The Aether Witch (The Coven: Elemental Magic Book 6) Read online

  THE AETHER WITCH

  THE COVEN: ELEMENTAL MAGIC BOOK SIX

  Chandelle LaVaun

  WANDERLOST PUBLISHING

  TO MY FANS…

  I still can’t believe I even have fans. Each and every one of you take my breath away. Thank you for loving my story and characters as much as I do.

  THIS ONE IS FOR YOU.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  TEGAN

  When I opened my eyes, I’d forgotten what I’d closed them for. I had to blink a few times before the wooden ceiling above me sharpened into focus. There was something about it that I recognized, but I couldn’t place it. I tried to reach up and wipe my eyes, but my arms were weighed down and trapped. There was something smooth and cool to the touch squeezed between my fingers, though I couldn’t recall what it was. I frowned and sank against the ground, or whatever hard surface I was lying on. The air was hot and stifling, like being locked inside a car with the windows shut on a summer day in Florida. A warm, sticky breeze swept over me, and it sent long, platinum-blonde hair flying into my face.

  Emersyn? I turned my head to the side and coughed her hair out of my mouth. The ground moved under me. I inhaled and tried to brace myself when I caught the scent of fresh rain. Tennessee. A second later, his face hovered above mine, and those beautiful mismatched eyes stared down at me with a little twinkle.

  I smiled. “Hi.”

  He cocked that sideways, sexy grin I loved so much. “Hi.”

  We were doing something, weren’t we? I said into his mind.

  “Yeah, we were…” His face fell. He pulled back and looked around with wide eyes.

  “The spell,” I whispered as my memory came flying back. “Where are we? Did it work?”

  “Of course it did,” Deacon grumbled from somewhere nearby. “This is what success feels like.”

  Royce coughed. “This reminds me of that silent disco you took us to in New York—”

  “Don’t,” Henley said with a groan. “Too soon.”

  Deacon laughed but it was half strangled. “You’re welcome.”

  “What is that?” Cooper whined from my right side but still out of sight.

  The ground moved again, and then something flailed around in my peripheral vision.

  “What is that? What’s on me? Get it off. What is it?” Cooper cried.

  “My hair! Ouch!” Emersyn cursed and wiggled around. “Cooper, stop moving!”

  I frowned as my sister’s hair covered my face again. Tennessee’s warm fingers plucked the blonde locks off of me. When I was free, I picked my head up and tried to see what was going on. My eyes widened. We were in a pile, like we’d been dropped out of the sky. And Emersyn’s hair was everywhere. Somehow Cooper was tangled in it. Both of his hands had long strands wrapped around his fingers.

  “What is happening right now?” Cooper whined. “Gross.”

  Deacon was the first to his feet. He stood tall and pulled his breeches down into place. “All right, calm down, Coop. Damn, we are definitely gettin’ you a girl when we get home.”

  He reached down and grabbed something. The sleeves of his coat tightened and pulled at the seams as his biceps tensed. He grinned, shook his head, then hauled Emersyn up to her feet. Her blonde hair was tangled, covered in brown dirt, and hanging in her face.

  Air rushed to my lungs, and I took a deep breath. With my hands finally free, I lifted myself onto my elbows and got a better look around. I glanced down at my right hand and opened my fingers. The bright green glow of the Earth Stone sparkled.

  My breath left me in a rush.

  The spell. My ancestor, Elizabeth Bishop, the Hierophant of 1692, had written the spell we used. The one that was supposed to allow us to travel through time by tapping into the power of the Earth Stone. I’d done it exactly as she’d written it. I’d told it to bring us to The Coven’s nest upon this land, which meant Coven Headquarters.

  It had worked. I recognized the living room around me. The big bay window glittered in the sunlight with warm breezes sweeping through it. The sprawling fireplace was to my left, unlit but looking the same. The staircase to the second floor was to my right. I knew there were four bedrooms above me. I also knew if I went through the two doors behind me, I’d find a kitchen big enough to feed two dozen people—or more.

  But it was all wrong.

  I sat all the way up and glanced around. There was no electricity. No flat-screen television propped up on the wall to my right. No lamps sitting on tables. No big, comfy suede sofas with fuzzy blankets laying over the armrests. No one was asking Alexa to change the radio station every other song. There were no cars parked in the driveway. No city lights and cement buildings.

  It was the right place…but in the wrong year.

  I should’ve known the second I felt the heat that the spell hadn’t worked. Back home it was late October, almost Samhain. The air had been cool and crisp. I wouldn’t have been sweating rivers down my spine in this waistcoat. My shoulders slumped as the weight of my failure crashed down on me.

