The Coven Awakens (Hollow Hill Academy #1)

17. Ewan

Chapter 17

Ewan

I t was good to get outside for the day. There had been so much tension lately, I felt like I was drowning in it. Paiste wasn’t relaxed either. But at least we could both be comforted by the idea that we were very unlikely to find Audrey bleeding in the woods while we took some time for ourselves today. Not unless something went very wrong with Soren. While it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, I was being optimistic.

Paiste took off into the sky as soon as I stepped outside. I didn’t really need him for what I was doing today, and recently we’d spent so long cooped up inside with classes and watching Audrey. I would be surprised if I saw him before nightfall. He could always be summoned back if I needed him, but it would be better to let him stretch his wings and do some hunting. If I was able to get everything prepared in time, I might do some hunting of my own.

The ritual site we liked to use was deep in the woods and rarely used by the other students. It was understandable; the fog was unsettling, and the woods were not a safe place. However, outside of the main building itself, it had the strongest conjunction of ley lines. Energy pulsed through them, and it was easy to make them thrum. To draw more power. Though I didn’t do it often—only when we had a ritual—as I didn’t want to draw too much attention there in case other covens were attracted to it, hoping to steal our success. It was part of why we were so powerful, although not the only reason.

As soon as I stepped into the tree line, I let my human form melt away. I wasn’t focused on any particular form, instead I let my soul pick what it wanted to be right now. There were many forms available to me, each with their own use. Today I wanted the chance to stretch. Whether by running or flying, I didn’t mind. White fur rippled across my skin as large, majestic antlers sprouted from my head. Soon I stood as a proud white stag. It was time to relax, to enjoy the woods and let my mind take a back seat to my instincts.

Eventually, I would need to prepare the ritual site, but that wouldn’t take as long as I’d told the rest of my coven. I knew they wouldn’t begrudge me this time to myself, and we could always find each other when we needed. It was nice, having the freedom to run through the woods, not worried about what Soren saw in his latest divinations, or who Caius pissed off this week. It was just me and my instincts.

The woods were alive today. Where there had been silence the last time we’d been here, I could now hear the creatures scurrying about, feel the heartbeats all around me. I set off at a loping run, not sprinting. It would be too easy to get my antlers tangled up in branches, and that would be embarrassing, even with no one out here to see it.

As I ran through the woods, I could feel the resident creatures coming out of their burrows and nests, peeking out curiously. I wasn’t a predator, although that didn’t mean I was prey either. Magic radiated from Scions. Not everyone could feel it, but animals could. It’s why most Scions didn’t have pets, unless they were bound like to a familiar, or those with the ability to tie their souls to an animal like the Wild Hunt, or Wargs.

Today, some creatures followed in my wake, another event which wasn’t unexpected. These woods didn’t have a white stag, but nature knew when its god was among them. And while I wasn’t Cernunnos himself, I was his descendant, and I was in his form. This would make preparing the ritual site easier when I got to it, so I didn’t chase them off or change forms.

I felt the magic beating through these woods like a pulse beneath my hooves. It soothed me, lulling away my thoughts. My worries about the approaching coven games, thoughts about Audrey, about what was to come that had made Fate bind her to Henri. Having a fated mate was both a blessing and a curse. You were blessed because you had someone to stand by your side, the person best equipped to help you. But having a fated mate meant you were going to need that help. The thought of something bad happening to Audrey didn’t sit well with me, and it caused a tightness in my chest I couldn’t explain.

I was glad she was talking to us all again. Her anger at what happened with Paiste was understandable. She’d been scared, and while we had only wanted to make sure she didn’t get lost, Paiste had been a little over eager with the fire. And breaking into her room really had been a terrible thought. Soren wasn’t usually the type to give us bad ideas. But he did everything for a reason, and I didn’t want to think about why he had wanted her mad at us.

Thinking about Soren brought up thoughts of Lydia. It was a good thing I wasn’t in a more predatory form like my wolf, or I might have lost control of my anger. It had been months since it all went down, but I hadn’t been able to let it go. Everything had seemed so perfect. I knew she was dating both Soren and I, she’d been open about it. And it wasn’t unusual at all. Plenty of Scions had more than one romantic partner. But it was the way Lydia behaved which ruined everything. The lies she told while playing Soren and me off against each other. The favoritism she showed, and how she encouraged us to compete. But all of that wasn’t what made me furious. I was angry with myself. I’d let her lead me on, let her get to me. Let her come between Soren and me. I’d almost left the coven, thinking they would like her better than me and be more powerful with her. Sometimes I could be a fecking idiot.

