“Coven Headquarters,” I heard myself say.
Cooper nodded. “Exactly. The Coven is made up of twenty-two arcana and each person has been selected by the Goddess herself. Civilians don’t vote for Coven members, it’s decided by our higher power. Those chosen are gifted with extra power and magical abilities so that they can protect the civilians – still with me? I’m kinda crash coursing this right now.”
I sighed and put my face in my hands. “I’m with you. In theory…so…are you a Coven member?”
He grinned. “Yes. Very good. You’re quick. I am in The Coven, yes. And Coven members can sense magic, we can feel it. So even if your friends had not told me a single thing about you and I had just passed you on the street, I would have known immediately that you are a witch. But the gold magic helps.”
I looked down at my hands and stared at…my magic. Part of me was startled by this revelation and a little scared, but deep down in my gut…it was as familiar as my own name. “So, I’m a witch.”
“Yes,” Cooper said softly.
“Okay…” I nodded and glanced around the room at the four of them. Butterflies filled my stomach. “And…um…exactly how many witches are in this room right now?”
Cooper grinned and raised his hand.
Landreia chuckled and held her hand high.
Savannah grimaced and chewed on her lip…then lifted her hand up.
I looked to Gigi, who had not raised her hand, and frowned. “You were a penguin.”
Gigi blushed bright pink. “I was.”
I blinked. “But you’re not a witch.”
She giggled and shook her head. “Nope. I’m a shifter. We’re an entirely different species but not dissimilar to you witches.”
My breath left me in a rush. I leaned back against the sofa and groaned. “And you’re telling me this now instead of days ago because…?
The three of them exchanged glances.
“They’re civilians, Saffie. They can’t feel magic the same way I can.” Cooper shrugged. “The Coven also has strict laws about telling humans the truth – as in, don’t.”
Savannah rushed over and sat on the coffee table next to Cooper. Her cheeks were flushed. “We can get in big, big trouble if we tell humans, Safferella. It’s for our own safety, otherwise witch hunts would be running rampant like they did in the middle ages and shit. I suspected it early on, there’s just something so witchy about you…but I had to be sure. That’s why I had us try light as a feather last night—”
“That was a test?” I shrieked. “That was terrifying! We almost killed Gigi on the ceiling fan!”
Cooper chuckled then covered his mouth with his hand. “Sorry, not funny.”
Gigi giggled and plopped down on the other couch behind him. “Yeah, it is. Who would’ve thought I’d be lifted that high?”
Savannah pointed to Gigi. “Exactly. I’m a witch, I grew up with other witches in Eden and went to our witch school Edenburg. Like I grew up doing light as a feather and never, not even once, did we lift someone more than two feet off the ground. That was new for me.”
I grunted and threw my hands up. “Then why did we do a damn séance?”
Cooper’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. He leaned back, turned to Savannah beside him, and pursed his lips. “Yeah, Savannah.”
She glanced back to Gigi – who shrugged.
“This is mutiny, ma’am.” Savannah shook her head. “Listen, y’all, no way could I have expected that to happen – and that’s the hill I’m gon’ die on.”
I narrowed my eyes. “We almost did die on that hill.”
“Nahhh, I mean yea I was scared shitless but…I don’t think they could’ve killed us.”
“The demons could have!”
Cooper’s face snapped to me. “Demons? No one mentioned demons. Saffie?”
I groaned and rested my elbows on my knees and held my face in my palms. “The night I woke on the wharf I saw a wolf-like thing but not. Then last night the spirit of Bridget Bishop stopped me and then she yelled demons. There were three of those wolf things, that’s how we got separated.”
Cooper cursed. “Demon activity is high since Samhain, The Coven has been working on it but it’s going to take a while. Civilians need to be extra cautious these days. I would avoid going out at night.”
Landreia shuddered. “Demons. When she said wolf thing that first night I worried it was a demon.Wish I were wrong.”
“But this still doesn’t explain why we did the séance!” I jumped to my feet and started to pace in front of the fireplace.
I just couldn’t sit still anymore. My steps left glittery footprints on the hardwood floor as I walked. My mind replayed every moment of the night before in the cemetery. The spell. The candles. The fairyflies. The ice. The grass. The flowers. The spirits. “Wait. Hold on. That was all me, wasn’t it? That’s what you’re trying to not say…all of what happened last night was because of me.”
Landreia shook her head. “No, love, I don’t think they’re saying—"
“But they are and it was.” Oh god, oh god. I groaned and tugged on my hair. “They told me they do seances all the time in that cemetery and nothing like that happened, that means I caused that. And if this gold stuff is my magic then it was all over the cemetery – and then the flowers and grass and ice—”
“Ice is a normal occurrence with spirits.” Cooper frowned. “Did you say flowers and grass?”
I bit my lip and nodded, then I stopped pacing and faced him. “It’s happened a few times now…like…I touched a tree and vines popped out…or I touched a dead bush and it sprouted leaves and flowers…”
Gigi gasped and sat forward. “Last night the whole cemetery went from winter to spring in seconds.”
Cooper frowned and cocked his head to the side. “And this is from you?”
My stomach tightened. I didn’t like the way he said that, like this one part was unusual. I chewed on my thumbnail and nodded. “I-I think so?”
“Can you show me?”
I opened my mouth then closed it. “I don’t know how?”
Cooper nodded and gestured to the seat I’d vacated. “Have a seat, I’ll show you how to summon your magic.”
Summon my magic. My pulse quickened. I swallowed through a rush of nerves and hurried over to the couch and sat down. “You mean so I can use it when I want to?”
“Yeah. Every witch needs to know how to use theirs.”
Landreia smiled and patted the seat beside her. “Come on, no one better to teach you than a Coven member.”
“For reals, like this here is some serious braggin’ rights, ma’am.” Savannah wagged her eyebrows and gave me two thumbs-up. “Maybe imma take some notes too.”
“Yeah, Coop, how many people have you taught how to use their magic?” Gigi propped her chin on her hands and batted her eyelashes.
Cooper chuckled and shook his head. “Um…I’ve never actually been the delivery guy for this initial conversation. Usually my uncle handles that, or my brother. But I’ll do my best.”