Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
FRANKIE
I ducked and rolled but Jackson anticipated my move and swept my legs out from under me the second I got upright. My back hit the mat with a thud , knocking the breath from my lungs for a second. But I didn’t let that slow me down, I threw my hands up and pushed my magic out. Jackson twirled his falchion sword in a fancy move I’d never seen and caught my magic on his blade before tossing it to the wall.
The fact that Tenn thought I was on Jackson Lancaster’s level for combat was by far the greatest compliment I’d ever received. Sure, I was a trained fighter, but most of my skill came in the form of controlled rage and power. Lancaster had skills. He had finesse. I now desperately wanted to watch him battle it out with Tenn because what a show that had to be. No one was the kind of fighter Tenn was, but he was next level. The grandson of the archangel of war. He had angel wings for Goddess’ sake. It wasn’t actually a fair comparison. But Jackson? He was a mortal legend, and I was fairly certain he was younger than me. Dude had skills upon skills. If this were a video game, Jackson would be the big final boss you had to defeat before you faced off with Tenn to win the game.
And I was having the time of my life today.
I cackled and leapt to my feet. The second I was upright, I charged for him. We parried back and forth across the mat, my sais against his daggers. The sweat beading on his forehead sent pride soaring through me. I ducked under his swing, then did a jump swing to bring my elbows down on his back—a move I’d learned from him a few minutes prior.
He grunted and stumbled forward, already turning back on me with a shit-eating grin on his face. “NICE! A little lower and closer to the side next time will hurt worse.”
“Ah, I thought I went too high.” I charged for him, swinging my sais. “I was focused more on the footwork for my first go.”
“What a go it was, mate.” He caught my sais with his dagger blade, then wagged his eyebrows over the top. “Learnin’ new moves is fun, innit?”
“What else ya got for me?”
He arched an eyebrow, then dropped his shoulder. Suddenly I was flying over his back. A wild giggle slipped through my lips. The best thing about sparring with Jackson was that he understood the assignment completely. To help us calm down, Wwe both needed to fight something with everything we had without worrying we’d hurt a Coven-mate. However, he also knew that I liked to learn, so he kept pulling all these fancy moves on me and then pausing our spar session to teach them to me before we launched back into it. He was an incredible teacher.
He leaned over me with a smile. “Like that one a bit, eh?”
“Teach me whatever just happened.” I pushed back to my feet. “Wait, first do it again so I can feel it. Then teach me.”
We got back into the positions we were just in and then he threw me again. I focused on the mechanics of what I felt. When I jumped back up, he launched into teaching me how to replicate it. Sparring Jackson was exactly what I needed today. Fighting Tenn was more for getting all my energy out. It was like the best form of a rage room ever. Jackson gave my brain more of a distraction, which I desperately needed today.
Even as I watched his instruction intently, there was a part of my brain that did a little wonder ponder. That dream last night had wrecked me in a way I’d never experienced. It left a mark on my soul, as dramatic as that sounded. It was a cloud hanging over my head, raining down on me constantly even while the sun shined around me. I’d stepped one foot into the living room when my eyes had met with Cooper and Savannah’s—and I’d bailed. It was bad enough to have to experience that dream but to have witnesses was too much trauma for one day. They didn’t say anything, didn’t even make a face or sound. They’d barely acknowledged my presence . . . yet they knew. I knew that they knew that I knew. That one glance had been daggers into my heart enough.
Everest.
“Okay, you try.” Jackson got into position, so I joined in. “Don’t overthink it. Just muscle memory through it.”
I clenched my teeth. Everest’s face with that long white hair lingered in my mind’s eye, so I closed mine and moved my body the way Jackson instructed. There was a slice and a whoosh, then he flew over my shoulder. I glanced back as he landed in a roll, pushing back up to his feet.
“I love how fast you pick this up.” He smiled, then his face fell. Those eyes stared at nothing. “Bettina would love this.”
My heart sank. “We’re going to figure this out. There has to be a way to cure them. Leyka’s note gave me hope?—”
“Hope.” His smile turned fractured. His eyes haunted. “Hope is not lost.”
There seemed to be more to that sentence than I understood, but before I could ask, the door to the training room opened. Constance and Timothy walked in like they were on a mission. We both turned to face them. I wiped my sweaty forehead on my arm.
“Everything okay?”
“What happened? What’s wrong?”
Both Leaders threw their hands up in surrender.
“Nothing is wrong. Nothing happened,” Constance said quickly in that comforting voice of hers. “I came here to collect Frankie.”
“Oh.” I scowled. “What did I do?”
She chuckled and shook her head. “You need to see Professor Rigdon, remember?”
“The potions instructor. Right. Yes, thank you.” I looked to Jackson and held my hand up for a high-five. “That was great, Lancaster. Repeat later?”
