Winter's Awakening (Light Coven Chronicles Book 1)

by Alessandra Jay

  Evan

  Seeing Scarlet go through this transformation is really something I’m cherishing. The way her eyes light up when she discovers something new brings warmth to my heart. She is so easily captivated in every new thing she learns. I'm almost thankful that Rick didn't teach her everything because now I get to. After she placed her book of shadows back into her chest, she brought out the long glass tube. “What’s this for?” She curiously asks. “After you get your wand, you come back here and you make an encasement for it. The tube is glass, so you can cast your own design onto it,” I explain. “When will my ceremony be?” She asks. I can tell she’s nervous because her voice got slightly lower.

  “Usually it’s right away. But I think in your case it will most likely be after the Caster Matches.” And I suddenly get excited myself. The night Scarlet goes through the transformation ceremony is going to be a sight to see. She already is so powerful and flawless. I can only imagine how she’s going to be and look after. When you complete the transition, your physical appearance smoothes out any little imperfections you might have, sealing your DNA to withstand the many hundreds of years to come. Just then, Scarlet scoots forward and turns my way. She looks like she’s on the verge of crying. Concern takes over my entire body. “What is it, love?”

  “I just don't know how I'm going to succeed in saving our world. I'm afraid I won’t live up to the prophecy,” she bravely admits. I take her hands in mine, and I kiss the top of each. “Scarlet, from the moment I saw you I knew there was something special about you. I could sense the courage and the innocence at the same time. And when I actually met you, I knew you were going to be something great in the world. You have so much love to give. And that is what is going to save us. You protect the things you love. And I have no doubt in my mind that, when you lead to protect us, we will succeed, together. We have the people we love standing behind us and the strongest coven the caster world has ever seen, there to fight beside us.”

  I know what I said got to her because she’s sitting up straighter and her watery eyes are gone. She looks like she’s ready to prepare for this fight. And I couldn't be prouder. That’s my girl.

  Chapter 27

  Answers

  Scarlet

  Somehow, we ended up on the bed with locked lips. I could lay here and kiss him all day. “I love you, Evan.” I profess, as we stand up to go to the dining room. He turns around and picks me up to twirl me in the air, causing me to giggle. “I will never get tired of hearing that. I love you. Always and forever, love.” he replies, leaving my heart feeling extremely full. “Now let’s go meet up with everyone. Later we can get you a wand.” He leads me out of our wing and suddenly stops short, snapping his fingers and casting the map Jade made for me. “Why don’t you lead the way?” he suggests. I look down, finding Evan’s letter next to mine, then I find the Sisters all gathered in the dining room. Like a maze, I walk forward and see the S and the E move forward on the map. Two lefts and a right brought us right to the dining room doors. I take a deep breath as Evan rubs my shoulders.

  “You've got this, Scar.” He spins me, so that I'm looking at him and he pushes my hair in front of my face, hiding the Mark of the chosen. “Let’s hide that until they're ready to see. Yeah?” I nod as he spins me back around to face the doors. Evan playfully pushes me into the kitchen, causing me to stumble in. Hunter laughs and shakes her head as Evan comes in chuckling along with her. I lightly hit him in the ribs with my elbow as I attempt to compose myself and make my way over to my waiting family. The first person to notice me was Dimitri. He stood up right away and ran over, spinning me around, checking every visible spot he could see. “Are you all right? What’s wrong? Why did we get called here so urgently?” He asks, clearly as nervous as I was. Dad stood and put his hand on Dimitri's shoulder, nudging him slightly aside.

  He pulls me in for a hug. “Are you okay, honey?” He asks, concerned as I squeeze him as hard as he’ll let me. I feel so safe in his arms. Demi comes over and puts her hands on my shoulders, pulling me out of Dad’s protective embrace, and she gives me one of her own. “I'm so glad you're okay. I’ve been worried sick.” I pull away and walk with her to the table where everyone was sitting. “Would you all please take a seat.” Ava cuts in. I see her give Dimitri a quick look, and I could swear her cheeks flushed pink. I quickly sit down in between my father and Evan as Demi and Dimitri sit directly across from us.

