Chapter 34

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

FRANKIE

Tegan's portals were the coolest piece of magic I'd seen yet.

One second we were on the lakeshore in Tampa, the next I stood on the front lawn of a massive old Victorian-style wooden house with a wraparound porch. It wasn't quite dark yet here, so I could still see the outline of the mountains around us. This was definitely not Florida, but I could not remember where Eden was.

"Welcome to Eden," Tegan said from beside me.

"Where is Eden exactly?"

"Buried deep in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee-ish." She frowned. "I also got here from North Carolina. It's not quite so literal. Magic is weird like that."

" Magic is weird is the explanation for a lot of things, isn't it?"

She chuckled. "Indeed."

"So everything that happened before with being kidnapped and going to Avolire and then almost being fed to demon cats—that was all real?"

"For good and for bad, yes."

I wasn't so sure where the for good part came in from that adventure, but I wasn't going to argue that point right now. My memories were heavy in my mind, like super sluggish. I needed to give them time to settle in.

"Where's Mei-Ling?" I looked to her and arched an eyebrow. "Don't think I still believe that China story. Where is she? Tennessee said you were hiding her from Sweyn because you knew she was gonna come for us."

"Good, your memory is returning quickly. That'll help." Tegan flicked her wrist. "We had to say she was in China so you wouldn't demand seeing her."

I frowned and glanced up at the house, then did a double take.

My best friend stood there with wide, dark eyes and pale-pink hair. "FRANKIE!"

My eyes stung. "MEI-LING!"

Then we were charging for each other. I hadn't seen her since—well, I wasn't quite sure when Tegan took her place. But I'd thought my best friend had been turned into a vampire for too long, and I hadn't seen her since I found out she hadn't. Sure, I saw her on FaceTime, but that wasn't the same at all. We tackled each other in a hug, holding on tight enough to hurt. But the warmth in her skin was a relief. Everyone in Avolire had felt so damn cold. Not like Twilight where their bodies were cold though. It was just a different feeling that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

After a moment we both stepped back and wiped tears out of our eyes.

I held my finger up with our matching crystal ring on it. "Tegan gave me a heart attack back there. I watched you get turned into a vampire."

She held her ring up and pressed it to mine. It was very Captain Planet of us, but we'd been doing it since we were kids. "I hope I looked hot as a bloodsucker."

"Yeah, that's the biggest concern."

I gasped and looked over her shoulder at the sound of a familiar voice I hadn't heard in forever. "TAI!"

Mei-Ling's older brother, who was basically my older brother, strolled up to us with a wide smile on his handsome face. " Frankie. " My name was a relieved sigh.

I threw my arms open and hugged him. He was warm and familiar and smelled like snickerdoodle cookies. "You smell like my cookies."

He laughed and pulled back. "We made some for you."

I spun around to face Tegan. "Did you know tonight was gonna happen?"

"Yes and no." She shrugged. "Don't stress yourself out with these questions. Get to know me and my brother for a bit first."

I narrowed my eyes. "What's your brother's name?"

"Bentley—"

"The orange lightning dude? From when I was paralyzed?"

"That's him. Our psychic Hierophant."

"Yeah, I'm gonna not ask questions right now." I laughed and pressed my hands to my temples. "What are you two doing in Eden? I thought this was witch home country?"

"It is." Tegan strolled over so we were standing in a circle. "But I have my tricks and Mei-Ling is a target for Sweyn, so we have to keep her safe—and removing her memories from Avolire would break her mind. I refused to do that. So, she's been hanging with us, being a stowaway until we figure shit out."

"And Tai is a peace offering." Tai laughed. "It's a long story."

"Where are your parents? Where's Granny Ling?"

"China," they said at the same time.

"Tegan says she's got that shit covered, and our human brains shouldn't try to understand that." Tai arched an eyebrow at her. "Tegan says they should be safe."

Tegan shrugged.

I opened my mouth to ask more about that when I heard a dog howl that I recognized in an instant. When I turned toward the sound, I found all three of my boys racing toward me from an open portal. I dropped to my knees and cuddled them as they licked my face and hands.

"I wanted you to have your emotional support floofs right away." Tegan nodded. "But they'll like living here."

