by Emma Dean
Then she lit the second candle and said a short prayer for her grandmother. Mika had never really felt close to her, not since those days when she was really little, and Helen would whisper secrets to a toddler.
But on her deathbed her grandmother had given Mika the box that had changed her life. It had led her on the path that had brought her to the truth, discovering what she truly was, what the world had forgotten.
She set that candle next to her mother’s.
Then Mika lit the third candle and asked her sister for forgiveness. Mika prayed Claire had found some sort of peace in death, that she hadn’t suffered or lingered to fester in her hate and rage, wishing for nothing but revenge.
Growing up, they were too far apart in age to really be close. Mika had always feared her sister and her power. She’d always been wary of the way Claire had indulged in every privilege that came with being a high society witch.
But she’d loved her sister regardless. Mika wished with all her heart Claire would have trusted her, confided in her. She wished Claire would have chosen Mika over power instead of trying to eliminate a threat.
Mika didn’t blame Claire for that anymore. From what she’d gathered from Cassandra, the Head Witch had been grooming her sister from a young age. What would her sister have been like without that influence?
It was impossible to know, and she couldn’t go back and change the past. Mika rifled through her memories until she found the one where Claire had thrown her a surprise birthday party one year. She’d gone all out, even finding a few rare plants that Mika had been eyeing as gifts to add to her corner of the greenhouse.
That was the sister Mika wanted to remember. The Claire that Cassandra had made her into wasn’t the real Claire, not deep down. Yes, her sister had been spoiled, but Mika knew she would have been able to make her see reason during the challenge if it wasn’t for the poisonous words the Head Witch had been whispering in her sister’s ear for who knows how many years.
Setting that candle next to her mother’s, Mika set the last one to the black flame.
For Morgana, the ancestor who had showed up for her, who had chosen to stay instead of taking her well-deserved freedom – just to help Mika make it through this transition. She was the mother and sister Mika had always wanted, there when she needed her, but giving her the space to find her footing until she was comfortable on her own.
Morgana Le Fay, the last witch queen.
The warrior witch who trained Mika every night, who constantly encouraged her not to give up, who promised Mika that she would figure out the shapeshifting, given time. She’d talked to the undine, giving Mika a chance to create another alliance that would shake their world apart.
One day soon the pieces would fall and reveal something new and terrifying and maybe, just maybe, something better.
Mika said a prayer for Morgana and set the candle with the others for her clan.
“I am honored,” the ghost witch murmured, appearing out of nowhere. Her glowing form fit into the atmosphere, adding to the glow from the candles, emphasizing the cold and somehow warming Mika at the same time. “It has been a long time since my blood has lit a candle for me.”
“I am honored that you chose to stay,” Mika told her, looking up at the ghost witch. “I have a feeling I’m going to need all the guidance I can get soon.”
Snow started to fall.
Big fat flakes fell from the sky. They were slow and languid, melting a second after they’d landed. But it was freezing outside. Soon the snow would start to stick, and the flakes would build on each other.
The first snow of winter on the night of Samhain. It felt fitting somehow.
Morgana looked up at the sky too, expression unreadable. “It will not be easy, but we will make it through whatever comes. I won’t rest until our sisters are protected, until there is peace.”
Mika nodded once and sighed. She wasn’t alone, she reminded herself. They’d all get through this together.
“Matriarch Marshall.”
The sound of Cassandra’s voice made her whip around, eyeing the oldest of their kind.
“I too came to light a candle for Claire, I hope that’s all right.”
Mika turned back to the shrine and Morgana was nowhere to be seen. “I’m sure she would appreciate it,” Mika said.
Slowly she got to her feet, knees almost frozen. Her feet and hands were cold, but she would warm up as soon as she got back inside. The music from the dining hall trickled through the air as Mika watched the Head Witch light a candle for Claire.
“I honestly had no idea you were hoping to have Claire be the next Head Witch,” Mika said as the older witch set the candle with the others. “Were you training her?”
“In some things,” Cassandra admitted. “I saw her power manifest quite young, and your mother reached out to me for guidance. Not many have the power Claire did.” The Head Witch looked up at Mika then. “Except for you, it seems. Your mother had no idea, or I would have taken you under my wing as well.”
It was difficult not to curl her lip in disgust.
Was there some speck of memory that had remained, some urge to keep an eye on the clans who had once been blood witches? Had there been some instinct that pushed Cassandra to train Claire?
“Well, my power took a long time to form,” Mika said with false cheer. “I was slow to reach puberty, so my full power only manifested a few years ago. And after what happened with Bradley Davis, I couldn’t perform basic magic at all until I arrived here.”
The Head Witch stood. “Ah yes, Claire did tell me about that unfortunate incident. I’m sorry you had to experience that.”
As awful as the Head Witch was, Mika believed her. She may be evil, but she definitely didn’t approve of rape.
“Bradley Davis did the same to many witches,” Mika said, words soft. “As did other males. From what my cousin has told me, they were all a part of a secret society. Have you heard of it?”
Cassandra’s sympathetic look turned hard and she inspected Mika from head to toe before wrapping her fur cape around her tighter. The snow started to fall faster as they stared each other down like in a dominance game the shifters would play.