  It didn’t work.

  I’d known it was a gamble. Elizabeth wasn’t confident it would do the trick. But still…it hit me like a ton of bricks. If I couldn’t get us home with all of the magic running through my veins, then I had no idea how anyone would. This is all my fault. The Seelie Court tricked us, and I should’ve known it was coming. I should’ve known to be careful with my words and specific in our requests.

  Emersyn pushed her hair out of her face and looked around with wide golden eyes. “Did it work? Are we back?”

  “No,” Henley said softly and tucked her black hair behind her ears. “It didn’t work.”

  “Are you sure?” Emersyn’s face fell. She looked over her shoulder to the big bay window. “Where are we?”

  “Coven Headquarters.” Tennessee sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. His silver rings glistened in the sunlight pouring through the window. “At least, what will be.”

  Cooper cursed. “We’re still in 1692.”

  Tennessee nodded.

  I buried my face in my hands.
“I’m sorry. I-I failed.”

  “Tegan, this is not your fault.” Tennessee’s warm hand rubbed soft circles on my back. “You tried. It was all we could ask of you.”

  I groaned and leaned into him. His arms wrapped around me without hesitation. He squeezed me close, like he knew I was broken inside and needed to be held together.

  “Is anybody injured?” Tennessee’s velvety voice rumbled over my head.

  Oh Goddess. Did I hurt them? I peeled my head off Tenn’s chest and glanced around at my friends. They were all silently looking down at themselves and checking for injuries. After a few seconds, they all shook their heads and said no.

  I sighed. As long as no one is hurt. I looked up at Tennessee’s beautiful face just to prove to myself that he was, in fact, unharmed. I’d already learned just how much I couldn’t handle that. “Hope is not lost, then.”

  Tennessee frowned. Pain flashed through his eyes.

  “Tenn?” What did I say? I replayed my last comment in my mind, hope is not lost, but it meant nothing specific. It means something to him, though.

  He shook his head. “We need to get back to Leyka’s. Start working on our next idea.”

  “Uh, yeah…we might want to hurry with that.” Deacon leaned out the open bay window and frowned. “There’s quite the commotion out here. Something is going on, and I don’t think we want to be found anywhere near it.”

  Chapter Two

  TEGAN

  “Maybe we shouldn’t”—Royce leapt off the dirt road as a small herd of cattle ran by—“be out here!”

  “We couldn’t stay there!” Cooper shouted back. He tried to lead us farther down the path, but it was getting crazier by the foot. “We don’t know who lives there right now!”

  “He’s right. We shouldn’t be out here,” Emersyn half whispered, half yelled. She glanced over both of her shoulders and straight ahead again. “You don’t want to see what’s out here.”

  The street was absolute chaos. The sound of women screaming and children crying echoed all around us. It was so loud I couldn’t tell where they were even coming from. Everything was a blur. The sun shined so bright I had to cover my eyes and squint just to see. Women dragged their kids up the road in a panic. Men ran past them with pitchforks and makeshift weapons. Horses, cows, and even chickens scrambled up and down and around the madness.

  And we were in the middle getting hit like bumper cars.

  “Let’s get off this road.” Tennessee’s voice was low.

  “I know a shortcut. Follow me!” Deacon grabbed Emersyn’s hand and dragged her off the dirt road with him without waiting for anyone else.

  I couldn’t blame them, not after what they’d seen the last time they were in the center of town. If they’d told me they were going to sneak out, I would’ve warned them. I’d studied the human history books of the Salem Witch Trials. I knew who they’d killed and when. I even knew where the real Gallows Hill was suspected to be. But they hadn’t told me their plan. I should have warned everyone just in case. I failed them. What kind of leader am I?

  “Tegan?”

  I’d just gotten so used to keeping my plans secret to protect them that I’d forgotten to see how much it could hurt them. I wasn’t playing Queen of Darkness anymore. I wasn’t pretending to be on the side of demons. I was back in my own skin, in my true role as High Priestess, yet I kept forgetting to act like it. Am I damaged now? Did I go too far to get back to the way I was?

  Heat spread through my chest, and then a wave of fresh rain swept over me. Tennessee’s warm fingers tipped my chin up, forcing me to look up at his beautiful face. He ducked down to meet my gaze and raised both eyebrows. “Kitten? You okay?”

  That was when I noticed our friends were all fifty feet away, running between rows of trees. I frowned and looked around, but it was just Tennessee and me standing there amid the madness of the village.

  “Tegan,” Tenn said, pulling me out of my own mental tailspin again. “None of this is your fault, okay? You tried and it didn’t work, and that’s okay. But we need you to stay with us because you’re the one who’s going to get us home.”

