Treasured Secrets (The Coveted Saga 1)

"It'll be okay, Aria. We're all here for you." Then she offered me a menacing grin. "In fact, Jay and Gear are going with us today."

I groaned at the mere mention of my brothers joining us for any reason. Gear wasn't so bad, but Jay - though I loved him - enjoyed embarrassing the crap out of me every chance he got.

"Don't you guys have jobs or something? Lives, perhaps?"

She laughed while shaking her head, and then she moved behind me to start combing through my hair.

"We're all working for the family business, you know. It gives us some perks, meaning we get to ensure our youngest sister goes to school, has all she needs, and enjoys her limited days as an American teenager before she's a woman."

"It's boring here," I grumbled under my breath, making Ash shake her head in frustration.

"That's because you've been hulled up in your room for days on end."

"That's because there's nothing to do. Iris... I mean... Grandma refuses to let me go anywhere without one of you, and there's nothing but fences and pale flowers inside the gates. I swear she thinks we're royalty or something."

Ash chuckled, making me eye her with contempt.

"There's so much more here to do than in Haluali."

Not for me there wasn't. I missed my rainforest, and the sad autumn woods around here only grew in random patches that hadn't been overrun by inhabitants of the human variety. The leaves were gone, leaving all the limbs naked and shivering with each wind. It seemed so... wrong. I traded over my raving green beauty to live in a patchy nest of sickly woods.

"Have you read any of the stuff I brought you? About the town? The state? The frigging country?" she asked, her melodrama back in play.

I glanced at one of the books she had brought over. It was sitting on top of the vanity, forgotten, just as the rest.

"It's the same stuff I've already read... since you think like Mom," I teased, relishing the fury sparking in her eyes.

"Ha," she mumbled.

"The only thing that piqued my interest was the witches. Other than that, this place is too dull," I said after a spell of silence, trying to make her laugh.

Apparently this town was once a hotspot for witches, according to all the numerous urban legends. It's funny how wild a person's imagination can run. In the few days I'd been here, I had heard more stories of witchcraft than I thought possible. Everyone who came to visit my socialite grandparents had a story to tell. It's as though they believed it, caught up in the thrall of the fables meant for children.

Her eyebrow cocked up, and a smirk spread over her perky lips. "Oh don't worry. You'll see witches everywhere you go."

The drama in her tone made a giggle bubble out of me unbidden, and we both chuckled together.

By the end of the day, I was ready to knock Jay's teeth down his throat. He snickered as he put me back down after having carried me over his shoulder down the stairs of the mall. My face was red, partially because all the blood had rushed to my head, but mostly because I was so furious with the laughing beast of a brother.

"You're such a jerk," I grumbled as he wrapped

his arm around me.

"I've just missed you. Get over it."

I rolled my eyes as I leaned against him, slowly losing the urge to slap him upside the head. My eyes trailed left suddenly, and I saw something that made me stammer in my footing.

Jay chuckled as he steadied me, but I forgot my brother even existed. Dark hair, icy blue eyes, and a smile no one should possess were all attached to one perfect creature. My heart almost fluttered out of my chest.

What's wrong with me?

The unknown guy glided with effortless grace toward a tall, stocky guy, and the two of them leaned over a railing as they spoke. His red shirt, dark jeans, and too-perfect body all worked to create a masterpiece on a canvas.

"Aria! Hello!" Jay yelled obnoxiously, acting as if he had been trying to get my attention forever.

I actually jumped a little when the sound resonated, stealing me from my trance. He tilted his head, and then his eyes went back in the direction where my gaze had drifted. Fortunately, the unknown guy was already gone.

"Aria. Jay," Aster, my oldest sister, said as she joined us.