He gave me a crooked smile and slapped his palm against mine. “Anytime. Good luck with the potions.”
“Thanks.” I smiled and waved, then hurried toward Constance, pausing only to give Tim a high-five. “Hey there, Jeep Wrangler.”
He stopped short and snorted. “What did you—Jeep Wrangler?”
I spun to walk backwards. “Yeah, ‘cause you wrangle all us crazies.”
As he cackled, I winked and spun back to face Constance. She eyed me. “What does that make me then?”
I pursed my lips and stopped in front of her. “Den mother, for sure.”
Her whole face lit up. One hand went to her belly. “That I can accept. C’mon, let’s see what we can do for your quest.” She wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and it was more comforting than she probably realized.
As we walked out the door, I heard Tim yell out, “All right, son, let’s kick your ass.”
“Don’t quit ‘til I pass out, right?” Jackson chuckled. “I slept like shite last night.”
“One nap coming right up.”
Constance chuckled under her breath and pulled out her phone, then she pressed it to her ear. “Hey, Kessler. Yeah, I’m taking Frankie to Rigdon but just heard Jackson ask Tim to spar until he passes out—yeah, you heard that right. Exactly. Thanks. Oh, and have you seen Daniel and the girls— oh. Okay, right, I think he told me that. Pregnancy brain is apparently a real thing. See you in a bit.”
“Let me guess, you’re prepping the others for the chance Tim literally drags Jackson home?”
“Oh, he will.” She shook her head and led the way out a door and into a covered hallway between buildings. “He’s done it many times over the years whenever Jackson was too stressed to function. But Kessler’s done the same for Tenn, so we’re prepared.”
“I love the way y’all are with each other. It’s nice to be part of it.” I smiled and then cursed as a massive bug flew right into my face. Once I swatted it away, I looked around and frowned. “Ya know, maybe the school should have indoor hallways, or underground hallways, while this war escalates. That could’ve been a demon.”
Constance’s jaw dropped. She stared at the open air around us for a moment, then started texting on her phone. “Lennox can probably have the halls enclosed before dark tonight. Great thinking, Frankie.”
“Thanks.” I caught back up to her and we resumed walking. “Let’s hope I can be as effective with these potions.”
“Try not to burden yourself too much just yet. We all know you’re not a Cup and are new to our world. You’re already a rock star at what you do, so just give yourself the break we’re all giving you, okay?”
I nodded as that panic bubble in my gut started floating its way up to my throat.
She waved her hand and the door to the next building opened. “I’m serious, Frankie. We’re all in this with you. This is not a task that rests solely on your shoulders. So, let’s just see what Professor Rigdon says and go from there. Okay?”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath, then let it out as we stopped at a set of double doors made of a rich mahogany wood. “No big deal.”
The doors opened inward, golden sunlight streaming in through the opening until there was a full wall of light in front of me. I blinked and followed Constance inside, then stopped short. I had no idea what I was expecting, but this room was not it. The far wall was made entirely of glass and was two-stories tall. The two walls on the side were lined with books, the thick hardcover kind that were definitely heavy and old. There were two sliding ladders so people could actually reach the books. In the middle of the room were comfy couches and chairs with students quietly reading. Behind me the wall with the door had several balconies of desks, like a lecture hall in those movies about colleges—I’d never been in a college, so I wasn’t sure if those were real or not. The plants hanging from every corner and ledge were definitely real though.
“Constance, hi.” I turned toward the unfamiliar female voice and found a woman who seemed to be in her late thirties, maybe early forties. She was tall with black hair and warm brown eyes. She grabbed a book, then hurried over to us at the door. “Come, let’s talk outside.”
We followed her back out into the hall.
“Sorry, there was no one in there when I said to meet me here.” The woman chuckled. “I didn’t realize it was lunchtime.”
“No problem at all. I also forgot it was lunchtime?—”
My stomach took that as a sign because it growled loud. I grimaced. “Whoops.”
“Actually, I think it works to your advantage.” The woman smiled at me. She held her left hand out. “You must be Frankie? I’m Professor Rigdon. I teach potions classes.”
I shook her hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you. I think Constance has told you what I’m up to?”
Her brows pinched deeply in the middle. “She did. But potions . . . they’re not quite like performing spells with a wand or sparring on the mats. They’re . . . complicated and complex. They’re a language of their own and one that can be rather overwhelming.”
I sighed. “Bad time to mention I bombed chemistry class?”
“Don’t fret on that.” She giggled and held a book out. It was black with metallic gold foiling. “This is the book all Cups get their very first day here. Potions 101. ”
I took it from her hands, and the weight of it seemed to mock my stress and pressure. “Starting from scratch, right?”
