Chapter 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

FRANKIE

When I first learned about The Coven, I hadn't understood the importance or the honor of being Marked for it. Granted, I was fighting for my life in Avolire surrounded by vampires who wanted to consume every ounce of blood in my body— after they bred me. I shuddered. That memory was not one I needed back.

But re-entering the world of magic through the lens of an innocent teenager made a huge difference, one I was still processing. My friends in Tampa worshipped The Coven. I'd heard about them nonstop. I knew the honor it was to be one of them because of the love the others had for them. Seeing their emotional relief when Archie turned out to be Tennessee in disguise had blown my mind. None of them had been angry with him for the deception. They instead saw it as a sign of admiration and respect that he'd gone to such great lengths to protect them. When the entire Coven walked through Tegan's portal having clearly watched what happened, the relief in the park was overwhelming.

I just wished I felt it more.

I wished this felt like the blessing it apparently was. Sure, I was honored. I had no idea what I'd done to deserve it, but I was flattered. And after the demon attacks and then that ambush from vampires and Unseelie tonight, I was glad to be Marked for The Coven. But not for the honor, not for the prestige, not even for the power.

It was for the fight.

For as long as I could remember, I had this rage boiling inside of me with nothing to do with it. Esther thought it was from my magic being trapped. Archie had suggested it was my parents' death that fueled my fire. And maybe it was both of those things. Or maybe it was for something more. I didn't know. I was just relieved to finally be in the place to do something good. To fight. Esther had called it: I was destined to be in this war against Lilith. To be on the front lines. That should have scared me. Should have kept me awake at night. Yet I was fired up and ready to go.

I felt like one of those wind-up toys that'd been wound to the max and was just waiting for someone to sit me down so I could fly.

As I looked at my own reflection in the mirror, I stared at the white ceremonial sheath dress I'd been given. Apparently all rituals done by The Coven that were important like this had to be done in these sleeveless dresses. Even the guys. No one told me why. Then again, it didn't really matter. The one I wore had belonged to Larissa Willard, the former Tower Card who died minutes before my Mark arrived. Chutney and Willow, Larissa's cousins, had given this to me. They said Larissa would be honored, and me being the same size as their cousin was fate. That honor was one that touched my heart. I couldn't imagine the pain they felt losing their cousin and then having to watch her role be replaced.

I pressed my hands to my chest and felt my heart pounding against my fingers. "I hope I wear your white proud, Larissa. And I hope you found peace."

I took one last deep breath, then turned and opened the bathroom door into my bedroom. Mei-Ling and Tai sat on the couch waiting. It was still strange to me that my room was big enough to have a full-sized couch and a queen-sized bed and still have room to move around.

"How do I look?"

Mei-Ling scoffed. "You know you look good in white."

Tai shook his head. "You look like I'm gonna be worried about you a lot."

I grinned and tackled them in a group hug. Mei-Ling and Tai were the siblings I never had. Having them here meant a lot. After a moment, I stepped back. "I'm sorry you can't watch, but I'll describe it for you after. And I want y'all to know that I'm happy you're both here."

Tai gestured to the door. "Go on. Go get initiated. It sounds terrifying."

"Shut up, Tai. Frankie's tough." Mei-Ling rolled her eyes, but she did walk over and yank the door open. "But they did say dinner was after, so hurry it up. We're hungry."

"All right, okay, I'm going."

I hurried out the door and down the stairs. They'd given me a room on the third floor. I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but Mei-Ling insisted it was the more fun floor as it was full of the more rebellious Coven-members and none of the adults. Apparently Tegan and Tenn had the penthouse because it was designated for Coven Leaders. I tried to imagine my aunt and uncle being cool with me sharing a room with a boy, but Hunter was the chillest person I'd ever been near. Also, I didn't have a soulmate, so it definitely wasn't the same.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I found Tegan waiting for me. "Ready?"

I nodded. "At least I think so."

"Yeah, you're gonna be fine with this. Don't worry." She glanced over my shoulder and smiled. "I'm gonna go out back and get everyone in position so we can do this fast. Em's fried chicken will be done any minute, and no one wants to linger. Say hello, then come on out."

"Okay—wait. Say hello? To who?"

"Heya, Franks."

I gasped and spun around. My aunt and uncle were sitting in the chairs by the front window. I grinned and rushed over. They jumped up and hugged me a little tighter than they normally did. I hadn't seen them since I got to the park for the ritual. That attack had separated us and then Tegan whisked me away.