“The Hellfire Society,” Cassandra stated. “Yes, the demon witch has made all of us on the Council very aware. Despicable, all of it.”
But it didn’t sound like Cassandra cared, it sounded like she was more annoyed Jessica had been messing around in her affairs.
“I don’t know much about it,” Mika lied. “But I’m glad someone is taking care of it.” She turned toward the ball, the hair on her neck prickling as she put her back to the witch who’d tried to slaughter her kind.
“If you would like, I have an empty spot to fill,” Cassandra stated as if it hadn’t been because Mika had killed her own sister. “There are things I could teach you that you could never learn here, or from anyone else. Things about yourself that might surprise you.”
Mika stopped and turned back, studying the witch who’d turned her sister into a monster. “You want me to become Head Witch one day?” Or see if Mika had the gift to become the next witch queen and murder her if she did.
The smile on the other witch’s face wasn’t pleasant. “I can’t live forever, that isn’t a gift I’ve been given in all my centuries. You have the power Mika, let me show you how to use it.”
“I’m not interested in more power,” Mika admitted. “I’m not even enjoying being queen.”
There it was, that flicker of rage. Cassandra definitely remembered there used to be a witch queen. Did she remember that Mika had the blood to be one? Did she suspect she already had that specialty thanks to the challenge?
If Mika were lucky the Head Witch simply assumed she was talking about Homecoming.
“Well, if you change your mind,” Cassandra gritted out. “I’d love to have an apprentice again.”
“I appreciate the offer,” Mika said, turning back to the dining hall. “I’ll definitely think about
it.”
Cassandra was dangerous. She remembered something, but exactly what Mika didn’t know.
And Mika couldn’t find out without exposing everything she knew, everything she was.
How much longer did she have before the entire world would know?
“Is everything all right?”
And there was Dagon, waiting at the doorway in a pair of black pants and a crisp black button-down shirt. He looked gorgeous and sharp. Mika almost stumbled in her heels but managed to catch herself.
She glanced back at Cassandra who was studying Dagon with suspicion.
When she turned back to the hellhound, his hand was out, patiently waiting for her.
Slowly she placed her hand in his, wondering what the hellhound had planned.
“May I have this dance?” he asked, deep voice rumbling through him and into her thanks to their contact.
“You may,” Mika managed, wondering if her nosy demon father had taught him as well.
Dagon led her back into the ball with a strange grace that reminded her of his hound form. She could feel the heat from his body, and it helped warm her up along with the heating spell inside.
Without hesitation he led her onto the dance floor and swept her into a waltz with more grace and skill than she’d thought he possessed. Mika was delighted to be wrong.
“I may have told Morgana I wanted to attend the ball,” Dagon admitted without looking at her. “She was kind enough to teach me a few things and help me choose something appropriate to wear.”
All of them cared so much. They’d all learned how to dance, had asked for help picking out what to wear…
Even Dagon.
Mika stared at the hellhound as he carefully led her through the waltz. “You had Morgana teach you to dance…so you could come to the ball?”
“I was hoping to dance with you,” he stated, as if it were obvious.
Mika felt his skin through his shirt, nearly burning but it felt good on her cold hands. What did that heat mean though? Was he flustered and about to shift?
“Why?” she asked.
“I’ve been watching you since Lucifer sent me here to guard the seal,” Dagon admitted, sticking to the basic steps. He wasn’t as flowery as Ethan had been, but he was sturdy and confident in what he could do. “I watched you find those who were slaughtered and want to do something about it. I watched you overcome your fear of your own magic…”
Mika had no idea what to say. All she could do was watch as they danced, waiting with bated breath for whatever he was going to say next.
“I was ordered to observe, nothing more. I was not allowed to interfere in this realm outside my domain,” Dagon confessed. “I was not allowed to hunt down the killer and leave the seal unguarded while she was trying to open it. But when they took you from this island, I couldn’t stay quiet any longer.”
Slowly his steps came to a stop with the song. Dagon finally looked at her and his skin felt like it was on fire. Was he embarrassed? Mika still didn’t know what to say.
Dagon took a step back, reluctantly releasing her. “I’ve never met anyone quite as strong as you, Mika Marshall. I no longer protect you because I was ordered to. I protect you because I want to.” His hand came up and Mika couldn’t move as his thumb barely caressed her cheek, leaving a literal trail of heat.
He disappeared before she could say anything, becoming invisible.
Mika watched the energy she could feel move towards the door, wondering what the hell this meant.
“Mika.”
She turned to Malachi, feeling a flutter in her chest at the sight of him in the slate grey suit, tailored to perfection. It didn’t hide the breadth of his shoulders or the strength in his arms. His dark skin was beautiful under candlelight and his white teeth flashed when he smiled at her.
“Dance with me?” he asked, hands still in his pockets, as if he expected her to refuse him.
“Of course, I’m surprised it took you this long to ask,” Mika teased.
He smiled again and took her hand in his, placing them in the proper positions before resting his hand on her lower back. “I wasn’t sure you’d be interested.”
