Page 6

FRANKIE

I knew I was sleeping, which I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to know or not. The whole astral projection and lucid dreaming shit was unsettling. I tried to think back to dreams before Halloween to remember if I ever consciously knew I was asleep while dreaming but I just couldn’t. I wondered if all my dreams would feel like this now, like I was fully awake just . . . chillin’.

Right now, in this dream, I sat on the sand at Panama City Beach in the Florida Panhandle with my toes in the tide washing ashore and my fingers buried in the powdery sand. Even though it wasn’t real, my mind felt like it was. I felt the cool air sweeping across my face and through my hair. I smelled the salt in the air and felt the softness of the sand on my skin. We’d lived two hours from this beach, so my aunt and uncle didn’t take me quite as often as they did when I was a kid. Neither them nor Mei-Ling’s parents were comfortable with me driving us that far until this last summer. We’d taken advantage of that once a week. I sighed and tried not to feel sad about the epic change in my life since then.

I was the Tower, after all. In my short research on tarot cards thus far, I’d learned catastrophic change was the name of the Tower’s game. How fitting.

“ WAKE UP, COVENLINGS !”

I gasped and shot straight up in my bed, the blankets falling around by my hips. I sighed. There it is. The proof I hadn’t needed that I’d been asleep. Tegan had a habit of waking us up by screaming into our unconscious minds telepathically. It was convenient . . . if not also terrifying. Even though my mind was awake and aware in that dream, my body had been down for the count, which meant Tegan’s screaming forced my body into a jump start and now my pulse was racing. With a curse, I pushed my hair back and then tied it up in a bun before climbing out of my bed. After everything that’d gone down the last month, I’d made it a new habit to sleep fully clothed. Last night I’d switched out of my jeans and white sweater because the amount of blood splattered on them was just not the right way to start the day.

Wait, what time is it? Are we officially starting the day? Is there an emergency? I grabbed my phone off the charger and saw an ungodly early time of day and cringed before shoving my phone in my pocket.

“BENTLEY GOT PROPHECY. WE’RE JUST GONNA TALK, THEN YOU CAN GO BACK TO BED, ” Tegan shouted in our minds.

I smiled. She really was so convenient. I looked down and confirmed I had slept in sweatpants, a hoodie, and a fuzzy pair of socks, so I was going to this meeting like this. My sais and Vans sneakers were at my door, so I grabbed them on the way out, just in case. My room was on the third floor only because it was apparently the quiet floor, which was why Mei-Ling chose this for me when she got here. Right about now I was wishing she’d selected the second floor, especially for going back up.

“Why don’t we have an elevator?” I grumbled to myself. “Or an escalator? Or some magical shit that just beams us up.”

Tim chuckled behind me as I crossed the landing on the second floor. “I’m sure crazy can whip us up something. She probably doesn’t even realize how much we need it since she rarely uses her legs for their intended purpose.”

A deep chuckle behind me made me and Tim glance back. Tenn was right behind us. We must’ve made a face because he shrugged. “That was funny.”

Tenn had clearly taken the back to bed part seriously since he only had on a pair of sweatpants. No shirt or shoes in sight. I wondered when the last time he saw a brush had been because that hair was wild. He looked exhausted, both mentally and physically, which was probably why his uncle kept on with the jokes about Tegan forgetting to behave like a human—because it made his nephew laugh.

We were still laughing as we made it to the living room where Tegan stood beside the couch bouncing on her toes— No, wait. Not bouncing with excitement. She’s trying to keep herself awake. I frowned and glanced back up to Tenn, and seeing my own concern echoed on his face did not make me feel better. The smile Tim’s jokes had put on his face was nowhere in sight. He rushed to her and pulled her into his arms. She collapsed against him without hesitation and part of me wondered if she’d fallen asleep as Tenn ran his fingers through her black and purple hair. I dropped my shoes and sais on the ground in front of the fireplace and sat on the ledge. The warmth of the fire was comforting, and I suspected I was going to need it for this conversation.

The back door opened and closed, then I heard the familiar sound of dog paws tapping on the hardwood floor. I sat up straight and waited. Bentley strolled into the living room with Squishy, Albert, Olli, and all three of my boys on his heels. My boys ran straight to the bottom of the stairs and stared up, their dipstick tails whipping back and forth and their ears perked up. I watched their little nostrils flare like they were sniffing for me.

I grinned and threw my arms out. “Boys!”

In perfect synchronization, three heads snapped in my direction. They charged for me as a unit, and as they charged at me full speed, I relished in the familiarity of this moment. I slid onto the floor and let them pile into my lap with wagging tails and happy licks on my arms and face.

