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Chapter Seven
Rowan
A knocking sound wakes me. It’s completely dark out, the three-quarters waxing moon like a chunk of quartz in the sky outside my windows. Silky covers shift against my skin, and I feel warm fur and the rumble of purring against my cheek.
“I see the cats have given their approval,” Ven says.
I sit up slowly, blinking, and turn on the lamp at the bedside table. “Wow. I must have slept for hours.”
“You no doubt needed it,” Ven says. She looks around the room. “Apparently the cats aren’t the only ones who approve.”
“What do you mean?”
“That bed wasn’t there before,” she says.
My brow furrows as I stare at Ven from across the room. I have literally no idea what she’s talking about. “Not following.”
“The bed you’re sleeping on did not exist before today. The house clearly approves of you.” She says it slowly, as if speaking to a child.
“You’re saying the house is…sentient?” This conversation is so weird, I feel like I must still be dreaming. But then, my entire life feels like that these days.
Ven shrugs. “In a manner of speaking. I don’t question magic. It’s not the first time something has materialized or vanished from the house. It’s a somewhat regular happening.”
I don’t think Ven has any idea how many times she’s blown my mind in the last twenty-four hours. “Um, okay,” is all I can manage.
“Did the cats tell you their names?” she asks.
“Well, I didn’t ask,” I say wryly. I scratch one of the cats behind the ears, and another climbs into my lap quite insistently, determined not to be left out.
Ven points at them in turn. “The one with the green eyes is Circe, purple eyes is Minerva, and yellow eyes is Catticus Finch.”
As she mentions each one, they let out a meow, and I can’t help but laugh. “Nice to be officially acquainted.”
“We’ve got a little bit of time before the Society gathering,” Ven says. “Want some dinner? I was thinking of making lasagna.”
“Sure, I’ll help.”
We spend the next couple of hours cooking and polishing off a bottle of Pinot Noir. I learn more about Ven and her life before she moved to Raven’s Roost. All the different places she’s lived, all the guys she’s dated. I in turn share the tale of the rise and fall of my marriage. By the time we’re ready to head to the gathering, I feel like Ven is a good friend.
At five to eleven, we pull into Maria’s driveway. It’s deep in the woods on the other side of town, as secluded as Raven Manor. There are already at least a dozen vehicles there. Anxiety bubbles in my stomach.
“Ven, can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” she says, looking at me with her wide purple eyes.
“Do all of these witches know that Sybil wanted me to take a place in the Raven Society?”
Ven blinks. “Well, I mean, I don’t know that Sybil and Maria told the others, but there’s been a Stonecroft woman in the Society since… well, since always.”
“A Stonecroft witch,” I say softly. “Which I am not.”
“I know this is all new to you,” Ven says with an encouraging smile. “I won’t leave your side all night, I promise.”
I nod and we get out of the car. But as we approach Maria’s house, Ven’s words do little to comfort me. I’m about to be in the midst of dozens of witches who are all expecting me to step into my aunt’s shoes. Something I’m fairly confident I can’t do. I’m not even sure I want to, even if that’s what Sybil wanted. I’m hardly qualified and I’d just be letting everyone down. Not to mention my job, my life…I can’t drop everything to jet around on a broomstick, can I?
We don’t go into the house, but around the back of it. There’s a large clearing in between the tall spruce and sycamore trees. The witches are gathered there, standing in a big circle, each holding a candle. They’re wearing long cloaks like Ven and I. As we approach, I grab a handful of the thick velvet to calm my nerves. The moon hangs bright overhead.
Ven and I join the circle, and I can feel eyes on me. Many eyes. My heart pounds in my chest. It occurs to me that two hundred years ago, a gathering like this would mean our imprisonment. Women congregating without men? Thinking for themselves? That’s what had been supposedly dangerous. Not the magic.
