I slid back onto the couch, reclaiming the spot I’d been in moments ago. The second my butt hit the material my nerves kicked into overdrive. That golden glitter poured out of me like a broken dam. My heart fluttered.
Cooper placed his hands on mine again and the warmth of them was calming. “Okay, you feel that energy rolling around? Feel it buzzing through your veins?”
I did. That was exactly how it felt. “Yes.”
“You control your magic, not the other way around. It’s like any other muscle.” He lifted his hands off mine but held them close by. “Now, visualize your magic. It’s like taking a deep breath…inhale it. Pull it in towards you. Tell it what you want it to do.”
I nodded and eyed the golden cloud around me. I can do this. Just breathe it in, with your hands. I licked my lips and concentrated on that buzzing sensation in my muscles. I flexed my fingers out wide then imagined my hands were like vacuums. Pull back in.
My magic obeyed my command instantly. The glittery mist floated into my palms then faded away in the blink of an eye. Once it was all gone, I grinned. “I did it.”
“That was perfect. Now…” Cooper stood and held his hand out to me. “Come with me.”
I put my hand in his and let him pull me to my feet. “Where are we going?”
“To grow some flowers, of course. Come on.” He turned and waved for us to follow.
Savannah and Gigi leapt after him like he had them by a leash. Landreia gave my arm a gentle squeeze then followed behind them. My stomach was a mess of knots but I refused to be chicken shit now. After last night, I didn’t think anything could scare me anymore. I pushed my shoulders back and skipped after them.
When I finally caught up to them they were all standing out back of the house, in the snow next to a young oak tree. I gnawed on my bottom lip and walked up to it, then placed my palm on the trunk. With winter here, this tree had gone into hibernation, shedding all its leaves and vibrancy until spring came back around.
Cooper cleared his throat and stepped up beside me. "It’s the same basic principle. Find that energy inside you, its always there tingling and ready for action. Then push it out of you. Visualize it coming out of your body and doing what you need it to do. Okay?”
I nodded and clenched my teeth. I focused on the trunk of the tree under my hand, it was cool and rough against my bare skin. Cold energy tickled along my palm. I took a deep breath and felt those buzzing sensations in my gut. A lump of nervousness formed in my throat but I swallowed through it and pushed. I felt warmth shoot down my arm and through my palm.
The rough, scratchy bark smoothed under my hand. It turned from an ashy pale brown to a vibrant brown full of warmth and life. I felt energy ripple out of me like a wave and roll up the trunk. It could have been my imagination, but I could have sworn the tree sighed and stretched its branches out like it was waking up from a long nap. The limbs shook and then bright green leaves popped up all over it, all at once.
I gasped and jumped back. I hadn’t realized until that very moment that I hadn’t believed it was me doing it. The whole time Cooper was talking I’d just assumed there was some kind of confusion. Because surely I couldn’t have done this.
But I had.
Intentionally.
I looked down at my hand and my jaw dropped. It looked perfectly normal. There was nothing abnormal about it at all. Yet I’d just brought a tree out of hibernation all on my own. With my bare hand.
No.
With MAGIC.
“OH MY GOD,” I screamed and stumbled away until my heels hit stone, then I dropped down onto the step. “Oh my god. Oh my GOD. I did that. I did that. Did you see it? Oh my God.”
Landreia grinned and patted Cooper on the back. Savannah and Gigi squealed and clapped. And then they were rushing toward me. They sank down onto the step on either side of me. Gigi wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big hug. Savannah held her palm up so I gave her a high-five.
“That was epic,” Gigi breathed.
My cheeks warmed. I shrugged. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it, ma’am.” Savannah bumped her shoulder into mine. “I can’t wait to see what you do with this. The more you practice the more you’ll be able to do.”
I exhaled and shook my head. “I don’t understand though…why can I do this? I mean, can all witches do this?”
Cooper strolled over with his hands in his jeans pockets and shaking his head. “Nope. Every witch has a different kind of magic, their own brand so to speak. It manifests in different ways for everyone. This is just yours.”
“Remember this?” Savannah held her leather notebook out in front of us. When I nodded, she smiled. “My magic manifests through poetry.”
My eyes widened. “So this really is your book of spells?”
She grinned. “Precisely.”
“I use my magic to help humans with home remedies and such.” Landreia pulled out a long skinny object with crystals adorned to it. It looked similar to the ones on the shelf outside my room – but much prettier. “Remember you asked me about all my wands?”
I gasped and sat up straight. “Oh right! You have a million of those.”
“Ah, not quite. The ones at home and in my shop are wands for humans. Their power is small and gentle, more spiritual than anything.” She held her wand up and the sunlight sparkled along the crystals. “This is my witch’s wand. I picked this one myself when I was six years old at Edenburg, after I was sorted into the Wands Suit. This wand provides me with amazing ways to use my magic.”
“DUDE.” Savannah dug inside her satchel then pulled out the same wand I’d seen her use last night. But now in the daylight I saw that it was made of dark wood and had intricate carvings all over it. “I’m a Wand, too! I knew I liked you.”
I frowned. “You’re wands? What does that mean? What are suits? What is Eden or Edenburg?”
Cooper chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “Eden is arcana home country. It’s a special area that humans can’t get to so we’re safest there. And we have an academy there called Edenburg that’s for witches to go and learn magic.”
Savannah leaned forward. “Remember in Harry Potter the other night when Harry and his friends got sorted into the different houses?”
I nodded. I did remember. We’d only just watched the movie two nights ago and I’d loved it. “It’s like those?”
“Exactly. Edenburg is our Hogwarts. And when you get there you do this ritual to find out which suit of magic yours is, like which style.” Savannah pointed her wand to Landreia’s. “We both got Wands. It’s the super creative, funky suit.”
“What others are there?”
“There’s Cups, they are usually the healers.” Landreia shrugged. “Witch doctors. They’re amazing.”
“And Pentacles. They’re the smart witches who figure out brilliant ways for witches to live among humans and survive.” Savannah twirled her wand around. “The last are the Swords. They’re the warriors. The witch army. They fight demons and stuff.”
Gigi looked to Cooper. “Which suit are you?”
Cooper reached behind him and pulled a dagger the size of my arm out of nowhere. “Sword. Most of The Coven are Swords, because fighting is one of our most important jobs.”