United. (Book 5 of the Lupus Antiqua Series)

Abby froze, ice running down her spine. It had only been for a moment, but she could have sworn there was something different in her eyes just now.

It was a normal morning. Well, her new normal. Waking next to Endymion, ensconced in his warmth before finally making her way to the bathroom to shower and attend to the necessary.

She'd just finished washing her face and brushing her teeth when she'd glanced up at her reflection. Her eyes. They were different. They'd been forest green all her life. Now they were a green yellow, like green tinted sea glass with sunlight shining through it.

She turned her head this way and that. She dimmed the bathroom light then turned it up all the way. No matter what she did the change in her eye color stayed right where it was. It was almost like her eyes were glowing.

"Endymion!" She croaked, voice wavering. He came running, something in her tone tipping him off that not all was well. He opened the door and looked around, seeming to relax when he didn't see any blood.

"Abby?" He questioned.

"Endymion, how long have my eyes been this color?" She asked him, unable to keep the alarm from her voice. He seemed mildly confused at her urgency but shrugged.

"I noticed the change the morning after you spoke to the Moon Goddess. I take it this was not intended?" He regarded her now with mild concern.

"No. Definitely not." She whispered. It was a mark of how wrapped up in him she'd been, that she hadn't noticed this anytime in the week since she'd demanded answers from the Goddess.

"Do you know what it means?" He wondered, coming up behind her and rubbing his hands up and down her arms, where goosebumps had broken out.

"When a True Witch's eyes change like this it means that their power has grown. But it shouldn't have, not for another decade." She whispered. "I'm not due for an ascension until my 30th birthday." She'd just turned twenty six months ago.

"Ascension?" Endymion asked.

"Yes. True Witches have power from the moment they are born, but there are moments in a True Witch's life when that power grows. Sometimes it doubles. Sometimes more.

That's called an Ascension. There is one when we reach age sixteen. One when we reach age eighteen. One when we hit age thirty. Then they stop until we hit age one hundred." Technically it was against the rules to share this information, but he was her mate, so it should be allowed right? After all, True Witches who married mundane partners were permitted to explain things to them. This wasn't all that different was it?

"Is the color change the only way to tell you have ascended?" He asked.

"There are other ways, but it's the largest indicator, yes. This big of a change in eye color would indicate a large increase in power. But as far as I know, its never happened. Never. Not once." She said it quietly.

She'd been taught the histories and read the lore just like every True Witch child. As a people, they took their history incredibly seriously. Every True Witch child was taught well. We were too powerful to risk not learning from our past.

"What is to be done?" He questioned.

"I have to call the Matron. This is entirely unprecedented. After I call the matron she will likely call in the coven."

"Why?" He wondered.

"Because if I have truly ascended, then I will need to learn how to control the increase in power. That means practice. The coven will have to be present to shield me away while I do." She admitted.

"Is that normal?" He wondered.

"For specialized True Witches, yes. It will take the whole coven to ensure that I don't accidentally hurt anyone." He nodded and stroked her hair. The touch was comforting and she leaned into it, grateful.

She made her call to the matron, who after some understandable shock said she would be there the following day. Abby made them food. They went over more of Endymion's memories and the emotional fall out from them. They went for a walk. He followed her around while she puttered in her green house and kept her company while she made medicine from the Mullein she'd harvested.

They ate dinner, cleaned up, and snuggled together while she popped in a movie for them to watch. It was all very domestic and pleasantly intimate, just like every day of this past week had been. It was bliss, and a bliss she'd never thought she would get.

But she couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something was very wrong. Why hadn't the matron been more surprised? The woman had taken it in her stride, and this was not something to be blasé about. This was serious business.

For the first time in her life, she found herself wondering if she should trust the Matron of her coven. For the first time ever, she considered going to the High Witch of the Earth Coven instead of the matron.

The council consisted of the High Witches, one for every element except for the warrior family, which had been lost during the burning times.

Each High Witch led a coven, but each coven had mini covens. There were roughly seventeen Earth covens, but all were considered part of the High Witch's Earth Coven, in much the same way that streams, creeks, rivers and other tributaries might eventually lead to an ocean. It was the same with every Coven.

But to go above the matron of the coven like that was a massive sign of disrespect, and one that had to be proven true. The Council had more important things to deal with than her weird gut feeling that something wasn't right.

Abby couldn't even name what the problem was, only that the matron's calm over this was sending up red flags for her. She shook her head and snuggled into Endymion more.

She was being silly. She was just spooked at the change. Maybe the color change wasn't even about an early ascension. Maybe it had something to do with the mating bond. She relaxed a little more.

That made sense. Perhaps the magic of that bond had caused this reaction in her. After all, a True Witch with a mating bond was new territory. No one knew exactly how her magic would respond to it.