Confined (A Tethered Novel, Book 3) (13 page)

“It’s time to begin the cleansing,” Admer said as he entered
the room, carrying a sliver tray with four steaming mugs. “Each of you drink
this.”

He passed a mug to each of us, handing me mine last. I took
the piping hot tea from his grasp and locked eyes with him.

“You look elegant tonight, Addison,” he said. “Just like
your mother.”

“Thank you,” I said softly.

“Absolutely
bewitching
,” he added.

His eyes flashed with an odd sense of excitement, reminding
me of a kid in a candy store, causing the sensation of nerves fluttering in my
stomach to explode at the sight.

Admer walked to the center of the room with the tray still
clasped in his hands, and glanced down at his watch.

“This has to be timed perfectly. When I say drink, the four
of you must drink,” he said. His voice rang loudly and with authority through
the living room.

Prickles of uncertainty slid through me as I remembered
Susan’s words from earlier—
there’s still time
. They repeated through my
mind in Susan’s soft voice while I waited for Admer to tell me to drink, until
all at once they shifted and became Theo speaking them to me instead.

You don’t have to do this. Something is brewing. I can
feel it. The tether will be broken soon, regardless
.

I nearly dropped my mug as his words slithered through my
mind in that velvety smooth voice of his. How close was Theo for me to be able
to hear him so clearly? I couldn’t feel him. Glancing around, I searched my
living room for any sign of the waving ripple that always signified his use of
a glamour, but saw nothing.

No, I have to do this, Theo. I have to.

I projected in case he could hear me, repeating the words
again in my mind as a reminder to myself that it was true.

“Drink,” Admer called out. His voice sounded like a loud
boom in the silence of my living room.

Each of us pressed the mugs we held to our lips and let the
warm, syrupy sweetness inside trickle down our throats, cleansing us from the
inside out and readying us for the rite we were about to perform.

The water was surprisingly warm as it lapped against my
ankles. I was mesmerized by the deep midnight blue of it as it mirrored the
low-hanging, murky clouds above. It seemed endless, to the point of touching
the sky. I stared, struggling to differentiate where one ended and the other
began. The wind picked up as the ocean air dampened a little more, holding the
promise of rain. Pausing in my walk, I turned to face the ocean directly.
Inhaling the salty breeze, I allowed the dampness of the warm air to touch my
face and seep through my skin.

Strands of my dark hair blew across my face in individual
wisps as I turned to watch the others gather. Adrenaline pumped through my
veins at a nearly nauseating pace, and my heart pounded out a nervous rhythm in
my chest as I thought of what I was about to do.

My eyes shifted from Callie to Adam and then lastly to Kace.
After tonight, they would all finally be initiated. After tonight,
I
would be initiated as well, and the tether between Theo and I would be broken.

I could feel the power of whatever had been in the tea I’d
finished moments before already working its magick throughout my body. It
tingled through my veins and awoke my mind, settling me in an eerie calm. I
shifted my gaze past the others and down the beach, suddenly wondering where everyone
who had been here watching the fireworks hours before had disappeared to. I’d
assumed there would have been massive beach parties in full swing by tourists
and locals alike, but there was nothing of the sort.

The beach was quiet and peaceful, leading me to wonder if
some sort of disbandment spell had been set into place to assure we would be
alone and uninterrupted while performing the rite.

Della walked past me in her flowing blue robe she’d changed
into. It was made of a thicker fabric than my own dress, but gorgeous
nonetheless. Her dark hair fell to her shoulders in loose waves, which swayed
in the gentle breeze and glistened in the bright moonlight. In her hands, she
held four candles—one red, one blue, one green, and one silver—each meant for one
of us.

Susan walked to my side. “Are you nervous?”

Any unease or anger I would have thought she’d show during
the moment was missing. Instead, the spell Callie had placed over her seemed to
make her more chipper than ever.

“Not really,” I admitted, knowing I should be, but the
nerves I’d felt while dressing had disappeared entirely.

I wondered what exactly Admer had put in that cleansing tea
of his. Should I be feeling this compliant? The moment I thought to question my
languid movements and ease of mind, a nearly numbing sensation coursed through
me, which muted it all completely and left me in a state of calm yet again.

“Let’s begin,” Charles called, drawing everyone’s attention
to him. It was then I noticed the four things placed at his feet—a feather, a
seashell, a crystal, and a tea candle, which was already lit. “Admer, will you
walk the children through as you did us years ago?”

A large leather-bound book was passed from Charles’s hands
to Admer’s. Their eyes locked and a small smile became mirrored on each of
their faces.

“Gladly,” Admer said. “Step forward, initiates.” He glanced
around, seeking the eyes of all four of us.