I looked around. "So is this my aunt and uncle's new house here? It's huge?—"

"This is Coven Headquarters."

"Oh." I frowned and looked around. "Where will I live? Those brick buildings apartments or something?"

"That's the campus of Edenburg. You'll live here. The Coven lives together here in this house." Tegan gestured toward the school. "Your aunt and uncle will be close by though, just beyond the school in the town."

I ran my hands over Houdini's fur. "And my dogs?"

"Here with you if that's where you want them."

Mei-Ling reached down and fluffed Bubba's ears. "There are other dogs here. And Savannah's cats. The boys will love it."

"And once Chutney returns, you may not see your dogs again." Tai shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "As all the pets seem to migrate to her room or by her side all the time."

I chuckled. "She's the one who talks to animals?"

They all nodded.

"She seems fun." I grinned and climbed back to my feet. "So where have you two been staying?"

"In your new room." Mei-Ling blushed. "I've started decorating for you so you'd feel more comfy."

"Well, let's go inside then." I gestured to the big house and knots formed in my stomach. "Because if I stop moving for too long, my mind might start processing everything Tegan made me forget these last two weeks."

Tegan cackled. "C'mon."

We walked up to the house together with my boys trotting happily at my feet. I was more than a little bit nervous about this. My memories were still settling in, but I already felt different than I had when the day started. For starters, I knew I was a Coven-member. It made me want to text Esther about just how much she'd nailed her guess. I'd learned a lot these last two weeks about arcana culture and society, and yet what I experienced in Avolire made me much more aware than any of my friends had been.

Oh God. Asmodeus. Azazel.

"Frankie? You okay?" Tegan appeared in front of me.

"Asmodeus." My stomach rolled. "Azazel. They were standing in line in front of me in Hidden Kingdom?—"

"Yes, and Tenn saw them too. But they were up to their own shenanigans and left. More importantly, they're not here now." She put her hand on my shoulder. "Tenn can talk to me telepathically. We were literally talking all day, every day. He told me everything. So, while it may have seemed like you were there on your own, I promise you weren't. Not at all. I was there even when you couldn't see me. Okay?"

The pressure in my chest lightened. "Okay. Right. I think the nightmares from Avolire are going to fuck me up hard."

Her face fell. "We have ways to help you with that too. Just breathe. The Coven is one big family. Your problems are our problems. We will be right here with you every step of the way."

"Thanks, Tegan."

"You're welcome." Tegan pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Welcome home, Frankie."

I glanced over my shoulder to Mei-Ling and Tai, but they smiled and gave me two thumbs-up. Then I looked forward and took a step inside—something black landed on my shoulder. I froze. A second later, something landed on my other shoulder that was also black. My eyes widened.

And then two small cat faces leaned down to look at me. Meow.

"Meet Freya and Luna." Tegan moved to stand in front of me. "Savannah's cats. They sit on the stairs and stare at the door until she returns. They've developed a new way of greeting people."

"Oh. Hi, kitty . . . kitties." I reached up and tickled under their chins, and they purred in my ears.

"Come on, girls. Come here." Tegan held her arms out and both cats leapt into her chest. Something about Tegan holding two black cats just felt so right. "Brace yourself, boys. Olli is about to let the house know you're here. And he likes to lick. In three . . . two . . . one . . ."

A loud howl ripped through the silent house. My boys froze in place, their ears perked up. A white-tipped tail similar to my boys' tails swished back and forth in the kitchen doorway. I heard the sound of nails on hardwood floor and then a brown and white basset hound appeared around the edge of the dining room table. That must be Olli. He stopped howling and stared at my boys, his tail swishing back and forth at a rapid speed. My boys were doing the same. They were beagles, but they definitely were more basset hound than plain beagle because they weren't much taller than Olli and their ears only a little shorter.

This house was about to be bad for everyone's knees.

And then Olli leapt forward into a pounce. All three of my boys took off running for him. But Olli jumped up and spun around, then sprinted in the opposite direction. The chase was on. We'd just walked in the house and already the four of them were playing chase around the furniture. I smiled and started forward when a giant dog bigger than a Great Dane flew around the corner up ahead. He stopped short but the fluffy fur between his toes made him slide.

