Page 89 of Hexes and Exes

Josephine untangles her long dress from Selene and stalks over to her mother. “You are the biggest liar of them all.”

Francesca stumbles away, her hands held up in defense. Ice coats her fingers and water freezes in the air, making it glitter. She might have exceptional control over water, but all it would take is one simple touch from anyone and the old witch would be twitching with pain. The repercussion of her messing with the curse.

Roman rounds on Tucker. He takes Piper from her uncle, who only reluctantly releases her. Ava moans in my arms, snapping my attention back to her. She opens her eyes, tears clinging to her lashes.

“What happened?” Her voice is raspy.

I help her to stand, keeping her wrapped in my arms. Odie peels Stellan’s hand off her mouth and signs that she’s okay. The rest of our friends are not okay.

“We need to get upfront. Can you walk?” I look down at Ava. She rolls her shoulders and shakes out her arms. Well, as much as she can with me still holding her so tight.

“I’m fine.” With that, we take off toward the front of the ballroom, Odie and Stellan hot on our heels

“Traitors,” Ava‘s father snarls the second he lays eyes on her. He doesn’t even spare a glance at his son. He lifts his handand points to her, like this is Salem and he’s accusing her of witchcraft. Which is ironic because, hello, we’re all witches.

“You, all of you.” His accusing finger sweeps over to Josephine and Roman, lingering on Piper and then coming back around to me and Ava. “You will be the ruination of this coven.”

“How? How are we ruining this coven? We aren’t the ones keeping secrets.” Ava’s voice rings out loud and clear. The crowd around is still fighting, brawling without giving attention to the council or us. I keep Ava’s body in front of me, protecting her back from the action behind us.

“You know how.”

“No, Dad. I really don’t.” Her voice drips with disdain. “Is it that the coven council has been lying to us for years? Or that the Briar Witch’s curse was never what you told us it was.”

“Liar,” Ivan screams down at us from the stage.

Ava tips her chin up, steely determination in her eyes. “No. You are the liars. Our curses could’ve ended with the first who were hexed. Generation after generation passed along this cruelty. Your love for yourself and for power was more important than keeping these terrible afflictions from your children. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.”

“As if they care.” Ivan waves his hand over the crowd. They’re lost to their own violence. “Your curses don’t affect them. All they want is a strong and powerful coven. And we own them.”

Those words get their attention. The fighting slows. Murmurs drift from the crowd. People are whispering behind their hands, heads close together as they watch the stage.

“You believe your place of authority will save you from the judgment of others. The fact that the council is corrupt has never been a secret. But it was one we never talked about. You just brought the betrayal into the light.” With each statement, Ava stands straighter.

“No one cares what you say,” Ivan snarls. “These people won’t even remember you in the morning. Even if you weren’t cursed, you’re forgettable. Barely enough power to hold the Vandenberg name.”

That’s it. I jump up on the stage and grab Ivan by his collar and toss him down below. He falls to his knees in front of Ava. I jump down after him and wrap my fist in his tie. His face is partially hidden behind his mask. I rip it off his face. The world needs to see what a piece of shit this man is.

He’s trying to push emotions onto me. Forcing me to feel fear and uncertainty. With Ava next to me, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. I let my shadows unfurl, slinking out like tentacles to wrap around Ivan’s arms, his stomach, his throat. And I pull his magic from him. Sucking it down, like a vampire hungry for revenge.

“Ava is worth more than the entire coven council put together,” I roar, feeling like the words are shaking the very ground beneath me. I keep sucking Ivan’s magic as he claws at my shadows. “Somehow, in a true feat of magic, she managed to grow up into an incredible, caring, and beautiful individual. Despite the poison you spewed at her for years, she knows exactly who she is. You belittled her.” My eyes drift over to my father, who’s sitting up on the stage, shaking off Roman’s punch. He’s watching this all unfold with a look of disgust on his face. “You’re all so deep in this foul shit, that you can’t even smell how disgusting you are. This council believes they are so far above every other witch in this coven that they’re untouchable. You’ve controlled the narrative for so long that you thought your actions didn't have consequences. Congratulations. You fucked around and now it’s time to find out.”

Francesca saunters to the edge of the stage. “All of you are a disappointment to the founding families of Mystic Hollows. What have we done to produce such weak offspring.”

My shadows snap out and wrap around her. She cries out as her magic is sucked out of her like water down a drain.

“No,” she gasps, falling to her knees.

I turn to face the rest of the coven that’s watching the ruin of their council with various levels of surprise on their faces.

“These leaders just tried to do a ritual, which transfers the Briar Witch’s curses to the next generation. But that spell has already backfired once.” I point to Francesca, who’s struggling against my shadows. “They don’t give a damn about how this could have blown up. There’s a very real possibility they could have cursed everyone in this room.”

“What was that spell?” someone shouts from the crowd.

“What did you just try to do to us?” another person calls out. The crowd grows louder by the second. Magic sparks. The draped cloth over our heads sways ominously. The flowers on the vine shrivel, turning into ash before disintegrating and being swept up in the violent wind whipping around the room.

There are a lot of pissed-off witches in this ballroom. Selene is still passed out. Philip Masters and Peter Lexington are slinking off stage like a pair of cowards.

Ava lays a hand on my arm. “Let them go. It’s not your job to punish them.” Her father is on the ground, curled up and whimpering. Francesca is shaking, but her lips are pressed tightly together as though to hold back a scream.

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