I wasn’t usually the sort with self-esteem issues. Confidence wasn’t something I struggled with. I liked who I was. Though I would rather spend time with animals than with people, that didn’t mean I lacked self-worth. It just meant I was smart. People sucked, and Scions could be worse than regular humans. Especially divine Scions. We suffered from the same issues as our progenitors. Everything we felt and our personalities weren’t filtered. They were always at the extremes.

Lydia wasn’t just manipulative, everything she did was a game to her. Soren wasn’t just tight-lipped, everything about him was secretive. I wasn’t just someone who enjoyed nature; it was the place I felt most comfortable. There was no middle ground with Scions.

As I reached one of the few clearings in the woods and looked up at the sky, the sun was much further across than I expected. I lost track of time while I was running. Being lost in my thoughts had that effect sometimes. Stepping among the grass, I took the moment to let my heart rate calm and enjoy the rare moment of sunshine. It was late in the afternoon, by my guess. Paiste must have been circling, searching for me because he landed soon after, rolling onto his back and letting the sunlight warm his belly.

Reluctantly, I let my fur fade to skin. I could have gone straight to another form, but I wasn’t quite ready to leave yet. Seeing I had hands now, Paiste made a whining noise in his throat. With a shake of my head, I crouched down and scratched the scales of his underbelly.

“Come on, we can’t laze here forever. Think you can catch me a couple of snakes?” Paiste’s eyes lit up at being given the task of hunting. He was on his feet and in the air within seconds. Bloodthirsty little thing—although he knew I wanted them alive. Shifting into a crow, I took off into the air a few seconds after him. I could have run along the ground to the ritual site, but given I’d already lost so much time to my wandering thoughts and instincts, it was a better idea to get out from among the trees.

The ritual site wasn’t in a clearing but was easily identified by an oak tree that towered over its surroundings. You couldn’t see it from the school, but in the air, it was a good landmark. After landing in the branches, I took a few moments to soak up the magic of the tree. I wasn’t drawing energy from it, just basking in what was filtering between its leaves. This tree had stood for hundreds of years, perhaps even a thousand. It had seen the bloodline wars and when the fair folk walked the earth sharing it with humans. It had seen countless seasons, and through it all grown tall, nourished by sun, rain, magic, and blood. I kept it a well-guarded secret, but this was my favorite place on the school grounds. There were some places back home dearer to me, but not by much. I didn’t get to spend too much time here, as I didn’t want to disrespect the tree, but I never felt more myself, more in touch with my Scion soul than when I was touching it.

Feathers melted into skin as I dropped from the branches and landed in a crouch on the plush earth. The grass here was rich, thick and green, like something from a fairy tale, nourished by the energy running through the ground. I walked away from the oak tree to one of the hawthorn trees standing in a ring around it. My hand pressed to the bark of the trunk, and a backpack pushed out of the wood, falling to my feet. We kept supplies out here, so no one needed to lug them back and forth. It wasn’t time to set up yet. Offerings needed to be made before we asked for anything from the tree and the ley lines here. I set the bag down at the trunk of the oak tree and walked rings around it, waiting until Paiste joined me. My familiar never disappointed, and soon appeared through the tree line, two snakes clutched in his claws, wriggling as they tried to free themselves. He dropped the reptiles into my waiting hands and landed on a branch of the oak tree, watching me curiously.

I could have soothed the animals, but that felt disrespectful given what I was about to do. I let them thrash and fight for their lives. One snake wrapped around my forearm; its fangs buried in the side of my hand. I kept that one for last and gripped the other one behind the head, opening its belly with a quick slash from the dagger on my hip. Blood spilled down as I continued walking the circle I started previously. I let the blood soak into the ground, nourishing the lines there. It was one of the best power sources for magic, no matter what other people said. Once the ring was completed, I tossed the corpse to Paiste, who caught it out of the air. He took it back to his branch to enjoy his meal; we didn’t waste things when we were doing our magic. The second snake squeezed my arm harder now, and my hand was turning purple. I could feel the toxin it had pumped into my bloodstream, but I wasn’t bothered. There were few creatures who could do me harm unless I let them.

