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

  Tegan held up her Book of Shadows and hugged it to her chest. “I feel…magic here. An aura that’s both familiar and not. I’m guessing the humans don’t even see it’s here, or some other kind of trick of the mind.”

  “But why?” Cooper looked around at all the dust with a disgusted expression. “It’s nothing special to anyone else.”

  Royce hung his head. “I’ve got the heebie-jeebies, man. Just tell me why we’re here? Obviously the Gap wasn’t here or we would’ve known it.”

  “We’re hoping to find some kind of clue.” Tegan pressed her palm to the Book, and golden light wrapped around it until only a crystal necklace sat in her hand. She slipped it over her neck and tucked it under her black leather jacket. “No one else realizes this place is even here, not even Evaline. I asked her about it, and she legit told me it was gone. But here we stand. It may not be the location of the Gap, but it’s worth checking out.”

  A cold breeze swept over my hands. I frowned and turned. That’s weird. There was only a wall behind me. I ran my fingers along the wooden panels, and there was a small section that was ice cold while the others were cool. I tapped over the wood. The icy cold parts were hollow. There’s a door here.

  I summoned a gust of wind and forced it to the ground. It slithered through the crack in the baseboard. I pressed my palm to the wall and felt my own magic simmering just out of reach. Interesting. I pushed my magic…and the wall popped open.

  “Whoa,” Tegan whispered and ran over to my side.

  “I don’t remember that,” Cooper mumbled and moved to my other side.

  Henley’s steel-toed boots clicked against the wood floors. She popped her head under Cooper’s arm and frowned. “Leyka had secrets. We did know that.”

  “See, see this is why we shouldn’t be here,” Royce whined. “Guys, please.”

  I frowned and glanced over to our Wheel of Fortune Card. He didn’t usually act like this. So either he was still upset about what happened to Leyka, or he was sensing something he didn’t understand. Or both.

  Truthfully, I knew I sensed something in the energy of this house that wasn’t there the last time we were. It was…older. Deeper. It smelled like the earth. Something else familiar nagged at my brain, but I couldn’t place it. All I knew was he wasn’t entirely wrong. Except, we had to see it through.

  “Royce, I hear you. Let’s just check out where this staircase leads, then we’ll take off, okay?”

  He groaned and rolled his shoulders. “Fine. But promise me if anything looks weird down here, you’ll abort mission.”

  “I promise,” I said without hesitation.

  “I promise, too,” Tegan said softly. Then she turned her eyes to me. “Do you want to go first, or shall I?” I do NOT want to go first, babe. I’m just playing tough right now, just so you know, she said into my mind.

  I smiled and willed my body to glow. “I’ll go first. Royce, take the back.”

  “Now he asks,” Royce mumbled.

  The secret doorway was pitch black, but when I stepped inside with my glowing body, I found a spiral wooden staircase. And nothing else. Tegan slipped her fingers through mine. In my peripheral vision, I saw her body light up like mine. I moved to the top step and peered over the rail, but nothing was visible. The wood itself was old and rotted in a lot of spots.

  I went down one step. Then another. Then a few more. Each step creaked as someone stepped onto it, but so far, it was just some staircase. I looked over the edge again and still only found darkness. A cold chill slithered up my spine. Every nerve ending in my body tingled with awareness. Something about this stairway wasn’t quite right. I glanced over my shoulder and realized we’d gone down three flights already. This had been my idea, but now I was about ready to throw in the towel. Royce’s promise echoed in my brain.

  Royce, go back to the top step, Tegan whispered into our minds.

  “YUP.” Royce didn’t hesitate.

  He spun and leapt up the stairs, skipping three at a time. For some reason, I watched. Something was off, and Tegan felt it too. Royce disappeared out of sight, but each of his footsteps sent a bucket’s worth of dust and sand raining down. Or it might’ve been from termites.

  Wait. Termites. Maybe we should all go back.

  There was a loud creak and then a violent snap. Royce cursed. The staircase rattled. The wooden steps above our heads trembled, and then Royce crashed through the wood. His feet hit the top step of the flight we were on, and the wooden panel snapped in half, taking Royce with it. His scream got too quiet to fast.

