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“
Great, and how
do we go about doing that?” Jack sighed.

Cora knew how
he felt. There was something seriously wrong with the lack of
communication in this coven.

“
We could
scry?”

“
Yes, that is a
good idea, but why do we need to talk to him?” Ember
asked.

“
You took the
words right out of my mouth.” Evelyn nudged Ember with her elbow
and smiled. Clay smiled, humming the
Meatloaf
song so everyone would get
it stuck in their heads.

“
Because he
will know where Adanna is,” Cathella replied.

“
But Adanna is
dead.” The shock on James’s face would have been funny if their
situation had been any different.

“
No, she isn’t.
She faked her death. Alastair could never know that she wa’ still
alive,” Cathella informed them.

“
Adanna is
alive?” James whispered.

“
Yes, and we
need to find her.”

“
Whilst we do
that, I think we should have a meeting, just our coven” Tabitha
addressed Cora.

Cora nodded,
although she wasn’t sure why. “Thank you everyone. We will be in
touch. If anyone discovers anything in the mean time, please come
back here or come to my house. You are always welcome.”

32

The past can
haunt you

Cora felt
nervous as everyone left them alone in the coven room. She studied
Tabitha who looked a little pale. It was a complexion Cora wasn’t
used to seeing on her friend’s face. Clay looked just as confused
as her, but there was something on Ember’s face, some sort of
understanding.

The silence
was already grating on her nerves but she felt it was Tabitha who
held the control.

Tabitha took a
deep breath, her hands twisted in her lap. “There is something you
need to know. This will be difficult to hear... Cora, please take a
seat.”

Cora swallowed
as Jack shifted uncomfortably next to her “Okay.”

“
I want you,
all of you, to listen to everything before you interrupt me. I will
tell you this once, only once as I don’t think I can repeat
myself.”

Cora nodded,
already fearing interrupting her. Tabitha could be damn right scary
at the best of times, but this took things to a whole new level.
Jack’s hand slid into hers. Something told Cora this was going to
be difficult to hear.

“
In the 1640’s
I met someone, well, he stumbled into me, forever complimenting me,
and annoying me. He was a Commoner, one who had moved to the
village only recently. I fell in love with him, we married and we
were happy, for a time.”

Tabitha
smiled, lost in the memory, but Cora could already see the pain of
her next train of thought.

“
I found out I
was with child-”

“
Oh my god,”
Cora murmured.

She saw the
shock ripple throughout the entire group, although even Ayden
looked like he knew of this.

“
Cora...”
Tabitha pleaded, reminding her not to interrupt.

“
I’m sorry,
Tab.”

Tabitha
nodded. “I found out I was with child, and we were elated. Things
were progressing nicely and we planned to visit you, Cora. My trips
to see you were always ones I looked forward to. Whilst we
travelled there, we were in a cart accident.”

The tears
started filling Tabitha’s eyes. Cora swallowed past the thick knot
in her throat.

“
I was crushed
under the cart; it all happened too quickly, I couldn’t stop it.
The pain in my back had been instant, the full force of the whole
thing, our belongings, the wood, it was crushing
me...unfortunately, I lost the baby.”

How much more
could Cora be accountable for? Since becoming a witch, Cora had
brought death and destruction to this village. She’d lost her
mother, she’d lost her sibling. Clio. Brianna. She bit her tongue.
She wouldn’t voice her opinion. Tabitha had been through enough,
and it seemed rather selfish of her to bring it up in conversation.
This was about Tabitha but Cora felt like she was to
blame.

On the other
hand, she felt somewhat put out. Tabitha knew everything about her,
yet Tabitha had been married. She’d been pregnant. There was a
whole life there that Cora didn’t know about.

Ayden moved to
Tabitha, holding her hand, giving her the courage to
continue.

“
I moved on
from losing the baby, things happened-”

“
No, I will not
allow you to brush over what he did to you,” Ember
snapped.

“
Ember,
I-”

“
No,” Ember
interrupted Tabitha and then looked at them all individually until
her grey eyes focused on Cora. “He used her.”

“
I, he
didn’t-”

“
Tab, it
doesn’t make you any less of a woman because you opened your heart
up to someone, because you let your guard down for him. You are the
strongest, bravest woman I know. Now I know this, I only admire you
more,” Cora whispered.

“
Thank you,”
Tabitha murmured.

“
He took us to
America on the pretence that a friend needed help,” Ember
continued. “Only he made sure we were deep within the witch scandal
there.”

“
Salem?” Jack
whispered. “I heard they blamed animals at first, something about a
plague . But the rumours arose about witches there.”

Cora looked at
him, perplexed by his sudden witch knowledge. When had he studied
witch history?

“
Yes, you are
correct, Jack. He took us there; he had a woman there, one he
loved, one he wanted to save. He used Tabitha for her potions. We
nearly died thanks to that man.”

“
And does this
man have a name?” Clay growled.

“
I second
that!” Eli stormed. “I want to murder him!”

“
I’ve dealt
with it,” Ayden snapped, surprising everyone, Tabitha’s jolt said
it all.

It was
Tabitha’s turn to be shocked. “What? How?”

“
You don’t need
to know the details. Only know that I bided my time. I watched. I
waited. And then I struck when the time was right.”

“
So, he’s
dead?” Jack asked.

“
If he isn’t,
it was a mistake burning him.”

Ember was
smiling as Tabitha shook her head. “What about her?”

“
Let’s just say
he felt the keen strike of heartbreak,” Ayden said.

“
I would have
burnt him alive,” Clay hissed.

