AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know,” I reply with a slight shake of my head. “It kind of freaked me out, so I used the necklace to conjure a vision, hoping it would show me who sent the text.”
“You…what?” he breathes, the concern etched on his face morphing into one of fear.
“I’m fine,” I assure him, pressing my free hand to his cheek. “I pulled myself out of it the second things got dicey.”
He shakes his head. “What do you mean, dicey?”
Taking a deep breath, I describe the vision for him. The coven, their discussion, the mention of the prophecy. When I get to the part about the witch sensing my presence, his grip on my hand tightens significantly. Gently extracting my fingers, I hold both arms out.
“I’m fine, Jesse. I was able to exit the vision and wake up all on my own.”
“That’s great,” he says, the pride in the statement overshadowed by his concern. Then he freezes and tilts his head. “But if they sensed you there, that means your vision wasn’t a past event. It was happening as you were seeing it.”
“That’s what I assumed,” I say with a nod.
“I don’t like this.”
“I don’t either,” I say, then point at my phone, adding, “but someone else obviously knows about this and was trying to warn me.”
“But…who?”
“That’s the million dollar question,” I sigh. “I’ve been racking my brain for the last few hours, but I can’t come up with a single person who’d have cause and the ability to text me while hiding their number like that. My gut tells me magic is involved, but it could also be someone with tech abilities.”
“I’m inclined to trust your gut,” he says, his lips kicking up slightly at the corners. “It hasn’t steered us wrong, yet.”
“Me, too,” I say. “But if I’m right, and it is a witch, who is it? How do they know what this mystery coven is planning, and why are they trying to help me?”
“Just because the necklace showed you that coven meeting doesn’t mean that’s what the text is referring to,” he offers, playing devil’s advocate. “The two might not be connected, at all.”
“I considered that,” I say, “but I believe they are. I asked the necklace to show me who sent the text, and it showed me the coven instead. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
“Okay, so what do we do now?” he asks.
“I think it’s time I attend a witch council meeting. The group decided to give me a seat at the table as the last Grundelier witch, and if anyone knows the truth of this supposed prophecy, it would be the council.”
He nods in agreement despite the reservations I can see shining in his eyes, and I think I love him more than I did before, if that’s even possible. As much as he wants to shield me from the dangers of this world in which we exist, he won’t allow those protective instincts to smother me or negate my opinions or desires.
Taking my phone from him with a grateful smile, I call Steph.
“Hey, you,” she says as a greeting.
She sounds tired, and guilt worms through me for spilling my problems on her when she’s still grieving.
“Hey,” I say. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine. What’s wrong?” she asks, her tone turning sharp.
“Nothing. Really,” I start but she cuts me off.
“I can tell something is up, Eden. You don’t have to treat me with kid gloves. I can handle whatever it is. Lay it on me.”
I fill my lungs with air and blow it out slowly. She can read me too well, and isn’t this why I called in the first place?
“I got a text message warning me to be more careful, but no number was attached to it. It’s just…blank. And when I tried to reply, my message wouldn’t go through.”
“Seriously?” she asks. “That’s weird. And impossible, right?”
“It should be,” I say slowly, “unless magic is involved.”
