Page 80 of Magic's Rise

Kaela gently lays her spell book down. “When my mother was in the coven, there was a fire that almost destroyed our grimoires. Elana convinced everyone that they should store our sacred books in her heavily warded greenhouse, which is protected against flame. It was supposed to be temporary, but Elana never gave them back.”

Mina’s hands clench into fists. “She makes us beg every time we want to use them, claiming we’re too young for what the books contain.”

Anger sparks in Aspen’s icy-blue eyes. “While a coven leader’s job is to guide younger members and ensure they don’t harm themselves with magic, stealing another witch’s grimoire breaks several rules.”

His hand tightens on his stick-cane. “Part of a family’s power lies in their grimoire. Losing that knowledge base damages the foundation of your lineage.”

Mina’s gaze drops, her shoulders drooping in defeat. “Unless we want to leave Silver Hollow, we don’t really have a choice. This is our home, and Elana makes the rules.”

“Not have a choice?” Aspen’s brow wrinkles in confusion. “Haven’t you ever been to an enclave?”

“What’s an enclave?” Mina and Kaela share blank looks.

His frown deepens. “They’re gatherings where young witches can find covens, and covens with small numbers can welcome new members. They change locations every year to be inclusive, but there have been several within driving distance from here in the past few years.”

Kaela shakes her head. “No, we didn’t know that was an option.”

Mina flushes. “Elana has been pushing for us to hurry and have children, so our coven doesn’t die out completely.”

I pound a fist against the table because I can’t punch Elana. “What happens in your wombs is no one’s business but your own. Don’t be bullied into babies.”

Wide eyes jump to me.

“Rowe is passionate about this topic.” Tris covers my ears. “Haut tried to breed her the first day they met.”

Those wide eyes shift to my mate, who smirks. “If I remember right, she jumped me.”

I glare at him. “There were magic mating urges pushing for it that I was not aware of, but you were.”

“Oh, is that brisket I smell?” Haut makes a show of sniffing the air. “I think I’ll go see if I can lend a hand.”

“Coward!” I yell after him as he disappears back outside.

“I actually need to head out, too.” Levi motions toward the open door. “I promised to help arrange the tables.”

“Before you go,” Mina says, turning to Levi with a hopeful smile. “Would it be okay for us to leave our grimoires here and come back to create copies of our spells? That way, Elana can have a record of our family spells, and we can keep our family books at home, where they belong.”

“Of course,” Levi agrees amiably. “It would be nice to have more non-wolf visitors to the compound.”

“Awesome!” Mina claps with excitement. “Can I help with the preparations for the party, then? I’d love to get to know more of the pack.”

“The more, the merrier.”

Kaela tags along, both women looking excited as Levi leads them outside to introduce them around.

“Aris,” Aspen says before she can follow her friends. “Could you please mark the pages in your grimoire that hold the locking spells and their counter-spells?”

“Sure thing.” Aris sets her books down and grabs the top one, flipping through the ancient pages with care.

I drop the locked Rothaven grimoire onto the table, and with nothing else to do, Tris and I decide to explore the meeting hall.

We find a staircase leading up to the second story, which turns out to be an open space with a few comfy chairs scattered about.

Spotting another stairway leading up, I eagerly run up the stairs and push up the hatch.

“Wow,” I breathe, taking in the view from the turret.

The entire compound stretches out before me, and the roofs of Silver Hollow peek through the trees. Turning, I face the cold wind so that my hair blows behind me and look toward the road that leads out of town.

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