  “Well, as you know, Scarlet didn't get her power until just recently. It has been locked away all these years. I'm guessing, to hide her strength. When Evan and I touched her at the same time, we unlocked the greater power within. A few things happened after that. One, she is Marked. A few times, actually. Two, she is our chosen caster foretold in the prophecy. And three, she is your newest Elder.” Wow. I guess Ava wanted to just lay it out there, quick and to the point. Afraid to look up, Evan grabs my hand under the table, and I brave a peek up. Demi is as white as a ghost, and Dimitri has a smile as wide as the Cheshire cat. I look at Dad in the corner of my eyes, and he has a dreamy look on his face. Dimitri stands up and runs over to me. “I knew you were special, pal. What a journey to be a part of. I'm so damn proud.” He kisses me on the forehead and walks back to his seat, gently hitting Demi with his shoulder when he sits back down.

  She slowly stands up and walks to me. Bending down so we’re eye level, “Scar, wow. I don't even know where to begin. I'm so happy for you and slightly afraid. I guess that’s the mother in me. Just know that we’re here for you, always. Try not to let this bring you down. We’re Winters. We’re strong. And I’ve never met anyone braver than you.” She hugs me and walks back to her chair. Now Dad turns in his seat, so we’re facing each other and he takes my hands in his. “Honey, this news is incredible. Words can’t even describe how proud I am.” Oh, no. He’s going to cry. With tear-rimmed eyes, he continues. “I knew things were weird lately, especially with you finding Evan. But I never would have guessed this in a million lifetimes. My Scarlet, a woman of prophecy, an Elder, a warrior, someone’s Anima Partem, and college student,” he jokes, lightening up the mood. “Don’t be afraid. You have all of us by your side.” And there goes the water works. I throw myself into his arms, and he squeezes me lovingly.

  “I hate to keep throwing things at you, but there’s more,” Ava says, gaining everyone’s attention again. “As I said before, Scarlet received her Mark. There are three.” Ava nods at me, and I lift my hair into a high ponytail. Demi gasps, and Dad softly takes my face in his hands, inspecting the Mark of the chosen one. “It’s beautiful,” Demi says dreamily. “Magnificent,” Dad says quietly. “Yes, it’s a beautiful Mark. Then there is the Mark of the Anima Partem. The one she shares with Evan. I pull my shirt down, slightly, at the same time Evan does, and we both show our matching Marks above our hearts. For a moment we share an intense look at each other. But then I hear the chair next to mine screech back and fall to the floor.

  Dad stands me up and forcefully turns me around, making me face Evan, who stood up, as well. Dad found the third Mark. “And that, is her third Mark. Rick, please keep calm. Do you have any information on why she would have the Mark of the Divine?” Ava asks slowly, like she’s trying to avoid a meltdown from him. Dad stays quiet as Demi and Dimitri both stand up quickly to walk to his side. Both of them gasp as soon as they see the Mark on my neck. I turn around to see Demi with her hand over her mouth. And Dimitri is starting to perspire. Dad looks frozen, like he’s no longer here with us. “Dad? Are you okay?” I say quietly, concerned about what’s happening to him. Ava comes around to us and hooks an arm into my dad’s elbow. “Maybe a trip to the fire room could help,” she says, leading him out of the room. Nova leads Demi, and Belle leads Dimitri. They have all gone silent. And I hate it.

  What is going on? Why do all three of them look like they’ve seen a ghost? I'm still me. Evan, always so in tune with my emotions, lets himself into my mind. “It’s going to be okay, my love. This is a lot to process. They’ll
come around.” He always seems to say the right thing at the right time. I square my shoulders as we make our way to the fire room for the second time today. And after only moments, everyone seemed to be a lot more calm. The color returned to Demi’s face, and my dad actually looks like he can move now. I go to kneel in front of him, as he sits numbly on the couch. “You know what that Mark means, don't you?” I ask, already knowing the answer. He nods, still silent. “You've seen it before, haven't you?” I ask. He nods again. “Does it have to do with my mother?” Another silent nod, I lift his chin to meet my eyes. “Dad, you're the only person that has seen this Mark before. I need for you to open up to me, to be honest with me, so I can figure out who I am.” A spark of recognition lights up in his gray eyes, and he blinks a few times.