Aunt Kimmy had tears in her eyes but a smile on her face as she tucked my hair behind my ears. "My little niece . . . in The Coven. I'm so proud of you."

Uncle Kyle ruffled my hair that she'd just fixed. "A perfect fit for you. Can't wait to hear about your potion bombs?—"

" Honey. " Aunt Kimmy hissed and swatted at him, but he just grinned. She rolled her eyes. "Are you nervous? How are you feeling?"

"Did you know where I went before? When I woke in February. Do you remember all that?"

Uncle Kyle's face fell. He nodded. "We did, yes. We do remember."

"Tegan told us what happened. She almost caught you before you were in that van, but she was breaths away from Witch's Shock after that run-in with Lilith's magic. She felt horrible but promised to get you back." Aunt Kimmy grimaced. "When she returned to the hospital with you, she explained the situation, though I'm sure we don't know a fraction of the horror you went through. But she told us we had to play the part."

My breath left me in a rush. "So you knew this whole time? That's why we moved so fast. You knew."

They nodded.

"I'm sorry we had to lie to you?—"

"No, don't be." I shook my head. "I'm glad I got to forget about Avolire for a couple weeks. I'm glad I got to learn about being a witch the way I did, and I made new friends. So, it's good. It was the right call by Tegan."

"She offered to take our memories too," Uncle Kyle said softly, "so we wouldn't be lying to you, but we wanted someone to know the truth."

I hugged them again, then wiped my face of runaway tears I didn't have time to shed. "Did you get set up in a house here in Eden?"

Uncle Kyle grinned. "We're staying in the hotel. Our room has a huge balcony, and they have a gym and room service?—"

"He hates it, clearly." Aunt Kimmy rolled her eyes again but in that loving way she always did with him. "Don't worry about us. We're safe. Just know we're close by if you need us for anything. And we're so incredibly proud of you."

"Now get out there because that fried chicken smells so damn good." He eyed the kitchen. "Maybe I should check and see if it's done. Taste test."

I laughed. "Okay. Stay for dinner?"

They nodded.

I started for the back door, then stopped. "Oh, Mei-Ling and Tai are upstairs. Call them down if you want. Be right back!"

When I went out the back door, I found The Coven standing in a circle, waiting for me in the massive backyard. It was dark out, but it looked like this house sat along the edge of a forest. I wanted to stop and look around, but they were all watching me, standing there barefoot in their sleeveless sheath dresses waiting patiently. The guys all looked lethal in their white sheaths. It was impressive. As I walked up the pathway toward the opening in the circle, I went around the circle trying to remember everyone's name.

Tegan materialized in front of me, her dark-purple hair blowing in the breeze. "All right. Go stand in the center of the pentagram. All you gotta do is open your magic up, and we'll do the rest."

I narrowed my eyes on her. "That's it? No other instructions?"

"Ma'am, that's exactly what I said!" Savannah threw her hands up. "What a thing to say to someone with anxiety!"

"Right, so . . ." Deacon cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together. "It has become my role to warn all new Coven-members that this shit will hurt. It'll only last for a second or two, but it's intense. These other weirdos fail to remember this."

Thiago frowned at me. "Frankie has seen some shit, from what I've heard. I do not think she needs this warning," he said softly in that gorgeous accent of his.

Jackson turned to me and smiled. "Also, your senses are going to go bloody wild after. The weirdos also fail to warn new Coven-members that while you've been Marked, you do not yet have full power. You're about to be plugged into an electrical socket and it's going to be different on the other side."

I nodded. "I feel like this is the origin story of every Marvel movie. Both for the superhero and the villain."

Bettina threw her head back and cackled. "She ain't wrong."

"I mean, if that's what happens, then Deacon should revise his warnings." I shrugged. "You're about to go from Steve Rogers to Captain America. Much better verbiage."

Tennessee shook his head. "See, guys? I told you she was gonna fit in with us."

"It's the trauma," Hunter said with a laugh, which made everyone else cackle.

Tegan waved for me to follow her, so I smiled and stepped inside the circle with her. Black lines shot across the field in the shape of a pentacle and a circle around it. Oh. Okay. I hurried over to the center like Tegan had instructed. Once there, everyone else began to move into place. Tegan reappeared at the top point. Emersyn was on my left. Behind me, Tennessee stood at the bottom point to my left and his sister Bettina took the right. My cousins. I needed to figure out how we were related.