“They were clawing at your door when they heard Olli howling out back, so they were released from their prison,” Bentley said with a laugh. “Hope that’s okay?”

“Yes, thank you very much, Bentley.” I smiled up at him and held my hand out. “Come here, boys. We’re cuddle-puddling over here.”

It still blew my mind that Squishy’s fur was soft to the touch despite being covered in flames. Seelie magic was wild. Squishy climbed up on the ledge behind my head and lay down, resting his snout on my shoulder. Albert threw himself into my side, then flopped onto his side. I’d never seen a sad dog like this before. He was grieving Braison just like a person would, where he was a happy dog until he suddenly remembered he wasn’t here. I must have still carried Braison’s scent because I seemed to be the reminder for him still. Olli walked between my legs, between Houdini and Bobokins, and flopped onto his back so his pink belly was up. He particularly liked being in the middle of the puddle.

Bentley chuckled softly. “You have almost the same effect on dogs as Chutney.”

“Thank you.” I grinned, then I remembered why she wasn’t here and my stomach turned. But I didn’t want to ask yet. Instead, I glanced to our Hierophant’s right arm still in a sling with a gnarly shoulder wound from the Land of the Lore. “How’s the shoulder?”

He sat on the ledge beside Squishy and ran his other hand through the flames on his fur, which caused orange lightning bolts to cover his forearm. “Sadly, I’ve had worse.”

“Sorry to hear that.” I smirked and then that reminded me of something I’d wanted to know. “Hey, Tenn?”

He looked over and arched one eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“Why Archibald ? Like, why that name?”

“Oh.” He chuckled. “From our friend in Issale. His real name is Archibald, and it just was too good to not get attention. You’ll meet him eventually, but he goes by the name Foster.”

“Issale is shifter home country, right?”

He nodded. “Foster is the alpha of the wolf pack. His soulmate, Inez, is a witch halfling, also a wolf.”

“Cool.” I smiled but then my gaze landed on Tegan still leaning against his bare chest. Her skin looked paler than usual, like sickly pale and a little clammy. I scowled. I lifted my hands off Albert and signed, ‘ is she okay?’

He closed his eyes and rested his chin on top of her head. “ I don’t know, ” he said telepathically into my mind.

Movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. When I looked, I found Willow sitting beside me with wide brown eyes. The flickering orange flames of the fire reflected in the brown of her eyes and gave them an almost caramel look. It was quite pretty.

“What?” Willow said a little louder than I expected, so I flinched. She grimaced and lowered her voice to a whisper, “ Sorry .”

I shook my head and put my hand on her arm. “I was thinking your eyes looked pretty with the firelight.” I pointed to the flames behind us, then to my own eyes.

“Thank you.” She blushed and tucked her strawberry-blonde curls behind her ears. The blood stains were gone but there seemed to be a dark shadow of black lines running out of her ears.

I tapped on my left ear. “Fixed?”

Her face fell. “No. They can’t fix it. They don’t know. You know sign language?”

“Yeah, I can teach you?”

“ Lily and Easton also know sign language, ” Tenn said into our minds. “ Along with Seamus and Ava, of course.”

Willow’s eyes glistened as she nodded. “Thanks,” she said softly.

The door to downstairs opened, and at first I saw only Kessler filling the doorway, but then he stepped forward literally dragging Hunter by the arm. “My brother, Devon will be pissed off if you miss every meeting and aren’t in the fight.”

Hunter growled.

Kessler rolled his eyes but did not let go of his little brother’s arm. “You heard Valathame. Yes, but be patient. You may be comfortable with Devon being mad at you, but I certainly am not.”

Tim chuckled from where he sat at the table with a cup of steaming coffee. “I wouldn’t be either.”

Kessler looked to Tim and grimaced, then nodded his head toward the stairs. “Can you grab him? And Emersyn.”

He cursed and jumped to his feet, disappearing down the stairs without another question.

“Ah. C’mon. SEE?” Easton groaned really loudly from the base of the stairs. His shirt was on inside-out and backwards and his hair was all disheveled. The sling holding his broken arm up was all tangled. His cheeks were flushed. “See, Lily. We’re not even the last ones down here. We had another minute.”

Lily descended the last few steps with equally flushed cheeks but at least her clothes were on correctly, although that arm was still swollen. She rolled her purple eyes. “And I said I wanted to go down and get a sling from Katherine before the meeting. Be a good boy and sit down.” She kissed his cheek and then slipped down the stairs.

Easton pouted dramatically, then turned to the living room. “Morning, ladies and gents. Where’s boss lady?”

