The other woman shook her head. “No. Not at all. Some things are simply meant to be. You are a witch. You are a part of our coven. Part of the three—the power. We need you. But we don’t have a lot of time. Not if the necromancer is so close already and able to bring their dead flesh to our borders and within it. That means they are farther along in their training than we are.”
“It’s going to have to be a coven of two,” Laurel said, raising her chin. “You know that.”
I frowned, looking between the two of them. “I don’t understand.” I held up my hand as both of them glared at me. “I know it’s probably a painful subject, but if you’re telling me that I’m going to need to fight a necromancer and not run away like I want to right now, then I need to know why you’re saying it’s only a coven of two.”
Laurel growled before she pulled up her shirt so I could see her side. I gasped, I couldn’t help it, and tears pricked at my eyes.
“What happened?” I whispered, my hand reaching out as if to soothe without me even realizing it. I let my hand fall, shaking.
“I’m cursed,” Laurel snapped. “My entire family line is.”
Rowen flinched at that, and I had to wonder what was left unsaid.
“Somebody trapped my powers within me. Oh, I’m still a powerful witch with a fire affinity, but I can’t use it. Every time I do, it scalds me, etches its flames on my skin and burns me from the inside out. I am the phoenix flame with only ashes to bear. I don’t get to use my powers to protect, only to harm, only to murder. That’s my legacy. That’s what whoever cursed me wanted. That’s what plagues the Christophers.”
“And there’s nothing you can do, nothing we could do?” I added, my voice soft.
Laurel pulled her shirt down and shook her head. “No. We’ve tried.”
“I’m still looking,” Rowen said softly, her voice far gentler than I had ever heard it before.
“And it’s not working, is it?” Laurel snapped.
“I’ve been trying for so long. And I’m going to continue.”
“It’s not enough,” Laurel said before pausing. She let out a breath, her head lowered. “And I know you’re trying.”
“What do I need to do?” I asked after a moment, staring down at the books. It was all so much, and I felt like I couldn’t keep up. But I had seen what came at us. I had felt them at my back, had watched Rome rip off their heads with his claws. He was a grizzly. An actual bear shifter. I had seen Jaxton shift into a hawk, the largest bird I had ever seen in my life, and then shift back into a human. The others had thrown him sweats as if his nudity weren’t a problem for them but had wanted to keep his modesty. As if revenants and necromancers and witches and prophecies and towns that understood the supernatural were commonplace to them. My breath started to come in pants, and I gripped the edge of the table. Laurel gave me a sad look, and Rowen leaned forward and grabbed my wrist in a punishing grip. “You’re okay. Breathe through it.”
“You say that I’m okay, but I’m still so behind.”
“You’re allowed to be behind. But now you have to catch up. I know this isn’t how we wanted this. It’s not how anybody wanted it, but you don’t have a choice. I hope you understand that. No matter what happens next, you need to learn. You need to practice. You need to remember these spells and try to protect those you love. And yourself. Because the town needs you. The coven needs you.”
I looked at her then and saw the fear in her eyes she tried to mask.
“It’s killing you, isn’t it?” I asked as if knowing it had been there all along.
She pulled away as if scalded and shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“She’s not fine. It takes a full coven to keep this town safe. To keep it hidden. And she’s doing it herself. Your aunt doesn’t have enough magic to help, my magic is killing me, and you’re too new. She’s putting her life-force into the wards and the spells she does. So, she needs you. And maybe she needs me too, but I’m not someone who can help.” Laurel looked at us and then down at the books. “I can never help. All I do is burn. All I do is make a mess—so, good luck with this. Be stronger than me. Be stronger than the Christophers.” She gave Rowen a pointed look and then walked out, slamming the door behind her.
I didn’t know what to say to make things better, but I did have questions. “My aunt and I are the last of my line.” I looked at Rowen. “You’re saying you’re the same for the Ravenwoods. How many Christophers are there?” I asked, knowing the answer was important, even though I didn’t know why.
Rowen met my gaze, her gray eyes pulsing. “Laurel has a brother. Ash. He doesn’t live in town. He travels all over the world. He left us long ago. He’s cursed like she is, only differently. It doesn’t matter. He isn’t part of the coven and never will be.” She shook her head and pulled her hair back from her face, flipping it up quickly in a practiced move. “Read the first book and then come back so we can practice. You’re not going to be good at it. You’re going to have too much power, too much raw potential within you to tame. But we’re going to protect this town. And I don’t care what I have to do, but we will protect our people.”
I nodded, letting out a breath. “Okay.”
“Read, practice with me, bake your goods, become part of this town. Because the more you are settled, the more you become connected to the earth, to the people, to the new world around you, the better it will be for all of us. And the better for you.”
As a customer walked into the building, the bell above the door ringing into the silence, she walked away, breaking whatever odd spell had connected us. It hadn’t been magical but had held us together anyway.
I swallowed hard, looked at the books in front of me, and wondered once again how I had gotten here. In the time since I had lost my husband, I had been trying to find a new path, determine the way I needed to be. But I had been wrong.
If I had known who I needed to be, I didn’t think I would’ve come here. Or maybe I was always meant to be here. I didn’t know. I traced my fingers over the edge of one book, and my gaze caught on another on the shelf, one with a bear claw etched onto the spine.
There was so much history here. So much I didn’t know. But I didn’t think the witches would be the ones to tell me everything, not when I knew they were keeping secrets.
There was someone I could ask, though. Someone who might make sense.
Not that I knew why. Rome had been the first person I had seen, the first one to try and tell me the truth. I would speak to my aunt first, though she had been keeping secrets for my entire life. If she didn’t talk to me, I would speak with Rome. Hopefully, he would help make sense of things.
At the moment, nothing did, and I knew if I wasn’t quick about it, if I weren’t careful, I wouldn’t learn everything in time.
Even I could feel it. Something was coming. Something beyond what had crawled over the bridge today. Something beyond that which burned in my veins.
The water in the glass next to me started to spill out, and I cursed before I picked up the books, cleaning up the mess.
I was already three steps behind, and everybody else was running at full tilt. I needed to catch up. I needed to keep up. Or I was afraid all would be lost once again.