"Ah shit, Bentley isn't here." Tegan pursed her lips as she gripped her crystal necklace. Light flashed so fast that if I hadn't been watching I would've missed it. The crystal turned into a leather-bound book. "Dad. Yeah, Dad, can you take the open point?"

Hunter walked over to take the point of the pentacle directly to my right.

" Ma'am. " Savannah shuddered from her spot in the circle behind Tegan. "Don't think we missed that you picked Mr. Chill Pill for the point. Act all nonchalant you want, but we call bullshit."

Thiago grinned. "It's a little nerve-wracking to be a spectator the first time after your initiation, isn't it?"

Savannah closed her eyes. "I don't think we should talk about what I saw."

"Wait. What you saw ?" I glanced around the circle to everyone. "What exactly is about to happen here?"

Everyone snickered.

I turned to face Tennessee. "Archie?"

He grimaced and shrugged one shoulder. It was weird to see Archie's mannerisms in a six-foot-five muscular dude. "Look, real talk? When we initiate a Card, it unlocks their full magic and the gift that comes with it. And said gift usually puts on a little show for everyone during initiation. We can't predict what that's gonna look like for everyone. Some Cards' gifts are a little more unsettling than others."

Everyone looked to Savannah.

"Oh, were you unsettled by what I saw?" She shook her head. "Give me that face one more time and I swear I'll tell each and every one of you what I saw."

"Dammit, Savannah. You can't say that like that." Deacon shook his head. "Now I really want to know."

"Wait, wait." I waved my hands to get their attention. "No one has said what gift the Tower has. What can I do?"

"The Tower is the potion master." Tenn smirked. "Which is why you did so well with the Cups."

"So I'm not a Cup?"

He frowned. "There's a good chance of it, yeah."

"Right. Okay. So, potions. Well, that shouldn't be too bad." I nodded and turned to our High Priestess. "Ready, Tegan."

"What did your initiation look like, babe?" She leaned around me to look at her soulmate. "I mean, I almost drowned everyone on Crone Island?—"

"Yes, let's relive that. Thanks," Emersyn grumbled.

But Tegan continued, "Tenn's got water, wind, and earth. I'm just curious what that looked like from a five-year-old."

"Actually, that's a good question, bro. I wanna know."

"No, Bettina, you don't wanna know." Willow wrapped her arms around herself. "I still have nightmares from it."

" Really?" Deacon's purple eyes sparkled. "That's cool."

"How are we related?" Royce rolled his eyes. "It was not cool. We were kids. It was horrible."

"I don't remember most of it." Easton pursed his lips. "It was just really wet."

"Of course that's what you remember." Lily rolled her eyes, and it reminded me of my aunt and uncle.

"You see what you do, babe?" Tenn gestured around the group. "Chaos. You are a chaos demon."

Bettina giggled. "But this only makes me want to know more , so someone start talking."

"Cooper actually wouldn't let us talk about it when we were kids." Chutney said softly. "But it took me days to calm all the sharks down."

" Sharks? " Bettina squealed.

"We're on land, Moonshine." Jackson reached out and squeezed her shoulder with his hand that had a red rose tattoo on it. "No sharks can get you here."

"Yeah, that's what we thought." Timothy snickered.

"I think we handled it pretty well, given that most of the Coven were younger than him."

"Imagine if you had listened to Constance when Constance said maybe the kids should sit this one out. " Constance arched one blonde eyebrow. "After all, Constance is the one who said we needed to wait a couple years before we unlocked all of that."

Emersyn's eyes widened. "You didn't get initiated right away?"

"No, we were all terrified of what that would look like." Timothy was still chuckling. "We were right to be, as it turned out."

Hunter grinned. "I had to leave Tegan at Bettina's parents' house so I could come down for it. That's how worried we were."

Tegan groaned. "But what happened ? Uncle Kessler? Babe?"

Tenn pursed his lips. "Easton's description was pretty apt. Though I missed a lot of it."

"Yeah, we found you five miles down the road an hour later." Timothy was turning pink from how much he laughed. "What were you doing that whole time?"

"I was chasing it?"

"Chasing what? " Tegan was growing impatient. "What happened?"

Kessler sighed and shook his head. "He started a hurricane."

Tegan gasped. " No. "

Tenn shrugged. "Twister was my favorite movie."

