Chapter 203

Joseph’s POV

“It will be nice to have you return to the mountains full-time,” Bernard said as we walked back toward the Vamp House.

I spent most of the morning going over the dos and don'ts with the new additions to our tribe. They didn’t like my lecture, but they weren’t stupid enough to argue with me. They knew if they continued to act the way they did, I wasn’t opposed to punishing them.

I could even send them back to the academy for another 4 years if I thought they needed it.

They were quick to agree with everything I said after I threatened them with that.

Bernard’s words slammed into me like a weight; I hadn’t really talked to him about my plans after I was done being a professor. I planned to return to the mountains and continue my duties as a retriever and vampire trainer. But that was before Tessa came into my life.

Now everything felt different.

“About that—” I tried to say, but my words were cut short when Bernard’s body tensed, and his hand shot up to silence me.

I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering what was going on. He turned in the direction of the forest and his eyes widened immediately. I soon saw what he was looking at.

A dark ring of smoke floated to the sky, cascading over the night sky like a slithering snake.

“What the—” I began to say, but Bernard wasted no time.

He was already sprinting in that direction. I didn’t stand frozen for long; I was quick behind Bernard, as were a few others from our tribe. My heart was racing against my chest as we got closer to the smoke.

Tessa’s scent filled my nose, mixed with the ashes left behind by the fire and my legs went into overdrive. I was soon running much faster than Bernard and I wasn’t going to stop until I got to Tessa.

Whatever this smoke was from, whatever was happening, I knew Tessa was in trouble.

It didn’t take long before I found the cause of the smoke; flames were rising high and attacking the trees eagerly and hungrily. Anna stood on the outside of some kind of fire ring; tears staining her features as soot darkened her skin. She was screaming at the ring of fire until her voice had gone raw, and her body was left trembling in terror.

When she saw me, she pointed at the fire with a shaky hand.

“Tessa’s in here…” she croaked.

My entire heart fell into my stomach.

Without a single thought, I ran into the flames, ignoring the sound of my name being yelled at by Bernard as he finally caught up.

I felt the sting of the fire as it attacked my skin, but it only lasted a moment. Once I was inside the ring, it was like being inside of a heater. It was unbearably hot; however, the flames weren’t attacking me; they were dancing around me in a taunting manner.

Tessa was sitting on the ground with her knees pressed to her chest and her eyes squeezed tight. She didn’t look harmed, but she looked terrified from what was happening around her.

I wrapped my arms around her, startling her.

Her eyes flew open, and she stared up at me as I lifted her into my arms and carried her bridal style.

“Joseph…” she whispered with tears in her eyes. “I don’t know what happened… I’m—”

“Let’s just get you out of here,” I told her, trying to keep my tone calm.

“I don’t know how to stop it…” she croaked.

I held her tighter, placing my hand on her head and forcing her to lean her head against my chest to shield her face. She buried her face in my chest and held onto me as if her life depended on it.

I ran with her through the flames and to my surprise, the flames didn’t attack me and burn my flesh. They almost moved with me, like they were granting me a passage out of the ring. I wondered if it was because I was holding onto Tessa.

Maybe the fire didn’t want to hurt her.

As soon as we broke through the clearing and were on the other side of the ring, more vampires emerged from the forest carrying buckets of water.

As the fire died down and the smoke started to lighten, Tessa kept her face buried in my chest and I knew from the trembling of her body and the small whimpers she desperately tried to hide, she was crying.

“I’m so sorry…” Anna cried as she rushed toward us. “This was my fault. I should have never encouraged her to test her magic like this…”

I stared at the forest ground where the ring of fire once was, and I saw a thick purple book lying on the ground.

“Was it a spell out of that book?” I asked, glancing back at Anna.

She glanced at the book and then nodded.

“I’m so sorry…” she whispered.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of damage,” Bernard announced as he joined us. “It could have been a lot worse. Let’s just be thankful that it wasn’t.”