  “ROYCE!”

  We all dove toward the hole.

  Tegan slid her hand through and pushed with her magic. t rippled and pulsed through the air. A thick, dark green vine wrapped around her wrist and shot down into the darkness. “Royce! Reach for it!”

  Silence.

  “Royce?” Henley cried. “Damn it, answer us!”

  Tegan’s hand was yanked down. She slid through the open hole, but I grabbed her hips and held on tight. “Royce?” she screamed, her voice strained.

  Another green vine shot up from the hole and flew by my face. It soared above our heads then out of sight. Little flowers sprouted around the vine. “I hate to say I told you so!”

  I sighed and dropped my forehead to Tegan’s back. “Okay. Abort. Now.”

  “Henley, get out!” Cooper gripped Henley’s hips and threw her up and over the gaping hole Tegan was dangling from, then he leapt over us to the step just above. “What’s your plan?”

  “Get out, Coop. If these stairs go—”

  The step we were sitting on broke under our weight. We plummeted into darkness with only the glow of our bodies. I threw one hand out and snagged the flowery vine Royce had created. My hand slid down another foot before I was able to stop us. Blood trickled down my forearm. My pulse pounded in my chest. My muscles screamed and burned.

  Fear closed in.

  I was strong, but I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to hold Tegan and Royce by one arm for much longer. With every passing second, my left hand slid farther down the vine. My hold on Tegan was slipping.

  Beneath us…was utter darkness and the unknown.

  Tegan threw her free hand out, and a dozen vines shot out of her fingers. Some attached to the vine I was holding, and others flew up over my head.

  She wrapped her hand around the vines. “Tenn, I need you to trust me.”

  I groaned and shook my head. My muscles ached and burned. I felt them threatening to snap just like those wooden steps from hell. “I already don’t like this.”

  “I’ve got a hold of these vines.” Her voice was strained. Her skin glistened like the full moon. “You go up, and I’ll hold Royce th—”

  “No. No, I’m not leaving you hanging here like this,” I snapped. Sweat dripped down my arm. “No.”

  “Tennessee. Trust me,” she begged. “Remember the plane? Fly up then pull Royce up.”

  A drop of blood landed on her cheek. My stomach turned. Apparently that wasn’t sweat I felt. I closed my eyes and tried to think of another option here, but we were running out of strength and time. It was now or never.

  I cursed and looked down at her beautiful face. “Don’t you dare fall.”

  She grinned. “I love you, too. Now go.”

  Without another beat of hesitation, I released my hold on her. She dropped a few inches, but her vines caught her. She nodded at me. Go, Tenn. Now. I summoned a rush of wind from up above and pulled it down to me. It coiled around my body. I took a deep breath and pushed, just like I had when I was sucked out of that plane a few months back. The cold, crisp autumn air carried me up the secret stairwell to the doorway I wished I’d never found.

  Henley and Cooper grabbed my legs and yanked me down.

  I braced myself in the doorway, wedging my feet into the bottom corners for stability. “Henley, Coop. Hang on to me.”

  Henley lunged forward and wrapped her arm around my leg. Cooper held her hand and the pipe runni
ng along the main staircase.

  “Tegan?”

  “Pull him up!” Her voice was tight. “Now!”

  I pushed a hurricane-worthy gust of wind into the dark stairwell. A second later, I felt Royce’s magic sparkle against mine. I took a deep breath and pulled as hard as I could. The only thing I could see was Tegan’s glowing form from where she was tangled in a web of vines like a spider. A loud wail echoed up the stairwell, and then Royce flew into my face. I grabbed him by the jacket and yanked. He slammed into me and sent us sliding across the hall.

  My head smacked into a hard surface, but I paid it no mind. I needed to get to Tegan. I scrambled to my knees then dove for the doorway. When I looked down, she was gone. My heart turned to ice and sank. No, no, no. “No…no…TEGAN!”

  “DUDE!” Royce shouted.