“It’s lunchtime. Take this book and read through it while you eat. Just see what stands out to you. Let your thoughts percolate, then come back to me and we’ll see what we can do for you.”
In the back of my mind, I registered saying goodbye to this professor and Constance walking me to the Great Hall, but my thoughts were far away. With every step I took, this book felt heavier and heavier. By the time I sat down at one of the tables, it was practically a lead weight in my hands. It was just . . . deflating. I hadn’t expected the professor to give me all the answers I needed, but apparently I expected some answers. Something. Anything. Not a sixty second conversation in a hallway while she handed me a book for basic potion-making. I knew I was new at this, but I just felt abandoned. Not by Constance, she wasn’t a Cup or potions master. She was den mother who had a coven full of teens to keep eyes on. But Professor Rigdon practically threw me into the deep end of a pool without a ladder and walked away.
“Frankie?”
I flinched and looked up to find Constance standing beside me still. I scowled. “I thought you left?”
She gave me a small smile and sat on the bench beside me. “That wasn’t as helpful as I’d hoped, and clearly you feel the same.”
I groaned. “I hate this feeling . . . like literally everyone is relying on me and I’m blind.”
“I understand how that must feel. And while it’s not untrue, it doesn’t mean we expect a miracle right away.” She squeezed my shoulder, then stood up. “Sit. Flip through those pages. I’m going to grab you food and find a person I think can actually help you. Don’t move.”
“Thanks, Constance.” I flipped the book open. “I appreciate you.”
Her cheeks flushed. She nodded and walked away so I turned my attention back to the book. While it’s not untrue. My stomach rolled and bile shot up my throat. Any hunger I’d felt before was gone. Constance had confirmed for me that everyone was relying on me, but they also knew I was flying blind. That was both a relief and a torment.
Focus, Franks. They need you to inhale this knowledge Matrix-style. I started flipping through the pages, but the words were all gibberish, so I was mostly just looking at pictures and diagrams. I’d flipped halfway through the book before I realized the whole thing was written in the ancient language, which I understood when it was spoken to me, especially now that Tegan had given that back to me post-coma, but reading it hurt my brain.
“ Oi, where you at, wanker? ” a boy with a British accent thicker than Jackson’s yelled into his phone from the table in front of me. “I’ve called a bloody thousand times, mate. Answer your phone.”
“That Donny you ringing again?” another boy with the same accent asked as he sat down beside the first kid.
“Yeah, he should be getting home from uni right now?—”
“Fancy a zoom?” the girl next to him said with a worried tone in her voice. “I haven’t heard from his sister either.”
“They’re probably on holiday and thought not to tell us since we’re here and all,” another student sitting by them said with a calm smile. “Give it a day or so. I bet they’ll ring back?—”
“Frankie!”
I gasped and jumped, slamming the book shut simply on instinct. But it was just my friends. The relief I felt at seeing them was alarming. It meant I was more stressed than I was letting myself believe. Though as they sat, I noticed they weren’t as cheery and high-spirited as usual.
“Hey, guys.” I forced a smile as they all sat down around me with trays of food. “I’m glad you found me.”
Ava sat diagonal from me with Float laying in what looked like a sling. I must’ve made a face because she giggled. “People carry puppies in these carriers. Why can’t I carry my fat loaf of a rabbit?”
“You absolutely can.” I grinned. “Where’s Seamus?”
“He and Rootbeer are talking to Constance,” Ava said with a grin and held a carrot out to Float.
“Constance found us outside and sent us your way.” Birdie winked and sat down in front of me, then slid a tray of food in front of me. “There’s options for you.”
My face flushed with heat, so I knew I was blushing. “Thank you.” Now I have to actually try to eat. Smooth move, Constance. I see what you did.
Madge and Jo sat to my left with big salads, but I noticed Madge’s had fried chicken in hers and Jo’s didn’t. Tomás and Whitney were holding hands as they sat across from the soulmates. I liked the way Tomás no longer looked at me like I’d hurt him. That was a relief.
I picked up a slice of pizza off my plate and took a bite, forcing it down through the nausea. “So, Birdie, how are things with Brody?”
Her cheeks turned pink. She glanced over her shoulder. “Taking it slow but really good. He’s so much happier here where he can make stuff. And the Swords are putting him to work. It’s a win-win.”
Whitney slid her wand behind her ear like it was a pencil and picked up a fork. “I’m learning so much more about magical tattoos. It’s amazing. I’m low-key mad our parents kept us in Tampa for so long.”
They all laughed and nodded.
Ava ran her fingers over Float’s floppy ears. “We did have quite a unique experience though, didn’t we? Being so close to The Coven?”
They all nodded again.
“It feels weird to be in said Coven now when y’all talk like that.”
They laughed and threw napkins at me.
