The Coven Awakens (Hollow Hill Academy #1)

18. Caius

Chapter 18

Caius

I t was about time Soren and Ewan came to blows. Some things could only be solved with violence. All the words in the world wouldn’t let them express how truly upset with each other they were, and I was surprised how long it had taken them to get here. Neither one typically shied away from a fight. Maybe it was Henri’s influence, as it certainly wasn’t mine. Henri might say I played at being civilized, and while it was true, that was only to keep the darkness contained. I needed rigidity, and the rules of my manners. Soren and Ewan didn’t have such an issue. I knew Henri was going to break them up; it was written all over his face. As his hands came up, my own whipped out and darkness flew from my gloved fingers to wrap around his eyes. The sound of French curses were like music to my ears. Henri could not wrap them in an illusion if he couldn’t see them. Sure, if they tried to kill each other, we could intervene, but this tension had gone on too long. I was tired of it.

Henri’s hands scrabbled, and I rolled my eyes. All he was going to achieve were scratches on his pretty face. Something else he would blame me for later.

“If you calm down, I will remove the darkness. But not until then.” After what he’d done to me earlier in his office, this helped to stroke my ego. I could feel the void inside me, encouraging me to do more. To swallow him completely in the darkness. Pull him down into the void. I had my rules for this very reason.

Ewan and Soren now rolled on the ground, punching each other, knees and elbows flying. It was a dirty scuffle with scratching, and I was fairly certain I saw Soren pull Ewan’s hair. Ewan bit him in return, so things were still kept even. There was blood, but no broken bones, and neither had pulled a weapon yet.

Henri finally stopped struggling with the darkness around his eyes and stood rigidly. He would get me back for this eventually, but it was worth it. The darkness flowed back to me, revealing the rage in his green eyes. I only smirked, not scared of him and his illusions. They may have felt real, but they couldn’t actually hurt me, and Henri wasn’t the type to escalate.

“What are you hoping they will achieve with all this wrestling around? They are better than this.” His tone was so fucking smarmy, and I scoffed. Like using words was better than solving things with your fists. They needed this, needed to get past how upset they were at each other so they could go back to being friends. It wasn’t my fault he couldn’t see it.

“I want them to get it out of their system. Soren has been more secretive since what happened with Lydia. Worried about everything he sees in his visions or the runes or whatever it is he uses. And Ewan can’t keep sleeping his way through the school. He is going to catch something—like a baby. And I am much too young to be an uncle.” I couldn’t imagine being around a newborn with their screams and cries. It would certainly put a crimp in all the plans we’d made.

“Besides, if you are right, and we are all fated to Audrey, they will need to trust each other again. Not that I’m saying we are, mind you. But that evil witch caused a schism, and they need to get over it. So we let them work it out of their system—bond in blood—and then tonight we reforge our ties, blending Audrey into the mix. We will be stronger than ever.”

Henri looked at me in surprise. I may not like to be around people, but it didn’t mean I didn’t understand them. There were just other things I would rather do, like work on my potions. It took a lot of attention. Potion making was predictable. I added ingredients together—specific amounts, combined in a set method, to create a certain reaction. Even when I experimented, I often knew what was going to happen. I just needed to confirm it.

Soren and Ewan were back on their feet, but they weren’t done yet. Soren’s nose bled, and there was blood at the corner of his mouth. Ewan’s shirt was ripped, and his eyebrow split. They weren’t at the end of my patience yet, but they approached it. Henri pulled me aside when Ewan banded his arms around Soren’s waist and somehow lifted him up and drove him into the ground where I’d been standing. I hadn’t realized Ewan was so strong in his human form. But all that strength made sense, he often wrangled gigantic creatures. It was different to see in person, though. It made it more real, something to admire even.

Henri glared at me expectantly. He didn’t have to say the words out loud; I knew he thought this had gone on long enough. He was likely right. I didn’t want them to injure each other. Raising my hands in the air in surrender, I stepped back and let him take over without interruption. I could be benevolent when I wanted.

Ewan and Soren scrambled away from each other as the illusion became their new reality. I didn’t know what Henri showed them, but I didn’t want to see it either. Soren made a sound partly of disgust and part anger. While Ewan crouched with one hand pressed to the ground as his head whipped around.

Once Henri made sure they were separated far enough, he stepped in between them and let the illusion drop. Though he probably didn’t need to be standing there, as the fight had clearly left them. With heaving chests and slumped shoulders, they looked like they needed a shower and a nap.

“This is done. Now. You are brothers, and while family fights, we support each other. What would Audrey say if she saw you like this?” They both hung their heads at Henri’s words, but I shook mine. I didn’t agree with him. Audrey wasn’t a pushover, or some prissy girl worried about breaking a nail. She’d fought with us. I knew she wouldn’t be happy to see them bleeding, but she was a healer. It would be easy enough for her to fix them.

Speaking of Audrey, I took my pocket watch from my coat and checked the time. “Unless you two plan on showing up to dinner bloodied and looking like you’ve been rolling in the dirt, we should likely head back to the school and clean up for dinner. Audrey should be finished with her nap soon. While we still have a lot to talk about, we should all eat before the ritual tonight.”

