The Maze (The Coven, Book 2)

by Erica Stevens

He blinked at her before pulling his hand off the table. “Is this because of Regan?”

  Avery gulped. “It’s because I’m only seventeen, you just turned eighteen, and I think things are going too fast between us.”

  That wasn’t entirely untrue. For the past three months, it felt as if her life had been on fast forward as she was swept up in him, the coven, and her powers. Staring at her unpacked boxes of books last night, she realized that she’d lost herself somewhere along the way and forgotten much of what had made her her. Even if Regan hadn’t come back, she had to slow things down and take the time to figure out what she wanted and just who she was now.

  Since becoming a member of the coven, she’d plunged into their life, moved from her old home, changed schools, and had her life completely turned upside down. She’d been sprinting through these months, trying to learn as much as possible about what she was and trying to be more accepted by the coven.

  And somewhere along the way, she forgot who she was and all the things she once loved so much. She couldn’t remember the last time she read a book, and she used to go through at least three a week. Reading had always been her passion; she wanted to be a teacher, librarian, or editor because of it, yet her books remained in those boxes.

  She also couldn’t recall the last time she sat and ate popcorn with Tina, Lila, and Karen while they watched a movie. Yes, they still all hung out together, but it was almost always with the coven too, and she missed their movie nights. She also missed just sitting by herself and simply being.

  Life changed, that’s the way it was supposed to be, but there had been so many changes, and they’d all happened so fast that she’d never had the time to absorb them and think about what was happening. She never had the time to process who she was becoming, and now she had no idea who she was anymore.

  “Is that the only reason?” Reid asked.

  “What do you mean?” She frowned as she gazed at him. “Reid?” she asked when he focused his gaze out the window. “What do you mean?”

  “Does this have anything to do with your feelings for Regan?”

  Her mouth dropped. “Of course not! I hate him!”

  Reid didn’t say anything. Avery gripped her crystal as she stared out the window at the ocean beyond. The sun sparkling across its blue water and the serene scene of the seagulls swooping overhead were so out of place with her breaking heart that it almost felt like a nightmare. But unlike Regan’s world, this was not an illusion.

  When she looked to her future, she saw Reid in it, and she’d daydreamed of the life they would have together. But that life was crumbling now, and she was the one taking the sledgehammer to it.

  “If it’s not Regan, then why are you doing this?” he asked.

  Because I need some space.

  But she couldn’t say that because it was so cliché. And while Regan was a big part of why she was doing this, she realized now that he was not all of it. No matter how much she loved Reid, she had to figure herself out again. She wouldn’t be able to help them defeat Regan if she couldn’t be true to who she was first.

  Since she couldn’t tell him it was to keep him safe from Regan—he would never agree to let her go if he knew that—she decided to go with the other truth. “Since joining the coven, I’ve lost myself. I’ve given up so much—”

  “I never asked you to give up anything.”

  “I know that, and I love you, Reid, but I need to figure things out about me, the coven, and us.”

  He was as rigid as a statue while he gazed at her with an expression that wrenched her heart from her chest. She loved him more than she’d ever believed it was possible to love a man; he was the only person Avery could see herself spending the rest of her life with, yet she’d just plunged a knife into his chest.

  She was a hideous human being for doing this, but she loved him too much to watch him sacrifice himself for her, and he would do it.

  “I’m sorry, Reid,” she whispered. “I never expected this, but I need some time to figure things out. I never even entertained the idea of not being with you, but I think it’s the right thing to do, for now.”

  His silver eyes darkened to a molten lead color as hurt and anger clouded them. “For now?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how long will this for now last?”

  Avery gulped at the barely controlled pain and anger in his voice. “I don’t know.”

  “So you expect me to sit around waiting for you?”

  “No!” she cried. But even though it made her incredibly selfish, she really did want him to wait for her until Regan was destroyed. However, she couldn’t expect it of him, and she certainly couldn’t ask it of him without revealing why she really wanted her distance from him. “Of course not.”

