“Come with me, Laurel,” Rowen said. “We need to gather the rest of the herbs. I did some before the funeral, but now it’s time to do the rest.”
Laurel looked frozen for a moment before she shook herself and went to help. “I can’t use magic.”
“You can do this spell. It won’t hurt.”
“You say that, and yet I feel like it will.”
I looked between them, nodded at Rowen, then followed. “Here, let me help,” I said, standing between them so they would stop bickering and looking as if they wanted to hurt one another because of their pain.
Rowen gave me a tight nod. “Come now, the three of us will work as one.”
“I’ll help,” Laurel asserted. “For Penelope.”
Rowen gripped the other woman’s hand. “I know. If I could take all of your pain, I would.”
The two women shared a look.
“I know that, too,” Laurel said, and I lowered my head and gathered what Rowen told me to.
We gathered the herbs, mixed them in the cauldron in the middle of the store as the men watched. I knew Ash wanted to say something, I saw his mouth open to speak every once in a while, but he held back as if he knew it wasn’t his place. Wasn’t his time.
Rome, Jaxton, and Trace stood there as protectors. And I was glad. I wasn’t sure I could do this without Rome here.
Tears freely fell down Rowen’s cheeks now. “Repeat after me.” She took a breath.
“Beloved spirit, sister ours, your time has come to grace the stars. Go with light to live again, for we all know this is not the end. Your time here is ended, but not your memory. Merry part and blessed be.”
I looked at my aunt. She smiled, and then she was gone. Tears slid down my cheeks again, and I let out a choked sob. Magic washed through me, and I looked over to see Laurel bent over at the waist, pushing everybody away.
“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she bit out.
“Damn it, you shouldn’t be in pain,” Rowen said, her hands shaking. “I’m so sorry. That shouldn’t have hurt you, not with the intention and the protections I put in place.”
“It’s the curse. It doesn’t care what you think or what protections you use. It grows stronger,” Ash whispered, and Rowen froze.
“Let me help.” Jaxton moved forward.
Laurel pushed him away. “I said, I’m fine. Now help me get this bitch. Because Faith deserves to die for what she did.”
Laurel stood, wiped the blood from her nose, and I leaned into Rome, the tension in his chest stiff yet comforting.
“Laurel…” I whispered.
“It’s none of your concern. I did it for Penelope.”
Rowen had her chin up, but I saw the pain there. She hadn’t wanted to hurt Laurel, hadn’t wanted to cause any pain but she knew what must be done. I wished I knew what I was supposed to do or how I could help. I had the power within me. I knew that much. Hopefully, I would be able to use it against Faith.
“So, we are the seven,” Rowen began.
“The seven who are doing work together to take down Faith. Because she’s going to hurt this town, and I don’t want anyone else to die like my aunt did,” I added.
Rowen nodded. “Exactly.”
“What do we know?” Rome asked, his voice a growl behind me.
“We know she’s a necromancer. And we know she must be close,” Ash said. “We also know she’s working with someone named Oriel.”
“Do we know anything about him?” Rowen asked.
“No,” Ash said. “At least, not yet. I’ll find out more.”
“How? Rowen asked.
“I have my ways,” Ash insisted.
I stepped between them, delaying the inevitable fight. “You’ll both figure it out. Right now, it’s Faith. She’s the enemy we know. She’s the one we can try to beat before all is lost. We have to find her.” I had to believe we would, or I didn’t have much hope for anything else.
“We will. We’re going to scry for her. But the potion I was thinking about using takes until the full moon. It will take time,” Rowen said.
“You can’t just use the regular scrying method?” Jaxton asked, frowning.
Rowen shook her head. “I tried, but Faith is too strong. Whatever dark magic they’re using is blocking me.”
I frowned. “You did that on your own? Are you searching for her without us? What if it hurts you?” I asked.
Laurel scowled. “You don’t do any magic on your own that has to do with that woman, got it?”
“I am a coven of one and have been for a long time. You can’t use magic without it killing you. Sage doesn’t know enough to help yet. I’ve always done things on my own.”
“Not anymore,” I snapped. “I don’t care if you’re used to being a coven of one. There are seven of us here now, and it looks like we’re at least a coven of three. We may not be the best coven or the strongest, but we will be who we can. So, anything that’s Faith-related, you do not attempt on your own.”
Rowen tilted her head, a sad smile on her face. “Look at you, little witch. So strong.”
“I don’t much care for the mocking,” I snarled, and Rome growled behind me.
Rowen winced. “I’m sorry. I was only teasing because I need to do something or I’m going to break right here. And that’s not something I’ll allow myself to do. You’re right. With Faith, I can’t do things myself. I promise. I’ll change.”
“We’ll scry,” Rome said from behind me. “And then our witches, the pack, the fae, and whoever else has power will go after her. To protect the town. We have to be together for this to work.”
I nodded along with the others.
“We will. We’re stronger together than we ever were apart.” Rowen rolled back her shoulders, but I noticed she didn’t look at Ash as she said it.
I let out a breath, leaned into Rome, and listened as Rowen went through her plans and what spell would need to be used for the scrying. We were just about ready to move on to the wake when the door slammed open, and Ariel ran through. “I’m sorry, but you need to come,” she said, looking at Rome.
“What is it?” he asked, his bear in his voice.
“Alden is at the den, calling for a pack circle. He’s challenging you. You need to come. Now.”
I froze as everybody looked at one another, their eyes wide.
“What?” Trace asked as Rome stood beside me, his whole body shaking.
“Alden is trying to take the pack. And he has people on his side. If we’re not careful, he’s going to take it. And I don’t know what that means for the town. We need to go,” Ariel said.
“You’re right, we do,” Rome said after a moment. “It’s time to take care of my brother.”
I gripped my mate’s hands and looked up at him, feeling the ice and the anchor along the bond. I knew that no matter what happened next, I would be by his side.
Even if this was the worst possible time for a challenge.
In the back of my mind, I wondered if that was indeed the case, or if the timing was just perfect for what was to come.