Jaded Jewels (The Coveted Saga #2)

by C. M. Owens

  My head whipped around in surprise. No one had made me aware that there would be any pain involved, so that was news to me and slightly unsettling to hear.

  "So... you're all a bunch of witches?"

  She still wasn't processing everything fully. Her face was bruised badly now. After the long ride, the wounds had time to fully surface. I was going to ask her some questions about her abusive father, but we were greeted by my family, as well as the Verdan family, before I could.

  Tallis flashed around to my side to open the door for me, and Henry did the same for Amelia. I walked around as Iris stepped in front of Henry to examine the new addition to her coven.

  Iris was in her old lady form as she took Amelia's hand gently, helping her out of the back. I could see the excitement beaming in her eyes as she gazed at Amelia in disbelief, treating her like an exotic creature she had longed to see.

  Amelia took her in, frowning before turning to me and whispering, "So I have to live forever as an old lady?"

  I heard Iris laugh before she answered, "I see you've already filled her in. No need for the masks then."

  The sea of deceptive faces around her dropped their aged facades, and youthful images emerged in their places. Amelia stumbled backwards, her eyes wide with shock, but Henry caught her before she fell. It was a lot different to hear about it and then to see it.

  "So this… this is really happening. I'm not on some prank show?"

  Tallis laughed as he slid in behind me, wrapping both arms around my waist as if gravity refused to let him be close without touching me. It sent waves of conflicting emotions through me, torturing me and exciting me at once. But then he realized what he was doing and quickly released me, stepping away before he crossed some arbitrary line.

  Iris smiled warmly at Amelia as I warred with my emotions. She looked so giddy about the anomaly we had brought home.

  "It's as real as real can be. There's still a lot to discuss. You have to hear everything, and then we'll have to make sure you are protected. I don't know the rules with empaths. I can't smell you at all, but I can feel your presence. It's strong because of your bond to Aria."

  Amelia sniffed herself, and I stifled a grin.

  "Smell me?" she mouthed, realizing now that it was safer to be silent, since they overheard her whisper earlier.

  I just shook my head. That was the least of her worries at the moment.

  We had talked for hours and finally got to the subject of Amelia's family. Iris had been the one to bring it up. Amelia had tears in her eyes the whole time. I could tell she was accidentally letting some of her power carry her emotions around the group. I could feel her pain of loss. Then I felt her tragic life as an abused foster child.

  "My mom had me at nineteen. She and my dad got married right out of high school. I don't know where any of my other family is, because my mom lied about her name on my birth certificate. I really don't even know if I have any more family. My mom and dad were killed in a crazy arson fire one night when I was two. The only thing I know about them and my past is what the social workers have told me."

  "Fire?" Iris asked, keeping her expression neutral. "How did the fire start?"

  Amelia shrugged as she stared at her fingernails, her attention focused on them only to escape the intensity of everyone's gaze.

  "They never found out what started it. It seemed like a freak accident with no real point of origin. They don't know how I got out."

  I could see everyone exchanging glances. They all knew it had been a blazer. Amelia didn't notice the silent exchange as she continued talking.

  "I was bounced around from place to place before they stuck me with Quinton. He's the worst person I've ever known, but no one else would keep me. It was either live with him or live in the orphanage. There wasn't a good option. I chose the lesser of the two evils.

  "Eventually, I just gave up hope. I thought for sure he'd kill me one day. I never thought I would end up some magical being. It's all still a little bizarre. Well, it's more than a little bizarre. I'm still contemplating on whether or not I'm actually stuck in a dream right now."

  Iris smiled sadly as she said, "It's going to be okay now. This is where you belong. I'm not saying life will be easy, but you now have a family that will do anything necessary to keep you safe. We would like to adopt you into our coven and give you a home if you will accept us."

