The book closed with a heavy thud, and the priestess who had spoken raised her hands before us.
“And now, like our Goddess, you will enter the Covenant Woods as incomplete souls, and emerge with another, joined as one.”
Some witches full-on sprinted, laughing and smiling, while others tried to play it cool, clearly excited but struggling to walk at a normal pace.
I gave myself a few moments, then took a deep breath, and ran.
We’d waited long enough.
* * *
Witches had always been secretive about what the Covenant Woods were like. I’d thought it was because they just enjoyed torturing those too young and impatient to wait, but once my feet crossed the threshold, everyone else around me disappeared, and the air thickened.
This was a holy place, and I would not speak of it.
Sound somehow became both amplified and muffled. My breaths and heartbeats were thunderous, while the snapping of a twig was barely audible.
I felt like I was walking through a dream, and stopped to wave my fingers in front of my face, gasping and giggling as the colors seemed to bleed behind them, ribbons trailing in the darkness.
This was way better than bruum.
That was when I felt it. A pulse. A heartbeat.
Like mine.
Pale green light flashed, small at first, getting larger and brighter as I stepped towards it.
I stepped again, and then broke into another run, leaving tears and laughter in my wake.
“I’m coming!” I cried. “I’m sorry I was late, but I’m here now!”
“Sage…”
Light exploded, and I threw up my arm, shielding my eyes from the blinding brightness.
“Sage… you don’t ever have to apologize to me.”
My chest seized, hearing her voice for the first time as I finally gathered the courage to put down my arm.
Bathed in shadow, my familiar sat in front of me.
A black panther, her eyes as green as mine. Her fur, sleek and drinking in the night, rippled over lean, powerful muscles. Elegance and restraint coiled under her skin.
She was magnificent.
Her name sprang from my tongue, as though it had always been there.
“Kala… Kala, you’re beautiful.”
And just as suddenly as the panther appeared, so did she change into her other form.
Kala was only an inch or two taller than me, all soft lines and feline grace. Her smooth skin nearly the same onyx hue as her panther fur, but with a warmer undertone that shimmered in the light. Her hair, neatly braided, fell down her back in a beautiful waterfall.
She opened her arms in preparation for the hug we both needed.
“I’m sorry it took me so long,” I said on a choked sob. “I got held up, I—”
“Shh, my witch. I know. Leveryn told me that you would be late, but that you would find me when you had the strength. When you were ready for me.”
