Hiding from the Coven (Daughters of the Warlock 2)

I trudged to the bathroom to check out my new acquirement in the mirror above the sink. The lingering scent of black tea filled my nostrils and made me wrinkle my nose. I wasn’t a fan of black tea. Not like Courtney was.

I looked in the mirror and my eyes went wide.

“Cool!” I stared at my reflection. A large tattoo wrapped around my belly button. It looked like a strangely ancient sun, pointing out in all directions, with fiery reds and oranges blasting from its center. It was prominent enough to notice, but it wasn’t tacky.

“Very cool,” I said as I flicked on the shower and took a sniff of myself once more. “Oh... yep, definitely need a shower.”

I must have been sweating all night because I stunk.

I stepped beneath the water and let the spray wash over my hair, my face, and down my body. The water at my feet turned brown, so I knew I had accumulated some dirt from my last shower until now. I wondered if the water would affect the tattoo in a negative way, but Bella seemed to approve of the shower. I was sure she would have said something if it wasn’t safe for me to do so.

A tingle quivered through me that I couldn’t quite decipher. Something new, something foreign.

Something different.

I couldn’t be sure if it was a good different or not.

There was a sort of strength inside me, like a lightning bolt straight to my core.

Was the spell Bella had worked, some sort of Fae magic? Because that was how I envisioned their magic to be. Wound around the earth, the trees, the energy of this world and the next. Like I was one with nature, with spirit, with my physical body all at the same time.

By the time I’d washed, dried, and dressed in clean clothes, I was buzzing with energy. I practically skipped out of the bathroom. It was like my body was reeling from untampered, pure joy.

Bella hadn’t said that feeling invincible was a side effect of the spell. I hoped to never be rid of it I had never experienced this before, and I didn’t want it to end.

I walked out my door, stepped up to Courtney’s door, and knocked. “Hey Court,” I all but sang. I bounced between feet, like there was some song stick in my head that I couldn’t help but dance to. “You in there?”

“Yeah, just dressing,” she called.

A pause.

I tried to determine if she was having that same sensation but couldn’t tell just yet.

“Come on in,” she said.

I took a moment, and then pushed the door open as Courtney tugged on a pair of boots over her leggings and funky top. She always had the best fashion sense between the three of us.

I would never say that out loud, of course. I didn’t want to add to her inflated ego.

A grin spread over my face as I looked her over, trying to figure out where on her body the tattoo decided to show up. “So, where’s yours?”

Her grin was as big as mine as she pulled up her top. “Same place as yours, I think.”

She flashed me her bellybutton and I dropped my gaze to check it out. Her tattoo was similar to mine

, but smaller and with more orange than red. It flickered with magic in a different way. Did that mean anything? Perhaps the protection was different based on the person.

“That is very cool!” I said and then lifted my top. “Here’s mine.”

Courtney gasped. “Now that is hot!” she said, then wiggled her eyebrows. “I wonder what Tavlor’s going to say when he sees it.”

I laughed. “Oh, my goodness, I don’t even know.” My face turned red. “Anyway, you were right about it being hot.” I crossed my arms over my stomach. “Felt like my insides were on fire!”

Courtney groaned, swiping at some hair in her face. “I know! I almost chickened out after I saw you go through with it, but I knew I had to. If you could do it, and you were willing to be first for my sake—don’t deny it, Ava, I know you too well—then I could do it too. So, I just marched quickly to my room and made Bella do me too. Don’t remember much after that though.” She shrugged. “I think I passed out pretty quickly.”

I put a hand on my hip. “I don’t think it’s a sign of weakness or anything,” I said. “From the testing done on me, they said my magic is pretty powerful, and I passed out. And I’ve always thought you were at least as powerful as I was, so maybe it’s a reflection of that strength? Our own power interweaving with the spell?”

I wasn’t true if that was true, but it made sense.