Juliet

Juliet dutifully followed Cole into the dark warehouse. “Do you feel that?”

He looked over his shoulder at her, narrowing his beautiful gray eyes. “Feel what?” he whispered.

“The electricity.” It was like a buzz in the air. Juliet felt every hair on her body standing on end. She wondered if the crackle between her strands of bright red hair was visible. It probably looked like her entire head was on fire. Whatever magic Maxine was trying to do, it was working.

Juliet took a deep breath, inhaling the musty air of the warehouse. She looked to her right to see Olivia ambling off towards the side of the building. She was surprised that Maxine hadn’t already reacted, but she must’ve been so focused on her spell that she didn’t hear Olivia’s claws against the concrete floor.

They continued to walk stealthily in the dark until she saw Cole’s head snap towards the left. He put up his hand, and both she and Nova came to an abrupt stop. She looked behind her at Nova and saw her eyes glow gold just as they had in the alleyway. That had seemed so long ago. Maxine had killed a girl. The entire reason that they were here.

Juliet squinted her eyes into the darkness and saw the glow of flames playing off the shadows on the large white walls. It illuminated her view just enough to be able to see two men on the other side of the warehouse—she assumed it was Dax and Sam. She hoped so, at least. Slowly, they continued, until finally, they crept down behind a large yacht and Juliet could see the glow of the fire underneath the boats’ wheels.

She listened carefully to the Latin her cousin was speaking; she was saying it slowly, as if she was focused on the words. Juliet shut her eyes and thought hard about the incantation she was repeating. “She’s doing the spell, the one that’s tying you to your father, Nova. She’s using his life force to infuse it into you.”

Nova looked at her hands but shrugged. “I don’t feel any different.”

“I’m sure you won’t, she’s using some type of barrier to protect herself. That’s why she killed the girl. She linked her blood to her own so that we wouldn’t sense her. So that way you won’t know that the spell is happening until it’s completely done.”

Maxine’s tone changed and she started to chant. Juliet laid down on her stomach and looked underneath the boat just enough to be able to see Maxine moving around her small fire in a circle. She was holding a talisman, her eyes closed.

“She’s channeling the ancestors now. If you’re going to make a move it’s a good time to try something. She’s so focused on ancestors she won’t be able to react.” Juliet’s head was pounding, the ancestors were not happy about what Maxine was doing, they wanted her stopped.

Cole closed his eyes, and that was when Juliet heard claws on the concrete floor digging in just as if the bear was about to pounce.

“Prohibere!” Maxine shrieked as Cole and Nova sprinted from their spots on either side of Juliet as she tried to stand and follow. By the time she rounded the boat, she could see the crumpled bear in front of her. Olivia was unconscious, and Sam was sprinting from the other side of the warehouse, ripping off his clothes with his teeth bared. He looked terrifying. He jumped into the air and shifted into a black bear, continuing to gallop straight towards Maxine.

Maxine shot a bolt of electricity in his direction, but she missed. He dipped his head down and ran directly into her, launching her towards the boat on the other side of the fire. But somehow she slowed her body down and floated to the ground.

“Cousin, I’m surprised to see you here.”

Maxine snapped her fingers and Dax fell to the ground, also unconscious. Sam prowled right before the fire, growling and tossing his head back and forth. Juliet looked at Nova and saw her eyes glowing, fangs protruding out over her bottom lip.

“Maxine, what the hell are you doing?”

Maxine dangled a talisman in front of them all. “Using our ancestors’ power, of course. Becoming the leader of a coven. And once I am, I can bring other phantoms to Crescent Valley, to take our homeland back.”

“Our homeland? What are you talking about, Maxine? You need to stop all of this! If you don’t…”

Maxine raised a dark eyebrow at her. “What? You’re going to kill me?”

Nova shook her head. “No. I am.”

“Good luck with that. Because when I’m gone, you’ll still be here.”

“That’s the point,” Cole added.