Ethan and Lucien whisked by them and the fox winked at her.
Mika blushed slightly as Malachi stepped forward. “I feel like you knew I would.”
“Technically Corbin is my date,” Malachi said with a chuckle. “Which I know is thanks to Audrey, but I agreed to go with him because he asked nicely, and I didn’t want to go with anyone else if I couldn’t go with you.”
She blushed again as they danced in silence for a few minutes.
“I know I haven’t really tried to put myself out there since the summer,” Malachi admitted. “And that’s not because I don’t care about you. It’s not because I’m not interested or intimidated by the males willing to share just so they can still have you.”
Mika felt her breath catch and she almost missed a step but Malachi’s hand on her back kept her steady as he held her tightly, taking some of the weight off her feet.
How was every single muscle on him rock hard?
“It’s because I’ve been trying to be worthy of your time and attention before asking you to consider me as a romantic interest again. I wanted to be deserving of your love before asking you to give it to me.” Malachi looked down at her and the serious look in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. “I needed to deal with my demons, and I did. Asking you to deal with them wouldn’t have been fair. I needed to find my own way back, and you gave me the time to do that without trying to rush me. I’ll never forget that peace you gave me, Mika, to find my path.”
She gripped his hand tight. “Thank you for helping me through the transition at the beginning of the semester. I still struggle with how angry I am all the time underneath everything else, but…thanks to you and Jessica I didn’t break.”
He nodded. “I’m still working on the rage I feel everyday whenever I remember what my father is responsible for, but this is who I am now. I know I’m different, but I wanted to know if…you were still interested in me?”
Mika felt her stomach flutter and she glanced over at Lucien and Ethan who were dancing as close to them as possible without hovering. Both Lucien and Ethan gave her a thumb’s up with massive grins on their faces.
She spotted Corbin chatting with Audrey at the drink table, watching her surreptitiously. When his gaze met hers, Corbin gave her a predatory grin and nodded.
Somehow all her boys had already talked about this, perhaps even coached Malachi on what to say, giving him encouragement and advice…for her.
Mika looked back up at Malachi. “Yes, I’m still interested,” she breathed. “Who you are—I liked who you were before, but I feel like I relate to you more now. I know we both still have shit to deal with, but it’s easier when you have someone else helping you shoulder the burden.”
Malachi heaved a massive sigh of relief and Mika couldn’t hold her laugh in. “I was hoping you’d say something like that,” he told her.
He stopped dancing even though the song wasn’t finished and released her hand. Then he slowly pressed her lower back until she was as close to him as she could get. His free hand cupped her cheek and Malachi leaned down.
Her heart pounded and all Mika could do was hold on as her breath caught right before his lips touched hers. The kiss was gentle for only a moment, then Malachi’s hold on her face tightened and he kissed her hard, tongue slipping into her mouth when she gasped.
When he finally pulled back her chest was heaving, her lips were swollen, and a heat had settled between her legs. Malachi’s eyes were dark with lust, but he cleared his throat and stepped back. “Thank you for this dance.”
“Find me before the end of the night?” Mika asked. “I’d like to dance with you again.”
“Of course.”
Before they could say anything else, Corbin swept her up into the next song. “So, who kisses better, me or Malachi?”
She laughed
and shoved him. “I need a drink before I can dance anymore.”
“Hm, if I bring back something fruity and delicious, will you answer my question?” Corbin teased, twirling her in a ridiculous spin that wasn’t to any beat but his own.
Mika laughed again. “Only if it comes with water. I need to sit down for a moment.”
Lucien and Ethan whisked by with a practiced air. “I get next after Corbin,” Lucien called. “Once wasn’t enough.”
“That’s fine, Malachi’s a better dancer than you are,” Ethan said, grinning at Mika.
“Rude,” Lucien snapped.
She smiled as she limped to a nearby seat and took off her shoes, tucking them under the table. Mika couldn’t imagine her life without all of them anymore. They all fit together so well.
“Looks like you’re having a good time.”
Mika looked up and saw Ryan standing in front of her, a small smile on his face. Instantly her good mood waned. “Yeah, thanks.”
“Happy Samhain.” Ryan didn’t move on though, he just stood there, looking at her.
“I’m not interested in dancing,” she said, wondering what the hell he could possibly want from her.
“Oh, I wasn’t planning on asking,” Ryan told her, glancing at his watch.
Mika didn’t know what to say. She searched the dining hall and found Audrey and Corbin at the drink table, filling up a tray. Ethan and Lucien were now at the food table with Malachi, filling up more plates. They’d be over at the table soon and then hopefully Ryan would leave.
“It’s nearly midnight,” he told her. “Do you have any plans?”
“No.” Mika frowned at Ryan. “Why would I have plans on Samhain?”
Ryan’s hand lashed out so fast she was taken by surprise. His fingers wrapped around her wrist as the alarm on his watch went off. She yelped when something sharp pressed into her wrist. Then she smelled blood.
Guttural words she recognized fell from his lips. Mika tried to yank her hand out of his grip, but Ryan was stronger than any normal witch. He pulled her forward off the chair, making her stumble to her knees in front of him.
