Page 333 of Sigils & Spells

“So, where is the battleground?” Enid asked, and I bit my lip.

“Upstate New York. You ready?”

I did not bother waiting for their replies. Fact was, we were about to embark on a journey I’d been waiting for my whole life. I’d been denying my magic for years just for this moment. Even now, it sparked and burned beneath my skin.

“Holy shit, Tana,” Jade said, pointing as we exited the building and started toward the Winter Forest.

“What?” I asked, turning to face Jade, but she was just pointing at me, open-mouthed.

The others stopped in their progression, eyes wide. Rio gasped and grabbed Enid’s hand with one of hers, covering her mouth with the other. Maia grinned like the feisty air witch she’d become. Enok nodded approvingly. Magnus cocked his head to the side.

“Look,” Jade said, holding her phone with the camera app open as if I was going to take a selfie.

I stared at my reflection. Gone was the washed out, dull hair and pale face I’d been walking around with for months now. I hardly recognized the girl looking back at me. Fiery red mane blowing in the breeze, emerald eyes glittering like green flames—hell, even my skin seemed to glow all healthy and vibrant.

“Uh, okay then,” I mumbled, handing her back the phone.

Everbloom trees stood barren, twisted and gnarled versions of themselves, locked away in a perpetual state of hibernation, along the path. I never thought of how cruel that was, to stop a thing from growing and reaching its potential. The frost sprites and ice makers were not evil, their love of snow and ice and the cold was absolute. They worked hard to keep this part of the woods in a constant state of slumber.

Kind of like how I worked hard to not waste a single drop of my powers before now. But I was different now. Something had changed inside of me with my admission of my feelings for Brandon, and my acceptance of the fact that, yes, I, Tana McKenna, fire witch, had friends. Real friends who were more like family to me, more like my coven, than any Incendo Coven hopeful I had ever met at Westwood.

Ready or not.

I was coming, and the bastards who hurt my family better run.

CHAPTER11

“The Council of Covenswould like us to believe all magical teleportation is highly secure, watched on all channels, but that’s a gross exaggeration,” Enok explained as we allowed him to take the lead.

It was a forty-five minute walk through the Winter Forest to the east side of Brin Lake. The path there was rugged, overgrown with trees and shrubs. No students ever came so deep into the woods, and I was past worrying we would be stopped. Seasons changed on campus every couple of yards or so, and we were back into springtime, with budding trees and patches of bright green grass.

“Is that true? That can’t be true!” Jade exclaimed, clearly scandalized.

“It is. As a mage, I’ve had to relearn magic from the ground up,” he explained. There are several methods used for portal creation. Just remember, you need to focus on where you want to wind up, or the possibilities are endless,” Enok said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out what looked suspiciously like a skeleton key.

Everyone stood around the key in a semicircle. My heart was pounding. This was it. Decision time.

“Look guys, none of you need to come with me. He’s my Da. This is my job—”

“I know you aren’t trying to brush us off,” Rio said, shaking her head.

“She’s right,” Maia seconded. “We are in this with you, Red.”

Once more, my heart squeezed. These fierce women were proving so much more than just friends. I could hardly believe they had my back, and I was not nearly strong enough to say no to their offers to help.

Not yet, anyway.

“Do we need to touch it?” Enid asked.

“That’s what she said,” Jade replied with a snort.

I looked up, noting the giggles and eye rolls with real joy. These people were my coven.

Fuck what the Council said.

Trusting in Enok’s skill, and in my friends, I waited for his instruction.

“Okay, since most of us don’t know where this battlefield is, I am going to perform a cast that will lead us there using the latitude and longitude of the location, and a binding spell to hold us together. Just repeat the last part after me when I give the signal,” he instructed.

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