Fallen Secrets

C.R. Johnson

Description

This fantasy novel follows a French Quarter fire witch as she comes of age, suffers loss, finds love, and fights for her light.

Sophia’s eighteenth birthday is four days away, and she can’t wait to be free to choose her own fate. Her mother is the high priestess of the French Quarter Coven. Her father is the regent of all New Orleans covens and the mayor. That makes her next in line for both high priestess and regent. Blessed with the power to control fire, both a blessing and a curse, she is a French Quarter fire witch. When she turns eighteen, she’ll learn all of the secrets about her life and her real identity. But her world turns upside down when she meets Luca, an alpha wolf who makes her feel things she didn’t know were possible. Sophia suffers loss, finds love, and fights for her light. Will she crumble under the pressure of darkness, or will light save her soul?

Sujets

• Werewolves
• Vampires
• Thrillers
• Dieta
• Fantasy (canción de Mariah Carey)
• Vampiros (1998)
• Lilit
• Nueva Orleans
• Magic: el encuentro
• Family secret
• Nevaeh
• Lunar deity
• New Orleans
• Witchcraft
• Werewolf
• Light
• NOLA
• Witches
• Love Story
• Angel
• Magic
• Darkness
• Suspense
• La Nouvelle-Orléans
• Fiction
• Lilith
• Lucifer
• Fantasy
• Vampire

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 26 juin 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665742429
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

FALLEN SECRETS
 
 
 
C.R. JOHNSON
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2023 C.R. Johnson.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6657-4240-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-4241-2 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-4242-9 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023907026
 
Archway Publishing rev. date: 6/23/2023
CONTENTS
Chapter 1Good Morning, Sunshine!
Chapter 2Our Time Is Coming!
Chapter 3Hello, Love
Chapter 4All Is Not Lost
Chapter 5Tour Guide
Chapter 6The Ceremony
Chapter 7Best Birthday Ever
Chapter 8Confessions
Chapter 9The Shift
Chapter 10The Calm Before the Storm
Chapter 11Consecration
Chapter 12Hybrids, Tribrids, and Vamps, Oh My!
Chapter 13A Perfect Luna
Chapter 14The Keepers of the Light
Chapter 15The Witch’s Brew
Chapter 16Vanishing Acts
Chapter 17Lilith
Chapter 18Beware of Crows
Chapter 19When the Darkness Comes
Chapter 20Let There Be Light
Chapter 21Secrets
Chapter 22Two Weeks!
Chapter 23Babies!
Chapter 24When Darkness Falls
About the Author
 
 
CHAPTER 1 GOOD MORNING, SUNSHINE!
Sophie
T he moonlight coats my skin, sending shocks of warmth over my entire body, consuming me. I feel a sense of peace wash over me as the blue-hued rays act as a force, pulling me through the dense woods of the bayou. I stop as my toes dip into the cool stream of the creek, sending a chill up my spine.
When my eyes move up from the cool water covering my feet, I am not surprised to find myself face-to-face with the most mesmerizing wolf I have ever seen. This wolf has been haunting my dreams for the past week, but this is the closest I have been so far. I’m frozen, unable to move, but for some reason, I’m not scared. I know wolves are not our enemies. I think of Becca, my best friend, who is a wolf.
This wolf is different, larger than most, with an odd color of dark gray that looks almost shiny, like dark silver or gunmetal. I notice the shimmer as the light from the moon hits its fur from different angles as the wind tosses it around. A light silver crescent moon crosses from above its left eye down to its cheek. The eye in the center of the crescent is pure silver and shines as bright as the moon itself. I’m shocked when its right eye looks like flames dancing. The wolf almost smirks at me.
Good morning, sunshine! The words boom in my head.
 
