SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Forty-two
Celine’s Pov:
“Celine,” Amelia hollered as she closed the distance between us. Once she reached me, a brilliant smile covered her face as she wrapped her arm around me. “Are you excited yet?” she asked with euphoria in her voice. “I know I am,” she continued.
“Excited for what?” I asked. As I was unsure of what she was talking about. “We are seventeen. Next year we get to take the trials to see if we got what it takes to take over for your mother as High Priestess,” she beamed.
“Just think about it, you as Beta and me as the High Priestess. Nothing could stop us. Not even good old Timothy,” Amelia laughed. I tried to smile. Amelia was born to take over for my mother. It’s why the Goddesses created her.
Still, part of me believed I should be the one to do so because I was the one who put in the most effort into our training. Even though I was born to be our pack’s Beta, my mother insisted I train for her title alongside Amelia.
“I guess.” I forced another smile. “My mothers told me something, something no one is supposed to know,” Amelia’s voice hushed as she dragged me away from the town’s folk. “None of the witches of our age have mates,” she exclaimed.
My mouth dropped. How was it possible that none of us had a mate? “It’s because I will be the priestess when my sister is born. The next high priestess is to be mates with her guardian, so to make it appear fair, none who are in training have mates. The Woman will find them later.” She explained before I could even ask.
“I can’t wait for the moment we meet. Bet it will be spectacular, a magical moment,” she whispered. “I am sure your mate will be amazing too, probably some second son of a Beta,” she smiled, sensing my uneasiness at her words.
“You haven’t told anyone else, did you?” I asked. “No, of course not, Miss. Main, only my best friend,” she grinned. “Good, I worry sometimes you don’t heed their words enough,” I frowned.
The way Amelia laughed made my skin crawl. We have been friends for longer than I could remember and were closer than sisters, but lately I’ve noticed a shift in her. Her powers appeared to be more unstable and angrier. As we neared the temple, I mulled over her words about none of us having mates. How Amelia spoke of the Guardian lit a fire in me, I couldn’t explain. As crazy as it sounded, something told me I was supposed to be his mate.
We took our places and waited for my mother for our daily lessons. The world froze before it faded, leaving just a warm, brilliant white light that I recognized well. “Amelia shared our secret with you,” the Woman huffed.
“Yes, Goddess, I am sorry,” I apologized. This was information I should not know. “Worry not, I told her so she would tell you. We realize she does as she pleases without worry of her action and repercussions,” she scoffed in annoyance.
“As for your feelings about the Guardian,” the Woman continued, dragging her eyes over me, reading deep into my soul. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have felt that way,” I blurted out, sensing the heat in my cheeks blazing. “You are correct,” she smiled, taking me by surprise. “It’s such a long story…” she started. “But one for another time,” the Girl growled, surprising both of us.
“Celine, if you will excuse us,” the Girl said much softer than before. “We must discuss a few things,” she stated, waving her hand, returning the world to normal. My mother’s eyes met mine; her eyes held a knowing expression before returning her attention to the rest of the girls present. Amelia was top of the class, and I was close behind her. Timothy always encouraged me to keep my nose to the books and practice harder. Sometimes I believed I was his favorite.
There’s always been some resentment between Amelia and Timothy, or Timmy, as she liked to call him. He’s always been close to my mother and me for as long as I could recall. After my father died, it was Timothy who helped piece my mother back together. For that reason, he became almost like a second father to me. Even though he is my brother, sort of. Our family dynamic is not cut and dry as he likes to put it.
Amelia liked to downplay our blood ties. While I understood we were not true sisters, it was the Goddesses blood which was used to help my parents conceive me. Their blood still runs through my veins. “For your next task, I expect you to pair up. Amelia, you will pair with me so as not to repeat any issues like the last time,” mother announced. This earned my mother a dirty glare from Amelia, who liked to prove her superiority because she was a ‘Goddess.’
While the Goddesses never acknowledged her claims, they were yet to deny them. Lately Amelia was harming those they paired her with. This angered her mothers, whose teachings have always been about unity.
“No, I will train with Celine as this will make the group uneven,” Amelia snapped back, causing the entire room to go quiet for a moment. An icy chill washed over the room. My mother’s temper was rearing its ugly head and made the air reek of fear. Amelia, however, was unfazed by it.
“As I’ve stated, student, you will train with me,” mother’s voice was tight with anger. Lately, they both were getting on each other’s nerves more and more. “And just who will Celine train with?” Amelia growled, attempting to overpower my mother’s magic with her own, but failed miserably. A triumphant smile breached my mother’s face.
Amelia failed to make a dent. “Keep practicing, it was a poor attempt Amelia, at least when Celine and I argue, I break into a small sweat,” my mother mocked. Enraged, Amelia, with a murderous look in her eyes, opened her mouth to fight back. The Woman’s sudden appearance forced her back to her seat.
“While you are correct, Amelia, training with Amethyst will cause the numbers to become unbalanced. So, I will train with Celine today,” the Woman scolded. An outburst of murmurs erupted from everyone. All eyes fell on me. Their curious and questioning eyes made me uneasy. Since the age of 10, we have only ever trained with one another to promote trust, unity, and sisterhood amongst the temple priestesses.