"Wait, how did that happen?"

"Well, Frankie, we thought given his gifts, that the safest option for timing would be during hurricane season." Kessler grimaced. "More specifically, during a hurricane watch."

Timothy snort-laughed and covered his mouth.

"We had waited for the town to be evacuated and boarded up for the storm." Hunter was trying not to laugh. "We thought they were prepared."

"I'll never forget the moment when in the middle of it Devon said, uh oh, we messed up. " Constance joined Timothy in giggling.

"You did his initiation during a hurricane?" I looked back to Tenn. "Were you scared?"

"I was basically the cow in that scene in Twister. " He shrugged again. "I had a lot of fun."

I glanced over to his sister to find her laughing so hard no noise came out. She bent over and put her hands on her knees and shook her head. That did it. We all just burst into laughter. There was just something about the humble admittance of failure from the adults combined with the visual of young Tenn just flying through the air in a real-life hurricane that was just hilarious.

Tegan cursed and wiped tears from her eyes. "Right. I think we all needed that."

"Hey, Tegan, remember that trick you did by the river when you did the hologram of what happened to us?" Bettina pointed to her brother. "I think we need to do that so we can see this little moo cow flying around a hurricane."

Tenn nodded. "Yeah, let's just watch all my traumatic moments in life."

"And y'all are worried about my crazy." Savannah shook her head. "Ma'am, that was a whole lot of nope."

Emersyn sighed. "My fried chicken's gonna be done and we haven't even started?—"

"Oh shit."

"Dammit, woman."

"Ma'am, you waited this long to rein them in?"

"Did you hear my stomach growl just now?"

" Your stomach? Mine and the baby's growled."

Tegan held her hand up in the air to silence everyone. "Okay, okay. My bad. Let's get this done for Frankie. It's been a long ass day."

My pulse fluttered. Butterflies danced in my stomach. I hadn't been nervous before, but after hearing all of that, I realized I had no idea what I was getting into. I raised my hand. "So I just stand here?"

Tegan smiled. "Yep. I'm going to read some shit in the ancient language that unlocks everything. You just chill."

"And brace for impact," Deacon grumbled.

"You're really butthurt about the pain, aren't you?"

"Royce, I think I died a little on that beach. Or did you forget?"

Tenn chuckled. "Oh yeah. I did forget."

Deacon turned wild eyes to him. "Seriously?"

"I just remember being mad you had the audacity to look dead after I'd said horrible things about you to Tegan when I was being jealous." Tenn grinned. "Like, how dare you."

"I also was mad at you for having the audacity to look dead," Emersyn said sheepishly. "Boy, did I get my karma for that one."

Deacon shook his head, then looked to me. "You should get out of here while you can, before you have a soulmate in this Coven and can't leave."

"Noted." I smiled. "Go ahead, Tegan. You better just start or this ship will never leave the dock. I'm ready for whatever happens, pain or not."

"In three . . . two . . . one . . ." Tegan threw her hands up in the air and rainbow mist rose up from the ground around the outside of the circle, then shot up into the air to the tips of the trees far above our heads. That leather book floated in front of her.

" Lily ?" Tegan grinned. "Goddess, I'm still not over that yet."

Lily's eyes twinkled. She grinned so wide her cheeks dimpled. She raised her left hand up, and I saw her XIX Mark, the Sun Card, as perfectly bold as everyone else's. Bright yellow light shot out of her palm. A second later, the sun lifted from behind the tree line where it had been setting and the sky turned shades of pink like my hair.

Easton sniffled, his eyes brimming with tears. She blew him a kiss.

There was a story there I didn't know.

Tegan chanted words in a language I didn't know and waved her hands and rainbow magic flashed. A sea of flowers filled every inch of space between the lines of the pentacle. My eyes widened. They were all my favorite flowers. Beach flowers, the ones that grew along the coast and on the sand. They were in shades of pink, white, and lavender. My breath caught in my throat. I'd never told anyone here about them.

Emersyn flicked her wrists and two balls of fire appeared in her palms. She flung her hands and shot her fire to the ground just outside the circle. Flames flickered all around us. She sighed. Thiago frowned and leaned away from the flames. Bettina dropped to one knee and pressed her palm flat to the dirt. A cloud of pink mist billowed out from under her fingers and then bright white light flashed. Ice slithered out from her hand, covering every inch of the black lines of the pentagram.

