I sat watching Savi breathe—unconscious—oblivious to what had happened to her or what we had all agreed upon.

‘How can the coven treat her this way? I know demons can be bad news, but this girl—no, this woman—deserved better than this. She deserved our help.’

She looked helpless as she lay on my couch. The Elders had brought her to my apartment with a shroud of magic to keep her hidden from prying eyes as we made our way through. Thankfully, no one had been coming or going, so all was safe now.

‘Safe. What did that word even mean now? Were any of us safe now?’

Mora gave me strict instructions on what to do when Savi woke, but I knew I'd have to be quick on my feet to explain all this away as if it were nothing. She would have questions and I'd do my best to provide her with answers, but it might be hard given I had so many questions myself. I wanted more information about what the demon had said. The distinct feeling that High Elder Mora wasn’t so forthcoming with her answers racked my thoughts.

‘Demons lie. Well, of course they do. But still, it felt like some truth was hidden between the lies. A truth Mora didn’t want anyone to find out.'

I'd do what they needed to protect the coven, but I'd also do what I had to in order for Savi and me to stay safe as well. Her breathing hitched as I sat in my oversized chair, feet pulled up in my lap, drinking my tea. Yes, I would protect her at all costs.

“Savi, are you there?” I asked as she stirred once more.

She opened her eyes but didn’t look at me—only stared at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity before taking a giant gasp and scrambling to sit up. I rushed to her side, setting my tea on the coffee table.

“It’s okay. I’m here. You’re here with me. It’s Aster, Savi. Breathe.” I held her chest between my two hands, one on her back and one in front, hoping to ease her. Her eyes darted to mine, and tears welled in them.

“Wha- wha- what happened? Aster? I hurt.” She gripped her chest where her scar was and heaved forward, sobbing. Savi coughed as she tried to catch her breath and glanced up at me again. "What is this pain?”

“It’s an echo of the scrying spell; it should pass in a moment. I’m so sorry, Savi. Things got a little out of hand with the spell.”

Her face went pale. "What do you mean? Did the scrying not work? Did High Elder Mora not find any answers I needed?” She continued to rub her chest, waiting for answers. Answers I would have to lie about. I swallowed hard.

"Well, not exactly, but there is some good news!” I handed her my tea to sip. "Here, take a few sips of this; it will help calm the effects of the spell. I promise.”

She took the teacup between her hands and stared at the contents.

“It’s a lemon tea, nothing like the other one I gave you the last time you were here.”

“How did I get here?” she interrupted, realizing we weren’t in the basement.

“You sort of passed out and we had to bring you up here to rest. I hope you don’t mind, but it was better than letting you stay in the damp basement. I thought at least up here you would be safe and comfortable.”

“Safe? Aster, what happened?” she stared at me.

“I mean safe as in not in the way of being trampled by old tomes and breathing in all that dust. As far as what happened, you fainted. The scrying spell has done it on rare occasions if the magic overwhelms the receiver, and so Mora thinks she pressed a little too hard. But there’s nothing to worry about. No lasting problems—except maybe a slight headache.”

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I gave her the most genuine smile I could muster in the moment. I had lied and I hated to lie. It made me feel sick, but I had to find out what I was dealing with before any truth could come out, whether Mora wanted it to or not.

“Maybe that's why my dream was different this time. If you can even call it a dream, it was more of a nightmare. But no headache. Just this pain in my chest.” She stopped and patted her chest, and her face changed. She patted it again and glanced at me. "Well, it’s gone now. What’s in this tea, Aster?” She shot me a half-smile, and I wanted to sink into the shadows and hide.

“Good old-fashioned lemons and honey. I'm glad the pain is gone.” I smiled again as she drank the rest of the cup. She had dreamt during the whole thing? I needed to know more. “Tell me about your dream—err, nightmare. Was it unusual?”

I had to choose my words carefully. Mora had assured me the demon’s presence was once again hidden deep within, so I wouldn’t have to worry about stirring it again soon. But I still had to be careful in case.

She sat the cup on the coffee table and leaned into the sofa. “Well, it was strange. You know how Cooper told you about my regular dreams, and I explained I was always doing something mundane?”

I nodded.

“Well, I was cooking a stew in a cast iron pot over a fire and everything was as normal but then everything changed. In an instant the entire cottage engulfed in shadows and wisps of smoke. Everything went icy cold and as it bore down on me and my breath left my lungs I woke up. I've never experienced anything like it before. Maybe it was my body experiencing the magic overwhelming me? Like the ice-cold air coming into the apartment when I passed the threshold?”

I nodded again. “Yes, it very well could have been. Maybe that was what made you pass out. The magic overwhelmed you. Like Mora said, it happens rarely, but it can happen.” I needed to steer the conversation away from too many questions on this. I had a job to do now, to convince her to keep going with us. “But back to the good news.”

Her head tilted as she remembered what I had said only moments ago. "Ahh, that’s right, so what was the good news?”

“Well, you’re magic. I mean, you’re a witch, is what I meant to say. I knew as much before we went down there, but I had to be certain. Isn’t this exciting?” I tried to hype my excitement to hide my sins, and maybe this would help it not sting later. If she was happy about this, then I could focus on that and not the overwhelming guilt slamming into every fiber of my being.

“A witch?” She laughed. Louder than I would have thought she would. “What? There’s no way. I can’t do magic. At least not that I know of, so how is this possible?”

“Mora thinks your powers are dormant and whatever trauma happened to you before stilled them. Do you remember what she said before the scrying began? How she could see your Witchrite but couldn’t make it out?” I waited for her to answer. I didn’t want to go too fast or overwhelm her again with too much all at once. Or worse, get too far ahead of myself and say something I shouldn’t.

“Um, yeah. Although I didn’t get the chance to ask what that was.” She looked at me with more questions hidden behind her eyes.

“Baby steps. Let’s take baby steps. I’ll explain everything in great detail, but we need to talk about a few things.” She tensed, and I didn’t blame her. She had gone from not knowing real magic existed only days ago to now being told she was magic and having this world thrust upon her. I had to go slow. “Listen. I know this is a lot to take in all at once. I promise I’ll explain everything. And I mean everything. Soon, but for now, I need to explain that with you, a confirmed witch, the coven is asking you to join us.” Fear filled her eyes.

“Join you? What do you mean join you? I’m not sure I understand.” She pulled back on the sofa, further away from me.

"No, no, no, Savi, nothing like that. Nothing bad. Join us, as in be a part of the coven, and we could help you uncover whatever powers are lying dormant.” She wrapped her arms around herself and was in full-blown defensive mode. I knew this was a bad idea with everything so fresh. I should have waited, but they wanted her in now.

I held out my hand to touch her knee. She didn’t flinch away, so I said, "Mora thinks that if we can help you unlock whatever powers you have, it may unlock everything else. Her scrying couldn’t see past whatever block you have on your magic, but it did give way… some. So she thinks with a little practice and some drills I could help you reach it. Then you might get all the answers you’ve been looking for.” I forced a smile to the end of the words. Words I wanted to take back immediately. Words I wanted to replace with the truth right then and there.

I couldn't read her body language. She was still. Frozen. Her face was solemn, deep in thought. “Savi, are you okay?" I asked, knowing she wasn’t. I could feel her unease in the air all around her.

“Can I go home now?” she asked blankly—barely more than a whisper.

My heart sank. This was killing her. Yet another promise of finding answers to what weighed on her mind day and night. Answers I knew she wouldn’t get, at least not yet.

“Yes. I’ll take you home. We’ll talk more when you’re ready.” I squeezed her hand gently.

‘I’m so sorry.’