  Iris had tears in her eyes from the emotion Amelia's story had carried. It was a touching story, even more so when you could actually feel the pain as if it was your own. Even Desmond had tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Being the alpha male that he was, he discreetly wiped them away, hoping no one noticed.

  Amelia smiled at Iris, but she looked scared to be too hopeful, worried the illusion would shatter at any moment. "I don't even know what to say. It's like a dream. I would love to be a part of your family."

  Iris hugged Amelia as though she had always been family. Anesta walked over to Amelia and began the healing process on her face, erasing the pain on the surface. Each of the marks faded, the cuts sealed up, and in less than a few seconds, she was as good as new. If only she could remove the scars beneath the surface so easily.

  Amelia touched her face and was shocked by the instant healing. Smaller conversations erupted about how exciting it was to have a new addition, but I could tell Amelia was drained and tired of all the magical overload. So I stole her and whisked her away, offering her a piece of my upstairs haven.

  The room where my art had been had already been transformed into a beautiful room that suited Amelia pretty well. It had bright blue walls and peaceful decorations, such as butterflies and flowers. It was too girly for me, but Amelia seemed to enjoy each and every detail, running her fingers over everything she could as though she was in awe.

  There were clothes and all the essentials she would need. We had only taken thirty minutes to get there, but they did say they were going to work a little magic. I smiled to myself.

  "Amazing. I've never had a real bedroom before. This is so surreal."

  She touched all the clothes in the closet before gawking at the oversized TV that was mounted on the wall. She walked over to the window and gazed at the amazing view. The pool was directly below her. You could see the pool from my room as well from one of the windows.

  She studied it through the clear glass walls that surrounded it, and I watched as her grin grew. It wasn't an Olympic size pool, but it was really close.

  "There's really a pool?" she asked, her eyes alight with so much excitement as the rest of the day seemed to melt away.

  I chuckled. "Yeah. We'll go swimming tonight. The view of the stars is amazing. I'm sure they got you some swimsuits. If not, let me know. I have plenty."

  Tears too big for her eyes welled up as she took a breath, making it seem as though it was the first easy breath she had taken in years. It was possible that it was.

  "Thank you, Aria. I know I'm supposed to protect you somehow, but you're the one who protected me. You saved my life today and gave me something I haven't had in a long time—family. I could never thank you enough."

  Her emotions grabbed me and coursed through my veins, making her breath of gratitude be felt. For once, I felt useful.

  "We have a lot to worry about, but this coven is strong. I've seen what they can do. I've seen what the Verdan crew can do as well. Together, we stand a chance."

  She looked at me like she was unsure about whether she should say something. Her voice was nervous as she spoke.

  "He still loves you. He can't help it. He's trying really hard not to, but he needs you as badly as you need him. He keeps trying to stay away, but he can't do it for long. His heart desires to see you so badly that his body finally gives in. He burns inside-out for you. He's just afraid of hurting you again."

  I swallowed hard as I let her words sink in, feeling caught off guard by the quick turn of conversation.

  She sighed loudly before continuing, "I didn't know if you wanted me to
say anything, and I'm sorry if I've upset you. I just wanted you to know that you weren't suffering alone."

  I hadn't thought of her being able to feel all of his emotions so vividly. This bond really had amplified her abilities.

  With a shaky voice, I murmured, "Thanks. I really needed to know that."

  "He hurts just as badly as you do. Today, when I did my thingy on Elaina, he felt it. Not like she felt it, but he felt it. I felt his pain as he realized how badly you really and truly ached for him."

  She smiled as she flopped down on her new, soft bed. But my smile refused to come out. The weight of her insight was a little too heavy.

  "You're a good friend, Amelia," I said while closing the door.

  "You're a better one, Aria," she said while smiling and staring around the room.

  I shut her door as I made my way to my room. As I passed the small bathroom, I smiled to myself. We were definitely going to need more than one bathroom on the third floor now.

  Closing my eyes, I dropped down on my bed, feeling exhausted, but the wind in the room stirred. Never a minute's rest.