“Please pair up, while Amelia and I demonstrate,” mother grinned. There was a suspicious glint in her eyes, especially when she cast them on to Amelia. Obediently, we pair up and mirror the positions my mother and Amelia took.
Suddenly, a skull splitting pain invaded my mind, making it impossible to concentrate. Almost instantly, I understood someone was using black magic against me. Although I never encountered such magic, its ominous presence was hard to mistake. I glanced at the Woman, who only smiled knowingly at me. This couldn’t be part of the training, could it?
“You must fight it Celine, we cannot help you. This path you must walk alone,” the Woman explained with sympathy in her eyes. At this moment, the Woman started the exercise for our training. “Great,” I muttered softly to myself. “What else can go wrong?” Black spots flooded my vision as my breathing became more difficult.
“Celine?” a male voice cried out with concern. Pain screamed through my body as I laid on the cool, hard ground. My eyes struggled to focus as I tried to figure out where I was. A sharp pain erupted from my side. The pain was as if someone stabbed me with a blade coated in nightshade and hemlock. I couldn’t help but let out a whimper. “Dammit,” the male voice cursed angrily at something. “Noah? GO!” a woman’s voice commanded. Seconds later, a blur of a wolf nudged me as sparks erupted all over my body.
The sensation made me gasp. This wasn’t my mate, was it? My heart raced excitedly as he shifted to his human form. Although I couldn’t quite make out what he looked like, but I could see his blue eyes. As his arms scooped me up, I was flooded with a warmth I never expected, which melted the pain away. “Goddesses’ name Celine? What happened to you?” he whispered in disbelief.
Suddenly, a brilliant flash of light threw the man, who must be Noah, away from me. I strained to hear his heart, his breathing, his anything. Panic grew deep inside, as there was nothing, not a sound to be heard. A cloaked figure kneeled next to me and gripped my face so tightly I worried their fingers might pierce my cheeks.
“You traitorous cunt, you stole everything from me. My mate, my title, my life, and my throne. Now you will watch as I take it all back. You will watch as I kill your children and end the Goddesses’ plans,” Amelia’s voice hissed as my heart leaped into my throat.
Amethyst’s Pov:
Amelia yelped in pain unexpectedly and jumped back from her position. “Pay attention Amelia,” I scolded. Once again, I was disappointed that she was not taking her training seriously.
It angered me to know she would most likely be the one to earn my title. She was the most lazy and disrespectful witch I’ve ever encountered. An entitled brat who was lucky enough to be the child of the Goddesses, granting her more power than she deserved.
The atmosphere of the room suddenly shifted, becoming more electric. Something was upsetting Celine. Amelia attempted her spell; I raised my hand as I walked past, stopping Amelia’s lazy attempt at the exercise dead.
I needed to see what’s happened to Celine. As I approached, both the Woman and the Girl had the same bleak expression on their face. “It would appear, Celine, does in fact have the family trait of foresight,” the Woman stated.
By the expression on the Woman’s face, what Celine was witnessing was not a result of the Goddesses. Celine’s face was twisted in pain as sweat ran down her brow. Her normally silver eyes were now two shades darker.
“Amelia,” she whispered in her trance. The Goddesses and I exchanged a surprised glance at her words. “Class dismissed,” the Girl growled. Instantly, all the girls bolted from the temple, all except for Amelia. “You too Amelia,” she hissed. “Celine…” Amelia tried to argue but with a snap of the Girl’s fingers, the temple faded away, leaving only the warmth and bright light of the Goddesses’ domain.
Celine crumpled to the floor, exhausted from her vision. Thankfully, the Girl’s lightning reflexes caught her before she hit the ground. We watched her intently as her eyes fluttered as the remnants of her vision faded away. The Girl placed her hand on Celine’s forehead to see what it was she saw, but yelped in pain, retracting her hand. The Girl studied her hand carefully for a moment before she sent a confused and horrified glance to the Woman.
A bewildered expression crossed the Woman’s face before she, too, placed her hand on Celine’s forehead only to experience the same reaction. Again, they exchanged a puzzled glance. “Noah,” Celine screamed, jumping up with terror in her eyes before she regained her senses. Because of this, the Girl grabbed Celine’s face, looking deep into her eyes. “I bless you Celine, receive my blessing,” the Girl croaked before kissing her on the forehead. A crimson red rune appeared on Celine’s forehead. As quickly as it appeared, it vanished into her skin, which made Celine cry out in surprise.
The Woman waved her hand, opening a door to Celine’s room. “Rest child, that vision would be hard for anyone,” the Woman cooed as she took Celine’s hand in hers.
Unnoticed by Celine, silver tendrils danced up her arm from the Goddess’s hand. As soon as they reached the base of her skull, the tendrils burrowed in. I tried to remain calm at the sight as the Goddesses realized what they were doing, but this act left me chilled to the core.
“Yes Goddesses, Priestess,” she bowed, leaving to enter her room. Once through the door, the Goddesses exchanged a glance that made my blood run cold. Their desperate eyes met mine. “Celine’s extra training will now be with myself, Amethyst,” the Woman started.
“We needed to alter her memory of this vision and replaced it with a version of our own. As what she saw can’t go past here, even Timothy is not to know. This was not the gift of foresight; this was a warning and a clear one at that. We know now Amelia will betray us, but when, that remains to be seen. This warning came to us, from Celine, not the one in this time, but her future self.”