Tenn turned to the side so everyone else could see Tegan collapsed against his chest. “ Leave her be right now, Easton, or so help me God, ” he said into our minds.

Easton threw his hands up and signed, ‘ Down, boy, don’t bite.’

Royce slid up from out of nowhere and snapped his fingers excitedly, then tapped on Easton’s shoulder. With wild eyes he pointed to Easton’s hands and then lifted his own. Then he nodded.

Easton shook his head. “For the last time, Royce, I’m a one-woman-man now. You had your chance at my hands years ago.”

Royce’s eyes flashed as he pretended to clutch pearls he wasn’t wearing. ‘ Don’t tease me,’ he mouthed.

Easton scowled. “Oh shit. They didn’t get your voice working yet?”

Thiago sighed from the bottom of the stairs. “No, and they’re not sure they can. But they’re working on it. Same for Willow’s hearing, in case she didn’t share that yet.”

Willow grimaced.

Easton glanced back and forth between Royce and Willow, then held his hands up and signed at the same time as speaking, “Want me to teach you sign language?”

“Yeah, Royce could use a lesson in hand work.” Thiago winked playfully as he smacked Royce’s ass while walking by.

Royce gasped. Even without the sound I could hear that gasp. He scurried after Thiago and pinched his side as they dropped onto one of the couches.

The downstairs door opened again, this time with Jackson who looked absolutely wrecked. His whole aura was heavy and tense. The soulmate glyph on his chest was dark-blue. Tim was behind him with both hands on Jackson’s shoulders. He gently eased him over to the table to sit down, then slid over the coffee he’d made for himself. Lily bounced back up the steps, now wearing her arm in a sling, she and Easton looking like a matching set. She went right over to where Easton sat on the coffee table facing Royce. He appeared to have started the sign language lesson.

I tapped Willow’s leg, then pointed to them. "Go join them. I bet he’s a better teacher than me.”

Willow smiled, then hurried over to sit next to Royce. Easton immediately started helping her. That made me smile. He was a goofy dude, always making jokes and quick to laugh, but he was equally as caring and sensitive. That was all probably a product of him being the Lovers Card.

Loud stomping echoed up the stairs and I was a bit surprised to find the sound came from Emersyn. Her golden eyes blazed with little flames on her eyelashes and on the tips of her hair. Her face, white shirt, and hands all had blood stains on them.

Hunter, Kessler, and Royce all sat up with fear in their eyes but said nothing.

“How dare he be dying on me again. How dare him.” She stomped over and sat right next to her father like even she knew she needed to calm down. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Why is it always me who has to suffer this? He should have to know what this feels like. I swear to Goddess if he does it a third time I will kill him myself.”

Kessler snort-laughed so hard he had to cover his mouth with his hand. Tim threw his head back and laughed.

Hunter just closed his eyes and shook his head. He wrapped one arm around his daughter’s shoulders and squeezed, his golden magic sliding over her instantly. “C’mere, kiddo. I promise we’ll make sure he suffers appropriately once he’s healed. Okay?”

She huffed. “He better.”

I giggled. “I get it. I’d rather be angry than sad.”

Tenn and Jackson nodded silently.

Mona and Katherine came up the stairs together. They each had a book in their hands, but when they got to the living room, they swapped books without speaking. Mona went straight over to sit on Kessler’s lap, curling her legs on his and reading. Kessler just stroked her hair with his hand, and I realized he was still holding Hunter in place, though I wondered if that was more of an emotional support grip than anything. Katherine sat down in the chair beside Tim and rested her head on his shoulder, the book open on the table in front of her.

“Sorry we’re late,” Constance said softly as she and Daniel came down from their room. “Kendall and Kylie had rough dreams last night, so we’re moving a bit slow.”

Katherine frowned. “Let’s talk after this?”

Daniel nodded. “Thank you. Yes.”

The front door opened, letting Kenneth and his soulmate, Landreia, in. I hadn’t gotten to really meet Landreia yet, but from what Cooper had told me she was from Salem and was famous for her little witchy shop there. Apparently she and Kenneth had only just met at the Valentine’s Day dance. It was a lovely thing to see that finding your soulmate wasn’t limited to the young.

My chest tightened. Soulmate. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. For a few moments, I’d managed to forget my own soulmate was Everest. I wanted to be relieved in learning all these emotions I’d felt for him immediately upon meeting wasn’t a figment of teenage puppy love. It was intense because he was literally the other half of my soul. And it was a relief, but it hurt at the same time . . . because he wasn’t here. He was still in Avolire. In danger. I needed to get him free of his mother’s grip once and for all.