  Without opening my eyes, I asked, "Who is it?"

  I knew it was someone magical from my family. There wasn't a stench. It would be nice when I could effortlessly jump to a third-story window. I would never climb those stupid steps again.

  An unexpected voice suddenly sent a wave of butterflies rippling mercilessly through my stomach. "It's just me."

  Tallis.

  I sat straight up as my heart all but stopped beating, stumbling over itself to find a feasible rhythm. It couldn't decide if it wanted to stop or beat too fast.

  "Hey. Is everything okay?" It wasn't like him to be in my room these days, so it worried me a bit.

  "Yeah, I was just checking on Amelia and you. How's she taking it?"

  Be mature, Aria. Don't act like an idiot.

  "Surprisingly well. I think she's more excited about having a family than worried about the supernatural drama. She's going to adjust well."

  He nodded slowly, seeming lost in thought.

  I stared at his heavy eyes, and tilted my head as I spoke. "You look tired."

  He wiped his eyes and yawned. Then he put his hands behind his head while he answered, "I am tired. I stayed out all night last night chasing down leads as to what Graven might be after. They were all dead ends though."

  He yawned again, and I moved over in the bed.

  "You can lie down. I promise I won't touch you. I was about to go for a swim anyway."

  I knew my face had to look as pitiful as my voice sounded. His answering rejection was swift.

  "I have to get home. Mom is incredibly excited about finding an empath and now she wants to make all of us study up. I'll see you tomorrow, though."

  As disappointment settled, I stared down at my lap. "I'm not going to school. Iris thinks it would be unsafe with Amelia just coming into power and bonding to me. We don't really know that much about her power yet. She feels it would be safer for her and me to just stay home. There're only three days left anyway."

  I looked up as he frowned. This sucked. Both of us wanted each other, but magic refused to let it happen. It wasn't fair, and I was starting to hate something that was going to be a part of me for all eternity.

  "Well, I'll probably swing by tomorrow—just to check in."

  I smiled. He could just call. Hope was a dangerous thing in the hands of the heartbroken, and I had a lot of hope in that moment.

  "Yeah, that sounds good."

  He walked away from me and leapt back out of my window. I couldn't help but get up and hurry over to watch. I stood against the wall and tried to stay out of sight.

  Then that hope rose up just a little more as I watched the reluctance he carried himself with, because he didn't want to go. There had to be a way, and I had to find it.

  "Aria? Are you ready to swim?"

  Amelia sounded excited as the moonlight streaked down on the pool below. The sparkling reflection looked like there were diamonds floating on top of the water.

  "Yeah."

  I grabbed the towels as we walked down the stairs. Everyone had gone out to eat while we were napping. Mom had left a note to tell us Taryn was there if we needed any help. She said there were other guards posted all along the perimeter, making sure that no one breached it.

  I felt safe and comfortable as we headed to the pool. It was rare that I had the house all to myself. I was glad that Amelia and I got to have some one-on-one time.

  I was surprised that Henry had gone as well. He had been pretty adamant about staying close to Amelia. I only hoped he didn't hurt her the way Tallis was hurting me.

  I tried to stop thinking about anything so heavy. I was worried Amelia might feel it, and I wanted tonight to be fun for her.

  She was very inquisitive as she asked all sorts of questions about the magical realm. I had very few answers, considering how new everything still was to me.

  "So you and I will always be friends? Because were bonded and all?"

  A real smile broke across my face. "You and I would always be friends even if we weren't bonded. I believe that completely."

  Her grin spread, too.

  "I've never had a friend, and I haven't really had a family since my mom and dad died. It all seems too good to be true. Everything I've dreamed of is suddenly happening. I've lived in a room with a mattress on the floor for most of my life. Now I have a real bedroom with an actual bed, and friends, and family. There's food in the fridge, and no one yelling is at me. There's no one hitting me. I can just breathe in without worrying about what's going to happen when I exhale. I never thought I'd feel this way. For the first time in my life, I'm not scared. I probably should be, considering all the crazy soul stealers that want us dead, but I'm not. I'm not afraid, because for the first time in forever, I'm not alone. Things just don't seem as scary when you don't have to face them alone."