My legs moved on their own accord directly toward him. This
wasn’t something I questioned, but rather something I dazedly noticed. As the
four of us formed a line in front of Admer, we were each given a candle from
Della. I accepted the red candle from her, and softly caressed its smooth wax
with my index finger.

With each of us now holding a candle, we remained standing
in front of Admer, waiting for his next words eagerly. The others took a few
steps back and gave Admer center stage.

“Each of your elements is set with a direction—east, south,
west, and north—and in that order. This rite will begin with the east and end
with the north. East is Air. South is Fire. West is Water. And north is Earth.
Follow my lead and repeat after me,” Admer said loudly, his green eyes
glittering like emeralds in the night sky. The oddly placed excitement I’d
witnessed burning in the depths of them still shimmered brightly, illuminated
by the moonlight. “We begin with east.”

Everything he said seeped into my brain and clung there like
a heavy fog. The strong breeze from the ocean picked up, and a bolt of
lightning flashed somewhere in the distance. It was either a coincidence or
else someone didn’t like what we were about to do here.

Both were equally possible.

I thought of Theo and wondered if he was nearby, watching
and waiting. Maybe the wind had come from him. My thoughts cleared as my focus
zeroed in on Admer once more.

He placed a hand on Kace’s shoulder and guided him a few
steps away. He moved to do the same with Adam and Callie, and finally me.

“Each of you now stands in your elemental position,” Admer
said. He handed one long match to each of us. “Kace, repeat after me: Here
stands the eastern watchtower, the keepers of Air. I call to you to guard over
this circle tonight.”

“Here stands the eastern watchtower, the keepers of Air. I
call to you to guard over this circle tonight,” Kace repeated. His voice
sounded precise and clear as he uttered the words.

“Light the candle now,” Admer directed.

Kace lit the candle without hesitation and held it between
his hands firmly.

Admer shifted to look at me. “Here stands the southern
watchtower, the keepers of Fire. I call to you to guard over this circle
tonight.”

I knew exactly what I was supposed to do—repeat his words.

Opening my mouth to speak the words, they flowed from my
lips without uncertainty and instead with a confidence I hadn’t known I
possessed. “Here stands the southern watchtower, the keepers of Fire. I call to
you to guard over this circle tonight.”

Striking the match I’d been given to the side of the red
candle, I lit it in one fluid movement. When I was done, my eyes met with
Admer’s, and I noticed a small smirk twist the corners of his lips. That eerie
oddness of excitement glowed even brighter in his eyes.

“Here stands the western watchtower, the keepers of Water. I
call to you to guard over this circle tonight,” Admer said, after shifting his
gaze from me to Callie.

I kept my eyes on Admer, while I listened to Callie repeat
what he’d said and then light the blue candle she held. The more I watched him,
the more I disliked him for whatever reason. What had my mother ever seen in
him? He was the oddest person I’d ever met, and I couldn’t believe that he was
my father.

Next was Adam’s turn.

“Here stands the northern watchtower, the keepers of Earth.
I call to you to guard over this circle tonight,” Adam repeated after Admer in
a steady tone, and then followed suit and lit his candle.

“All four of you, set your candles on the ground where you
stand, and say, ‘As above and now so below. This circle is cast and so it shall
last,’” Admer insisted.

Carefully setting the candle down where I stood, I repeated
after Admer and along with the others, “As above and now so below. This circle
is cast and so shall it last.”

“Step forward now,” Admer commanded.

I took three measured steps forward across the silky sand
beneath my bare feet. A tiny flutter of panic made its way through my mind, but
was gone the moment Admer’s eyes locked with mine.

“Gather up your elemental representations in your hands and
repeat after me,” Admer said.

Bending down, I reached for the tea light, sure it was the
only one of the four present that could stand for Fire. I cupped my other hand
over the flickering flame to keep it lit as I held it in my palm and repeated
after Admer as he had said:

“Air, Fire, Water, Earth,

Together we are balanced and in balance lies power.

The four elements are us, in line equal and true,

Bound as one in all magick we do.

Through our blood our powers shall free,

United as one, so mote it be.”

The sound of the four of us repeating the spell in rhyme
sent chills along my skin and made the hair at the nape of my neck stand on
end. There was power in those words, and I felt every ounce of it as I spoke
them in sync with the others beside me.

“Now toss each of your elemental representations into the
sea’s ever-moving waters. This is to ensure your magick will forever continue
to flow through the four of you freely, as long as the ocean still ripples,”
Admer insisted.

Carrying my tea candle in the palm of my hand, I walked to
the ocean’s edge with Kace on one side and Callie on the other. The edges of my
dress met with the warm water as I paused, preparing to toss the candle out as
far as I could. A slight pang of worry slithered along my spine while I
wondered whether the tether would be broken now or not, but it was gone just as
quickly as it had come, and I chucked the candle out to sea.