Flames danced along the top of his fur.

"OH MY GOD! THAT DOG?—"

"Is made of fire." Tai chuckled as he walked around me to lean against the wall. "It's been a really weird couple of weeks for us here, adjusting to animals being made of fire and lava."

"His name is Squishy. He's Bentley's fire doggo. Apparently he's from the Seelie realm? I don't know, dude. It's intense as fuck." Mei-Ling pointed to the basset hound leading the game of chase right under Squishy's belly and then back around to the dining room. "That basset is Olli. He's Saffie's dog . . . from 1692 . She went back in time and brought him here. Time travel, dude."

I nodded. "So everything is totally normal. Got it."

Tai shuddered. "Wait until you meet Spot."

A large black mastiff rushed down the stairs, then slid to a stop in front of me. He sniffed me all over, looked me in the eye, and cocked his head to the side and sat down. The concentration in his stare was unnerving.

"What did I do?" I asked him softly.

Tegan crouched down and pet him with the one hand not holding cats. "I know, Albert. You smell him on her. We're gonna get him home to you as soon as possible, okay, bud?"

Little Olli rushed over and licked Albert's face, activating him in the chase game.

I blinked at the sudden change of emotion in Albert. "What was that? What just happened?"

Tegan cringed, and I felt it in the air around her. " Braison's dog ," she whispered.

OHHH. My heart hurt. I rubbed my chest. Lord Braison. That memory hadn't yet returned until she said his name. Now I couldn't unsee his face when he spoke about his family. And he had a dog. That made me want to cry. I knew how much my own dogs were upset with my absence all those months of my coma, and how when I was around, they hovered at my side. This poor dog had to be so sad.

"He's just a puppy," Tegan said softly. "But Olli is his new best friend, which is why Olli is here instead of with Saffie. Olli helps Albert be a happy boy. Olli's kind of the ringleader."

"That's so adorable. Look at them." I gestured to my dogs as they flew by me hot on Squishy's flame tail. "That fire won't hurt the non-fire doggos, right?"

"Nope." Tegan chuckled. She turned to the stairs and lifted the cats onto the rail. "Savannah will be back soon. I'd hate for you to miss the chance to pounce on her face."

Now that I didn't have cats in my face or dogs stealing my attention, I was able to look around at the place. My jaw dropped. It looked like a regular house. Coven Headquarters sounded like it'd be a fancy, high-tech, CIA-level office. But this was a home. The warm brown hardwood floors reminded me of my floors back home. The foyer was small and mostly open to the rest of the house. There were stairs on my right, and the wall on the side of the stairs had two doors in it. To my left was a massive living room with the largest fireplace made of stone that I'd ever seen. It looked more like an old-time hearth. It had a ledge in front of it with fuzzy blankets folded and a few pillows in the corner, like perhaps people sat there. The window on the front wall to my left was floor-to-ceiling, but there were two big cozy chairs in front of it. There was actually a lot of furniture. A few big recliners and a couple sofas. A giant cream-colored fuzzy rug sat in front of the fireplace.

The room was an open floor plan, so I had a perfect view of a wooden dinner table to rival Da Vinci's Last Supper . Beyond the table was a doorway into a kitchen and then on the right it opened up into another room, though I couldn't tell what was in there from where I stood. The energy in the house was cozy and warm and super comfortable. It felt like home, which was really quite bizarre. But the weirdest part was how quiet and empty it was.

I cleared my throat. "So, where'd everyone go?"

Tegan made a funny face. "Well . . . see . . . I didn't want you to feel bombarded the moment you walked in, so . . ." She snapped her fingers and rainbow list flashed all around.

I gasped.

The living room was full of people that had not just been there.

"Whoa . . ." I took a step back. "Holy shit. They were there this whole time?"

"Yup."

I sighed. "Magic is so cool."

Everyone laughed.

Tenn's sister nodded. "See? I told you she'd handle it well. She's a Proctor."

Tegan wrapped her arm around my shoulder and led me over to the stone bench in front of the fireplace where a big blond dude with a tense face sat with his elbows on his knees. "This here is my dad, Hunter Bishop. He's the Temperance Card, and his magic is emotional manipulation. Which means, you're gonna sit right here next to him so he can keep you chill as fuck while you are introduced to the chaos that is this Coven family. Cool?"

