AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Harper’s shoulders slump, and she reluctantly settles back into her chair, her lips pressed together with unhappiness.
She shouldn’t get in trouble for being nice, but before I can voice my opinion, Aspen catches sight of the grimoire I’m using.
His eyes narrow with disappointment. “Let me see your grimoire, Rowe.”
Shoulders hunching, I reluctantly hand it over.
He flips through the pages and then looks at me with a mixture of annoyance and anger. “These notes are severely lacking. How do you expect to make your first magic tool if you didn’t even pay attention during the demonstration?”
My throat tightens, and I fight back tears. I’ve been trying so hard, doing everything he wants me to do, yet I keep falling short.
He flips back to my title page, filled with my drawings and notes from my guys, and scowls. “How am I to teach you when you treat magic like a joke?” He gestures at the puffy-paint-adorned bucket sitting on our table. “You call this a magical tool?”
Delilah’s voice trembles as she speaks up, her blue-green eyes filled with emotion. “That’s a special bucket, Aspen. It’s important.”
His lip curls. “It has no place in witchcraft.”
My fists clench. “It’s important and powerful.”
“It’s a childish joke.” His gaze sweeps over me. “Everything about you is a childish joke. Just look at what you’re wearing.”
I reach up to touch the hood on my sweatshirt with the bunny ears. Haut had washed it so I could wear it again this week. It’s the same sweatshirt that Mel spelled to be bulletproof, and I wore it today because I needed the extra armor. “This is also a powerful magic tool.”
“And your shoes?” he sneers. “Are those magical, too?”
The sun dims as the dark clouds that had been hovering on the horizon sweep over the garden.
Angry tears sting my eyes, and I tuck my unicorn sneakers under my chair. They were a gift from Ros, and I wore them today because I was wearing them when we found Delilah and the others, which makes them lucky. I need all the help I can get, and I won’t let Aspen make me feel bad for wearing them.
“You’re out of line, Aspen,” Tris snarls, appearing at Aspen’s side. “What Rowe wears has nothing to do with her magic.”
“Of course, it does!” Aspen flings out a hand toward me. “How can she take her craft seriously when she doesn’t even take herself seriously?”
Behind him, I see Mel’s face pale, and she self-consciously straightens her blouse.
My hand tightens on the wand I hold, my body trembling.
Tris’s expression hardens. “You are dangerously close to digging yourself a grave down at the sheriff’s office.”
Aspen’s head snaps back. “Did you just threaten me?”
The trembling increases, anger surging through me. Overhead, the clouds rumble, and the first fat drop of rain lands on the table.
Worried murmurs go through the coven as faces lift to the sky, and people begin stowing away their ingredients.
Mel pushes between Aspen and Tris. “Aspen, let’s not make a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be. We’re here to learn and grow together.”
“No, we’re here to teach, something you’re clearly incapable of doing yourself,” Aspen snaps, his tone cold.
Hurt flashes across Mel’s face, and tears shimmer in her eyes.
Anger pulses through me, and I stand from my table. “Shut up, Aspen.”
Either he doesn’t hear me, or he ignores me as his focus remains on Mel. “These witches will never pass their first circle test if they can’t learn to do the most basic of magic on their own. You’re not strict enough, which is the real reason your mothers brought me in. Not for Rowe. They knew that you weren’t ready.”
“Shut up!” I shout, my voice cracking through the air.
Aspen’s tirade cuts off, and his mouth gapes in shock as he turns toward me.
