Page 21 of This Coven Won't Break
My cheeks are so hot they’re in danger of spontaneous combustion, but I’m laughing, too. It feels good to have another witch tease me about Morgan, even if it’s mortifying. The rest of the coven is still too weird about her being a Blood Witch to joke about anything. And as accepting as they are about us both being girls, Sarah is definitely the only one who’d ever tease me about this kind of stuff.
“We’re still firmly in theclothes onstage, for the record. And that’s not what this weekend is about.” I stare out the window and direct Sarah to Morgan’s house. “Promise you won’t say anything in front of her?”
“You got it, kiddo.”
I groan. “I’m not a kid,” I say, but somehow that only makes Sarah laugh harder. Ireallyhope she doesn’t tell Morgan all my embarrassing childhood stories.
Thankfully, after we pick up Morgan, we spend most of our five-hour journey in silence. I try a few times to work on homework, but the closer we get to the city, the more frantic my worries become. I hated Manhattan the last time I was here, surrounded by too many bodies, with miles of concrete blocking the earth from my senses. Even the air, charged with so many people in such a small space, caused more anxiety than it soothed.
Not to mention the witches I met on those streets.
Something in my heart rate must alert Morgan to mydistress, because she reaches for my hand and squeezes, a question in her blue gaze. I nod, and her magic cascades over me, soothing the harshest edges of my stress. Guilt picks at me for still being so scared of the Blood Witch I met here, even as Morgan’s magic makes my life so much better. Even as I find myself falling for Morgan more every day. Sarah glances at us in the rearview and smiles.
When we finally get to the hotel, it’s far more impressive than the place I stayed on my school trip. It’s a large building with geometric patterns of beige-and-gray siding around glittering glass. The lobby is all bright whites, rich blues, and a beige tile floor. It’s also full of hipsters when we check in. Tourists stand beside the sign announcing Alice’s show, and nerves make the little hairs on my arms stand on end. We’re really here. In a few short hours, I’ll begin my first real mission for the Council.
Morgan drags me over to the poster when the other tourists are done and makes me take a selfie with her and the sign. She curls her arm around my waist, and her touch makes all the worry melt away. A thrill climbs up my chest when I remember Sarah’s teasing words. Morgan and I are about to have a room all to ourselves. No parents. No supervision. I press a kiss to her cheek and take another photo. I post the best few to Instagram, and my phone buzzes with at least a dozen likes by the time Sarah comes back from checking us in.
We take the elevator to the sixth floor and follow Sarah down the hall. She stops beside a room and hands me a key. “You girls will stay here. I’m the next room over. The front desk said there’s a door inside that connects the two rooms. I’ll leave my side unlocked in case there are any emergencies. I suggest you do the same.”
“Thanks,” I say, pressing the card against the lock. A light flashes green.
“We’ll head to the roof at seven-thirty for the show.” Sarah grins at me. “You two have fun until then.” Her innuendo is clear, and my cheeks are burning by the time she disappears into the next room.
I push open our door, drop my bag on the polished wood floor, and flop onto the king-size bed. The white comforter cushions my body, and I stare up at the art behind me. It looks like a deconstructed, geometric forest.
“Are you okay?” Morgan perches on the edge of the mattress. “I know you said cities are hard on you, and the last time you were here...”
“I’ll be fine,” I say, refusing to let old memories of this city ruin the first truly private time we’ve had since our date in the woods back home.
“If you’re sure.” Morgan kicks off her shoes and stands, stretching out her long limbs. “Do you want to practice your recruitment speech, or do you want to be distracted?”
I raise an eyebrow at her. “What kind of distraction did you have in mind?”
Morgan turns slowly and raises her arms into a perfect ballet curve. “I’m auditioning for a solo in the fall recital. You could help me practice.”
Her body seems to melt as she progresses through the first few combinations, and even without the music, she’s mesmerizing. The arch of her back, the way her socked feet glide across the polished floor... I wish I had my sketchpad. I don’t know if I could ever capture such elegance in still form, but goddess I want to try.
She stops suddenly, breaking the spell. “Or...” Morgan steps forward and bends until her face is level with mine. “Since Gemma isn’t here to interrupt us, we could make out.”
“Yes,” I say, all thoughts of sketching gone completely. “That. I choose that.”
A few hours later, we emerge onto the hotel roof. Strings of lights hang above us like little electric stars, and the rows of picnic tables are covered with soft silver-and-black cloths. At the center of each table sits a flickering candle.
My pulse lurches when I spot the flames, but Morgan is there with a squeeze of my hand. I try to breathe deep, searching for comfort in the air, but even though my magic is working with Morgan beside me, the energy is different here than in Salem. It’s too busy, too full of conversation. Its vibration too quick.
I glance to Sarah to see how she’s fairing under the crush of the city, especially since she normally has such a strong connection to air. There’s a tension to her shoulders that isn’t normally there, but otherwise she seems fine.
She catches me staring and offers a small smile. “You have to disconnect,” she whispers, leaning close. “That’s the only way to survive a place like this.”
Morgan points to a set of tables near the middle of the rows. “There are two spots there.” She frowns. “But the next closest spot is a few tables over.”
“That’s fine,” Sarah says. “I can’t believe it’s this packed already.” She maneuvers away from us, taking the solo spacewhile Morgan and I hurry to the two seats at the center table.
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out to find a series of texts from Detective Archer.
DA:Good luck tonight. Try to enjoy the show.
DA:See if you can get a feel for her. If Alice seems skittish, you can have Sarah wait outside while you talk. Don’t overwhelm her.
