Page 46

AMbrOSE

I ’m still confused when I’m ushered downstairs into Lucida’s office.

It’s a large room with an antique desk in one corner.

It was painted blue at one point with flowers on the top, but time has worn away the surface until smooth wood has broken through the color.

It's scattered with papers and a collection of herbs and potion bottles.

Shadow boxes displaying rare dried flowers hang on the papered walls, the pattern one of bare branches, with an occasional bird that pops up.

A large round table takes up most of the space.

The scars gouged into the wood tell a story of many meetings being held here.

Piper is sitting next to Odie, and beside her is Hannah. I don’t see my mother, Francesca, or Tucker in sight. The only one left upstairs is Roman.

Things are so damn awkward between me and Piper.

Her gaze darts over my face as if she’s inspecting me for damage.

I don’t know what she faced in that room of illusions, but she doesn’t seem to have come out worse for the wear.

She exhales heavily, as though relieved.

I want to go to her and ask her how she’s feeling, but my feet are rooted in place.

A few moments later, Roman walks into the office with Lucida following behind him. I crane my neck to look out in the hall, wondering if the other possible council members are roaming around. Knowing my mother, she’s probably opening up cupboards and checking in drawers to look for secrets.

Instead of waiting for the others to join us, Lucida shuts the door and then leans against it as she eyes each one of us. A smile breaks out on her face.

“Congratulations. This is the new council for the Luminara coven.” Her smile falls slightly. “Assuming you agree to be a part of the council. While the magic chooses the participants in the trials, serving on the council is voluntary.”

“Are we going to have to give up a secret for you to blackmail us, like you did when you joined the coven council?” Roman asks.

When Lucida became part of the council of the Tenebris coven, she was forced to abide by a sort of magical NDA, which meant she could never speak of the ill deeds the old council did.

Her hands were tied, or more accurately, her life was tied to her secrecy.

If she forces us to do the same, then fuck that.

I’m not power hungry like the old council was.

I don’t have to be a part of this group.

“Why don’t we all sit down.” Lucida waves us over to the round table. I take a seat next to Piper, and Roman takes the vacant seat on the other side of Hannah.

Lucida stays standing, facing the rest of us. “The whole reason for these trials was to find the right kind of witches to lead our coven. You’re all powerful, but possess compassion, empathy, and the ability to put others' needs above your own.

“Having a coven concerned only with their own well-being isn’t helpful for anyone. I mean to change the way our coven works for this town and the people we support.”

“Then how did the old council members even get selected?” I ask. It’s been bugging me since that night.

Lucida grips the back of a chair. “It was my fault. Part of the spell was to find those who wanted to help their coven.”

Odie cocks her head, her mouth turned down. “And it selected them?”

I’m impressed when Lucida nods. I didn’t realize she knew sign language.

“Ironically. The thing is, the spell couldn’t differentiate between altruistic motives and self-serving ones.

So while it selected Francesca, for example, because she had the ultimate desire to help her coven, the spell didn’t understand that her plans for doing that involved building herself and others with power up to untouchable reaches, while stomping down those who aren’t naturally as strong. ”

Thankfully, the trials showed their true colors.

“I want elections,” Piper says with a rapid rush of words.

“Elections?” Lucida parrots the word.

“I think it’s fine that we were chosen to lead this coven, but I also think that there should be representation that’s not based on a power level. At least one position, maybe two, should be elected. Let the rest of the witches in this coven have a voice.”

I smile, my heart swelling with pride. Piper has grown into her skin in such an incredible way. A few months ago, I couldn’t imagine her speaking out about anything. Now she’s using her voice to help others. It’s beautiful to witness her growth.

Lucida takes a moment, and then nods, a slight smile on her face. “I think you’re right. We’ll need to come up with some protocols, but I agree, this would be good for the entire coven.”

With one more look at each of us, Lucida pulls out a chair and sits down. “To answer your question,” she looks at Roman. “No, there will be no geas or magical binding. You’re here of your own free will. Is there anyone who would like to walk away from this position?”

When no one responds, Lucida nods. “Very well. Welcome to the new Luminara coven council.” She threads her fingers together on the scarred tabletop, her bracelets clanking with a soft chime.

“We have another important matter to discuss before I let you go. This has been put off for too long. Now that we have a council, we need to decide what to do with the witches who endangered our coven.”

At a recent coven event, the old council tried to do a very risky spell that would have ensured their curses never rebounded on them.

The spell failed and they were put under house arrest until their fates could be determined.

Of course Tucker and Francesca managed to wriggle out of that punishment by being part of the council trials, but now that they have officially failed the trials, they’re overdue punishment for their actions.

“Our first task is to determine what should happen to members of the old council that are currently being held under house arrest.”

It doesn’t take long for us to determine our next steps. There’s little debate around the worn-out table. Even Hannah, who wasn’t born into a family that suffers from the curses of Mystic Hollows knows exactly what the previous council members tried to do.

Lucida nods and pushes away from the table, standing tall. “I’ll gather the coven. I need to introduce our new council, and it’s finally time to bring justice back to the witches of this town.”

She turns to Roman. “Can you speak with Bram?”

Our proposal of the council’s punishment depends on his brother's assistance.

Roman pulls out his phone. “I highly doubt there’ll be an issue with this, but I’ll confirm.”

For the trials, Lucida used old-fashioned letters to get in touch with all of us.

That was just to be formal, because we are, after all, witches.

She could have used magic. She pulls out a vial from her pocket full of glittering sand.

Pouring a handful into her palm, she leans down to whisper.

I’m close enough that I hear her commanding the witches of our coven to join us at the Tenebris house.

She blows the sand from her hand, but it doesn’t fall onto the table.

It scatters in an invisible wind, and then zips out the door in swirling streams of sparkles.

Several pieces stay here in the room. A single kernel of sand pelts me in the face before zipping into my ear and whispering the words that Lucida just said. “Your presence is required at the Tenebris coven house immediately.”

Piper is quiet as we walk into the auditorium. Lucida ushers us up to the stage. I think we should change this practice as well. I don’t want to lord above the rest of the coven. The old council members did that for years. Look how well that turned out for everyone.

The auditorium quickly fills in. The chatter is loud, and we’re the topic of their conversations.

I feel like an animal in the zoo on display as curious, and sometimes disdainful, looks are thrown our way from the rest of the coven.

They’re fully aware that the trials to find our new council members have been going on.

I’m sure they know exactly why we’re standing here up on stage.

Lucida claps her hands to gain everyone’s attention, her bracelets jangling together. She flips her long, wavy hair over her shoulder and smiles out at the crowd.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I wouldn’t have sent out an urgent request, but there’s something you’ve been waiting on for too long for us to continue to delay.

First, I want to announce that our final council members have been chosen.

These five individuals passed the tests that not only assessed their powers, but also their ability to respond to situations with empathy, and care.

They are the type of individuals who will lead our coven into a new dawn.

They will listen to one another, to you, and that will only make us stronger. ”

There’re a few cheers and whoops and general applause that surprises me. Not that I thought we were disliked or anything, but it appears as though most of the witches really are happy with their new council. I only hope I don’t fuck this all up.

Lucida smiles at us and then turns toward the crowd, her face growing serious. “The other reason I brought you all here tonight is because it’s time to deal with the old council members. They betrayed our trust and set out to harm our entire coven.”