I awake to find my mother's face filling my vision. "Sweetheart? Are you awake?"
I abruptly sit up, unintentionally hitting her forehead with mine. She hisses and presses her fingers to her temples. I bite back an apology and observe my surroundings. Rubbing my head I glare at mother, still not convinced she isn't the one who gave the order to send me into the City Of the Dead.
She sighs as if she read my mind. "I did not send you purposefully into the City Of The Dead, Vivian acted without my knowledge."
I swallow. "Where is she then? I want to ask her myself."
My mother folds her arms. "She could lie to you."
I raise my eyebrow. "I'm usually pretty good at knowing when people are lying and right now I'm very suspicious of you."
She scans my face for a moment before speaking. "Vivian is being heavily reprimanded for her actions, to act without my knowledge as the manager of this coven is to against the coven itself. It was an act of betrayal. She needed to be punished."
Just then a scream breaks the conversation apart. My eyes grow wide as I jump off the bed I was laying on and push open the curtains to my mother's tent. My hand flies up to my mouth as I choke on the bile rising in the my throat. The screaming intensifies. Vivian is strapped to a pile of stakes as flames lick at her feet, slowly crawling up her small body. She releases another era-splitting scream as I fall to my knees. I jump back as my mother lays her hand on my arm. I push her off of me, forcing her to knock into the tent. She looks at me, her gaze filled with hurt.
"Monster," I whisper as tears stream down my face.
She shakes her head. "This needed to be done, she put you in danger by disobeying me."
I dig my fingernails into my scalp. "That does not mean she needs to be brutally murdered! Take the fires out, right now!"
She flinches as I shout at her, but does not make a move to blow out the fires.
Instead, she raises her hand and presses her icy fingers to my forehead, chills race through my body before the world around me starts fading in and out of focus. In my haze I can only make out James's tall figure pushing my mother to the dirt. Strong arms slip under my legs and shoulder blades as I am lifted up. The last thing I see is my mother's twisted face before I give into the spell and am plunged into complete darkness.
.....
I awake to find myself in James's arms. Leaves rustle as the wind blows through the blackened trees, I shiver and look up.
"James?" I whisper.
He looks down at me. "You're awake?" he asks softly.
I nod. "You can put me down, I'll walk."
He shakes his head. "No, I don't know what your mother did to you, but you're clearly too weak to walk."
I inhale a sharp breath. "Jay, just put me down. I can walk. Trust me."
He releases an exasperated sigh and gently puts me down. Letting go of him, my knees buckle and I drop to the ground. James crouches and helps me back to my feet. Leaning into him, I use his arms for support.
"Jacklyn," he breathes. "Let me carry you."
I close my eyes and inhale before opening them again. My legs are too weak to walk, I know that. Curse whatever my mother did to me with that damned spell. The moonlight shines on his handsome features, his forest green eyes glisten as he meets my gaze. His hands slide to my waist as he hooks his fingers into my belt loops and tugs me forward. I tilt my face upwards as he brings his closer to mine. He reaches behind my head and slips my witch's hat off, and lets it fall to the ground. The leaves rustle as he steps closer to me, his face is inches away from mine. Intertwining his fingers with my hair, his eyes flit from my eyes to my lips.
James's scent floods my senses as he gently presses his lips to mine. His kiss is slow and soft, comforting in a way that words could never be. It melts away all the pain I felt, the hurt, the betrayal. I can't think straight anymore as he tightens his arms around my waist and I kiss him back. He pulls back slightly for a moment.
"Jacklyn," he whispers slowly, lingering on each syllable. My name has never felt so wonderful. I slide my fingers into his hair and whisper back. "Yes James?"
Our breaths mingle as he softly runs his fingers through my hair. I trace his spine with the tip of my finger and pull him closer until there is no space left between us at all, until I can feel the beat of his pounding heart against my chest.
It takes all the strength in my body to pull away from him. "James, we have to find a way back to our Coven."
He inhales sharply and nods. "Let's go."
I wrap my arms tighter around James's neck as he carries me princess style through the dark forest. After several moments, we finally reach the edge of it. Exhaling, I look up at him.
"I think I have enough strength to walk now," I say, feeling the numbness subside from my legs.
He gently sets me down. Using him for support, I slowly walk a few steps forward. We crouch behind the bushes that lead to our Coven's camp entry. He keeps his hand on my shoulder as I scan the perimeter. Cursing, I turn to James to see if he noticed. His mouth is set in a firm line, he did. His brother Rider is on duty along with his friends Thames and Lionel. Not good.
My eyebrows crease at their clothing. They're wearing mourning robes, which means more than one witch has died. My panic rises, who could it have been? Why- I look up as the truth hits me like a boulder spell. I grab James's hand and pull him with me staying low and under the cover of the dark trees. After ten minutes of walking we reach the Coven's graveyard. My stomach drops at the newly placed tomb stones.
"Here Lies Jacklyn Vice and James Rayven."