"Cool." I held my hand out. "Hi, I'm Frankie."

He smiled and it made his golden eyes sparkle. Then he shook his head and held out his left hand, revealing his Mark on his arm as we shook hands. "Coven shakes with our left hand to show our Marks. You'll get used to it. I'm Hunter. Have a sit and chill with me, kiddo." He patted the stone beside him.

I smiled and sat down. Instantly a golden glow wrapped around me and every ounce of tension in my body just vanished. I exhaled. "Shittttt, that's good stuff."

Hunter hung his head and chuckled. "Did we just become best friends, Frankie?"

"Hell yeah." I grinned. It was wild to me that Tegan's energy was so electric and intense when her father's was the calmest feeling I'd ever experienced. I patted the stone bench beside me. "Mei-Ling? Tai?"

They hurried over to sit beside me.

"Imma run through some introductions fast, but don't worry, no one expects the info to stick the first time." Tegan cleared her throat and backed up to the first chair closest to the foyer where the gorgeous blonde girl sat in the lap of a blond boy. "This here is?—"

"Hey! You're the one who looks like Royce!" I blurted, then slammed my hand over my mouth. "Sorry, I think I'm a little comfortable."

Hunter grinned.

Royce's blond doppelganger grinned. "Well, Royce is my cousin, so that tracks. But I'm older, so technically he looks like me."

Tegan rolled her eyes. "This is Deacon English. He's our Devil, which doesn't suit him at all."

I waved. "English. Right. The filthy rich founding family that started the magic moving company."

"Filthy rich, eh?"

I blushed. "My aunt and uncle said no family was richer than yours."

The blonde in his lap held her left hand out. "I better start doing more arm workouts then."

Everyone cackled.

"Yeah, that's us. Stupid filthy rich and we can't help it. Let me know if you want a shopping spree, and I'll have the plane come get us." He grinned and scratched his jaw which is when I noticed the black lines covering his right hand. On the back of his palm was a lavender crystal. "Though I better make sure Claudia puts those anti-demon spells on ours like we did Walter's."

"Nope. She don't wanna know about that yet, D." The blonde in his lap rolled her golden eyes and smacked Deacon's leg playfully. She looked to me and waved with a tatted hand that matched D's. In her glorious southern accent, she said, "I'm Emersyn Bishop. Empress. Crazy one's twin."

I nodded. "Who I'm guessing has tortured demons to death and was scolded for it?"

She shrugged. "I plead the Fifth."

Tegan rolled her green eyes. "Right, moving on. Big guy here in the flannel is Timothy, Tenn and Bettina's uncle. Former Coven Leader. Now he's much happier as our Hermit Card."

Tim shook his head, but he looked to me with warm, kind brown eyes and salt-and-pepper hair. He scratched his five-o-clock shadow. "Trouble, your introductions need tweaking."

"Whatever. I'm giving the highlights." She walked away from him and over to the first couch where a blonde woman sat watching us silently. "This is Constance. Also a former Coven Leader who is now our Justice Card and preggo. So, we don't let her do much."

"Hi, Frankie. Welcome home." Constance smiled, her cheeks a rosy pink. "My soulmate, Daniel, is at the school prepping for all the Tampa kids to arrive. He's a professor there who used to be the Headmaster. Now Kenneth Proctor is the Headmaster."

"Right. One of my relatives that I still need to figure out how we're related." I pressed my hand to my stomach. "Congrats on the baby."

"Thank you." She beamed. "You'll see two young blonde girls return with my husband. Those are my adopted daughters, Kenny and Kiki."

"They're sweethearts. Their aunt Nadia was our Sun Card for a little while, but she passed, so her nieces are our family now." Tegan gestured to the next person on the couch. "I think you met Thiago?"

I waved. "Yes! Hi!"

"Hello again!"

"And this is my best friend, Bettina. She's Judgement Card." Tegan leaned against the chair where the girl with the split hair dye sat next to a very handsome guy whose hair looked bronze. "Her real name is Hope Proctor. She's Tenn's sister. We all call her Bettina. It's a whole sad story that's a real buzzkill so I won't tell you yet."