“
I cannot focus
on this at the moment,” Tabitha gasped. “We have moved away from
what I wanted to tell you.”

“
That wasn’t
it?” Cora asked, her voice squeaked with shock. What else could
there be?

“
It is true, he
nearly killed us. But I have to take you back to the day I lost my
baby. The reason why...”

Cora’s heart
palpitated so rapidly she wasn’t breathing properly. Jack lifted
her hand, his lips brushing against it. He offered her comfort, the
comfort bringing tears to her eyes.

“
Why?” Cora
whispered, helping Tabitha along.

Tabitha looked
like she was struggling to part with the news. She shook herself
and looked at Ayden. “When I tell you this, you have to promise me
you will not leave this room.”

“
Tab-”

“
Ayden, promise
me!” Tabitha snapped.

Ayden looked
shocked for a moment, but he nodded his head.

Tabitha took a
deep breath. “The day the cart fell on me, someone caused that
accident. I’ve since met that person-”

“
What?” Cora
surged to her feet, followed by Jack and Clay.

“
Please, hear
me out... I can only assume this person caused the accident for
reasons only known to him...”

Ice cold
tendrils snaked their way into her heart. Cora didn’t know how she
was going to react, how everyone would react once that name was
uttered.

“
The man who
caused the accident was...Alastair.”

The room
exploded.

Her element
flew out of her, pushing up against the coven entrance. Eli rushed
to it and was pushed back by her power. She could feel the cool
waves smash up against her element as Clay fought his way out,
baying for the blood of the man who’d controlled their lives far
too long.

Everyone
expressed their outrage openly. She remained calm, on the outside,
but Cora allowed her heart to break. She would not show it. Tabitha
deserved more.

She had to
tell Tabitha. “I want everyone to sit down, now,” Cora
whispered.

When everyone
opened their mouths to argue, she pushed the wind that had gathered
in her hand, down to the floor. The crack of thunder boomed within
the room, her ears rang from the sound. She held her position as
the floor vibrated. “Now.

They slowly
sat down. She could see that Jack was looking at her hand, waiting
for another attack. She swallowed, holding back the turmoil she
felt. Tabitha was the only person who remained stood.

“
Thank you,”
Tabitha whispered.

Cora looked at
her, forcing the tears to stay hidden. “Does he know?”

Tabitha was
shaking her head. “No, I do not believe he does. If he did, he
would have used it against me already.”

“
Cora?” Jack
asked.

Cora knew what
he was asking. She nodded and looked at Tabitha. “The day I went
shopping with Alastair, he told me some things... He told me that
he’d killed his father-”

“
That is hardly
surprising!” Ayden barked.

“
I know, but he
also mentioned abolishing the relationship between Commoners and
witches. He said he killed anything that could be a possible
mix.”

Cora continued
to tell them everything she had learnt. She watched Tabitha’s face
throughout. It broke her heart when she saw the heartbreak on
Tabitha’s face. All was quiet when she finished.

“
I do not know
what to say,” Tabitha whispered.

Ayden cursed
under his breath before letting the rage erupt. “How can we stand
by? How can we remain so calm after this? He nearly killed Tab! He
killed her child!”

“
Say we do
something about it,” Cora agreed. She felt the keen sting of anger
and heartbreak too. She understood why Ayden was
furious.

“
Cora?” Tabitha
asked.

“
Wait... say we
did something, what would you do?” Cora asked the men.

“
We would seek
revenge. He would pay!” Eli shouted.

“
That may be
true, but what else do you give him?” Cora looked at them, waited
for a moment before continuing. “We give him satisfaction at having
hurt us, yet again. If he knows about Tabitha, he has control. We
are doing everything we can to stop him. The plan is our revenge.
The plan is what we stick to.”

Cora took a
deep breath and allowed the words to sink in.

“
In the end,
Tabitha will have her revenge. We all will, we just have to stick
together,” Ember agreed.

“
I told you
this today because it was eating at me. I needed to share it with
you all. Now I have learnt something new, it fuels my anger. I want
this to work more than ever, but we have to stick with the plan.
Our anger will only get us so far. I hope I did not make a mistake
in telling you?” Tabitha asked.

There were a
few shakes of the head. Cora continued. “We need to use our anger
to win. We need to use every single emotion that we are feeling to
rid that man out of our lives. But Tab, you are bloody lucky Ayden
dealt with him... what is his name anyway?”

“
Brandon...”

“
If Ayden
hadn’t stopped Brandon, I wouldn’t have stopped them on their
search for him.”

Tabitha
nodded. “I understand. Thank you.”

“
Are we
together in this?” Cora waited.

Everyone
shuffled their feet, moving together, hands clasped hands. They
stood together in a circle, looking at each other, offering comfort
and strength. “We will beat him,” Cora confirmed. “I’ve never
wanted something so much in my life. He will pay.”

They held
hands for a moment longer and then dispersed. The men headed
towards the shop, leaving Ember and Cora with Tabitha.

“
Cora, I love
you more than ever,” Ember said as she hugged her. “You made the
right decision. You are a wonderful leader.”

“
I second
that,” Tabitha said as she hugged the two of them. “I’m so proud of
you, Cora; you will make a fine leader, one I will be honoured to
serve.

“
Your mother
was a great leader, but I do feel like you will surpass her...she
knew this...she knew one day you would lead, and you would make a
fine one.”

“
I’m honoured
to know the two of you, to call you my family. I will protect you
both, you know that. I will go to any lengths to protect everyone
that I love.”