Chapter 1
Chapter One TEGAN When I opened my eyes, I’d forgotten what I’d closed them for. I had to blink a few times before the wooden ceiling above me sharpened into focus. There was something about it that I recognized, but I couldn’t place it. I tried to reach up and wipe my eyes, but my arms were weighed down and trapped. There was something smooth and cool to the touch squeezed between my fingers, though I couldn’t recall what it was. I frowned and sank against the ground, or whatever hard surface I was lying on. The air was hot and stifling, like being locked inside a car with the windows shut on a summer day in Florida. A warm, sticky breeze swept over me, and it sent long, platinum-blonde hair flying into my face. Emersyn? I turned my head to the side and coughed her hair out of my mouth. The ground moved under me. I inhaled and tried to brace myself when I caught the scent of fresh rain. Tennessee. A second later, his face hovered above mine, and those beautiful mismatched eyes stared down at me with a little twinkle. I smiled. “Hi.” He cocked that sideways, sexy grin I loved so much. “Hi.” We were doing something, weren’t we? I said into his mind. “Yeah, we were…” His face fell. He pulled back and looked around with wide eyes. “The spell,” I whispered as my memory came flying back. “Where are we? Did it work?” “Of course it did,” Deacon grumbled from somewhere nearby. “This is what success feels like.” Royce coughed. “This reminds me of that silent disco you took us to in New York—” “Don’t,” Henley said with a groan. “Too soon.” Deacon laughed but it was half strangled. “You’re welcome.” “What is that?” Cooper whined from my right side but still out of sight. The ground moved again, and then something flailed around in my peripheral vision. “What is that? What’s on me? Get it off. What is it?” Cooper cried. “My hair! Ouch!” Emersyn cursed and wiggled around. “Cooper, stop moving!” I frowned as my sister’s hair covered my face again. Tennessee’s warm fingers plucked the blonde locks off of me. When I was free, I picked my head up and tried to see what was going on. My eyes widened. We were in a pile, like we’d been dropped out of the sky. And Emersyn’s hair was everywhere. Somehow Cooper was tangled in it. Both of his hands had long strands wrapped around his fingers. “What is happening right now?” Cooper whined. “Gross.” Deacon was the first to his feet. He stood tall and pulled his breeches down into place. “All right, calm down, Coop. Damn, we are definitely gettin’ you a girl when we get home.” He reached down and grabbed something. The sleeves of his coat tightened and pulled at the seams as his biceps tensed. He grinned, shook his head, then hauled Emersyn up to her feet. Her blonde hair was tangled, covered in brown dirt, and hanging in her face. Air rushed to my lungs, and I took a deep breath. With my hands finally free, I lifted myself onto my elbows and got a better look around. I glanced down at my right hand and opened my fingers. The bright green glow of the Earth Stone sparkled. My breath left me in a rush. The spell. My ancestor, Elizabeth Bishop, the Hierophant of 1692, had written the spell we used. The one that was supposed to allow us to travel through time by tapping into the power of the Earth Stone. I’d done it exactly as she’d written it. I’d told it to bring us to The Coven’s nest upon this land, which meant Coven Headquarters. It had worked. I recognized the living room around me. The big bay window glittered in the sunlight with warm breezes sweeping through it. The sprawling fireplace was to my left, unlit but looking the same. The staircase to the second floor was to my right. I knew there were four bedrooms above me. I also knew if I went through the two doors behind me, I’d find a kitchen big enough to feed two dozen people—or more. But it was all wrong. I sat all the way up and glanced around. There was no electricity. No flat-screen television propped up on the wall to my right. No lamps sitting on tables. No big, comfy suede sofas with fuzzy blankets laying over the armrests. No one was asking Alexa to change the radio station every other song. There were no cars parked in the driveway. No city lights and cement buildings. It was the right place…but in the wrong year. I should’ve known the second I felt the heat that the spell hadn’t worked. Back home it was late October, almost Samhain. The air had been cool and crisp. I wouldn’t have been sweating rivers down my spine in this waistcoat. My shoulders slumped as the weight of my failure crashed down on me. It didn’t work. I’d known it was a gamble. Elizabeth wasn’t confident it would do the trick. But still…it hit me like a ton of bricks. If I couldn’t get us home with all of the magic running through my veins, then I had no idea how anyone would. This is all my fault. The Seelie Court tricked us, and I should’ve known it was coming. I should’ve known to be careful with my words and specific in our requests. Emersyn pushed her hair out of her face and looked around with wide golden eyes. “Did it work? Are we back?” “No,” Henley said softly and tucked her black hair behind her ears. “It didn’t work.” “Are you sure?” Emersyn’s face fell. She looked over her shoulder to the big bay window. “Where are we?” “Coven Headquarters.” Tennessee sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. His silver rings glistened in the sunlight pouring through the window. “At least, what will be.” Cooper cursed. “We’re still in 1692.” Tennessee nodded. I buried my face in my hands. “I’m sorry. I-I failed.” “Tegan, this is not your fault.” Tennessee’s warm hand rubbed soft circles on my back. “You tried. It was all we could ask of you.” I groaned and leaned into him. His arms wrapped around me without hesitation. He squeezed me close, like he knew I was broken inside and needed to be held together. “Is anybody injured?” Tennessee’s velvety voice rumbled over my head. Oh Goddess. Did I hurt them? I peeled my head off Tenn’s chest and glanced around at my friends. They were all silently looking down at themselves and checking for injuries. After a few seconds, they all shook their heads and said no. I sighed. As long as no one is hurt. I looked up at Tennessee’s beautiful face just to prove to myself that he was, in fact, unharmed. I’d already learned just how much I couldn’t handle that. “Hope is not lost, then.” Tennessee frowned. Pain flashed through his eyes. “Tenn?” What did I say? I replayed my last comment in my mind, hope is not lost, but it meant nothing specific. It means something to him, though. He shook his head. “We need to get back to Leyka’s. Start working on our next idea.” “Uh, yeah…we might want to hurry with that.” Deacon leaned out the open bay window and frowned. “There’s quite the commotion out here. Something is going on, and I don’t think we want to be found anywhere near it.”
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