“I just wish I would’ve known Archie was Tenn while it happened so I could’ve appreciated it more.”
“You mean because we embarrassed ourselves horribly in front of him?” Birdie groaned and buried her face in his hands. “We talked about him being hot to his face.”
I shrugged. “Esther told him—to his face—that she’d happily be a third for him and Tegan . . . and he laughed. Like, he thought it was hilarious. Dude has the wildest sense of humor.”
They gasped and then burst into giggles. For a moment we all joked about Tenn being Archie and how much hindsight changed every interaction with him back then.
“I’m just saying Archie’s connection to Rootbeer makes a lot more sense.” Ava laughed. “Tenn does adore her.”
Jo sighed. “Archie with Aspen though? Merde. Mon c?ur. ”
Aspen. Libby’s sister. My heart twisted in my chest. I wished I could tell them about Libby’s return, but we weren’t yet sure what that was about so we couldn’t. Especially not to Libby’s family.
“Frankie!” Seamus shouted a little too loudly, which made students all around us look over. Not that Seamus cared. He wore a huge grin and gave me a side hug as he sat down beside me. “How are you?”
“You spoke to Constance, you already know—hey, where’s Rootbeer?” I quickly signed what I’d just said since it was pretty loud in the Great Hall.
“And Brody?” Birdie frowned and looked over her shoulder as she signed to Seamus.
“Both Brody and Rootbeer had too much energy to sit still so they’re running each other out in the courtyard.” He grinned. “It’s good for her to have playtime breaks.”
That made me smile. I signed and said out loud, “It’s Sunday. Why are y’all here? Why is everyone here, actually?”
Madge groaned and held her hands out in front of her. “Because we have to be ready to fight and we’re all feeling a little underprepared. Dammit, I’ve broken every nail now.”
“J e vais les réparer pour toi. Ensuite, peins-les joliment .” Jo kissed her cheek.
“So . . . Frankie . . .” Birdie cleared her throat, then leaned forward. “How’s Esther? We know she got hurt but no one will tell us a thing, not even her parents.”
Because they’re hiding something. I considered giving them a vague answer, but they were my friends. They’d brought me into their little group immediately and without hesitation or regret. They treated me like I’d always been there. That meant something to me. It meant a lot of something.
“Can any of you give us a little privacy so I can explain?”
Ava pulled her wand out of her bunny carrier and did a little swish. Then she winked one caramel eye at me. “Freedom of speech is yours.”
I took a deep breath and prayed my voice didn’t betray me. “It’s a long story and I can’t give you all the details—for your safety alone—but we got attacked by the Unseelie. Tegan . . . well, let’s just say Tegan was slightly incapacitated and one of them was going right for her. Esther jumped in front of her and took the hit. Sacrificed herself for Tegan.”
They gasped. Their faces going pale in horror.
“It was incredibly brave, selfless, and honestly saved our lives. Because she hasn’t woken from that hit yet . . .” I shuddered as my brain put the pieces together in real-time of what would have happened had Tegan gone down that night. “Most of The Coven might not be alive right now if Esther hadn’t done what she did.”
Jo cursed in French, then said a prayer to The Goddess that the others repeated.
“Look, I won’t lie. It’s not good. She’s . . . Goddess, she’s really hurt. It’s really bad.” I rubbed my face with my hands to hide the gag I made. “But Katherine is doing everything she can, with the help of Myrtle and the Seelie leaders. We’re just in a waiting game. And Esther isn’t the only one down.”
“Who else is down?” Birdie whispered.
“Tegan has Witch’s Shock. Henley and Devon are still down from before. Chutney, Deacon, and Bettina were . . . Goddess, their injuries make Esther’s look like a picnic.” At that my stomach rolled. I pushed my food away from me. “Willow, Bentley, and Royce are injured but on their feet.”
They all cursed, then seemed at a loss for words.
“Listen, you cannot speak of this to anyone. It’s a secret.”
“Understood.”
“Lips are sealed.”
“You got it.”
Ava’s face fell. “Thank you for telling us. It makes training that much more important. For Esther.”
For a moment we were all silent.
Then Seamus tapped on my Potions 101 book. “What’s this about?”
“Professor Rigdon gave me this book and told me to read through it, percolate, and then come back to her and she’ll try to help me.” I held it out to him. “I don’t know. It’s probably helpful. It just doesn’t feel like it right now.”
He scoffed. “Because it’s not. Professor Rigdon is a potions instructor for Cups students. For healers and people like me. You’re not like us. You’re not a Cup. You’re The Tower and I’ve seen first-hand how your magic works. Definitely take the book but . . .”
I frowned. “But what?”
Seamus eyed me with a sparkle in his eyes. “I was chatting with Constance outside about your mission at hand. Come with me. Let’s try something.”