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  Tegan and Tennessee’s romance has only just begun. The second book in the Elemental Magic series, THE BRAVE WITCH, is releasing late March 2018. If you want to receive an email alert when it’s available, CLICK HERE and sign up!

  Until then…Turn the page to read the first chapter of THE BRAVE WITCH!

  THE BRAVE WITCH: Chapter One

  Tennessee

  To say I’d had a rough week would be the mother of all understatements.

  Actually, I wasn’t sure it had even been a full week. How could so many things happen within so few days?

  I wasn’t sure which was the worst part—the fact that Libby was clinging to life in our infirmary or how I’d lied to Tegan’s face after she told me not to lie. Libby’s injury was obviously the hardest and scariest. Hands down. But the mere fact Tegan was in the running suggested I was in for trouble. What would she say when she found out I lied to her face? What would she think of me then?

  All of these thoughts interrupted my desperately needed REM cycle right around sunrise. I wasn’t even sure what time we arrived home the night before; couldn’t have been before midnight. I kept trying and pleading with my brain to fall back asleep yet it refused. I took a deep breath and winced. The glyph on my chest seared in agony with every breath I took and beat of my heart. I sat up and hissed. Oh good, everything hurts. Lovely.

  I peeled the collar of my shirt down and inspected my glyph. There on my chest, directly over my heart, it looked like a crystal had been glued to my skin. It had edges that made it look three dimensional. It vaguely held the shape of a heart, but it wasn’t precise. Unlike before, the glyph now had little vines stretching out from the crystal heart. Of course it grew. I knew it would grow. I’d seen Constance’s, which covered all the way down to her fingertips. I just hadn’t expected it to grow already. In a matter of days.

  It looked like a plant had taken root in my chest and was growing out over my right pec and collar bone. Then again, the glyph was organic by definition, so I supposed the plant look made sense. I’d heard rumors that the vines would change color depending on mine and my soulmate’s mood. There was one story I read where one soulmate knew her husband was in danger because her vines had turned black. Mine were dark red, like wine. I wasn’t sure if the color meant anything yet, and it killed me that I couldn’t even ask anyone. If I knew Tegan’s phone number, I could text her and see if she was okay. Don’t even have my soulmate’s number. Nice.

  The thing was, though, that I didn’t even mind that it happened. Tegan was everything I could ever dream of: smart, powerful, adventurous. No, the worst part was having to hide it. The torture of keeping it secret, of pretending she didn’t mean anything to me.

  Glass shattered down the hall. I leapt to my feet, but a soft, feminine curse immediately followed. I frowned. Who’s here?

  “It’s all right, Devon,” my adoptive father, Kessler, said with a chuckle. “If I ever cooked, I would’ve broken it ages ago.”

  Ah. Devon Howe Bishop. Tegan’s mother. I sighed and rubbed at the glyph on my chest. Guess I did want it to be Tegan here.

  “Mom, stop fussing around, please. You don’t have to make me breakfast,” Cooper said softly.

  “Of course I do. I am your mother. Mothers make breakfast for their children.”

  “Just let her, son,” a man’s voice I didn’t recognize said. Hunter. “Besides, she makes a killer omelet.”

  My stomach growled. Ah yes, when is the last time I ate? I made my way out to the hallway. With every step, I realized how much abuse I’d gotten on the quest. Every single one of my bones screamed in protest as I limped toward the kitchen. Normally, I recovered faster. However, without proper sleep and food, I had no prayer. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep after I eat.

  “Where’s Bentley this morning?” Cooper asked.

  “Home sleeping, where an innocent nine-year-old should be.” I hadn’t met Hunter yet, but his voice sounded eerily similar to Kessler’s.

  I paused at the opening of the kitchen. Wait, should I be here right now? Cooper rarely got to see his parents in the flesh, and their reunion was delayed by our quest. Perhaps they’d like alone time with him? They’d purposely left Bentley at home. Kessler had been raising Cooper as his own since Coop was three, so they wouldn’t mind him being present. Maybe I’ll shower first, then eat. I turned to limp back to my room.

  “Ah, Tennessee, you’re up,” Kessler yelled out. He was way too cheery for morning. “I thought you’d be sleeping all day after the week you’ve had.”

  I spun around and smiled, though it probably looked more like a grimace. “That makes two of us. But then I heard ‘killer omelet’ and, well, here I am.”

  “Come on and get some while it’s hot,” Cooper said with a big grin and strip of bacon hanging out of his mouth. We may have had a rough quest, and a nasty gash on Coop’s forehead, but his green eyes were full of life and excitement.

  “Ah, the infamous Tennessee Wildes.” A large man stepped out in front of me, derailing my thoughts. The guy had a deep scowl and gave me a hard once-over. He stood two inches taller than me and had at least thirty pounds over me. He had Cooper’s golden hair of sunshine and Emersyn’s champagne eyes. He held his hand out for me to shake. “I’m Hunter.”

