, weariness is plain on her face. Her usually perfect posture has given way to a slump, and dark circles shadow her eyes. As she makes her way over, she nods to several witches who call out to her.

“Mind if I join you?” she asks, her voice raspy from shouting orders during the battle.

Sky scoots over, making room. “Please do.”

Fiona sinks onto the bench with a sigh that seems to come from deep in her soul. “The infirmary is at capacity. We haven’t seen this many injuries since the cursed petting zoo incident of ’09.”

My stomach twists. “How bad?”

“No fatalities, thankfully.” Fiona accepts the tablet from Sky and puts an order in. “Though it was close. Millie’s stable.”

I sit up straighter. “She’ll be okay?”

Fiona nods. “The bio magic nearly tore her apart from the inside, but she’s strong as heck, that girl. She’ll recover. In fact, Doctor Sharma informs me she’s cancer-free.”

Gasps of awe and delight rise from our group, and my eyes prickle as a smile breaks across my face.

“Wonderful,” Troy says.

“I’m so happy for her,” Sky says.

“Whether from bio magic or the treatments she was receiving before all this, we might never know.” Fiona drums her fingers on the table. “Time for a new start for her and Sebastian. We’ve decided to drop all charges against them.”

“Good,” I say firmly.

“Yes, well.” Fiona meets my eyes. “Speaking of charges…”

Heat floods my face.

“Those against you have been formally dismissed,” she says. “I spoke with the other Directors.”

Natalie and I let out a breath in unison. We knew it was coming, but it’s still a relief to hear.

“Thank you,” I say, the words inadequate for the weight lifting from my shoulders. Finally, I can stop spending every day fighting to prove myself.

A cup of steaming tea rises through the table, earning a little “ooh!” from Hazel.

Fiona pulls it closer. “I owe you an apology, Katie. I just want you to understand that the coven has strict protocols for a reason. Magic is dangerous and even catastrophic in the wrong hands. When people start bending rules, the consequences can be…” She trails off and takes a sip of tea .

“I get it,” I say. After seeing what Sophia did with just a taste of bio magic, I understand all too well. “You’re trying to protect people.”