  He sat for a minute before placing his palm flat on the table. “Then take all the time you need, Avery, but don’t expect me to be sitting around waiting for you when you finally figure it out.”

  The barely contained fury in his voice surprised her. She’d expected him to be hurt, she’d prepared herself for that, but she hadn’t expected this rage. A tendril of doubt crept through her belly. The coven would be upset with her for hurting him—or at least some members would be—but she’d expected them to continue working together to defeat Regan.

  But what if she’d underestimated the amount of anger she would receive over her decision? What if they couldn’t or wouldn’t work with her to destroy Regan after this? Had she made a huge mistake?

  Even if she had, it was too late to turn back now. She’d chosen this course, and she would suffer the consequences of it.

  “I… I… understand,” she stammered.

  He shoved himself up from his chair. “I’m glad you do, because I don’t.”

  Unable to hold them back anymore, tears spilled down her cheeks as he stalked toward the back door. “Reid!” she cried.

  He froze with his hand on the handle of the sliding glass doors before turning to look back at her. She couldn’t let him walk out of here without knowing at least one more truth.

  “I need you to know I love you. I always will,” she said.

  He stared at her as if he had no idea who she was. “Are you just trying to screw with my head now, Avery?”

  “Of course not!”

  He didn’t reply before he turned away. The sound of the crashing waves rushed into the house when he slid the door open and left. Unable to move, she remained in the chair with tears sliding down her cheeks.

  What did I do?

  But she knew the answer; she’d pulverized his heart and torn out hers. But right or wrong, it was done, and she couldn’t change it.

  CHAPTER 38

  “Are you all right?” Lila asked.

  Avery lifted her head to meet Lila’s doe brown eyes. Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.

  “We heard some of what happened.” Tina slid into the chair across from Avery, the one Reid had occupied, and squeezed her hand.

  “That was horrible,” she managed to choke out.

  “Why did you do it?” Lila asked as she rested her cane against the table and sat in another chair.

  “Because I had to.” They were her best friends, but she didn’t want to elaborate on her reasons. They might try to convince her she was wrong, and no matter how awful all this was, she knew putting some distance between them had been the right thing to do.

  “Well, if you think it was the right thing for you, then it’s not a mistake,” Karen said slowly.

  “I do,” Avery said as tears dripped onto her hand. “I love him so much, but it’s all so confusing and it’s just going too fast between us.”

  “It has been a little fast,” Tina said.

  “Tina,” Lila said.

  “Well it has,” Tina said defensively. “I didn’t say anything because Avery was happy, and it seemed right for her, but if she’s not happy anymore, then I’m saying something. Reid is a great guy, and it’s obvious you love each other, but there have been
a lot of changes in your life in a short amount of time, and you have to do what is best for you.” Tina rested her hand on Avery’s shoulder and squeezed it.

  “I just hope you’re doing it for the right reasons,” Karen said.

  “What do you mean?” Avery asked.

  “I hope this isn’t because of Regan.”

  “Some of it is,” she admitted because she couldn’t lie to them.

  “So you’re doing this because you think it might protect Reid from him,” Tina guessed.

  Avery cursed her insightfulness and didn’t reply.

  “Oh, Avery,” Karen whispered.

  “I’ve made my choice; don’t try to talk me out of it.”

  “We won’t,” Lila assured her and gave the others a warning look as she patted Avery’s hand. “We’re here for you no matter what.”

  The tick of the cuckoo clock on the wall was extremely loud as they all stared at each other. “Well, I hate to say this, but Talia will be happy,” Tina said.

  “Tina!” Karen gasped.

  Tina released Avery’s hand and sat back. “Well, she will. She’s going to be all over him as soon as she hears what happened.”

  “Yeah, she will,” Avery agreed, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

  “What are you going to do now?” Karen asked.