Tim cackled.

"Bloody hell, Tegan. Don't be a wanker."

I gasped. "You're British. Wait, you must be the Lancaster!"

The guy with bronze hair and eyes the color of the Caribbean Ocean gave me a small smile. "Jackson Lancaster, yes. I'm The World Card. And Bettina's soulmate."

I whistled. "Lots of soulmates here, eh?"

"How many do we have now?" Tegan sat on the edge of the coffee table and started counting with her fingers. "Me and Tenn. Em and D. Bettina and Lancaster. Mom and Dad. Kessler and Mona. Connie and Daniel. Kenneth and Landreia. Easton and Lily. Saffie and Riah. Malachi and Chloe. Thorne and Myrtle. That's eleven so far."

"Wow." I shook my head. "Here I thought Madge and Jo being soulmates was impressive."

Constance chuckled. "It is impressive for civilians to be soulmates. The Coven tends to be full of them."

"Oh cool," I said as one of the doors under the stairs opened and two people walked out. "Oops, Tegan, two new intros are needed."

She craned her neck back. "Hey weirdo and Waldo, come here."

The girl had indigo-colored hair that was rocking that shag style. She had the coolest yellow-green eyes, and her entire body was covered in tattoos. I wanted to be her friend instantly. And by the way her eyes lit up when she saw me, I had a good feeling about that. "Pinky! Hi! I love the hair. I'm weirdo, but everyone calls me Lennox."

Lennox was one of those gorgeous people where it was impossible to pinpoint her race or heritage because she was definitely a mix of more than one. Her skin was the most incredible light-brown shade that made her tatts pop. The guy who walked in right behind her looked like he should be her boyfriend, but I wasn't sure if they were together or not. He had short dark hair that was shaved on the sides. He was tall and physically fit with toned muscle. His skin was a few shades darker than Lennox's but also looked incredible with all those tattoos.

"I guess that makes me Waldo?" He narrowed his hazel eyes. Then he shrugged and waved to me. "I'm Warner. Lennox and I are high-quality Coven pets."

She nodded. "But we're always happy to collect more, so thanks for providing Mei-Ling and Tai for us."

I laughed. "Happy to be of service."

The front door opened, and the rest of The Coven walked through wearing sad smiles and tense auras.

Tegan held her hand up and they froze. "We're gonna do this runway style. Ready, Frankie?"

"Pop quiz me tomorrow just for fun." I waved them on. "Bring it."

Tegan curled her fingers. Two people stepped forward together. "The blond pretty boy is Easton. And that's his soulmate, Lily. They're the Lovers and Sun. Next."

The next person up was Royce. He did a fancy bow to me and grinned and hurried over to sit next to Thiago. "We've met."

"Yes, we have." I waved, then spotted the girl who spoke to animals. "Chutney. The animal defender."

"That's me." She giggled and dragged the strawberry blonde with her who just waved. "This is my cousin Willow. The Magician."

The black cats hissed and meowed, then lunged off the stairs. I couldn't see her face, but I recognized her by her tattoos and blue hair. " Little ma'ams, this ain't how we doin' this. "

I chuckled. "That's Savannah, right?"

"Yep. Give her a minute. Her cats have been stressed. And this big guy is Kessler Bishop, my uncle who just so happens to be my soulmate's adoptive father. But I assure you I am not related to my soulmate biologically." Tegan pursed her lips. " His soulmate is Mona, whom you met as Agnes."

Kessler waved. "Mona and Katherine said to tell you they're helping pack up the infirmary there, then they'll come with them."

Tegan nodded. "Fine by me."

"So is this everyone then?" I gestured around the room as the ones who just arrived settled into seats."

"Nah, we've got a couple stragglers not here at the moment." Tegan shrugged. "Both of the Coven variety and pet variety."

The front door flew open and slammed into the wall so hard it fell off the hinges. Tennessee cursed and tried to catch it but it just left him holding a door in both hands. Then he sighed in defeat and sat the door on the ground. "Babe?"

Tegan just chuckled. "I'll fix it."

