Tenn flicked his wrist, and his silver orb floated toward me then stopped above the Goddess’s rune and hovered. I felt his magic right in front of me. It was incredibly powerful, but it soothed the panic threatening to surge to the surface.
There was a blast of heat, and then a glowing golden orb floated over. I didn’t need to look to see whose it was. There was no mistaking the fire in Emersyn’s magic. Her orb floated right into Tenn’s, then merged together. There was a moment of pause, then one by one my Coven-mates sent their orbs to join theirs. Gold and silver joined together, morphing into one basketball-sized ball of magic.
My pulse skipped a beat. The weight of this moment crashed into me. This was my Coven-mates choosing me as their leader. I’d watched this exact same ceremony from their angle when we crowned Tenn yet it felt entirely different now. This was them pledging to the Goddess that they wanted me to guide them. This was them vowing on their magic that they trusted me.
My heart swelled as my emotions tried to overpower me.
My Coven-mates raised their arms and held their palms out to the sides, pressing into each other. Gold and silver magic coiled around their arms and over their bodies until they were connected by vines of magic. They looked to the sky.
“We call thee Goddess to honor thy name,” Tenn chanted. Then he looked back to me, and my heart fluttered.
“From among us all, this one we claim,” Bentley called out and I realized I hadn’t seen him standing between Tenn and Constance.
“For deep and dark, through light and air,” my Coven-mates crooned together in perfect unison. “To lead us all with right and fair.”
Sharp light shot through the embers of the Goddess’s rune on the ground in front of me. Rays of silver and gold shined up into the orb of my Coven’s magic. The runes around the circle changed from green to blue, then to every shade of the rainbow and back again.
“By word of will, and veil of vow, search her soul here and now,” my Coven-mates chanted. They turned their eyes to me and continued, “With ancient strength and blessed power, our trust is hers this sacred hour.”
This is it.
No turning back now.
And then, all of a sudden like the flip of a switch, excitement rushed through my veins like a wildfire. All of my fears and hesitation vanished completely. I was made for this role. I was the High Priestess, one of the most powerful in the entire Coven.
But I was also the Aether Witch.
The first one in at least a millennia.
There was a reason I was blessed with that magic…and this role was mine.
And I was ready to accept it.
I raised my hands to the orb of my Coven’s magic and let it brush over my fingers. Then I said the words I’d always wanted to say. “I pledge to you my life and honor, this vow I take will make us stronger. I say the words, so give them power. I’ll lead this Coven every breathing hour.”
Vines of magic shot out from it and wrapped around my wrists. Silver and gold coiled around every inch of my fingers, hands, and forearms. My skin warmed. I felt light and weightless. My magic sang and rushed to the surface, lighting up my entire body like a full moon. I stared at the orb and repeated my vow silently in my head.
The orb cracked and popped, then split in half. Shimmering silver magic wrapped around my left bicep so thick I couldn’t see my arm. Light flashed then vanished, leaving that silver armband coiled tight around my arm with the dagger sticking through the side of it. I gasped and glanced over to Constance only to find hers had vanished.
Magic flared on my left. When I looked over, I caught sight of that black lotus flower on the back of my left hand. Golden light spread down my arms to the rest of my body. My hair turned snow white. I knew by the widened gazes of my Coven that my eyes had turned white and gold again.
Bentley walked forward with my Book of Shadows in one hand and a golden chest in his other, though it looked too heavy for a nine-year-old to be carrying single-handedly. He stopped in front of me, standing on top of the Goddess’s rune. The Book of Shadows flew open, and then he began chanting in the ancient language. I knew what he was saying, I’d read them several times before Tenn’s ceremony, but right now my heart was pounding too hard to actually hear them.
Bentley dropped his hands, but both the book and chest hovered in the air. He continued to speak in the ancient language, and I tried to get my brain back into gear. But then Tenn and Constance walked up beside Bentley and my heart stopped.
This is it. This is happening.
I’m about to be crowned.
I focused on my soulmate, eyeing his crown. I hadn’t seen it before it was placed on him but I wondered if it looked differently when it was Timothy’s, like maybe our magic altered it to fit the wearer. And Tenn looked impeccable in his crown. Two white ridged horns shot out from the top and curled down by his ears, hovering over his dark hair. Sticking out from the top were two white antlers. The part that wrapped around his head was made of golden vines and looked like it’d been taken straight off a tree in the Garden of Eden. In the center, it dipped down, and a massive opal glistened in the sunlight—a stone that contained all the colors and qualities of every other stone and could be charged for any type of magic.
“Tegan,” Constance said softly.
I gasped and refocused on her…but my gaze went right to her crown. It was a simple crown made of clear quartz crystal with raw edges that were a couple inches tall. But then she reached up and took it off of her head.
She stepped up to me, holding the crown out. “Tegan Bishop, The Coven has spoken. Do you accept this role and vow to always guide us in the honorable direction?”
I nodded. “By The Coven’s magic, I shall be heard. With mine High Priestess’s power, I give my word.”
Light flashed from the Goddess’s rune in the ground. It shot up and wrapped around the crown in Constance’s hands in front of me. Rainbow magic coiled around it like snakes. I sucked in a breath and held it. I knew it. It’s changing for me! My pulse skipped. Butterflies danced the Riverdance in my stomach. And then my magic exploded like fireworks and my breath left me in a rush.
OH MY GODDESS.
THANK YOU.
It was breathtaking. Gorgeous. And absolutely perfect for me.
The part that would wrap around my head was made of the same golden vines as Tennessee’s, the ones that looked like they came straight from the Garden of Eden. Above the golden vines was a ring of white twigs and little raw pieces of bone. It was bad ass. In the center a crescent moon made of fire opal dangled from the bottom and I knew it would rest perfectly against my forehead.
But my favorite part of the crown, the part that had me happy dancing inside, were the clear raw quartz crystals. There were two rows of them going all the way around. Each crystal on the bottom row was at least four inches tall, and the ones in the second row were twice that size. Each one was pointed at the top. It looked like someone had taken a cluster of these stones and just sat it on a crown…and I was obsessed.
Constance grinned from ear to ear, then reached out and placed the crown on my head. Warmth radiated down my spine and into all of my limbs. Wild, raw energy tingled along my nerves.
I giggled, then bit down on my bottom lip.
“High Priestess of The Coven,” Constance said softly, pulling my gaze toward her. She smiled down at me with glistening blue eyes. She pulled a small white crystal out of the chest. “The Goddess has spoken. Do you accept this role and vow to always guide us in the divine direction?”