  I scoffed. “How?”

  His lips curved up on one side. “I have no idea, but we’re going to help you figure it out.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because I have faith in you.”

  “Even after everything I did?”

  He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. His kiss was soft, warm, and far too quick. He pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes. “Especially after everything you did.”

  My heart swelled with emotions. All of the love I felt for this boy rushed to the surface until my chest was tight and my breath short. I didn’t deserve him. “Tenn, I—”

  “DEACON!” Emersyn screamed.

  Our moment was lost the second my sister’s high-pitched scream pierced my eardrums. We sprinted between the trees the same way our friends had gone. I couldn’t even have said what I passed on the way. It was all a blur, but up ahead, the main road cut through the wooded area and our friends were in the middle. Sunlight poured through branches and leaves, lighting up the dirt path.

  “Deacon!” Emersyn cried. Her golden eyes were locked on the sky. She flicked and waved her wrists, but her flames only sparked and popped. She cried out and stomped her feet. “Help him!”

  I summoned my magic to my hands to portal us ahead, but nothing happened. The rainbow mist just swirled around my fingers. What the hell? My magic wasn’t working. It’d never done that before. Why isn’t our magic working? What did I do?

  “Royce, do something!” Henley shouted. She stood in the middle of the road staring up at the sky. Her magic shot out of her palms as white lightning, but it fizzled out before it could reach anything. She groaned and looked down at her hands. “I can’t— I don’t know— Cooper?”

  Cooper pulled a dagger out from under his waistcoat. He gripped it in his hand and got into fighting stance. Golden magic swirled around his left hand, but it was faint. “I can’t either. Royce?”

  “I’m trying!” Royce held his hands up to the sky.

  His fingers flexed, and the muscles in his arms pulled at the material of his jacket. Leaves and flower petals rose up from the ground and coiled around his body like a snake. His magic poured out of his hands and then dissolved into the air right away. The leaves sucked onto his arms and hands like he was a vacuum. Tree branches swayed behind them.

  Tennessee flew by me into the road. He pushed off the ground and jumped over our friends like he was a track star hopping hurdles. He soared over their heads, at least seven feet in the air.

  I frowned. What is he—

  He tackled a spider demon to the ground.

  I slid to a stop, but I’d been running too fast. Gravity and physics knocked me to my knees. My hands sank in the warm dirt. I looked up in time to watch Tennessee slice the demon’s head off. Thick, dark yellow demon blood oozed out of its lifeless body. The scent of maple syrup slammed into me like a tidal wave. I gagged and turned my face away. Behind me, Royce and Cooper cursed.

  Demons.

  I hiked my skirt up and pulled my dagger out of my combat boot. Finally, something I know how to do right now.

  “Deacon, hang on! We’re coming!” Emersyn flicked her wrists again, but her magic wasn’t responding. “Tegan, these bracelets aren’t working! Someone do something! Get him down!”

  I got to my feet and looked up. My eyes widened. The massive oak trees arched over the road and spread across the sky, connecting and tangling with the other trees like a nest. At first glance, it looked like regular old trees with green leaves. But then my vision sharpened and my stomach turned. A dozen spider demons crawled through the trees, blending in like camouflage.

  Deacon was clutched in the legs of a spider demon bigger than he was. He swung his arms and kicked, but the demon wasn’t fazed.

  “They were down here attacking the humans,” Royce said. He pushed and push
ed, but his magic wasn’t listening.

  Henley tugged at her hair and stared up at her cousin in horror. “The second we fought back, they snatched him and went up.”

  “Guys, do something!” Emersyn cried.

  “Our magic is gone!”

  “We can’t even climb up there.” Cooper cursed. “Those branches won’t hold us.”

  Royce spun in circles like the answer was somewhere on the ground. “Hang on, D, we’re thinking!”

  Cooper turned to Tennessee. “You got any non-human ideas?”

  Tenn narrowed his eyes on the web of spider demons taunting us from above. “Henley, Royce. Get these Sapiens out of here. Damage control.”

  The two lookalike siblings nodded and sprinted away.

  “Tegan, magic?” Tenn’s velvety voice was calm and steady. He might have hated the leadership role, but he stepped into it naturally.

  I twirled my wrists and summoned the wild energy rushing through my veins. Fire filled my palms instantly. At least I’ve got something to work with. “Em, here.” I flicked my wrists, and my fireballs shot over to her palms.

  Emersyn’s eyes flared with a fiery golden light. She glared at the spider demons holding her soulmate and growled, “Let me burn them.”