  I had never felt the pain that she had. I had wonderful parents. I'd always taken my family for granted. I couldn't imagine everything she had gone through. I was so happy that I could help her find a place where she actually felt wanted.

  "I never really had a true girl friend before you. Ash and I were close, but she was always older, and of course there was sibling rivalry. All of the village kids were much younger or much older than I was.

  "I'd never dated anyone until I came here. Everything in my old home was set up to keep me isolated. The guardians could only harbor one family of witches at a time. I was home schooled on top of that. It's nice to be able to have a real friend. It feels good to have someone I can just talk to. And it's nice not to have to hide anything from you anymore, too. I don't feel like I am going through this all alone now. It's hard to be a mortal in a house full of immortals. Sometimes I just want to have a regular conversation. It's nice to now that we can learn together."

  She threw her arms around me, initially catching me off guard with the spontaneous affection, but then I returned the embrace. I didn't even realize how badly I needed this hug. Maybe magic did know a little bit about what it was doing, because Amelia was my only lifeline right then.

  We had been swimming, and talking for about thirty minutes when we heard something. It sounded like someone had walked in, but we never saw anything. Then we heard something again.

  Then I smelled it—that foul, unmistakably putrid smell. I felt my body cringe. Someone dark was in the room, and it didn't take long to spot him when he strolled in without any resistance.

  He was a stocky-built man, with the same black eyes I had seen so many times now. It didn't make any sense. Our house had just been recrested. There were guards posted all over the yard. How did he get in?

  I swallowed hard as his eyes turned to menacing slits, and his eerie voice broke the silence that was suffocating us.

  "Good evening ladies. I suppose I should introduce myself. After all, I am a civilized person. My name is Warren."

  His creepy grin spread as he sl
owly circled us. I half expected him to lick his lips. Amelia said nothing. Then Warren laughed for no obvious reason.

  "I find such magnificent irony in the fact that there is a pool here. Not too many witches keep a body of water so close by. Too bad I can't put it to good use little mortals." He continued laughing—an ominous, skin-crawling, dark laugh.

  Amelia stepped in front of me, but I pulled her back as I spoke. "I don't know how you got in here, but you should leave now before one of the others turns you to dust," I bluffed.

  "I don't think so, little girl. I happen to know they're all gone, leaving you two unattended. Not very smart. But lady luck shined down on me tonight, it seems."

  "There are guards all over the place," I countered, cringing when my voice broke and betrayed my fear.

  How had he break through our barriers? I couldn't think of anything at all. It didn't make any sense. They had given that house all kinds of protection with the new crests. Tallis had slaved himself into a near coma.

  Suddenly, he stopped pacing and smiled demonically. I felt every hair on my body rise.

  "Well, I guess that's enough chit-chat." With that lone warning, he lunged into the water, his sights set on me.

  He threw Amelia out of his way, making her crash into the far side of the pool. I prepared for death, embracing my fate with dignity and refusing to cry. But something I could have never expected to happen surprised everyone there, especially Warren.

  He never even made it to me. The water stopped him in his tracks and glued him in place like concrete just before it pulled him under. It was as if the pool had suddenly come to life.

  With frenzied motions, I climbed out quickly, gasping in shock as the water swirled around him like a cyclone, pulling him down deeper and deeper. Amelia ran over to me and we hugged each other in a terrified embrace, staring on in horrified amazement.

  What just happened?

  We could see him struggling under the water that seemed to be attacking him. Garbled gasps of disbelief and muttered threats escaped him, but he couldn't fight hard enough. After what felt like an eternity, the struggle ended.