Would she hang with the mischievous cousins, Deacon and Royce? Get in to their shenanigans with them? I could see it, easily. Or perhaps she’d be like Henley and Lennox, always talking magic and what they could do with it.
Hope snorted from my left. I looked over and found her and Tegan laughing so hard their faces were red and no sound came out. I don’t even want to know. Ever since my sister got back from London her and Tegan had become inseparable, or I supposed that was actually the norm for them. I didn’t mind at all. Seeing my soulmate and my sister happy was the best feeling. But as I watched them now I had a growing fear that Saffie would be more like them. I wasn’t sure this Coven could handle another wildcard.
“Yo, you okay?”
I jumped – then found Cooper sitting beside me. I frowned. “Weren’t you just down there?”
He chuckled. “The fact that you didn’t notice me move over here is exactly why I moved over here.”
I sighed and hung my head. “That obvious?”
“Oh yeah.” He grinned then shrugged. “At least to me. I mean, your plate is clean – and not like you licked it clean. There’s fried chicken on the table.”
I opened my mouth, then shut it. I hadn’t gotten any food yet. My stomach turned just thinking about eating. “Right…”
Cooper grabbed a few pieces of chicken and tossed them on my plate. “Eat those or I’ll tell Uncle Kessler and —”
“All right, all right,” I said with a chuckle. Then for show, I shoved a huge piece in my mouth and chewed.
Coop watched me for a second and then frowned. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
I swallowed and shook my head. “Shit if I know, man.”
Cooper arched one eyebrow. He rested his elbows on the table and leaned in. “It’s me, Tenn.”
I cursed and pushed my hair back off my face. Cooper and I were finally back to where we’d been before Tegan arrived. I hadn’t even realized how much I’d missed my best friend. Back before he’d tried to kick my ass for dating his sister. I leaned back in my seat. “I was just thinking about Saffie, wondering how she’s going to fit in with this gang…and where.”
He chuckled. “You know, I was thinking the same thing earlier. And I’ve got a bet.”
“Oh, do you now?” I glanced around the table but no one was paying attention to us. “Who?”
“Emersyn.”
“What about me?”
We both jumped as she walked by us. “Nothing,” we both said.
She rolled her gold eyes. “Y’all are terrible liars. But luckily, I don’t want to know. Just remember I will burn a bitch.” She stuck her tongue out, then moved down to sit beside Deacon.
Cooper looked to me. “See?”
I opened my mouth to say something when Chutney came running in from the back door. “Are you okay?”
Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes wide and bright. Her curly hair was all windblown and wild. She chuckled and hurried to sit beside – wait, when did Gigi come back in?
“Oh man,” Chutney said breathlessly as she sat. “I just watched a bald eagle and an osprey in an aerial battle outside!”
Easton leaned back in his seat. “That’s how many describe the sight of my glutes when I’m doing squats.”
Lily closed her eyes and shook her head. “I love him, I love him, I love him.”
The whole table erupted in laughter…and yet, all I felt was relief. For the last month I’d been too stressed about getting Saffie back to even eat proper meals. That sleeping potion Henley gave me was the only reason I was still standing. The fact that she was sleeping safely in a room downstairs…I didn’t even have words to describe the relief.
“Um…guys?” Bentley called out over the laughter.
There was something in the sharpness in his voice that sucked all of the humor from the room. Everyone froze, their gazes locked on him.
“Ah, shit,” Deacon tossed his napkin on his plate. “Just rip the Band-Aid, dude.”
“No. No, no, no.” Royce shook his head and turned back to the fried chicken. “If he doesn’t show us it didn’t happen.”
“If only it worked that way,” Henley grumbled.
We all knew what was about to happen. The tone in his voice, the edge in his eyes…and the way he held his left arm behind his back… they were all giveaways. He’d gotten another message from the Goddess. My stomach sank. I glanced to Tegan and arched one eyebrow.
She pursed her lips and watched her brother. This feels like a warning, not a quest.
That didn’t make me feel better at all.
Bentley walked over to me and stopped.
I cursed. “All right. Let’s see it.”
He held his left arm out and pushed his long sleeve up to his elbow, revealing two rows of elegant black script. “This one is definitely…fascinating.”
“What’s it say, boss?”
I leaned forward and read the words out loud, “Fasten thy rope of will and deed, Changes are swift in speed.”
Silence.
“Hold up.” Hope sat her cup down and the thud echoed. “Did that just tell us to buckle up?”
Tegan snorted. “Yup. It sure did.”
“Changes are swift in speed,” I repeated. My pulse quickened. “I think that’s fairly obvious.”
“Changes? What kind of changes?” Chutney screeched.
Willow glanced to Savannah and her cheeks flushed. “Yeah, what kind?”
We’re going to lose someone, or more than one. I couldn’t help it, that was my first thought. I couldn’t think of any other changes the Goddess would need to warn us of besides changes to The Coven itself. My stomach turned. I felt all my Coven-mates’ eyes on me, but I kept my gaze locked on Bentley’s arm.
Tegan cleared her throat. “I think we need to be ready…for anything.”
“I don’t like that!” Royce hissed and rubbed his temples.
The whole table erupted into chaos. Everyone was shouting over each other, throwing out theories and fears like they were candy on Halloween night. I cursed and scrubbed my face.
“What’s going on here?”
We all gasped and turned to the door as Constance’s voice ripped through the craziness. Her and Daniel stood in the foyer, hanging their snow-dusted coats on the racks by the door.
“CONSTANCE!” Everyone yelled. “DANIEL!”
“Welcome home!”
“How was your honeymoon – I mean, vacation?”
“Did you bring anything back?”
“You both look so tan!”
“Where were you again?”
Questions fired at them from everyone before they even got their coats up.
“Hey Deacon?” I yelled.
Deacon nodded and whistled the way only a New Yorker could. “Aight, folks.”
Daniel chuckled and hurried toward us. “Is that Em’s fried chicken I smell?”
Easton lifted a piece in the air to show him. “You know it.”
“Well, I’d say we picked the right day to come home.” Constance chuckled as she walked up beside him. “So, what was everyone yelling about?”