Eye of the Coven by Larissa Ladd Read Free Book Online

apartment and he helped. He organized the guys downstairs and I pointed to where I wanted everything inside. It worked and I liked it. When the moving men finally left, Devan stayed behind and helped me with some of the boxes.
    “This has been great,” I said before I could help myself, and then decided to mean it because it had been great.
    “I enjoyed myself too,” he said. “Who would have thought moving would be so much fun?”
    “Would you like to stay for supper?” It was out before I could stop myself, and his eager nod told me he had been waiting for me to ask without me having to read his mind.
    “Alright then, but I’m not cooking alone,” I said, and he walked with me to the kitchen.
    I liked him. I liked his company; it made me feel good when he was around. I felt less lonely when he was around.
    Kitten sat on the counter licking her paws. She seemed to like him too and a lot more than me, but I didn’t mind it. Devan was someone she was allowed to like. Somehow I wanted him there more often, and if Kitten didn’t mind, well, I didn’t m ind either.

Chapter 7
    Devan was there more often. He popped by after work sometimes, even though I knew it was out of the way for him. He worked at some office as an administrator, and even though it wasn’t glamorous, it was something that suited him. He was a people person; it showed the more I had to do with him. He knew a lot of people, from work and otherwise, and the more time I spent with him, the more of them got to know me too. I noticed that people liked Devan wherever he went, and it made me like him more.
    My job as a sales assistant was paying off. I didn’t earn a lot, but I earned enough to say I was paying for myself. It was different, making my own living. There was something about being completely independent that I really liked. I had always been an independent person, but money had never been something I needed. I’d gone to school and then college because it was what you did and I didn’t want to stand out.
    It was that time of the week again, and I started the long walk through the fields that led to the cave. The sun was shining and I loved being outside, but, as always, there was the darkness that hung over me as I came closer, knowing it would be another day of fighting.
    It never used to be like that. I remember when everyone in the coven knew their place, and it was straightforward. I used to love going with my sister and father, because those were the days when I was allowed to just use my power without wondering who wasn’t allowed to see. We were all the same then, and it was just like Sunday brunch or something. Everyone loved everyone, and everyone got along. And we did it every week.
    It was only since my father died and Nema had realized what I was as a witch that things changed. Since then, they had all been bothering me about taking my rightful place and I’d started hating going, started hating the idea of having to argue about what I wanted to be and why it was necessary for me to be more than I already was.
    I stepped through the rocks and the usual gentle hum greeted me. I stood to the side, not feeling like talking to anyone and no one bothered to make conversation with me. Marlena was at the far end of the room, talking to Rebecca or her sister; I wasn’t sure. She glared at me, her dirty blond hair orange in the fire light.
    Since the day of the move, I hadn’t spoken to my sister again, not about anything that mattered. I only phoned her now just to tell her I was still around, and that was the most that we ever said to each other. Marlena didn’t ask where I’d moved to or suggest we meet over coffee like she used to. I didn’t know what was going on in my sister’s life anymore.
    Nema arrived and the familiar hush fell in the room, the atmosphere turning to reverence as Nema took her place in her usual spot. She touched on some topics that we had discussed previously before she turned to me.
    “It has come to