  I flipped onto my back just as little balls of water floated in the air behind me. The water swirled around and pooled together, growing in size and taking form. In the flash of a second, Tegan stood there panting. Her face was pale.

  She shook her head. “Okay. This was in fact a terrible idea. Royce was right.”

  I sighed and closed my eyes so no one would see the emotion that had just about destroyed me. My heart thundered in my chest. My fingers trembled. I’d almost lost her.

  Royce groaned and stumbled to get to his feet. “Can we get the hell out of here now?”

  “Yeah. Let’s do that.” Cooper stood then held his hand out for me to take. “Come on.”

  I nodded and took his hand, then let him drag me to my feet. Before I could stop myself, I grabbed Tegan by the back of her pretty head and dragged her lips to mine.

  Cooper groaned. Royce mumbled something under his breath.

  But I didn’t care. She was alive. I cupped her face and tried to tell her what I was feeling through our kiss. She gripped my wrists and sighed against my lips. I let my lips brush over hers once more then pulled away.

  She smiled and a soft blush hit her cheeks. “Thanks for trusting me.”

  I took her hand in mine and led her back out Leyka’s front door to where our three friends were waiting for us. As we made our way up the path that would lead to the city, the three of them rattled off a list of places we could check out next. I listened and made note of each reasoning. I glanced over my shoulder to ask Tegan her thoughts since she’d been silent, but I found her eyes locked on something in the distance, off to the side. I followed her stare and saw only trees with autumn leaves.

  “Okay, let’s look there next,” I said.

  Tegan’s hand slipped out of my grip. By the time I turned, she was gone.

  I froze. Then I heard her voice in my mind, yelling, I’ll meet you back at headquarters. Don’t worry!

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  TEGAN

  The second I spotted Princess Sage of the Seelie Court watching us from behind a tree, I abandoned everything and ran after her. I probably should have told Tennessee where I’d run off to, but something in my gut told me that wouldn’t go over well. And ever since we’d presented the Hierophant’s locket to Atley even though I knew it was wrong, I’d decided to just trust my instincts.

  And now, my instincts had me chasing a blue-haired fairy through a forest. Alone. Sage ran ahead of me, just slightly out of my reach. Her luscious tan skin glistened in the fading sunlight and reminded me of Tennessee’s. Her long white gown dragged over the ground. Her hair was a breathtaking vibrant blue that flowed in the air behind her like a cape, or veil. She didn’t have on that horned crown she’d worn in their realm. This one was simply a ring of colorful flowers wrapped around her head, just above her pointed ears.

  Every few feet, she glanced over her shoulder at me. Her eyes sparkled and dared me to follow. The constellation of stars in her stare lured me in like a siren’s song. When she finally stopped and spun to face me head-on, I skidded to a stop. There on her forehead, hanging from the flowers, was the black lotus flower I’d given her during our deal.

  I took a deep breath to calm my heart rate. “Princess Sage.”

  “High Priestess Tegan.”

  The air around her shimmered and glittered with golden light. Green grass sprouted from under her feet. The trees around her swayed, like they desperately wanted to be near her. Even the leaves shined with brighter color.

  “Keep your friends in your pocket.” Princess Sage winked…then disappeared.

  I gasped and leapt toward the spot she’d been in, but she was gone. I cursed and pushed my hair back out of my face. What the hell was that all about? It didn’t make any sense for her to purposely let me chase her through the forest when she could’ve just vanished. There had to be a reason for it.

  And what did she mean by that? Is she threatening me?

  A light flickered by my face and I jumped. But the light orb just floated in the air. Another popped up in my peripheral, then a few more, then a bunch at once. All of a sudden I was surrounded by little glowing golden orbs, like someone hung Christmas lights up from the trees. Except these weren’t decorations. I’d seen them before, twice: the night we did the ceremony for our friends and when Saffie summoned a demon for us.

  They’re fairyflies!

  They swirled around me, coiling around my body like a protective force field. What are they doing here? I frowned and looked around. The realization dawned on me far too late, but the landscape had changed so much. I stood in the same exact spot Saffie had taken us to do that ceremony. This is Saffie’s spot. I held my hand out, wiggled my fingers through the fairyflies, and hoped they understood I was saying hello.

