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I smiled. My jaw no longer shook. When I spoke, I prayed my voice reached every supernatural ear in the next hundred miles.
“Hear me,” I demanded. “I am Freya Redfern, Heir to the Coven of Hecate, and I am asking for your help. We have been betrayed by one of our own, sisters, and we must put an end to her. We must protect our newest coven member, and we must avenge our fallen sisters. We must avenge our dearest Coven Mother, Sybil Redfern. Please, hear my cry and offer me forgiveness. Know that everything I have done, I have done for us. For the Goddess. Even for you, Arion. And wolves, please do not forget your allies of the last three centuries. Please hear me. To face her together is our only hope.”
Once I finished the amplification spell, stark silence fell over the forest. Blood pounded in my ears, but no dark magic screeched. The sky lightened, and the Sun shone down on us. I touched a hand to the forest floor. At last, the charred earth warmed.
“Josephine will definitely know where we are now,” I said.
“She would’ve found us anyway,” Walker replied. “And now that she knows you’ve called for help, she’ll need time to gather her own forces.”
I stood. Leaves crunched under animals’ feet, and branches rustled. I might have healed the forest, but I wasn’t convinced I’d saved us.
“They might not come.”
“They will.” Walker grinned. “That was quite the speech. Ever think about going into politics?”
I shoved his arm and fought back laughter. He didn’t make the same effort to hold in his own amusement. With a smile tugging at my lips, I stormed off in the direction of his house.
“C’mon, cowboy. We have a battle to prepare for.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Walker
When we walked back to the house, Dad waited for us on the front porch. I was relieved that his gaze was still clear, and his stance was still steady. I’d half-expected to find him drunk. Cadence rose from her seat on the steps.
“That was incredible,” Cadence said and grinned at Freya. “I’d just gotten home when I heard your spell. I figured I better wait here for further orders, Coven Leader Redfern.”
“It’s Coven Mother,” Freya said and ruffled Cadence’s hair. “And I’m not technically allowed to claim that title. Yet.”
“Well,” Cadence said, “you’ve got my vote.”
Dad huffed. “Yes, it was quite the speech, witch. Now, it’s time to introduce you kids to your heritage.” He walked into the house.
Here goes nothing.
With Freya trailing reluctantly behind us, Cadence and I followed him inside. He surprised me by walking to end of the hall, to the linen closet. The only thing I’d ever seen inside of it were old blankets and a couple cobwebs.
Dad pulled a key I’d never seen before out of his pocket. It was old and delicately shaped, with an insignia imprinted onto its handle. He held it out to me, and I studied the rearing, fire-blazing dragon.
“Dragons have been symbols of protection for centuries,” he explained. “That’s what our family business is really about—protecting innocents from dark magic.”
Freya scoffed but tried to disguise it as a cough. My father glared at her.
“You were showing us something, Daddy?” Cadence said.
Dad grumbled to himself but put the key in the closet door’s lock. I’d always wondered why we would ever need to lock it. When he turned the key, instead of locking the door, the entire wall creaked. The doorway, crown molding and all, hinged forward but caught on the hardwood floor.
“It hasn’t been opened in a while,” Dad explained. “The house has shifted a bit in that time. Walker, help me pry it open.”
We grabbed the corners of the door frame and pulled. It was heavier than I expected. It opened wide enough for me to jam my shoulder into it. With a final heave, the hidden door and the attached narrow closet swung open. A dark staircase greeted us.
Someday, I would get used to hidden passageways and creepy basements.
Dad ran his hand on the right wall and flipped a switch. Lights flickered on. He led the way down the concrete, dust-covered stairs. I reached out, squeezed Cadence’s hand, then followed him. Cadence was right behind me.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Dad flipped another switch, but nothing happened.
“Come on,” he grumbled and flipped the switch a few more times.
