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Miles scoffed. “If we all aren’t dead by then.”
By morning, we still hadn’t made up our minds. I’d tossed and turned all night, trying to separate my intuition from my ego. It didn’t matter which decision we made; both options terrified me to my very core.
I sat on Lucas’s bed that morning, stroking Isa’s fur.
Talia sat next to Grant across the room. “I want you all to know I’m going to go wherever you go,” she said. “Have you guys made a decision?”
I shook my head. I truthfully didn’t know where to go from here.
“Let’s forget about the coven for a second,” Lucas suggested. “What do you want, Nadine?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I told him. It was an impossible decision. “Right now, I’d really like a warm bath and some sushi.”
“I can help with the sushi,” he offered. “Maybe getting out and doing something normal will clear our heads. Why don’t we all go have lunch at Wasabi Lounge?”
I sighed. “If you think it will help.”
We left our cats in the room and drove into town. Wasabi Lounge was located in the town square. The shopping area was lined with boutique shops and specialty cafés, with a fountain in the center where people liked to toss in coins to make wishes.
I was looking forward to a quiet day with my friends, but we were two blocks away from the square when we started to notice a large crowd. Finding a free parking space was difficult, but we eventually parked the car and walked to the square. I could hear a voice through loud speakers, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
When we reached the square, I saw a stage set up near the fountain, where a large crowd had gathered. As I glanced around, I noticed Executors all over the town square, passing out thick pamphlets and proclaiming to be witnesses of the truth… whatever that meant. Mira was aggressive, slapping pamphlets into people’s hands when they walked by. That girl didn’t take no for an answer.
Someone barked into a microphone, and my stomach hollowed when I saw Cody White standing at the center of the stage. Talia’s expression fell, and I could tell the sight of him made her sick.
Cody waved his pamphlet over the crowd. “Mother Miriam is taking our magic because of the non-believers. If we bring an end to the non-believers, the coven shall unite once more!”
“Hang the non-believers!” a man in the crowd shouted.
There had to be at least a hundred people listening to Cody’s fierce words. Some were students, like Gregory and Brayden watching on from a coffee shop nearby. Others were our parents’ age, and some of them were young parents with their children along. Several police officers watched on, not making a move to stop a single thing.
Lucas whirled toward one of the guys passing out pamphlets. “What the hell is this!?”
The guy handed him a pamphlet. “Join Miriam’s Chosen, and stand with us as witnesses of the truth!”
It was Finn, one of the Treacherous Tarantulas.
Lucas eyed the pamphlet skeptically. “I thought you were Executors. Now you’re the Chosen?”
Finn looked down his nose at Lucas. “I’m both. As an Executor, I’ve already been chosen to restore the balance.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucas demanded.
“The priestesses have received a vision,” Finn said snidely, like Lucas was stupid. “Mother Miriam has declared a reform to the coven. Follow her will, and the Waning will come to an end. Deny her, and our magic will be stripped forever.”
“Hold on,” I said. “You think Mother Miriam is causing the Waning and holding our magic hostage? She would never do that.”
“It’s people like you who have caused this in the first place by questioning her orders,” Finn spat. “Being a member of this coven is simple. Follow Mother Miriam, and protect the coven. Mother Miriam has given us instruction, and if you can’t obey her, you don’t belong in the coven at all.”
As my eyes roamed over the pamphlet, my stomach sank. The Chosen are those who are deemed worthy in Mother Miriam’s eyes… Mother Miriam has decreed a separation of Casts, to preserve our bloodlines and magic… The priestesses wanted to tear families apart!
“Mother Miriam would never demand these things,” Grant argued.
“Mother Miriam gave us this revelation,” Finn insisted. “If you don’t join, you’re going against her.”
“You can’t seriously be buying into this,” Lucas said.
Finn scoffed. “Forget it. You’re a lost cause anyway. I know how you have a habit of turning against your own.”
