Destined (War of the Covens 2)

The Traveler had gone as pale as she felt, but he nodded determinedly. He turned to Laila, cupping her face in his hands. “I’ll be right back for you, I promise.”

Laila smiled sweetly at him and reached up to press a kiss on his lips. “I’m proud of you,” she whispered back.

Caia held her hand out to him. He reluctantly let go of his girlfriend and strode toward Caia, enfolding his cool hand in hers.

“Good luck, Cy,” Jaeden offered.

She nodded and squeezed Vil’s hand. “Ready, partner.”

“Alfred Doukas?”

“The very one.”

Vil blew out his breath between his lips, readying himself. “Okay—”

“Wait!” Lucien called. He looked ready to bust someone apart. “You better get back here pronto or I will kill you.”

She grinned at him, trying to appear confident. “I love you too.”

His face, along with the rest of the room, suddenly streamed past her in a blur of color and movement. Her stomach plummeted, and she felt as if she had no control over her body. The only thing she could feel was the tight grip of Vil’s hand. And then it stopped just as abruptly as it had begun, and she found herself losing balance and falling into Vil’s arms.

“Are you okay?” he asked frantically.

She shook her head, trying to clear it, and clambered to straighten herself. When she did, she heard gasps and spluttering from behind them. Vil tensed, and Caia turned in his arms to face Alfred Doukas and who she imagined must be his family. He sat at the head of a grand dining table, men, women, and children sitting around it with him, eating dinner.

She barely registered the room’s expensive but old-fashioned décor because Alfred Doukas was gaping at her like a fish out of water.

“What … who …” A plump woman at the opposite end of the table threw down her napkin, glaring at Caia and Vil as if they were vagabonds.

“Mr. Doukas.” Caia rushed forward, and he pushed away from the table, his face creased with concern.

“Miss Ribeiro … what on Gaia’s earth …?”

“Please, Mr. Doukas, I must speak with you alone.”

Seeming to understand the urgency, he assured his family everything was all right, and led Caia out of the dining room and down a dark wood-paneled hallway to his study. He turned on her as Vil shut the door behind them.

“What is going on?”

Here goes nothing.

“Mr. Doukas, I need you to call an emergency meeting of the Council. Now.”

He paled. “Why?”

“Because I mean to ask them for the right to run against Marita for Head of the Coven.”

He stumbled back, his hand going to his forehead, his eyes disbelieving. “You can’t be serious.”

Please believe me, please.

“I am quite serious. I believe that Marita is no longer the right person for the job. Please, I’ll explain everything … to all of you.”

“Her family have been coven Heads for four generations. They are the Heads because her great-grandmother uncovered the treacherousness of the previous Head. You will have a hard time convincing the Council that someone of her illustrious family name isn’t cut out for the job.”

“This is extremely important. I have evidence to prove Marita has betrayed her duty to protect Daylights. Please, I will explain …”

He stared at her sternly for what seemed like forever and then nodded. “Fine. It best be now before Marita catches wind of it.”

Shrugging up the sleeve of his jacket, Alfred pressed one of the tiny buttons on his watch, and it made a beeping noise. He looked up to find Caia and Vil gazing at him quizzically. “The watch was made in magik. All the Council members have one. When one of us wishes to meet, we press this button and the others’ watches beep to signal the request.”

Caia was impressed. “The CIA would love that.”

Alfred chuckled nervously. “Yes, well, they have their own gadgets.”

Before Caia could reply, the room began to fill with magiks she’d never met before. Penelope appeared beside Alfred, and she smiled at Caia in acknowledgment. The others glared and frowned at her and Vil.

“What is the meaning of this?” One tall, elegant male magik strode past her to Alfred.

“Is this everyone?” Alfred searched the room. There were nine of them, including Alfred and Penelope. “Very well, ladies and gentlemen. I’ve called you here per the request of this young lady.” He gestured to Caia. She felt their attention on her like burning coals under her feet. She hopped back to distance herself from them. The power emanating from them all together was unlike anything she’d ever encountered. These people were strong and old. And they meant business. The nine of them filed into a line in front of Alfred’s desk.

“Is this who I think it is?” a waifish female asked, her sharp gaze drinking Caia in with fascination.

“This is Caia Ribeiro, yes.”

A murmur rippled through them like one. It was quite disconcerting.