“I’ll explain later,” Alex said. Then he placed his hands on my father’s chest and began to mutter words in an unintelligible language.
The air in the room stilled. I became painfully aware that the heart monitor’s beeping was picking up speed. What was Alex doing? It seemed to be causing Father even more distress.
Within seconds the beeping became so rapid that distinguishing one beep from the next became impossible. I itched to dart across the room and rip Alex off Father—was seriously considering it—when the energy in the room shifted drastically.
Mother and Alice gasped. John inched forward, probably trying to determine what had happened, but Alex didn’t move a muscle. He kept his eyes closed, the strange words spilling from his mouth.
A chill washed over me, and I couldn’t sit still any longer. I stood, and at that exact moment a shadow dragon burst from my father’s chest and released a hair-raising roar.
A shriek ripped up my throat, and I fell to the floor. My mother jumped in front of me, and three different incantations streamed from the adults’ lips.
The sound of an explosion filled my ears as a wave of heat rolled over me. I held my breath, waiting for more fighting, but it didn’t happen.
Instead, the room stilled. The heart rate monitor fell silent and my own heart started to race at what the deafening silence meant. Mother let out a choked sob and gripped my hand as the Wardwells leaned over Father. The tension in the room mounted.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
Alice clapped her hands to her mouth and shot a glance at John, who pressed his lips together and patted Alex on the back.
Taking in their reactions, air filled my lungs once again.
The moment I awoke in an unfamiliar room, my body tightened. It took only seconds of listening to the sounds outside the bedroom door to remind me that I was in the Wardwells’ home—or their healing sanctuary—whatever it was, I still wasn’t sure. Nor did I think it mattered. Mother and I had accepted Alice’s invitation to stay in the small hours of the morning. After hours of Father walking the line between life and death, we were reluctant to leave his bedside. But John insisted that whatever force the black witch had planted inside my father had been released and that the best thing we could do would be to get some rest. The Wardwells planned on rotating watch over Father’s bedside all night long, and promised to come get us if he took a turn for the worse.
After all the excitement and terror it had taken a while to fall asleep, but eventually my body gave in to exhaustion. Since then, I hadn’t woken up once, not even when Mother left the room. As I was usually a light sleeper and an early riser, it was weird to know I could slumber so completely in an unfamiliar place. But I had, and now that I was awake and memories of the night before were returning, I sort of wished that I could ignore the day and fall back asleep.
Definitely the worst birthday ever. If it hadn’t been for Alex, we would have lost Father.
An image of the attractive, young healer popped into my mind. A sudden strong compulsion to talk to him and thank him for all that he’d done came over me. I lifted myself out of bed to change, opened my overnight bag, and extracted the few items I’d hurriedly stuffed inside before leaving Spellcasters.
I changed into leggings and a tunic and pulled my long blonde hair into a ponytail. Trying to feel a little more human, I rinsed my face with hot water. I’d just patted my face dry and was about to go find the rest of the group when I recalled once again how tasty Alex had looked the night before. Spinning around I found my purse and extracted my matte red lipstick. I applied it to my lips and rubbed in a few dabs on my cheeks for blush. I studied myself in the mirror. Mascara would help erase the exhaustion on my face, but I hadn’t packed any. This was as good as it was going to get.
I followed the chatter and entered the kitchen to find Alice and Alex sitting at a table with my mother. John was pouring mugs of coffee at the breakfast bar.
“Good morning, Diana,” Mother said as she accepted a coffee from John. “Did we wake you?”
I shook my head. “No, actually I’m surprised I slept in this late.” At Spellcasters I always woke up at seven to get my day started. When high school was in session it was five because Mother or a Spellcasters staff member had to drive me to the human school in Portland, Maine. It was already almost nine. “How’s Father?”
“Better. He opened his eyes a couple times this morning,” John smiled. “Of course he fell back asleep almost right away, but that’s still a good sign.”
A weight lifted off my chest. I sat down at the table next to my mother and accepted a cup of coffee from John. I preferred tea and didn’t usually drink coffee. But after the long night, I couldn’t resist. Plus, they had a bottle of cinnamon sugar creamer on the table, and with enough creamer, coffee was palatable.
“Will we be back in time for the first round of Spellcasters entrance exams? Or will I have to attend the second round in two weeks?” I asked my mother, unsure if she’d already planned to stay here a few days or if we’d be heading back soon.
Her eyes traveled to Alice and John. “Actually, funny you mention those. We were just discussing the entry exams.”
My eyebrows pulled together. On our way here Mother had said that the Wardwells were not a legacy family. Of course, new students could apply to test into Spellcasters, and a few did every year, but they had to ask for permission months in advance. Additional arrangements were required for families not indoctrinated into the ways of espionage and that took time. So, if Alex would not be at the testing, why would they be talking about it?
Reading the question in my eyes, my mother expounded. “The Wardwells requested a spot at the exams for Alexander months ago.”
“And, unsurprisingly, Spellcasters denied our appeal.” John leaned against the counter, his lips a thin line. “However, we were planning on petitioning that in person this week, during the first round of entry exams. That way he still had a chance to attend the second round of exams.”
My lips parted in surprise. Why had he been denied? He seemed capable enough. Unless, of course, healing was his only skill. Or there were problems between his family and the government. The latter didn’t seem likely though since we were here because the PIA had sent Father to the Wardwells.
“Why was he not invited to the formal testing?” I asked.
“Family drama,” Alice said. “Surely you’ve heard of our relations, the other Wardwells in Connecticut? I believe our nephew Hunter will take part in the exams later this week.” Alice rolled her eyes in a gesture that seemed out of character from what I knew of her. “We don’t speak, but Cynthia, Alex’s aunt, sent a letter boasting about Hunter’s plans. She always loves to rub in Hunter’s achievements.”
I blinked, not understanding.
