The Coven Awakens (Hollow Hill Academy #1)

7. Audrey

Chapter 7

Audrey

T he boys were all in their beds when I got back to my room late that night. Or maybe they were just hiding. It was after midnight, and I wasn’t in the mood to talk to any of them. I was exhausted. Tatiana had kept me talking for hours. It felt like there was now so much knowledge in my head it was going to burst, but I listened to everything she said. She even managed to talk me out of running away again. I had been planning on coming back to my room and packing my things. I would brave the forest if it meant being away from this disaster. But every time I brought it up, she gave a different reason for me to stay, and each one made more sense than the one before. It was incredibly frustrating how well reasoned her arguments had been, and I hadn’t been able to keep fighting.

I’d tried asking her about what Henri said about my parents, but it was hard to bring them up. A lump formed in my throat each time I thought about them, and I couldn’t get the words out. I didn’t want to cry in front of her. I didn’t want sympathy—to have to put on a brave face. There had been little time to think about them, and about what had happened. I wanted to call my mother, to hear her tell me everything would be okay. How I could come home now, and this had all been some sort of elaborate prank.

I woke up early the next morning but didn’t get out of bed.

The sky outside was gray. Like it had been the day before.

I was used to dreary English weather, but I craved sunlight. The warmth of it on my skin, the feeling of something to look forward to. As I lay in bed, rain beat against the glass, and I pulled a blanket over my head. I knew I couldn’t stay in bed all day. There were classes, and I promised Tatiana I would attend. I wasn’t sure why I’d promised her, or why it meant so much to me, but I knew I needed to go. But I didn’t want to talk to the boys yet. There was a knock on my door, but I ignored it, hoping they would think either I hadn’t come back the night before, or I’d already left. Once there was silence, I quickly got dressed and headed to my first class.

Tatiana helped me pick my classes the day before, and by that, I meant she made suggestions, and I went along with them. How was I supposed to know what to study? Healing magic sounded like a good idea in case something like falling from the roof ever happened again. Though I healed myself, I wasn’t sure how I did it. She also recommended shapeshifting, general history, a class about plants and their uses, compulsory first year combat class, and one on the power of words and names. I wasn’t sure how any of those were supposed to help me, but if shapeshifting helped me turn into a bird again, I could get away if anyone tried to bother me. It was the first class of the morning, and it was held outside, which made sense. I didn’t know what types of creatures that people could turn into, but outside seemed like the right sort of place to do it.

After I’d made so much effort to avoid the boys, I had to bite back my groan when I joined the gathered students and saw Ewan. Of course, he was in this class. Things were going a little too well for me this morning, especially considering the week so far.

Ewan tried to talk to me a few times, but he was easy enough to brush off. Ignoring him worked best. He got quickly frustrated, or the teacher separated us. I wasn’t sure why he wasn’t getting the message—I wasn’t interested in anything he had to say.

The teacher spent a lot of time working with me one on one. Around me, I could see other students change form as easily as they breathed. It helped reinforce not only was this real, but I was far behind my classmates. My frustration grew, and I left the class determined not to go back. Clearly, it wasn’t a natural talent of mine. Maybe someone turned me into an owl during my Showing, wanting to help me flee the disaster.

My afternoon classes weren’t much better. I couldn’t imagine how I would get through the rest of the year if it was to continue like this. Even with the crash course Tatiana and Henri gave me in Scion life and witchcraft, I was hopelessly out of my depth. As soon as classes were finished, I made my way to Tatiana’s office. There must be an alternative to being here, as I did not want to spend the entire year feeling like an idiot. Surely my great-grandmother would believe I didn’t belong here if the staff told her it was so.

Tatiana looked surprised to see me as I walked into her office without knocking. “Audrey. How was your first day of classes?” She was in another gemstone-laden dress, this one designed in hues of red and gold, which made her look like she was on fire as the light played over it.

“I can’t do this. Please, let me leave.” I didn’t enjoy sounding so weak, but it was the truth. If this kept going, I would end up having some sort of mental breakdown, then they’d have to ship me out anyway. It was better to just accept it now.

Standing from her desk, Tatiana came around and led me over to the couch. I sighed as I sat and let my bag hit the floor with a thud. It felt like the final nail in the coffin. She took my hands in hers and I stared at them, unwilling to meet her face.

