Looking into his face, I could see his fear and anxiety. He wasn’t lying. He had been upset when I fell into the street.
“Why? Why did you break the rules to save me?” Feeling the heat of his body reminded me of the furball curled up in my lap while I was reading in the cold garden. Even though he was really a boy, he reminded me so much of my companion, whom I hated and loved.
“I would have thought that was obvious.” He tapped the end of my nose and smiled.
Unsure of what he meant, I could only assume that he considered us friends after spending so much time together in the garden.
I had no reason to trust him, yet every part of me wanted to. He could have hurt me a million times over, yet he hadn’t. I was mad about the spying, but when it came time to prove himself, he had saved me twice. I could only imagine what his master would think of his betrayal.
“Was I the target tonight?” I needed to know the answer more than I needed to breathe. If he said yes, I knew I could never trust him. It meant that he had willingly conspired to harm me.
He slowly shook his head. “It’s nothing personal against you. You were merely collateral damage. I swear that I didn’t know about the plot until the curse was already in the house. Once I found out, I ran straight here. I was so afraid that I wouldn’t make it. Celeste, if anything had happened to you.”
I watched his eyes tear up as he gathered me in his arms to hug me. I relaxed into his embrace. Pressing my nose against his chest, I caught the scent of the outdoors mixed with his familiar feline scent.
“So, you didn’t know about the curse until after it was set in the house?” I looked up into his contrite face and held my breath.
“They don’t tell me everything, Celeste. I overheard something I shouldn’t have. As it is, I had to make excuses for where I was. You must tell everyone that you knew something was off or that you heard the explosion and barely escaped. You must not tell them that I warned you. Please.” He gripped my arms and leaned down so close that our foreheads were nearly touching. He looked into my eyes, imploring me to help him.
“Okay. I won’t mention you. So far, I haven’t told anyone. My parents were more concerned about getting rid of the curse and making sure I was okay. The inquisition will start tomorrow. I’ll be as vague as possible.”
He let out a long breath and smiled. “Thank you.” He looked over his shoulder again. “Your mother is coming. I need to leave. They must not see me. You were correct about the obscuring spell, but it doesn’t work while I’m in human form.”
He took one last look at me and headed for the window. As he walked away, I saw an orange glow stretch out between us. “Oh God! The love spell…”
“Celeste, it’s stronger than that. For me, the spell has revealed what I have feared for a long time, but didn’t have the courage to accept. You, Pearl Celeste Dreger, are my mate.” He blew me a kiss as he sat on the windowsill.
I watched as his suit shimmered and turned bright gold before his tall form shrank down and his body sprouted fur everywhere.
With a quick meow, he jumped out the window and disappeared.
I numbly sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. “What just happened?”
Somehow, my cat was a secret agent for an unknown enemy. He had knowledge of their schemes and their identity, yet he was sworn to secrecy. Moreover, our friendship had led to a much stronger bond. Shifters mated for life, which meant that I was now tied to a boy who was working for someone who had no problem with killing me.
Chapter 8
Carson threw his feet on my desk and leaned back in my chair. “You are a workaholic. Has anyone ever told you that?” He peered over his new glasses, which looked adorable on him. “I know that you are trying to sort out this Shadow Master business, but if the coven can’t figure out who set the curse, what can we do? I’ve looked through all these books and I’m no closer to finding the curse you described.”
“Yes, I’m a workaholic. You already knew that about me.” I nodded as I highlighted different passages in my Advanced Casting book.
He snorted and pulled himself towards my bed. “Yes, I did. However, when you asked me into your room, I didn’t expect to be studying. I thought perhaps you wanted to be close to someone after your traumatic night.”
I glanced up at his hopeful expression. “Do I look easy to you?”
He tumbled out of my chair and scrambled to his feet. “No. No. Never. Of course not. That’s not what I was…” He cleared his throat and rubbed his palms on his jeans. “I thought we would talk. Instead, you have your face in your book.”
Sighing, I closed the book and put it on my lap. “Sorry. You’re right. I’m not one for conversations when I’m fixated on a problem. Part of me wants to relax while the rest of me wants to prepare for a fight. I’m not a fighter, Carson. This is a new feeling and I don’t know what to do. I’m tired of being helpless.”
He knelt in front of me. Taking my hands in his, he looked up at me. “From what I understand, you weren’t helpless last night, Celeste. You kicked ass. As terrified as I am that you were almost hurt, I am beaming with pride at how you handled the situation. Word has spread through town. I overheard someone in the bakery talking about it, though instead of a curse he thought it was a fire. Regardless, he said that you were a hero and saved people.”
I squeezed his hand and shrugged. “If Benjamin and Anika hadn’t been there...”
“You were the one who knew the counter spells. Not them. Give yourself some credit, nerdy pants. None of us could have fought a dark curse like that and you know it. Only someone who spent all their time with their face in a book could have even attempted those spells.” He looked at me with such adoration that my breath caught in my throat.
He slowly pulled me off the bed until I was kneeling in front of him.
I shyly smiled at him and looked away. “You see someone that doesn’t exist. I want to be this girl everyone is talking about, but it’s not the real me.”