Just then Tegan's shouting grew louder, and sharp pain shot down my spine. OH SHIT. I sucked in air, and it made a hissing sound. Every single muscle in my body tightened. My pulse hammered in my veins. Oh shit. Oh, that burns. Clouds that hadn't been there slid over our heads and roared. They flashed, then lightning sliced through the sky and slammed right into my chest. Electricity shot through my muscles. I clenched my teeth and groaned. Sharp pressure pierced through my heart and down my spine.

Magic sparkled along the ground like light shining through tree branches. The pentacle drawn on the ground turned bloodred. My heart stopped. A gust of wind swept sand across the field that felt like little shards of glass when they hit my skin. The sand caught in the blood of the pentacle. Seashells sprouted from within like flowers growing in a garden. My eyes widened. It was like my dreams. Those visions. My pulse thundered in my veins. My ears began to ring. My muscles tightened and locked down. Even my throat felt tight like I couldn't get enough oxygen in.

I was afraid to move, afraid to breathe. It was happening again.

My body rumbled and shook like I was on a roller coaster. I felt my magic rushing to the surface, but I was helpless to stop it. My arms flew up and my magic shot out of me like a broken dam, like those trees in Lord of the Rings releasing the river. Except it wasn't water, it was neon-blue flames. They flowed in every direction, rolling away from me in waves and heading right for my Coven-mates. They all frowned and watched them get closer, but they didn't move.

It hit Tennessee first, crashing into his chest. His magic flashed bright green and blue everywhere my flames touched. Except for those gold bands on his arms, those glowed so bright I had to look away just as my magic hit Bettina and burst in a cloud of pink smoke. One by one all around me my neon-blue waves crashed into the others and forced their magic out. Tegan's whole body glowed as white as the sun.

I glanced around with my heart in my throat. As their magic began to subside, little pink flames flashed over their heads. They swirled around, then morphed into symbols. I gasped. Each and every one of them had different symbols. My fingers twitched with the need to write them down, to draw them in the dirt. They were potion ingredients. I knew that somehow. My magic was telling me what potions each of them needed, but I didn't know what all the symbols were. I didn't even have a pen or a camera.

Remember these. Remember the symbols.

I have to make them these potions.

Just as I was trying to burn the images to memory, my blue flames rose up off the ground. My Coven-mates cursed and shouted as my magic swept their legs out from under them, tossing them left and right like buoys in the ocean. The moon sank super low in the sky like it wanted to illuminate the chaos I'd created.

Bright white light flashed in the sky and then lowered toward the ground. My blue flames rushed to the ball of light like it was a vacuum until they were gone entirely, then the white ball shot into the sky and vanished.

My body was burning and twitching. My muscles convulsed. I gripped the ground, but my vision was tunneling and turning dark. My chest was too tight. There was too much pressure on it.

" Breathe, Francelina, " a deep male voice growled.

My knees slammed into the ground. I coughed and choked. The ground rumbled beneath me and the air pulsed.

" brEATHE, FRANCELINA! "

I gasped and flipped onto my back, my legs twitching like a fish out of water. Air rushed into my lungs. That was Everest's voice. The one I always heard in my mind, in my dreams. I didn't understand why or if it was even really him talking to me. It could've just been my subconscious mind taking on that voice. Either way, it was only the sound of his voice that made me realize I had been holding my breath. For a few moments I just lay there breathing in and out.

Tennessee leaned into my line of vision with a lopsided smile. "You dead?"

"Uh huh." I coughed, then went back to breathing.

Tegan appeared beside him, looking down at me. "Those pink symbols above our heads, were those potions we need?"

I nodded.

"Do you know what the symbols mean?"

I shook my head.

"Figured. Okay, well, I magically drew them in the Book of Shadows when you're ready for them."

"Thanks." I blinked a few times, then realized I still saw pink flames in my peripheral vision. I gestured around us. "Do you see those too?"

"We all do." Tenn nodded. "I'm gonna help you up, ‘kay?"

I tried to lift my hand for him to grab when suddenly my body just sat up on its own. Tenn nodded. Tegan crouched down in front of me. I glanced around to the others and let out a huge sigh of relief when I found them all unharmed. Pink flames still danced along the ground, so I held my hands out and wiggled my fingers and they shot right to me, disappearing from sight.

"I haven't seen the pink since Avolire."