  Avery wiped away her tears and straightened her shoulders. “First, I’m going to find that skull. Then I’ll figure out everything else.”

  “No matter what happens, you’ll always have us,” Lila vowed.

  “I know,” she said. “And I love you guys for it.”

  They rose to hug her as they offered their love and reassurance.

  “If you can’t find the skull, what are you going to do about Regan?” Lila asked after they broke apart.

  “I don’t know,” Avery admitted. “There’s something about all of this I don’t like. He had us in that maze; we made it to the end, but he didn’t have to let us go. He didn’t have to let me go the first time either, and he doesn’t exactly strike me as the type who feels he has to honor his word. He’s got something up his sleeve; he has this whole time. I’m sure of it.”

  In her mind, Avery replayed their last moments in the maze. Regan had let them go; there was something terribly wrong with that scenario. He’d let her go before because he didn’t want to kill her, and she would have died if he kept her. However, unlike the first time, he’d also brought her friends over and could have kept them. Since he didn’t care what happened to her friends, he could have used them against her to get his way.

  So why hadn’t he? Avery was certain she didn’t want to know the answer to that question.

  “What do you think he’s planning?” Tina asked.

  “I wish I knew,” Avery muttered.

  “You guys didn’t see him in that maze. He was different than before. I could sense his power when we were trapped in the house, but in that maze…” Karen hugged herself before continuing. “I could feel the strength of his power in the maze.”

  A growing knot of apprehension filled Avery as she tried to puzzle out what Regan could be up to, but she had no idea, and that scared her more than anything.

  CHAPTER 39

  With her head bowed, Avery trudged down the hall. The world around her was a never-ending nightmare of closing lockers, concrete walls, and laughing students who ignored her as she walked past them.

  She’d gone to the pavilion this morning, with the hope the coven would be there, but she found it empty. Despair had filled her when she left, but she’d clung to the hope she would find them in the hallways. So far, she hadn’t seen anyone. All their cars were in the parking lot, so they were here somewhere, but she hadn’t found them in any of their normal places.

  They’d all ignored her calls yesterday. Granted, she hadn’t made many of them, and if she really wanted to talk to any of them, she could have walked to their house, but she hadn’t been ready to see them.

  Maybe being unable to find them was for the best. She wasn’t in the mood to face them, and she didn’t think she had the strength to deal with the hostility she was sure they still possessed. She also didn’t dare face Reid.

  Stopping in front of her locker, she spun through the combination as she contemplated going home. Hiding wasn’t going to solve anything, but the idea of crawling into her flannel pajamas, putting on Netflix, and pigging out on ice cream was very tempting. She had to stick it out though.

  Avery flung the door open and was reaching for her book when her mind registered the doll hanging in the middle of her locker. The toy looked like it had once been a Barbie, but it was difficult to tell as it was mostly charred. The note pinned to the doll’s chest with a thumbtack had red words scrawled across the paper.

  YOU’RE GOING TO BURN WITCH!!!

  Avery didn’t know how they’d gotten the doll inside and she didn’t care. She snatched the note off and crumpled it before throwing it on the ground. She glanced around the hall, but she didn’t see anyone watching to gauge her reaction.

  Of course, this crap would start again now that everything else was falling apart. Yanking the doll out of the locker, she tossed it into the trashcan next to her locker before removing her books and slamming the door shut. A couple of the people closest glanced over at the loud bang before looking away. Most of the students had gotten really good at pretending she didn’t exist.

  “Jerks,” she muttered as she stalked down the hallway.

  When she turned into the next corridor, she spotted a flash of long, coffee-colored hair. Forgetting about the doll, Avery almost cheered with relief before dashing through the students. “Isla!” Avery cried as she darted around a cluster of people and grabbed Isla’s arm.

  Isla whirled on her, and her golden eyes narrowed. “I told you to stay away from me!”

