Chapter 131
Heather
Three days into being at the compound I’d proven to Daniel, Claudia, and Raphael that I was a walking disaster when it came to magic. Every spell I tried backfired. I attempted to light a candle, but it exploded, splattering me with melted wax. Thank God for my Were healing abilities. That wax was freaking hot.
I tried to levitate an object and it flew through the roof, making a nice hole in the ceiling. That had stopped practice for a while. But at least now I could say I knew some serious home repair skills.
When Daniel suggested we try an invisibility spell, I’d succeeded in turning my clothes invisible. That had been mortifying. And if Brent knew what’d happened, and that Daniel actually got an eyeful, he’d flip. The guy would be blind or dead. As it was, I suddenly felt really exposed around Daniel. No one had gotten such an intimate look at me in...ever.
I felt like a complete moron. It wasn’t like I was failing on purpose. I was following the spells to the letter, but nothing worked for me. It seemed the harder I tried, the worse the damage got. I was seriously starting to wonder if I belonged with the coven at all.
I’d met a couple other people around the compound, but for the most part, I was a bit of a pariah. How I was supposed to befriend all these people, let alone figure out which one was supposed to be the next leader, was beyond me.
To add insult to injury, I was a hot mess when it came to missing Brent.
I hated the needy feeling that was eating me up inside. It was like I was drowning and anxious all the time. And it was all because I was missing my mate. My other half.
Pathetic.
I’d been fine being alone before I met him. Why did I suddenly feel like half a person?
During the mornings, the other coven members had meetings and classes. Any group lessons were held at the little schoolhouse down the road a ways. Daniel told me that the older brujos helped the younger ones with their studies there. Most of them did homeschooling lessons during the afternoon, but Daniel had finished his work for the semester way early, so he usually spent afternoons attempting to teach me.
While he was busy in the morning, I took to exercising. The need to change grew stronger everyday, but I’d agreed to live as a bruja, which meant no shifting. A deal was a deal. I’d stick to it even if it killed me.
As I made my fifteenth lap around the compound that morning, a car pulled through the gate. The driver was someone I recognized. I grinned, and jogged over.
"Tia Rosa."
"Hola, mijita. Como estas?"
Completely shitty was the truth, but she didn’t need to hear that I was going slowly going mad from being cut off from my mate. "I’m getting by."
She grumbled. "That’s what I thought." She put on the little glasses that hung around her neck and gripped my face with her hands. As she stared into me, she tugged on the skin under my eyes.
I blinked and jerked away. What was that about?
"Hmmm. Interesting." She pulled the glasses off.
"What?" Had someone spelled me again? Because if so, that totally meant I could leave. Didn’t it?
"Let’s talk inside."
"Okay." I followed her back to my cousins’ house. "Would you like something to drink?" I asked as she settled down on their floral couch.
"No, mijita. Sit next to me." She patted the cushion.
We sat on the couch together in sudden silence. I didn’t know who was supposed to talk first, but she already knew what I wanted to hear, so I waited.
"The things that they have you doing, those are distractions."
Not what I was expecting. How did she know what I was doing here? "What do you mean?"
"Spells and incantations and parlor tricks are not worth your time. You need to be working on growing your visions. Becoming more aware of the lines in the future."
Was it just me, or was she being incredibly...crazy? It was like I was missing half the conversation. "Lines?"
"Up until this point, you’ve seen past and present. You’ve gotten feelings and premonitions of the future, no?"
"Yes."
She wheezed a little as she talked. It made my lungs ache in sympathy. "You need to have more than premonitions."
I shook my head. That was impossible. It wasn’t how my visions worked. "How?"
"By finding that place within that’s the source of your power. Then, you will be able to lead this coven."
I couldn’t contain the shocked gasp. "No. I can’t. That’s not what I’m here for. I need to find the next leader."
"Your Grams—my sister—found the next leader."
"She found me, but I’m in the pack. I’m an alpha. I don’t know where I really stand yet, but I’m stronger than most. I can’t be in two places at once."
"No, mijita. You are of two places and you will always be in two places. You think your Grams didn’t know what would happen?
You think she made a mistake?"
Honestly? Yes. I kind of did think she made a mistake.
"She knew what would happen to you. She knew that your path would be hard, and she prayed over it, but you cannot change what is meant to be."
"Rosa," I said to her, pleading for her to understand. "It’s not just me who doesn’t want to be here. The coven doesn’t want me either."
Luciana didn’t want to give me to the wolves, but she hadn’t paid a visit since my first day here.
"Now that is a useful way to spend your time. You need to be going around and making friends here, getting to know what these brujos really think."
She’d lost her mind. It didn’t matter if I had friends.
This wasn’t my job. "I don’t even want to run the pack." I wasn’t sure if that was the road I was heading down, but I was a strong alpha and it could happen—it almost certainly would happen to Brent—so at the very least, I was bound to end up the Were version of a first lady. But Tia Rosa was talking about a whole other level of leadership.
"Why would I want to run the coven on top of that?"
She grasped one of my hands. Her skin was so soft and papery thin; I had to be careful with her. She was human, both old and fragile.
"As you grow, you learn that life is rarely about doing what you want. We all do what we must, and that is even more true for the powerful ones like you. My sister saw the times changing. To stop war, you must be the link that unifies the pack and coven...and eventually, all supernaturals.
When the time comes for the world to know the truth, the people will need someone to look to. A trustworthy leader who knows what it’s like to be human."
I couldn’t breath. There wasn’t enough air.
No longer able to sit still, I pulled away from Rosa to pace the small room. "I can’t be that person. I’m just me. I’m a normal girl."
"You’re not normal, and it’s past time for you to let go of that delusion." Rosa stood and walked to the door. "When you’re ready, if you want my help, you know where to find me."
"I’m not sure I’m allowed off the compound."
"Not allowed off the compound to visit la Aquelarre’s wise woman? I think I’d have something to say about that. You send Luciana my way if it’s not allowed."
I cracked a grin. Rosa might be old, but she still had her wits and sass. "I’ll think about it."
I opened the door for her, and she patted my cheek. "I’ll be seeing you soon."
I was still sitting on the couch, trying to absorb Rosa’s words when Daniel stepped into the house. His morning lessons must’ve been done. I glanced at my watch. How long had I been staring into space?