  It still made no sense for Princess Sage to lead me here.

  The ground in front of me erupted like a bomb went off. Dirt and fallen leaves flew into the air like fireworks. Bright neon-yellow light pierced through the ground and shot into the sky. Everything happened in the flash of a second. I didn’t have a chance to react. The ground rumbled, and a loud war cry ripped through the forest.

  Two dozen figures jumped out from the crack in the ground. They all had pointed ears, long hair with tiny little braids, and a bow and arrow strapped to their backs. They spun toward me and pulled their arrows back.

  Oh, shit.

  The Fae.

  I summoned my magic and opened up a portal right beside me to bail, but it crackled and hissed then vanished into a cloud of pink glitter. My gaze snapped up to the Fae surrounding me. They shot their arrows right at my face like I was target practice. I arched one eyebrow and let my magic do its thing. It shot out of me and zapped those arrows right out of the sky. My heart pounded in my chest. My long black hair wrapped around my wrist, restricting my movement.

  More arrows and a few daggers soared toward me. I glared at my opponent while flicking my wrists. Wind slammed into the flying objects and pushed them out of my way.

  We can’t do this forever. I summoned my magic again and waited until I felt the tug in my gut, then I opened up another portal. But a fairy leapt out from between some trees and blew green powdery smoke at my portal. It shimmered and dissolved. The Fae threw their heads back and laughed like evil villains from a Disney movie.

  I can’t portal to safety…and my dissolving trick only works in short spaces.

  What do I do now?

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  DEACON

  So this is purgatory.

  I’d woken up three hundred and thirty-three times since that damn demon stinger went through me and put me on my deathbed. The last time I woke up and was actually capable of opening my eyes, I’d been surrounded by strangers in costumes…and Emersyn covered in blood. That was wake-up number one hundred and six.

  Not that I’d been counting.

  Every time was the same. I’d wake up, hear people talking in hushed tones around me. The fireplace would be crackling in the distance. Soft blankets covered my body. Emersyn was scolded for not eating or sleeping. Then there was me, trapped in my own body that didn’t want to get with the program. So, yeah, it w
as a party. Somehow, and I wasn’t sure the reason for it, I’d managed to speak just enough to use my magic and make my soulmate take a shower and eat. Not because she smelled, but because everyone else was worried about her. Which made me worry.

  But this wake-up was different. The room was silent except for a fire crackling, but even that was soft. Birds chirped from nearby. In the distance, people’s voices carried up to me for brief moments, then they’d be gone, like perhaps they were simply walking by wherever I was. Cooper had confirmed for me that we’d made it back to modern day, so I assumed I was in a bed in Coven Headquarters somewhere.

  Emersyn definitely was not in the room. Which, surprisingly, was a relief. I wanted her near me, but at the same time I was happy she was functioning. Every time I woke to hear our Coven members and Katherine fussing and worrying over her, it made my heart heavy. I couldn’t blame her. I would’ve been a pathetic puddle of a person if our situations were reversed. Besides, it was kind of nice to find myself alone. It meant they weren’t as worried about me. Which meant I had to be getting better.

  I took a deep breath…and nothing hurt. That burning, sharp, intense pain was gone. It didn’t feel like I was swallowing acid every time I breathed. I summoned my magic, and my body sang with power. My fingers tingled with energy and more excitement than a puppy at a dog park. Okay, okay. This is a good sign. Now let’s see if the limbs work. I took another deep breath then tried to wiggle my fingers and toes. They responded immediately, without a second of delay. I balled my hands into fists and felt the muscles in my arms flex and tighten. My legs made no protest when I bent my knees then raised one leg at a time.

  My heart fluttered with excitement.

  The fact that no one had come running or made a noise confirmed that I was in fact alone in the room. Which I was grateful for, because otherwise I had to have looked silly with my horizontal aerobics.

  Nerves swelled up in my gut, but I swallowed them down. Time to wake up, Deacon.