  Stunned by the venom in her voice, Avery’s hand slipped from Isla’s arm. “But—”

  “No buts!” Isla interrupted. “You and everyone else are to stay away from me.”

  Before Avery could reply, Isla spun so fast her hair whipped out behind her. A cold knot settled in Avery’s stomach as she watched Isla retreat. After Isla said she could trust her, Avery had expected Isla to at least still speak with her, even if she didn’t want anything to do with the rest of the coven, but she’d underestimated the amount of damage Regan inflicted on them with his parting words from the maze.

  Things were far worse in the coven than she’d realized.

  It’s only Isla who wants nothing to do with everyone else, she thought.

  Still, she didn’t delude herself into thinking Reid would be excited to see her, and Landon was probably mad at her too, but they would get past it, eventually. They had no other choice.

  She’d spent the rest of the weekend trying to decide if she’d done the right thing with Reid. Her heart said she was a moron, but her brain disagreed. However, it didn’t matter; she couldn’t go back in time, and she couldn’t change the past. If she could, she would have kept the location of the skull a secret from everyone else.

  The bell rang loudly overhead; she was going to be late for physics if she didn’t get her ass in gear. Holding her books against her chest, she ran to the science wing of the school. At least she would have a chance to talk to Rosie.

  CHAPTER 40

  When she entered the classroom, she ignored the disapproving look the teacher gave her as she hurried over to take her seat next to Rosie.

  “Hey,” Avery greeted while she set her books on the counter.

  Rosie glanced at her, but no hint of a smile lit her usually exuberant face. Avery frowned as Rosie turned her attention back to the teacher. Rosie never paid attention in class, and she never sat so perfectly still.

  “Rosie?”

  Rosie stared at her before her shoulders slumped and she relaxed a little. “Sorry to hear about you and Reid,” she mumbled.

  Avery felt like she was walking on glass as she tried to figure out how t
o respond. She considered Rosie one of her closest friends in the coven, but Rosie was Landon’s best friend, and she’d known Landon and Reid her entire life, whereas they just met in July. Were Reid and Landon mad enough at her that Rosie would shut her out too?

  “Ah, thank you,” she murmured.

  A small smile curved Rosie’s lips before she focused on the teacher again. Avery stared at her before opening her textbook and gazing at the pages. The words blurred before her as she tried to figure out what to do. She hadn’t expected her breakup with Reid to have such a ripple effect on the coven, and while she didn’t think Rosie would completely shut her out as Isla had, it was apparent things weren’t the same between them. Did that mean Alex would barely be speaking to her too, if he spoke to her at all?

  Though she still believed she’d done the right thing for her and especially for Reid, she was beginning to realize that she’d greatly underestimated the damage it would have on her other relationships in the coven.

  • • •

  Feeling like a despised, poisonous snake, Avery slunk through the hallways with her head down and her books against her chest. She couldn’t take much more of this day, and she didn’t know how much longer she could withhold her tears. She was sorely tempted to cut her calculus class and slink home with her tail between her legs, but she’d only be putting off the inevitable, and she would eventually have to go to class.

  Arriving at the class, she straightened her shoulders and steadied her emotions before entering the room as if she didn’t have a care in the world even though she felt like Atlas with the world on her shoulders.

  Some of her fake courage slipped away when her eyes landed on Reid. He was leaning back in his chair with his arms folded over his broad chest as he talked with a petite blonde. The blonde, whose name she couldn’t recall, was practically sitting on his chair with him.

  Seeing him stole her breath. She hadn’t let herself think about what it would be like to see him again. If she had, she wouldn’t have left her bed or come to school today.

  When the blonde touched his arm, she felt as if she’d been kicked in the gut. She’d chosen this path, but she hadn’t expected the sharks to start circling so fast. Reid didn’t look at her as he nodded at the girl. His seemingly complete indifference to her made her heart clench and tears burn her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to be happy to see her, but she’d thought he would at least acknowledge her existence.