I moved to where Ewan was crouched and offered him my gloved hand. Once he gripped my wrist, I pulled him to his feet and brushed some grass off his shoulder. Henri had helped Soren up off his knees, and the Viking was busy wiping his nose. Ewan and Soren were still looking at each other, sizing each other up. It made me unsure whether the issue between them was actually over. Had we separated them too early? It was hard to tell with these things. Such a delicate balance between letting them work it out and killing each other.

When Soren and Ewan moved closer again, Henri and I both tensed, our hands rising. Henri was ready to cast them back into his illusions at the slightest hint of trouble. I was prepared to keep them apart by force if needed. Neither of them could get through the darkness if I restrained them. But our fears were unfounded, I watched as they clasped wrists, then clapped each other on the back in some sort of macho warrior’s hug. Meaningful to them, I suppose, although it was a bit much for me. If you asked anyone who they thought the dramatic member of our coven was, most would have answered me. Times like this made me wonder if I needed to be doing more. I couldn’t have them taking my crown, after all.

Ewan moved away from Soren and back over to the tree. “Just let me tie Soren’s rope in place, and then I can come back with you all. We need to pick a color for Audrey, too. I was thinking white would be the best choice. To match her healing waves?”

He picked up the gray rope, walking it around the tree before tying it in an intricate knot I wouldn’t be able to name, let alone tie. The ropes were all splayed out from the tree, but not at the cardinal points like they had been for previous rituals. When Audrey’s rope was tied in place, it would make the five points of a pentagram, a powerful symbol on its own. Curiosity about what that would do to our future castings filled me, but it wasn’t something to worry myself with now. There would be plenty of time to experience it in the future.

“White is a good idea. Although we should ask her over dinner about her favorite color. Let us hope it is not green, hmm?” Henri had the right idea. We’d all picked the color of the rope which represented our tie to the coven. Henri and Ewan spent three entire weeks arguing over who was going to be green before we finally got them to agree to use two different shades. It had been infuriating, but there had been no talking to them. If it was the hill they wanted to die on, it wasn’t my place to move them. It had all worked out in the end.

With the basics for the ritual set up, our walk back to the school began. Paiste took off from the ancient oak tree, surprising me. I hadn’t noticed him and spent most of the walk berating myself about my poor perception skills. I needed to work on them more. People who snuck up on me was a pet hate and one I tried to avoid.

Soren walked ahead on his own. He kept looking at his hand, which was unusual behavior. Ewan must have injured it, who knows, maybe he cut it when he hit the ground. They both had to be covered in bruises and scrapes we couldn’t see. Hopefully, between Soren’s meager healing abilities and my potions, we could get them fixed up before dinner. Audrey had looked exhausted earlier, and I didn’t want her expending any more energy before the binding ritual. It was going to be taxing enough on her, without her burning through her reserves beforehand.

Ewan and Henri walked behind me, deep in conversation. I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose, but they weren’t whispering or trying to keep their talk a secret. Ewan asked eager questions about Henri’s thoughts on all this fated mate business and it showed his hand. His feelings for Audrey were spilling out all over the conversation. Ewan was never one to hold things back. We were all at different points on that spectrum—Ewan was the most open, then Henri, me, and finally Soren, who kept everything close to his chest and tight behind his lips.

Henri was the most romantic of all of us; maybe it was why he had chosen the Spring court. Or maybe I was confusing desire and love. I saw little difference between them, despite many conversations with Henri. Encouraging Ewan might lead to disappointment, but it didn’t stop Henri from doing so. They continued to talk about fated mates and everything that came along with it.

I didn’t disagree with Henri; trouble was coming for Audrey. She was freshly arrived at Hollow Hill, and trouble seemed determined to follow her. But trouble also followed Morgana Le Fay as well. All that nonsense with Arthur and the knights. Although, it depended on which stories you believed. So much of history was rewritten so many times, it was now impossible to tell the truth. And our progenitors rarely felt communicative.

Perhaps I should try to reach Erebus or Chaos, or even the Fates themselves. There were rituals, rarely spoken of, used to summon them. The Fates were likely my best choice, and there were many stories of demigods and gods alike summoning the Fates to talk to them. Very few times was the information useful until you looked at it in hindsight. They weren’t likely to take it easy on me simply because of our shared family. The questions to ask would be the hard part. That was where everyone went wrong. Soren could likely help with them. Not to mention getting to meet the Fates themselves was something a diviner would give their right testicle to accomplish. And the Fates may just ask for it.

Once the coven ritual was done, I would gather as many tales of summoning the Fates as I could find and see if I could tease out a common thread. My other research wasn’t getting anywhere, and the longer we waited, the more likely whatever was coming for Audrey would catch us by surprise.

Ewan and Henri were still talking, and Henri urged him to exercise caution. To not just walk up and kiss Audrey to see if they were fated mates, as this wasn’t some romantic comedy. Ewan was impulsive, but Henri was very convincing when he needed to be. We all needed to work out our relationship with Audrey, and it would be easier once the coven bonds were in place. The stronger they grew, the more we could feel each other.

We only had to get through the coven ritual. It shouldn’t be that difficult.