  I shook his hand and swallowed down a rush of nerves. My heart rate skyrocketed. This is Tegan’s father. The glyph on my chest intensified, like it took humor in torturing me. Hunter was a massive man, strapped with muscles I didn’t even know the name of and probably wouldn’t ever have. In the back of my mind, I knew Hunter was shorter than his older brother Kessler. But the main part of my brain recounted all the different times I’d kissed his daughter.

  Just chill, dude. No one knows about the glyph. No one besides Tegan knows about the kiss, or kisses. He can’t possibly know. So, why, then, was he staring at me?

  “Are you hurt?” Hunter finally asked. “You’re a mess. Is that your blood all over you?”

  I had no idea whose blood was on me. Probably mine.

  “Tennessee likes to shower the morning after,” Cooper said, drawing his father’s attention away from me.

  I shrugged and casually ran my hand over my chest to make sure all the necessary parts were covered. “I usually pass out before I make it to the shower.”

  “But you’re not injured, are you?” Kessler asked, his hazel eyes dark with worry.

  “Uh…I haven’t actually checked. Definitely sore, though.”

  “You’re probably starving,” Devon said as she walked around the counter. She wrapped me in a big bear hug then stepped back with a smile. “Come now. Have a seat and I’ll feed you.”

  I knew she’d spoken to me, but all of my thoughts vanished. I stared at Devon. “How has she not realized?” I whispered before I could stop myself.

  “Who has not realized what?” Hunter asked.

  “Tegan. She looks exactly like you, Devon. How has she not realized you’re her mother?” It was uncanny. Devon’s eyes were the exact pale green as her daughter’s. I’d know. I’d stared at Tegan’s enough. Sure, they didn’t hold the same sparkle, but Devon had a whole lot more stress on her mind.

  Devon’s smile faltered, and pain flashed through her eyes. “I don’t know.”

  “I apologize. That was rude. I know this has to be torture for you.” I ran my hand through my hair. “I just didn’t expect you to look so much like her.”

  “Neither did we.” Hunter stepped up to his wife and kissed her temple. “They were both bald and hazel-eyed when we separated them. Had we known, we might’ve taken the other.”

  “Emersyn looks as much like Dad as Tegan does Mom,” Cooper pointed out.

  I cocked my head to the side and inspected the two of them. “Question is, will it work in our favor or against it?”

  “How do you figure?” Hunter asked.

  I took the barstool beside Cooper. “I don’t think it will take Tegan long to see what I see, now that she’s back from this quest an
d knows who and what she is. Your daughter is incredibly intelligent and quick, not to mention observant. She’s going to figure out Devon is her mother, and Emersyn is her biological sister. Then the twins part will fall into place fast since they’re the same age. Question is…”

  “What will be the ramifications when she does?” Hunter finished for me. He leaned against the kitchen counter sipping from a coffee mug with his shoulders hunched forward.

  I nodded and smiled at Devon as she placed a plate of bacon in front of me. “Personally, I think sooner the better.”

  “How did they handle everything once you left the beach?” Kessler asked.

  “Emersyn freaked out a bit, but held strong when it counted.” I paused to take a bite of bacon. “God, she makes good bacon. Tegan, was ecstatic to learn she’s a witch.”

  Hunter chuckled and nodded. “I expected as much.”

  “They’re powerful, immensely so. And they don’t even know how to use it.” I shook my head, remembering the feat Tegan had pulled off with the hippocampus. “They’ll be spectacular when they do.”

  “And dangerous,” Hunter added.

  “They’re more dangerous now, untrained.” I shoved pieces of bacon in my mouth.

  “Tennessee is right,” Cooper said with food in his mouth. “You didn’t see them in action. We did. They have to be trained.”

  “So, we’re all in favor of training them?” Devon asked, carrying omelets over.

  When everyone nodded, Hunter cleared his throat. “Okay, Kessler. This is your area of expertise. How do you want to proceed?”

  Kessler scowled and rubbed the back of his neck while he thought. Kessler was in charge of all the non-adult Cards. Which was pretty much the entire Coven. “Well, I don’t think it’s a great idea to have the three of you involved. Hunter and Devon, you especially need to lie low until they figure it out. Cooper, we need to limit your interactions with them as well.”

  Cooper nodded. “Understood.”

  “I’m going to train them myself to start off. Once I assess where they’re at, I’ll see who will be best for training them.” Kessler sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “But right now we need everyone focused on figuring out who our Hierophant is. That’s priority number one.”

  I sighed. Present this thrice, it won’t play nice. “Yeah, and we better guess wisely.”

  I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek of THE BRAVE WITCH! The book releases late March 2018, so remember to CLICK HERE to get an email alert when it comes out!

  About the Author

  Chandelle was born and raised in South Florida. She is the ultimate fangirl. Her love of Twilight and The Mortal Instruments inspired her to write her own books. When she’s not writing she’s on the beach soaking up the sun with a book in her hand. Her favorite things in life are dogs, pizza, slurps, and anything that sparkles. She suffers from wanderlust and hopes to travel to every country in the world on day.

  www.ChandelleLaVaun.com

  Copyright © 2018 by Chandelle LaVaun

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