Just then, Juliet felt like hands were wrapping around her neck. Her eyes bulged as she looked at Maxine, whose steely glare was focused directly on her. Juliet’s hands instinctively moved up to her throat, but there was no stopping her spell. “The talisman!” she choked out, hoping that Cole would understand. Cole turned around to look at her, but his eyes were locked on hers, filled with dread.

“Juliet!”

Nova lunged at Maxine, slamming her head against the boat, and the talisman dropped out of her fingers. The fire went out behind Juliet and the world began to go dark.

* * *

Juliet awoke to find herself on a red velvet chaise lounge in what looked to be a bedroom. When she tried to look around, turning her neck from side to side, she realized that there was an intense pain coming from her throat. She took a deep breath, then attempted to sit up.

“Slow down there,” Cole said as he sat down next to her, wrapping his arms around her back and slowly helping her up until she was in a full sitting position.

“What happened?” she croaked out, her voice not sounding like her own.

“We don’t really know. When the talisman dropped from Maxine’s hand, she disappeared. We lost her when the fire went out. But Nova talked to her brother, and it seems that Marcus hasn’t gotten any worse, so whatever she attempted to do didn’t work.”

Juliet nodded slowly; her brain felt foggy. “And me?”

“She tried to choke the life out of you, Juliet. You were lying there, gasping for air, and I guess when her spell ended, you lost consciousness. I was so worried about you.”

“How long have I been out?”

“About six hours. Olivia woke up a couple hours ago, and Dax was awake as soon as Maxine disappeared.”

She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten about Olivia. “Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine. We shifters heal faster than other supernaturals, and definitely faster than phantoms, it appears. I have a feeling those marks around your neck are going to be there for a couple weeks.”

Juliet raised her hand up to her neck as if she could feel the marks, even though she knew she couldn’t. She tenderly touched the skin, but it singed with pain underneath her fingers.

Cole passed her a glass of water. “You need to drink.”

She placed her hand around the glass and pulled it towards her mouth, taking small sips. She hoped the cool water would put out the fire in her throat, and it did give her some relief.

“I have something for you,” Cole said, hopping off of the chaise. He returned to her a moment later with the talisman in his hand. “I believe this probably belongs to you.”

“Me?” She was perplexed—she was no coven leader.

“Yes, you’re the only phantom in Crescent Valley again. I assume it belongs to you.”

“But what about Aunt Irma? I would think she’s the true coven leader.”

Cole laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think she wants to be bothered with magic anymore. By the way, she’s fine. Dax checked on her. Maxine hasn’t been there, but he’s going to stay there for a couple days to be safe.”

Juliet shook her head, smiling. “She’s going to love that.” Cole placed the necklace in her hand. Immediately, she felt her neck heal. “What’s going on?” she asked Cole as his eyes widened.

“Your bruises… they’re gone.”

Juliet sighed. “Magic is a funny thing.” She placed the talisman around her neck and her whole body tingled and felt warm. She knew her ancestors’ powers were running through her veins, making her feel strong. Something that she had avoided for so long had suddenly fallen into place. Fate was funny like that. But if she truly was the new coven leader, then she held the weight of the coven on her shoulders. She was responsible for any magic in Crescent Valley from now on.

“I’m sorry,” she said, feeling the weight of Maxine’s decisions on her.

“What do you have to be sorry for? What Maxine did has nothing to do with you.”

“But I feel like it does. She came here to hurt you all. To hurt other people. That’s not what I’m about, Cole. If I really am the new leader, I won’t let anyone do dark magic in Crescent Valley.”

He pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and around the back of her ear, resting his hand just below her jaw line. “I know that. I want to know everything about you, but I already know how kind you are, Juliet. I know you would never do anything like this. You don’t need to worry about that with me.”

He wanted to know everything about her? Well, she felt the same way about him. With his hands still resting on her skin, she leaned forward and crashed her lips into his.