“I know things are hard. There is so much change for you to adapt to, but you can do this.” Again, her words were like honey, thick and sweet. “Perhaps now you understand a little more of why we do things in covens. Witches aren’t meant to work alone. Even those who don’t like to practice with other witches seek out people and surround themselves. We need the energy of our coven to help us focus.”

My nose wrinkled at her reasons. Again, she spoke of all this coven nonsense; it didn’t matter if I had a coven. Besides, the boys didn’t want me. Caius had spoken the words to my face, Ewan chased me, and his lizard tried to set me on fire. Sure, Ewan wanted to talk to me today, but it might not have been to apologize. The sorry look on his face could have been a ruse to get me to trust him, so he could get close enough to threaten me to keep my mouth shut.

“Why can’t we find me a different coven? There must be a different group who would help a new student. I feel like I am drowning, and it has only been half a day. Plus, I am pretty sure Caius would happily hold my head under the water with no regrets.”

Tatiana shook her head, and I immediately felt admonished. “Don’t judge him so harshly. He is doing his best under trying circumstances. Caius has a lot of weight on his shoulders. His coven won the games last year. There is a lot of prestige in that, but also a lot of pressure. And now they are a member down since one of their number graduated and is faculty.”

I was curious why she didn’t mention Henri by name, maybe she didn’t want to give me a poor impression of him? Or maybe it wasn’t something openly talked about. Surely, any student who had been here last year would have to know, but I would not question her further.

“In answer to your question, though, it’s tricky. You may have noticed covens are different sizes?” She waited for me to nod before continuing. “That is because a coven is a delicate balance between number and power. Covens support each other, but they also share power. If you have stronger members, they can overpower the weaker ones. It’s why you get larger covens of Scions with less power. They can share more easily between themselves, making each member stronger if only one uses the power at a time.”

My nose wrinkled in thought at her explanation. It made no sense to me, but it wasn’t like anything else had so far.

“Caius and the rest of his coven have a lot of power. They are all divine Scions descended from very strong lineages. Because they possess so much power, they can support another member. Especially one as powerful as you have the potential to be. If a weaker member were to join, though, they would overwhelm them.”

I should have been ashamed of the way my eyes rolled, but I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t strong. The next minor inconvenience I faced was likely to cause me to fall apart. I understood nothing she tried to tell me, or any of the things I learned in any of my classes.

“Just do me a favor and talk to them, Audrey. Give them a chance. You might find you get along with them. Caius can be antagonistic, yes, but the other two are friendly and will make up for it.”

I completed the trio of disgusted expressions as I scoffed. I’d told her about Ewan chasing me. She’d replied it was probably an accident or misunderstanding and he would never hurt another student on purpose, but that clearly wasn’t true. As I tried to form an argument against her suggestion, I found myself unable to find any. Honestly, even my disagreement with Caius seemed petty. She was right, I should give them a chance.

“All right. But only because you suggested it.” She gave good advice, and I was glad she had been the one to meet me outside the school. I wasn’t sure the Head Witch would have been as helpful. She didn’t seem like the caring type, and she probably would have hexed me.

I picked up my bag, hefting it onto my shoulder. Tatiana was still seated, a small smile on her face. It was one of those smiles people wore when they were thinking about a secret. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what she thought, so I just left her with a nod.

The walk back to the apartment went surprisingly quick. I was so focused on getting here I hadn’t even gotten lost. I let myself in, surprised to find Soren seated on the couch watching the door, like he had been waiting for me. There was no sign of the other two. I sighed and rubbed my forehead as I closed the door behind me.

“They will be back soon. Come and sit. You need to drink this.” I looked over in shock, surprised to hear him speak. Sure, I hadn’t been around them much, but the few times I had been near Soren, I hadn’t heard him talk. He seemed to be the strong, silent type. Or it could have been that he’d been too busy shoveling food into his mouth.

Placing my bag beside the couch opposite his, I sat. I needed to convince the boys to let me join their coven, and maybe the quiet Viking would be a good place to start.

As soon as I sat, he pushed a mug toward me, as if I had kept him waiting. “All of it, in one go.” His tone was brusque and firm. I raised my eyebrow as I picked up the mug. While he had done nothing to make me think he was the type to poison or drug me, I still took a suspicious sniff of the mug. It smelled sweet but wasn’t something I recognized. I looked over the rim at Soren, but he just stared at me with impatience. He didn’t look nervous, and it didn’t look like this was some part of a maniacal plot to hurt me.