I felt Tessa flinching at his words, causing me to hold her even tighter, fearing what would happen if I released her.

“She should have never practiced magic without the help of her coven,” Bernard continued. “Or at least another witch…”

“I’m going to take her back to my house,” I said, turning away from them.

“This was my fault. I’m so sorry, Tessa,” Anna said softly.

Tessa didn’t respond; I think she was at a loss for words and shocked over what had happened. I couldn’t blame her. This was a lot to take in and she needed to rest. I knew she didn’t sleep well today, and she was probably exhausted.

When we got back to my house, Tessa lifted her head and peered up at me with her tear-stained features.

“I’m so sorry…” she whispered hoarsely. “I almost burned the entire village…”

“We wouldn’t have let that happen,” I assured her, placing her on the couch and sitting beside her with my arms still wrapped around her.

I was afraid if I released her, she would vanish on me.

“I have magic….” She said, staring down at her trembling hands.

I took hold of her hands, squeezing them in mine.

“And we are going to figure out how to use your magic,” I assured her. “Together.”

“I don’t think I want to try that again,” she said, letting out a bitter laugh and then covering her mouth with her hands as she attempted to keep in another sob.

“That’s okay too,” I whispered. “We can go your speed.”

She didn’t say anything in response, but she nodded.

I let her sleep for a few hours before I woke her. Bernard had called and asked if we could meet him and Anna at their home. He didn’t sound as angry as he was after the fire, and I warned him that he wasn’t allowed to yell at Tessa.

After he gave me his word, I agreed to meet with them.

Tessa was nervous, but she didn’t argue.

As soon as we arrived at their house, Anna was quick to wrap her arms around Tessa and hold her close.

“I’m so sorry,” she breathed. “I should have never allowed that to happen.”

“It wasn’t your fault…” Tessa said, tears filling her eyes. “I didn’t know how to stop it…”

Bernard motioned for us to follow him inside and we did so. Tessa sat beside Anna on the couch, Anna grasping her hands protectively. I sat on the other side of Tessa trying not to take Tessa’s hands away from Anna and keeping them for myself.

Bernard sat in a chair across from us and his face was unreadable. He stared at all three of them for a long while without speaking. His fingers steepled as he pressed his lips in a thin line as he studied us.

“I’m not going to yell at any of you,” Bernard finally said after a long pause. “I know the fire wasn’t intentional. But I don’t think it’s wise for Tessa to continue practicing magic here. Especially considering she’s never done it before.”

“I won’t,” Tessa was quick to say. “I don’t think I ever want to use it again in general. It won’t happen again.”

“I’m not trying to put you off magic altogether,” Bernard said as he raised his brows at her. “You are a witch and should learn to control your powers. Especially before it matures. There’s no avoiding what you are. But I also don’t want to endanger my village.”

Tessa’s face reddened, but she nodded.

“With that being said, you really should try to find your mother’s coven. A witch is only as strong as their coven. They would be able to help you in a way that we can’t.”

“We will figure it out,” I said, placing my hand on Tessa’s knee.

She glanced at my hand and then up at me.

“Will we?” She asked.

I nodded, bending down so I could brush my lips across hers.

“Yes,” I promised her. “We will.”

She smiled as I kissed her again, but it didn’t last long before we were interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing.

She pulled her phone out of her sweatshirt pocket and frowned when she looked at the screen.

“I need to take this,” she said, standing to her feet. “I’ll be right back.”

With those words left in the air, Tessa excused herself from the room, leaving me staring after her.

….

Tessa’s POV

I knew they’d still be able to hear me, but I felt a little better stepping outside to take this phone call. Ruby’s name continued to flash on the screen as I swiped the green “talk” button.

“Hello?” I said into the phone.

“Tessa!!” Ruby shrieked, making me pull the phone away from my ear for only a moment.

“Everything okay?” I asked, trying to keep my raw emotions out of my voice.

“Everything is great!!!” She continued to shriek. “Check the school website! Grades have been posted!! I’m graduating!!!!”