  A slow smile spreads across his face. “Look at you, a strong leader, trying to calm her father.” He shakes his head and laughs, sitting back and rubbing his face with both hands. “Anyone have marshmallows? This is going to be one hell of a campfire story,” he jokes. But Hunter wasn't playing around. She immediately snapped her fingers, and my s’mores desserts from earlier appeared in front of one of the fireplaces. “Ready,” she innocently says. A bunch of us laugh and a few stand to join her on the floor. Jade snaps her fingers, casting hot cocoa to appear and Hunter looks like she just won a prize.

  Dad leans forward on his knees to begin his story. “Demi’s mother, Amelia, died in a car accident when Demi was only a baby. I took it hard, really hard. She was my Anima Partem, taken from me way too soon.” Whenever Dad talked about Demi’s mom, he always got a faraway look in his eyes, like he is remembering moments from days gone by. Whenever I asked him about my mom, he dismissed the subject entirely. Right now, though, he has that faraway look. “I immersed myself in training with Dimitri. We were a lethal pair.” Dimitri cuts him off, “Are! We ARE a lethal pair.”

  Dad continues, “One night we received an alert of demon activity. It was a very busy night. You know, I still don't know how so many appeared. There were at least one hundred of them gathered in one place. We killed them all, every single one of them, just us two.” Again, Dimitri interrupts, “I remember that night,” Dimitri says, getting his own faraway look in his eyes. “I was exhausted. But your uncle was pumped with adrenaline,” Dad says. “I went to the Village that night,” Dimitri replies. For the quickest moment, he looks over at Ava. I peek a glance at her, and her cheeks are as red as mine get. Was he with Ava that night? He looked away before anyone else could notice the silent exchange.

  Dad nodded his head and continued. “Yes. You went to the Village, and I went home. But on my way home the most bizarre thing happened. There was a woman, beautiful, delicate, and broken. I found her on our street, wandering around in tattered clothing, no shoes, no bag, no ID. But she didn't smell homeless. Her hair even looked freshly washed. When I approached her, she didn't know whether to run away from me or run towards me. I told her I had extra clothes that I can give her. I still hadn't thrown away Amelia's things. I guess her intuition told her to trust me because she followed me into our house.

  She looked confused, and everything seemed new to her. I brought her into our bedroom, so I could pack her a duffel bag. And I laid out some clothes on the bed for her to change into. I was about to leave to give her privacy to change, but she just dropped her dress in front of me. I averted my eyes right away and began to walk out of the room when I saw it, on her left shoulder, a Mark, just like yours Scarlet. Only it was a full set of wings. I waited outside of that room for a few minutes then knocked and let myself in, but she wasn't there anymore. The window was open, and she was gone.”

  Dimitri stood up, and looked as white as a ghost. He whispered a name I have never heard before. “Willow.” Dad nods his head, and I finally have my first of many questions. “Wait. I thought she left. How would you know her name?” I ask both of them. Dad answers, “After I saw her, I felt different, like I shouldn't be mourning the loss of Amelia the way I was. I should have been celebrating the time we had together and moving on. I guess that woman gave me hope.” He pauses as he thinks of the past. I’ve never seen him like this. “After a month, I thought I would never see her again. There was a knock at the door, and I answered it with a two-year-old Demi in my arms.” He looks over at my sister. “You had just thrown a tantrum because I wouldn't give you a cookie.” He looks back to his hands on his lap.

  “I was stunned when I opened the door to see the woman again. Demi still had tears running down her face, and the woman reached to her face and wiped the tears away. Instantly in love, Demi left my arms and practically jumped into hers. The woman looked terrified, like she had no idea what to do next. She stood there with her eyes wide and back straight. I couldn't help but laugh. And when I did, she smiled. She was a beautiful sight. And she was wearing Amelia's old clothes. It felt weird. But there was something about her that I couldn't turn away. I invited her in, and we connected right away. She stayed at our house for about a month when she started sleeping in my bed. We couldn't keep our hands off of each other.” He looked up at Demi and me to send us a mental apology, although it was too late. “After a while, I noticed she would constantly stare out of the window in Scarlet’s room. When I asked her about it, I regretted it immediately. She looked terrified, like I was interrogating her or something. I tried to reassure her over and over again that I was only curious. She left that night while I was asleep. She didn't leave a note. I didn't have a clue why she would leave without saying goodbye. I had nothing to remember her by. I was heartbroken once again. I swore off women after that.” Him and Dimitri shared a laugh, most likely some inside joke.