"Yeah, that's me." Tegan shrugged. "I put a spell on you to try and contain your magic as much as possible since we'd dropped you in with civilians."

"It did sneak out a few times." Tenn chuckled. "But I was prepared to handle it."

"Is that what happened to your fence?"

He grinned. "I really can't be trusted with a wand."

"Noted." I laughed and scrubbed my face. "Okay, is that it? Is it over? Am I initiated?"

"You're all done. Ripe and ready to go?—"

"Don't, Easton." Lily covered his mouth with her hand.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"I'll let you know tomorrow," Willow groaned and climbed to her feet. "Drowned by neon fire waves is a new one."

"It was the symbols for me." Chutney shuddered.

Tenn stood up and gestured behind me. "All right, everyone. Let's give Frankie a minute to breathe. Go on in and get out of your whites so we can let Emersyn's chicken destroy us properly."

Everyone laughed.

"Welcome to The Coven, cousin." Tenn winked to me, then walked away.

Tegan squeezed my shoulder. "Just take some deep breaths. Let the crazies get in the house first. Adjust to the new sensations for a minute, then we'll go in."

It was weird to suddenly feel everything around me. Without looking I could pinpoint where each of them were just by sensing their auras. Jackson's warning made a lot more sense now. It was kind of like being able to see lights through my closed eyes. It was fascinating. I found myself really focusing on them. I wanted to learn what my Coven-mates felt like so I'd always be able to identify them without my eyes. But as all of their auras blinked out as they went inside, my thoughts went to one thing and one thing only.

Everest.

Breathe, Francelina. That was what he'd said. His voice was unmistakable. It would likely haunt me the rest of my life. I didn't know if he was somehow telepathically communicating with me or if it was a figment of my imagination—and I didn't know which of those options scared me more. From the moment I laid eyes on him in Tampa, my heart had run away with me. It had confused the hell out of me to feel so strongly for a perfect stranger.

But he wasn't much of a perfect stranger in reality. Not after those days and nights in Avolire. I reached up and pressed my fingers to my throat, remembering the collar he'd made me wear to play the part of his pet. Or the night he'd bitten me in front of everyone and those black lines showed up on my skin. My eyes had turned as pink as my hair.

"What's happening in that head of yours?"

I jumped at the sound of Tegan's voice. "The wrong things."

Tegan sat down beside me and nodded. "Everest is not the wrong thing."

I groaned. "How'd you know?"

Tegan smiled. "I was there, Frankie. In Avolire. I saw you two."

I shook my head.

Tegan's face turned serious as she stared at the same nothing I had been. "I also saw him that day in the hospital when you woke up in the middle of the night and I saved you. And again when you went for your first walkabout and he talked to you."

I gasped. "I knew you saw him. I knew I wasn't crazy."

Tegan looked to me and the sharpness in her eyes sent a chill down her spine. It was like I could see her brain working, trying to figure something out. She licked her lips and looked away from me. "For reasons I have not yet figured out, but I'm working on, you mean something to Everest."

"How lucky for me," I grumbled.

"I think so, actually." Her voice was soft, which I suspected wasn't her normal. "You know all those dreams you've had that were terrifying? Everest pulled you out of them. That night you were lured to the park by Asmodeus? Everest saved us. I was not ready to battle Lilith myself, and we would not have survived that night without him. We wouldn't have gotten out of Avolire without Everest. I know he's behaving in a confusing as fuck way, and we have so many questions for him, but he is on our side. He saved us when we were nearly trapped and almost killed by Sweyn in October. He saved a lot of us by killing demons on Samhain in Salem with us. He even once saved Saffie when she accidentally wound up in Avolire."

"I just don't understand."

"Honestly, I don't either fully. But that man is old. He might even be the same age as Sweyn—and that's one of my first questions I have for him." She smirked. "But I know he was in the last war with Lilith. There are stories in the Book of Shadows about a strange vampire with blue and white eyes saving arcana from demons. He's been lurking in the shadows of our world for centuries, never coming out unless Sweyn sends him out because he hasn't wanted to risk revealing his allegiance . . . and yet . . ."

"And yet what?"

She looked at me. "And yet he's risked everything he's worked for . . . for you . . . Repeatedly ."

Tears filled my eyes.

"When those vampires attacked you tonight, you saw that black smoke hit them, right?" Tegan narrowed her eyes on me. When I nodded, she nodded. "That was Everest. I don't know where he was, but he was watching you. "