“Warner, you can’t want them to include you in everything but then want them to ignore you before ten in the morning.” Lennox giggled. “It’s all or nothing, baby girl.”

Warner flipped hair he didn’t have over his shoulder. “A girl can dream, Lenny.”

I frowned as I realized they were talking about being Coven pets —not part of The Coven, but included in everything. I wanted my best friend to be that. I wanted her here beside me helping me figure all this out. “Hey, did you guys see Mei-Ling and Tai down there?”

“They’re sound asleep.” Lennox shrugged but her smile was kind. “Figured this was not a meeting they needed to be in.”

“That’s fine. Just wanted to check.”

They both walked over to me and joined the cuddle puddle. Warner rolled onto the ground much in the same way Olli had—and Olli noticed. He jumped up, then flipped back over so he was on his back beside Warner. When Lennox sat in the spot Willow had been in, Albert moved over to curl between her legs, using her thigh as a pillow while she whispered to him.

“ Cooper Devon Bishop!” Savannah hissed from the stairs, still out of sight. “No. Uh-uh. Absolutely not. No, sir.”

“ Sir? ” Easton whispered. “He must have really fucked up.”

I scowled and eyed the stairs. My heart sank. I knew those two were mad for each other, that soulmate stunt Tegan pulled had really messed them both up. I couldn’t imagine how this felt for them. At least I got my soulmate in the person I wanted. I glanced around the living room to see if everyone else had picked up on this and knew right away no one had missed a damn thing. Each of their expressions were tight and sad. The couples in the room all held on to each other a little tighter. It was the first time I saw visual proof that the rest of this Coven family knew about their feelings for each other because normally they all acted like they were oblivious.

I sighed. Goddess, I love this group.

And then Cooper laughed, like a big laugh that probably made his shoulders bounce. The sound echoed down the stairs and into the room. Everyone jumped like they’d been electrocuted. No one else spoke. All gazes were locked on the bottom of the stairs. As Cooper and Savannah rounded the stairs and walked into the living room, the first thing I noticed was how bright their eyes were and how wide their smiles were.

Then I noticed they were holding hands. Tightly, like they were afraid they’d be torn apart.

It did funny things to my own heart to see that. They must have decided to be together for now . . . until Cooper’s real soulmate showed up. It must have been a difficult decision, to be willing to give your love to someone knowing it wouldn’t last. I snuck a glance around the room and smirked. No one was looking at them, but they all had seen it. Lots of eyebrows were raised and smiles were being hidden.

Tenn cleared his throat. “Okay. We’re all here now, I guess. Let’s get started.” He patted Tegan’s shoulder.

Nothing happened. She seemed to be out.

Hunter scowled so hard his eyebrows dropped over his eyes. Cooper looked a blink away from a nervous breakdown. Emersyn’s flames grew bigger. Kessler was already lifting Mona off his lap like he thought he had to do something. But it was the concern in Bentley’s eyes that sent a chill down my spine, as he just stared at the ground in front of him.

“Babe?” Tenn frowned and gave her a little shake. When she didn’t wake, he shook her harder. “Babe? Tegan?”

Nothing.

Tenn’s eyes widened. “Katherine?”

She cursed and climbed to her feet. “Let me go whip her up something. Be right back. Myrtle is still down there.”

I pursed my lips and eyed her. “Zap her?”

Tenn frowned, then he shrugged and lifted one hand to her back. Green and blue magic billowed from beneath his palm—Tegan hissed and vanished. She reappeared a second later, perched on the back of the couch like a cat on a fence, all hands and feet in a row. Her pale-green eyes were wide. Beneath her, Hunter, Kessler, and Emersyn all just looked up at her perched behind them.

No one else moved but everyone seemed to grab ahold of something like they thought a bomb was about to detonate.

Tenn jumped toward the couch with his arms outstretched. “Babe?”

Tegan blinked rapidly, then seemed to snap back into reality because she looked around and then let out a deep sigh. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her knee. “Really weird dream.”

Cooper chuckled softly. “Have that cat dream again?”

Tegan nodded, her brows scrunched up in confusion. “I don’t like it anymore.”

Hunter held his arms straight up. Tegan rolled off the back of the couch into her father’s lap and let him hold on to her. Emersyn, Kessler, and Mona scowled down at her in concern.

“Babe? You okay?”

Tegan sighed again before pushing up to her feet and standing. “I’m gonna have to talk to Valathame about this whole upon the dawn bullshit.”

Everyone chuckled.

“On that note, Trouble?” Tim shook his head and scratched his jaw. “What we got?”

“Right. Business mode. Thanks.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and cringed. “Actually, Dad?”