  Dad’s face turns serious again. “Nine months later there was a knock on the door. And when I went to open it, there was a newborn baby there wrapped in a blanket. You were there, Scarlet. You were so tiny. I was amazed that you weren't in an incubator. When I realized you were my child, I brought you here to Eden right away. I wanted to make sure you were healthy and safe.” He looked up thankfully at Ava. “Ava checked you. And thank the heavens you were okay.”

  Ava was my newborn doctor? I was left on a doorstep? Why would she leave me? Why didn't she just stay with us? Ava was the first to speak. “I remember that night. We just finished celebrating the alignment of Pluto and Neptune. I remember I performed a cast to search her body for anything out of order, and I got shocked. Literally. A spark electrocuted my finger. I thought it was some static clinging from the mortal world. But I guess it was a warning not to search her again.” Now Ava looked like she was recalling the past. “And I did find it odd that she never received her power. But I didn't think anything of it,” she said. But she was talking more to herself than us. This time Demi had a question. “Dad, if you saw Willow with the Mark of the angel, why did you sleep with her?” She asked.

  “The night I helped her and saw the Mark, I wasn't fully coherent. After fighting off so many demons, I was spent. How was I supposed to know she was fallen? I thought she was a homeless mortal woman with a random tattoo. I didn't think she could be of the Divine world,” he explained. “Could you not feel it like we can feel other casters?” I ask. Dimitri replies, “Well, I never felt anything when I was around her. But she could've easily turned it off,” he answers, as if that answered my question. Now I felt even more confused. “Turned it off?” But Evan answers. “Yes, love. We can temporarily block our power. I'm not sure how or if angels can, too. But by the sound of it, I think they can.”

  “That doesn't sound safe. You're telling me the dark coven can block off their power so, we don’t feel when they're around?” I ask, getting a little more frightened. Ava comes around and touches my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Scarlet. We will teach you how to bypass that. You're an Elder now. We get our privileges,” she says with a small smile. I return the gesture and wonder if I could talk mind to mind with Ava, like I do with Evan.

  “Do you think you could turn up that calming effect just a notch higher? Just for
a minute?” I ask her mentally. But after a few giggles and a few gasps, I realized I must have done something wrong. Ava has a hand up to her mouth, trying to hide her smile. She finally explains, “We’re going to have to get you training sooner than I thought. Communicating like that is very, very difficult. Most casters can’t do more than one person at a time. Scarlet, you just spoke to all of us at the same time,” she says, more wide-eyed than I’ve seen her. She waves her hand, and I feel a wave of relaxation hit me as I slouch into Evan’s side and I sit there, thinking of all this new information but with a more level head.

  Everyone stays quiet for a while until Hunter speaks up. “I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired. I'm taking a few of these cookies to bed with me. Goodnight everyone!” She laughs like a villain would, and she runs out of the room. Ava stands and stretches. “I think I'm going to call it a night, also. Scarlet, do you want to meet in your kitchen in the morning? We can discuss the tournament. And Dimitri's breakfast is already calling out to me.” She must be too tired to realize what she just said. Dimitri's breakfast? When has she had Dimitri's breakfast? Suddenly, Dimitri stands up and aloud asks, “May I walk you to your wing, Ava?” She smiles and nods her head. The other Sisters leave, and it’s just me, Evan, my dad, and Demi. “Why don't we head over to my wing? I'm tired.” I suggest.

  Demi stops me when we get to my black doors. “Scar, I'm going to head back home. Silas is probably freaking out not knowing what’s going on. And I miss the girls. I’ve never spent a night away from them.” Completely understanding, I pull her into a tight hug. “Thank you for coming, Dee. I love you so much,” I whispered to her. She pulled me in tighter, and I could hear her sniffle. “Don't worry, Scar. You'll get through this. You have all of us behind you. Please don't ever forget that. I'm going to miss you. But I’ll see you soon.” She pulls away, and I could see the tears coming down her face. “Layla's going to freak when I tell her that her auntie is going to do great things for our world.” This time I pull her back to me, and I hold her until she stopped crying. Saying goodbye to her felt like we both knew we wouldn't see each other for a while.