Prayers and thanks in Gaeilge passed over my lips as I walked toward the tree. I called to the magic of the land, to Cernunnos, to Morrigan, the Dagda, and Cerridwen. Antlers sprouted from my hair, but I wasn’t shape shifting, merely taking on the aspects of my progenitor as I continued to call on the gods. Gwydion, Diancecht, Danu, Manannan Mac Lir, Math Mathonwy, Hecate for Henri and Chaos for Caius. I called Nuada and Merlin, Taliesin, and Oghma. And as I cut the head from the snake and spilled its blood onto the roots of the oak tree, I called on Morgana for Audrey.

When the blood drained, I kneeled at the base of the tree and pressed a hand to the ground, opening a small tunnel. The body of the snake and its head were given to the earth, the dirt closing over the hole and carrying it deeper, so it could break down and give nourishment.

I could feel my friends, my brothers, approaching before I saw them or heard them. I finished my prayer, thanking the ley lines and the tree for the energy we needed to do our ritual. My antlers shed away, falling to the grass and crumbling. I walked over to the bag, took out the thin ropes of different color, and bound them around the tree. We were going to need a new one for Audrey—maybe white? My dark green rope and Caius’s black rope were bound around the tree, and I was preparing Henri’s bright green rope when all three of them stepped through the ring of hawthorn trees.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you lot until after dinner.” There was no need for them to be out here at this hour unless there was something wrong. My eyes stayed focused on the rope as I walked around the trunk so I could tie it off. If I looked at them, saw the look on their faces, then whatever happened would be real. I was having such a good day. I wasn’t ready for something to ruin it just yet.

“Are your preparations so secret you don’t want us to see them?” Of course, it was Henri who spoke, the peacekeeper between us. But it was Audrey not being with them that was worrying me. The rope became heavier in my hands, but I could tie the knots in my sleep, I didn’t need to look at the rope to do it. I let my hands do the work, as I risked a look over at my brothers. No blood, that was a good sign.

When I didn’t answer the question, Caius spoke. “We wanted to talk to you before the ritual. About Audrey.” Now he had my attention, although it may not have been for the best. If he came out here to tell me they changed their minds, there was going to be a fight. She was good for us, and she was Henri’s fated mate. She was one of us. They needed to stop fighting it.

The knot now tied, I let the rest of the rope fall to the grass. It was ready for the ritual, a ritual I would ensure took place. Cold feet at the last minute hadn’t been what I was expecting, but I could deal with it.

Henri took a step forward, his hands up like I was an animal he feared startling. It was a pose I’d taken enough times that I saw it for what it was, and it surprised me.

“Out with it already, will ye?” My accent grew thicker with the magic I called on, fueled by my rapidly elevating annoyance. The four of us had never been good at talking to each other. I could have reached for the coven bond and tried to see what they were hiding, but they needed to stop pussyfooting around and talk to me.

Henri sighed and nodded. Not in frustration, more a show of resignation, and it didn’t bode well. “I am not Audrey’s only fated mate. She is fated to Soren as well.”

His words echoed in my ears so much they blurred together, and it took me a few seconds to make sense of them.

“What do you fecking mean she’s fated to Soren as well? What was he doing kissing your fecking mate?” My glare shot past Henri and met Soren’s mismatched eyes. He gave me the courtesy of not looking away. His hands were in his pockets, but he wasn’t hunched. He looked ready for anything to come his way. Good.

“The details have not been discussed, though I am sure there was a reason. But we need to talk about this. If the two of us are her mates, there is the possibility you and Caius may be as well.” Henri said it as calmly as if he told me tomorrow was Monday. Like it was the sort of conclusion anyone would draw. It was enough to stop me thinking about all the different ways I wanted to punch Soren in his smug Viking face.

“You really think that? That we could all be bound to her by Fate? And she to us?” I asked, my voice full of hope. Fate wasn’t a one-way transaction. It was a thread that bound people to each other.

“Only one way to find out. And you should be glad we get to kiss the same girl again.” Soren’s smug fecking tone matched his smug fecking face. He really wanted me to punch him, and I was glad to oblige.

I passed Henri with a thought. Faster than any of them, I was the most physically enhanced by my lineage, even if they didn’t want to admit it. The only one with a chance of taking me in a hand-to-hand fight was Soren, and my fist was already connecting with his jaw. With a satisfying crack, he stumbled backward, and the fight was on. This had been a long time fecking coming.