He pulled my chin up until I looked at him. “I know you think that I don’t understand you. I’m the funny guy who doesn’t pay attention or care about others, but I see you, Celeste. When you’re nervous, you tug at your ponytail to make it tighter, which baffles me. Why put more stress on your head?” He lightly tapped the top of my head.
I laughed and nodded. “Weird, I know. It helps me focus.”
He ran his finger down my cheek. “When you laugh, your entire face lights up. You have the cutest sneeze I’ve ever heard. You sound like a little squirrel. Most of all, you do this adorable little dance when you answer a question, any question, correctly.”
I blushed at his description of me. “I always liked the way you say my name. Whenever you say it, I get this chill. It sounds like you’re happy whenever you say it.”
He brushed his lips over my knuckles. “That’s because I am happy.”
“You have this weird thing you do when you take tests. You bounce your leg an even amount of times on your left leg, switch to the other leg and bounce it an uneven amount. When you eat a piece of fruit, I can’t help but stare. It’s a strange obsession, but I can’t stop watching your mouth when you bite into an apple or a pear. I’m always grateful that you carry around extra fruit.” It felt strange talking about my stalker moments, but seeing his eyes crinkle in the corners made feel me like a weight had been lifted.
“I’m happy to eat fruit in front of you at any time.” He winked and let go of my hand so that he could rest his palm on my cheek.
My breathing slowed as he leaned closer and pressed his lips to mine. Panicking, I quickly pulled away.
He chuckled. “Am I that bad a kisser or are you secretly freaking out about your first kiss? Please, dear God above, let it be the latter.”
I shook my head. “Definitely the latter.” I looked into his blue eyes and slowly leaned in, hoping that I was brave enough to kiss him.
His smile faded and his face was serious as he gazed at
my mouth. His full lips parted in anticipation. Careful not to hit his teeth, I kissed him. I ran my hands up his arms and around his neck so that I could pull him closer.
He wrapped his arms around my back and held me as he deepened the kiss.
Every part of me tingled with excitement and nervousness. I had no idea that kissing a boy would be this amazing.
“I will not!”
We both jumped when we heard someone shouting from downstairs. Disentangling our arms, we shot to our feet, afraid that someone would walk in on us kissing.
“My parents must be home.” I snuck over to the door and opened it a crack to hear the argument.
“This coven has no interest in allowing conjurers to join our ranks, Vincent. I’ve told you before that we are not a progressive coven, no matter how hard you push for integration.”
High Priest Ainesworth’s voice was loud enough to carry up the stairs to my room.
“Henry, we are losing members to the more progressive covens. Soon, we will go the way of the dragons and die with no legacy to leave behind us.” My father’s passionate plea was something I had heard him talk about in private, but I didn’t know that he had discussed it with the coven members.
“Everyone needs to calm down. We are not losing members because we don’t allow conjurers. We are losing members because we lack a concise vision of the future. They look to our children as the future leaders. When one of the powerful families in the coven has a child that can’t cast, well it makes people worry.”
“Lord Westerbrook, you will keep my daughter out of this. Are we clear?”
My face grew hot at Lord Westerbrook’s rude comment. Now I was being blamed for people losing faith in the coven. I wanted to go downstairs and punch him in the mouth but Carson grabbed my arm before I could move.
“He doesn’t mean it, Celeste. He’s just taking a jab at your father since he’s the Guardian of the Coven. My dad said that there has been talk about him being too soft on policies and not taking steps to ensure that other covens see us as powerful and united. Because you were attacked at school, many of the members were concerned about their own safety. If the Guardian’s daughter can be harmed, what does it mean for the rest of the members? The Guardian should be feared and respected. Any attack against his family or his coven would be considered a great insult. They believe that your father should have taken swift action against the man who harmed you and insisted that he be brought before our coven for sentencing. Instead, he allowed the Headmistress of Hallowed Woods to speak on your behalf to the authorities.”
The blood drained from my face. “All this is happening because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I sat down on Sadie’s bed. That’s all I did. I wasn’t the target. My father is being judged and condemned for something people don’t understand. The one responsible should go to trial and be sentenced to prison, but it’s not my family’s burden to bear. Sure, they can argue on my behalf and call for a stronger sentence because of what happened, but it occurred on school grounds. The school was responsible for protecting me. Headmistress Strudwick spoke to the authorities because she was a witness. If anything, my father should be angry with the administrators of the school, but that has nothing to do with anyone else.”
Carson slowly nodded. “Trust me, I get it, but your parents have been quiet about the incident at your school, so speculation and rumors are getting out of control. People are afraid. The attack on the house last night will only stoke their fears.”
Angry that my family’s reputation was being tarnished because I sat on a bed was ridiculous. “The attack last night has to be related, even if the purpose was to make people doubt my father’s strength.”
“I can talk to my parents and see if they can help calm people down. My dad respects your family and has always been a loyal supporter. My mom fears your mother, but that’s only because your mother is so serious. I will do what I can to help.” He rubbed my arms to calm me down.