Tenn nodded and walked into the room. "Hey?—"

Easton threw his hands up and shouted. "BOSS!"

"ARCHIE!" Royce cackled.

And then they tackled him all at once in a group hug, which I was positive he both loved and hated.

Then Tegan flicked her wrist, and they all flew away. " Mine . Damn." She held her hand out to him.

He crossed the room to her to take her hand with a goofy grin on his face. " Mine. " He bent over and kissed her.

"Where's Cooper to yell gross ?" Deacon chuckled.

Tenn broke away from Tegan with a scowl. "What do you mean where's Cooper ?"

"Oh, Bentley needed to handle something, so he brought Coop. You know, Bentley kind of shit."

Royce pointed at her. "Which you're pretending you don't know anything about."

Tegan grinned. "Correct."

"I don't wanna know yet. Grace period." Tenn laughed and ran his hand through his hair. "Okay, let's talk about what the fuck just happened. We have everyone else? Where's Henley?"

Royce frowned. "Downstairs, boss?"

Tenn nodded. "Tell her to come up."

Royce flinched. "I've been trying, yet she's still in that coma."

"No, no, I saw her. She's up."

Royce paled and gripped the armrest of the couch. "Boss, I was just been down there with her. She's very much still out."

Tenn shook his head. "She was in The Coven meeting Tegan called when she told us her crazy plan to swap places with Mei-Ling?—"

"WHAT?" Royce and Deacon shrieked.

Tenn pointed to the couch right where Thiago sat. "She was sitting right there on the couch right between you and Em."

"No, Tenn, she wasn't," Em said softly.

Tenn scratched his head. "She even asked Tegan a question and Tegan answered it. Babe, tell them."

Tegan grimaced. "You're all right."

"WHAT?" everyone yelled in perfect unison.

Tegan sighed. "She was at that meeting, just not in physical form?—"

" Ma'am. There weren't no spirits in this room for that meeting."

Royce whimpered.

"Whoa, hold on, Savannah." Deacon leaned forward and held his hands up. "Hold on, Tegan, your desires here are freaking me out."

Jackson cursed. "But they're not lying."

Tenn looked to Tegan. "What is happening here, babe?"

"While Mom can do things with astral projection others can't, the Chariot is not the only Card who can do it." Tegan held her hands up to stop people from talking. "The Moon, The Star, and Death can astral project if they know how and are willing. Cooper was afraid to until Savannah's spell. He's only done it a few times—and one of those times he witnessed Savannah's first accidental attempt. But Henley has always known how and is no stranger to it."

" What are you saying, Tegan? " Royce whined.

"Henley attended that meeting through astral projection." Tegan's face fell. "I saw her, though I was not aware that Tenn saw her as well or I would have said something to him to avoid this conversation.To avoid the pain."

Royce groaned and buried his face in his hands. "This is too much."

Tenn hung his head and put his hands on his hips. "Royce, I'm so sorry. I genuinely thought she was back?—"

"Not your fault, boss. Not your fault." Royce pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just need her to wake up before I break."

Thiago pulled his boyfriend into his lap. "We're all working on it, and we're here for you. Both of you."

"I take it there's been no change?" Tenn asked softly. When everyone shook their heads, he just cringed. "And what about Devon? How's she doing?"

That calm golden energy around me turned ice-cold for a split second before Hunter caught himself. "Her body has healed perfectly. Riah says we have to be patient. For both of them. He says their ailments were too severe to recover fast. But I'm with Royce, I'm about to break here."

Tegan jumped up and over to the stone ledge where she sat next to her father and hugged him. "I'm working on it. For both of them, I promise."

Tenn cursed violently. Dude had a real skill for his swear word combos. He sat on the coffee table where Tegan had just been. "And what about our Seelie friends? And the angels?"

"They're all together. They took Henry and Millie Anne with them." Tegan closed her eyes. She looked exhausted. "They're trying to find out how the fuck the Unseelies got back in and the fact that none of them know is more unsettling than anything else right now."

Everyone nodded.

Tenn stood and stretched his arms out. "Fantastic. Okay, well, let's get out back and do Frankie's initiation. We need her at full power. Now."

My eyes widened. "Excuse me, what? My what ?"