With a sigh, I downed the drink in one go.

I’d barely swallowed the sweet liquid when my hand spasmed. The empty cup fell to the carpet, though that wasn’t what mattered to me. What mattered was the pain in my head. It was like fire streaked through my mind, a sensation I was only familiar with because of the chase after my Showing. I could barely see Soren as he stood from his couch and came to sit beside me. His hand pressed between my shoulder-blades and forced my head between my legs.

“Just breathe, lilla gudinnan. It will be over in a moment. This is important, I promise.” His voice was steady, although not all the words made sense. Maybe it was because my brain was burning, and I was no longer capable of thought. I had been wrong about the poison, and I turned my head, glaring at him through my tears.

“I promise, lilla gudinnan. It will be over if you just breathe.” He kept talking like it somehow made this better. But the burning only got worse and even gritting my teeth was not enough to keep me from gripping my head and screaming. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see. And Soren telling me to breathe made me want to punch him in the dick. Clearly, he couldn’t be trusted. I knew Caius didn’t want me here, but this was a different level of extreme.

His hand rubbed circles on my back in an oddly comforting motion. I held my breath for as long as I could, but the burning in my lungs became as painful as the burning in my mind. I had to gulp a breath. As the air filled my lungs, some of the fire in both parts of my body faded. I drew in more air, and as oxygen raced around my body, it extinguished the fire rather than fanning it.

After what felt like hours—but was likely minutes—I was no longer in pain. My entire body shook and was still slumped over with Soren’s hand heavy on my back. Though I wanted to shrug him off, I was scared to move in case the pain came back. I turned away from him, looked at the floor and concentrated on simply breathing. In and out. If I focused on it enough, maybe he would leave me alone.

But of course, I wasn’t so lucky. Once my breathing evened out, he gripped my shoulder and eased me upright. I still refused to look at him, curling sideways and turning my back toward him.

“I know it hurt, lilla gudinnan, and I apologize. Caius warned me, but I still didn’t expect it to be so bad.”

His words made me flinch—Caius was responsible, after all. Well, he was going to get his wish, as there was no way I would stay here and let them poison me again. Though I held my tongue, not wanting to give Soren the satisfaction of knowing they’d beaten me.

“You need to do one more thing, then I’ll leave you alone for the night. I’m sure you’re exhausted after that.” His grip was firm on my shoulders as he turned me toward him. I struggled, but his hands held me in place. I inhaled to scream when he pressed a finger firmly to my lips.

“Think about your parents for me. About your childhood … Please.” The last word was earnest and pleading, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was to climb off this couch. But even as I struggled against his hold, my mind conjured up memories. Like when someone told you not to think about elephants, it was the only thing your mind could see.

I stilled as memories flooded forth, each one more vivid, like I was living it once again. My mother and I lay on my bed when I was much younger, as she told me stories about a place called Avalon and the women who lived there. Me playing in the garden, watching as the flowers grew around me in a rainbow of colors. The shock on my mother’s face when she cut her hand while she was cooking, and the wound sealed shut as I touched it. It was the last memory which brought tears to my eyes. Adults shouted in the other room, my mother pleading with someone, telling them I was too young, that it wasn’t certain yet. She said I needed time to grow and learn, but a voice replied it was time for me to leave. I knew that voice. It was the same one as in my hospital room—the voice who’d torn my life apart.

The memory skipped a little; we were now driving in the middle of the night, and I didn’t know where we were going. My mother looked behind her the whole time. Finally, the sound and motion of the car lulled me to sleep, and then a fog had filled my dreams, and everything faded away.

Tears wet my cheeks when I opened my eyes. Looking at Soren, I saw the regret on his face, and another cup cradled in his hands. “This one is only water, I promise.” He gave a lot of promises. I still took the cup in my shaking hands, though I didn’t bring it to my mouth, simply held it.

“You needed to know that this world isn’t new to you. There is a lot going on, and many people have decided things for you. But do not doubt you are exactly where you need to be, lilla gudinnan. Get some sleep. There will be answers for you tomorrow.” He stood and gazed down at me for a long moment before he turned, striding quietly into another room.

I sat, staring into the glass of water until I heard a sound behind me. Caius and Ewan talked loudly as they approached the door. I wasn’t ready for any more surprises tonight, so I grabbed my bag and dashed into my room.

I needed time, and I needed answers. But more than anything else, I needed sleep.