I shoot up in my bed, looking around for the loud voice. I take a deep breath, realizing I was just dreaming again. That’s the third time this week I have had the same dream. First time with the voice th ough.
I’m dripping in sweat, just like the last two times. I take a few deep breaths and let them out slowly to control my breathing. This must mean something. Witches don’t have reoccurring dreams for no reason. I will have to speak to Becca about this.
I wrestle all the thoughts in my head as my phone starts going off, alerting me it’s 6:00 a.m. and time to get ready for the day. “Fuck my life,” I grumble to myself as I take in my appearance in front of my bathroom mirror.
My long, dark-brown hair has decided to look like I put my finger in a light socket. I have dark bags under my hazel-green eyes, and honestly, I look like I haven’t slept at all. Oh well, there is always coffee. I sigh as I get in the shower. I’m on the shorter side at five foot four, and I’m smaller, but I have tons of curves. OK, it’s mainly my ass, but hey, it’s curvy. I have a darker complexion than most of my family, but I live in the sun, and I have worked hard for my olive skin. I train hard, and my body shows it.
My eighteenth birthday is in four days, and I cannot wait to be free to choose my own fate. My mother is the high priestess of the French Quarter Coven. My father is the regent of all New Orleans covens and the mayor. That makes me next in line for both. High priestess and regent, not mayor—my dad can keep that one.
I was blessed with the power to control fire. It’s a blessing and a curse really, seeing as my mother tolerates me, and I think she despises the fact that I was blessed with this power because I’m the first one in more than two hundred years. It is not a gift given lightly. Most witches get their powers when they come of age. I, on the other hand, was born with it.
My parents had to bind my powers when I was four because I would make things catch on fire when I threw fits. When I was ten, they unbound my power so I could learn to control it.
Everyone is acting as if my birthday will awaken more in me, but I don’t know. I’m only one of two witches in New Orleans history to be born with her powers.
Marie Laveau was the other. She is my four-times great-grandmother on my mother’s side. I have no idea how my mother, Cathy, could ever have the same genes as one of the greatest women who ever lived. I strive to be the kind of person Marie was. Cathy just wants power, and she doesn’t care who she has to step on to get it.
I honestly don’t see what my father sees in her. Everyone knows she cheats on him constantly, but my father refuses to believe it.
Jazz Gerard is a great man and regent. He is kind, fair, loving to everyone, and the type of leader and witch I want to be. Everyone loves my father—that’s why he is the mayor as well. You could say I’m a bit of a daddy’s girl.
“Sophie, breakfast!” my father calls.
“Coming!” I holler back.
I take one last look in the mirror and decide I’m good enough before heading down. I decided to be comfortable today in a simple light blue, thin-strapped, flowy dress with a few buttons on my bust with white Hey Dudes with light blue threading on the back heel. It’s too hot in August in NOLA to wear too many clothes.
I throw my hair up in a messy bun with curls hanging down around my face and neck to hide my birthmark, as Cathy always advises me to do. It looks like a crescent moon with a fleur-de-lis in the middle of it on the back of my neck. I opt for just lip gloss and mascara today. I hate makeup and usually don’t wear much. I always feel prettier when I do, but once again, it’s August in NOLA, and I’ll just sweat it off.
I head downstairs to the dining room just as Cathy is leaving for the day.
“Cathy, have breakfast with us. It’s an important day, and Sophie needs our love and support.”
I turn the corner to the dining room and sit at the long mahogany table filled with bowls of fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns. “Good morning.”
“Oh, is it a special day? I’m sure Sophia will be fine with you as her cheerleader all day. Break a leg, dear.” Cathy replies between gritted teeth with a sly smile as she walks out of the room.
“Sorry, Dad.”
He puts his hand on mine and squeezes it reassuringly. “I don’t know what has gotten into your mother lately, Soph. I know she loves you.”
“It’s OK, Dad. I know she has a lot on her plate right now.” I try to sound like it doesn’t bother me. I pour a large mug of coffee with steamed milk and two sugars and let the wonderful, intoxicating smell hit my senses.
I know for a fact that the bitch hates me, but there is nothing I can do. I’ve heard the stories of my birth. I was a twin, and my brother was stillborn. Cathy nearly died giving birth to us. I’ve always known she hated me because she would have rather had a son, and she blamed me for his death. She has said it on multiple occasions.
I wish I still had my brother. I have always felt like a piece of me was missing.
I shake my inner demons and load my plate with bacon, eggs, and hash browns. I love mornings with my dad. He always makes me feel loved. We discuss the details for the August Eve celebration while we eat.
August 1, the first day of the harvest festival, celebrates the Rite of Lammas. It’s a witches’ sabbat. Lammas is a time of gratitude and service. New Orleans witches use this time as a reminder to serve humanity and focus on its abundance, protection, guidance, and health. We live by faith because of God and the moon goddess.
After God cast Lucifer to hell, Lucifer wanted revenge on God’s perfect creation, humans. Lucifer created Damien, the first vampire and the god to all vampires. God created witches with the fallen, but in the sixteenth century, many were wiped out due to the witch trials, thanks to vampires.
When Lucifer created Damien, the scale tipped to evil. God decided to create the moon goddess, Selene, to help him balance the scales. Selene created werewolves as the balance. Werewolves were created to take out vampires, protect humans, and be peaceful creatures. One bite from a werewolf is l