“Landreia,” I groaned and looked to my left to where she sat beside me. “Please. Tell me what’s going on.”
She opened her mouth then shut it. Then she smiled at me and patted my back. “I promise you will get answers today we just need to wait until the girls come back.”
I bit my lip to stop myself from whining. Again. Everything about her was so calm. I didn’t know how she could be so relaxed after last night – after the whole last week. We were sitting in the middle of some random living room of a stranger’s house.
She called this Coven Headquarters. What does that even mean?
The door on the far side of the room flew open and Savannah and Gigi bounced into the room — with a boy. I gasped and sat up straight as he sauntered in behind them.
Wait.
I’ve seen his face before.
But where?
The memory flashed in my mind and it hit me. THAT DREAM.
My heart fluttered. This boy was in my dream, the one where I was on the beach. I knew it without a fraction of a doubt. I recognized his short-trimmed blond hair and those pretty pale green eyes. He was big, too, definitely over six feet. The gray long-sleeved shirt he wore hugged his arms, showing off corded muscle. He was definitely attractive….and with the way Savannah and Gigi both stared up at him with sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks I knew they agreed.
I sat frozen in silence just watching him come toward me with my heart lodged in my throat. But with every step he took closer, I found it easier to breathe. I wanted to smile up at him but my body was locked in place.
He walked up to me and stopped, grinning. “Good morning, I’m Cooper Bishop.” He held his hand out to me.
I stared at it for a second before I realized I was supposed to shake it. I cursed then threw my hand against his but forgot to open my palm so I kind of just punched his hand. “Oh shit. Sorry. Sorry. Hi. I’m Saraphina Proctor.”
“Nice to meet you, Saraphina.” He chuckled and gestured to the wooden coffee table in front of me. “May I sit?”
I bit my lip and nodded.
“Perfect.” He sat directly across from me, leaving only an inch or two between his knees and mine. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, that warm smile firmly in place. “I hear you had a rough night, Saraphina. I’m sorry about that.”
Saraphina. It was my name, but something about him saying it bothered me. It felt too formal, too business-like. I felt like I was in trouble….or maybe it just didn’t sound the same as when Riah said it — no, don’t go there right now.
I cleared my throat. “You can call me Saffie…please.”
“Saffie.” He nodded but then his gaze dropped to my hands. He reached out and placed his one hand over both of mine. Warm energy spread over my skin. “Take a deep breath. You’re safe now.”
Somehow…that helped. I sucked in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds then released it.
“Good, good. Now, your friends here told me about what happened last night –and everything that’s happened since you woke up on the wharf with amnesia.” He took his hand off of mine then rubbed his palms together. “I know you’re scared and confused – I can feel it – but I also know you probably have a ton of questions, right?”
I nodded.
“That’s good, means you’re at least somewhat normal.” He winked and it made me smile. “Now, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to explain some things and then after you can ask me all the questions you’d like…all right?”
I bit my lip and hesitated. I wanted to ask my questions now but there was something about him that made the fear raging inside of me calm down just a notch. But he was just so calm. He was the picture of ease and happiness. He watched me with kind and patient eyes.
“O-okay…” I licked my lips and glanced at my friends then Landreia. They all nodded in approval. I turned back to Cooper. “Please explain what’s wrong with me.”
“Nothing,” he said in a rush and shook his head. “Besides the amnesia, of course, but that’s not your fault. There’s nothing wrong with you, everything you’ve experienced is normal—”
“Normal?”
“—for a witch.”
I gasped and leaned back a little. “A WHAT?”
He gave me a small smile. “Saffie, you are a witch.”
“A witch?” My eyes widened. I shook my head so hard and fast it hurt. I waved my hands in front of me. “No, no. You’re confused. I-I-I’m not a w-witch. No, no. Landreia’s the witch. She runs a witch shop—”
Cooper grabbed my hands and held them up between our faces. That golden glitter poured out of my palms and into the air around us, shimmering and sparkling in the sunlight peeking through the windows. My heart stopped.
“This is magic, Saffie. Your magic.” Cooper grinned. Then he arched one blond eyebrow and gently kicked my feet aside – revealing two golden footprints in the rug. “And so is that.”
My jaw dropped. I shook my head. “No…no, no. Can’t…no. Magic?”
Cooper let go of my hand and raised his own. Orange mist spilled out from his palm then coiled around his hand and fingers. He pursed his lips then pointed his finger at his head. The orange shimmery mist floated up and wrapped around his hair – light flashed and then long, wavy red hair that matched mine fell down to his hips. I gasped and sat up straight. He grinned and one of his front teeth was purple.
My jaw hit the floor. I dove for the hair and ran my fingers through the soft strands. “It’s so…real.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, well, so is magic.” He waved his hand and he went back to his normal appearance.
I shook my head. “I…I…what?” My mind was spinning so fast I couldn’t tell which way was up or down. I had so many questions yet I was completely blank.
“Magic is real, Saffie. And there’s lots of different types of magic in the world, and different types of people who have it. There’s witches…shifters…” he counted with his fingers “vampires…the Fae—”
“Wait, all of those are real?” When he nodded a little squeal left my lips. I pushed my hair back. “And why do you think I’m…I’m…a witch?”
Cooper looked pointedly at my hands and the golden glittery mist still pouring out of them, then he looked back at my face and shrugged. “I mean, unless you’ve had a thirst for blood recently that you haven’t told anyone?”
Savannah, Gigi, and Landreia all giggled.
“No, but…” I shook my head and my legs started to bounce again. The gold glitter grew thicker and spread over to the fireplace. My heart was pounding but my thoughts were even wilder. “But you just met me. You didn’t know about this until just now? How did you know? How do you know?”
Savannah grimaced. “I told him, Safferella…after last night…what I saw…you had to be…”
“And she was right. But I also can feel it.” I must’ve made a face because Cooper held both hands up. “Because I’m a witch as well — let me explain some things, okay?”
I nodded.
“All right, so the term witch is like a nickname or slang –our species is really called Arcana and we’ve been around since humans were first created. I won’t go into that whole origin story because I don’t think that’s your biggest concern right now, but our species is one of the oldest in this realm. Now, like any species, there have to be people who are in charge, who keep the order of civilizations…in humans, modernly speaking, you have governments with presidents, prime ministers, and still some kings and queens. But for Arcana, we have The Coven—”