“I appreciate it.” I closed the door and pointed to the closet. “Do you know the knock on the door spell?”
He shrugged and pulled out his wand. “If you help me with the pronunciation, I think I can cast the spell. Who are we calling?”
“Sadie Goodwin. Hallowed Woods Academy, Girl’s Dorm, Room 39.”
Carson pointed his wand at the closed closet door. “Bate ciocăn cine e acolo. Sadie Goodwin. Hallowed Woods Academy, Girl’s Dorm, Room 39.”
I held my breath, hoping that she was in our room.
When the door slowly opened, my heart leapt to my throat and I clapped my hands.
Carson stepped back and put his wand in his back pocket.
Peering into my dorm room made me feel sort of homesick, but seeing the red-haired bad ass in the ripped jeans and a black leather jacket brought tears to my eyes.
“Celeste?” Sadie stared at me as if she didn’t recognize me. “Did you get highlights? Since when do you style your hair and wear nail polish? Have you been kidnapped by a deranged stylist because you look like you should be on the cover of Young Teen in that blouse/skirt combo.”
I burst out laughing. “Oh, Sadie, I could hug you. I’ve missed you!”
She held up her hands. “I don’t think you can come through the door, but knowing you, you’ll find a way as long as you get to hug someone.”
“True. Very true. Oh, Sadie, so much has happened.”
Her shrewd eyes drifted towards Carson. “No offense, but I didn’t think you had any friends at home. Who’s he?”
“You know me so well. This is Carson.” I bit my lip, nervous that she wouldn’t like him.
She squinted at both of us. “Is this a bad connection or is there an orange glow between the two of you?”
I blushed immediately. Of course Sadie would be able to see the spell given her abilities. “That’s partly why I’m calling. I drank a Pumpkin Spice Latte that was spiked with a love spell. The glow indicates that the people have feelings for each other.”
“Dude! You got a boyfriend. That’s wicked awesome!”
“Three boyfriends, actually. Well, two I guess. Benjamin apparently cares about me in a friendly way. Carson, here. And my….” I hesitated to talk about Noah, since Carson would likely freak out, but I needed Sadie to know about the attack. “My ghost cat is the other one. Turns out he’s a cat shifter. And a spy. Oh, Sadie, I don’t know where to start.”
Carson raised his hand and frowned. “Three? What cat?” He counted to two on his fingers and stared at me.
Sadie frowned and crossed her arms. “Let’s start with this ghost cat.”
I nodded and quickly caught Sadie up on everything that had been happening, while Carson tried to interject about my spy cat.
Sadie nodded and asked a few questions to clarify, but absorbed everything quickly; including the most recent fight downstairs with the coven heads.
She finally sighed. “Your father is threatening to sue the school. I overheard something I shouldn’t have when I went to Strudwick’s office. He’s really mad about the attack. He threatened to pull his support since he’s a large donor to the school. Strudwick didn’t sound worried, which means she expects things to blow over or knows how to explain things to your father.”
My heart sank. Of course my father would make a big deal about things. “I think I can calm him down now that I know what’s happening. Do you think that the attack on my house is related to these Shadow Masters?”
“Anything is possible, which means you need to protect yourself. You need to keep your allies, like Carson, close by, which doesn’t seem like it will be a problem based on the goofy faces you keep giving each other.” She snickered and pointed to both of us.
I closed my eyes and chuckled. “I’ll find a way to keep myself safe. What I need to do is find a way to get Noah to tell me the truth about who he works for. He knows the Shadow Masters, or worse, he works for one of them. He could be the key to taking them down.”
She shook her head. “Th
ey will hurt him if he talks. I wouldn’t risk it if you care about him. You know what happened to my family. Keep him out of it. These people are dangerous, Celeste. Don’t get in too deep. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you.”
I smiled at my friend’s concern. “Thanks, Sadie.
“I’ll do my own snooping to see if anyone knows about a cat shifter or what happened to your family. If they are high up in the coven, someone here might know of them.” She looked over her shoulder and nodded at someone.
Lucas Hanley’s face appeared in the doorway. “Hi, Celeste!”
I waved to him. “Hey!”
Carson slouched next to me. “No one mentioned how good looking the guys were at your school.”
I slapped his arm and shooed him out of the doorway. “Let me know what you find, Sadie and we’ll compare notes.”
“Will do. More importantly, you’d better give me all the details on these guys.” She raised her eyebrow at Carson as if she were trying to figure out if she approved of him or not.
“I will.” I waved goodbye and closed the door, breaking the spell.
Carson pouted and crossed his arms. “I don’t like that Lucas fellow.”
I threw my hands up. “He’s with Sadie. Trust me, that boy only has eyes for her.”
He shrugged. “Ehh. That Sadie’s nothing special.”
I smacked him again. “She’s my best friend and extremely powerful. If I don’t kick your butt for being mean to her, she certainly will.”
Understanding my warning, he nodded as if he were taking mental notes of what could happen to him if he disrespected my friend.
“So, about this Noah. Where can we find him?” He looked around the room as if he expected him to be under the bed.
Pearl (Jewels Cafe Book 8) Page 8
