My entire body screams in agony.
I failed. Again.
“You did pretty well. I only heard your heart rate change once for a fraction of a second, when you were chomped,” Allie says from where she’s standing a little away from the wall, a book in hand.
“Not good enough. I’ll work on it,” I say, resisting a sigh, placing a hand on my wound and whispering a spell. Picking up my towel, I wipe my body and the remnants of blood from my arm.
“You know… I loved the touch with the piranhas; they’re interesting, but was it necessary?” Allie asks, her voice as flat as always.
“Yes, I’m trying to master control, where nothing can make me react involuntarily. Control is the key to a witch’s power.” I glance at the pool and whisper a spell. The piranhas vanish as quickly as they appeared.
“Right, but you got bitten. You sure you don’t need some kind of shot or something? What if they had diseases or were contaminated?” she points out, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
“This world is contaminated. A few piranhas won’t make much difference,” I remind her.
She nods grimly. “True. You’re doing great.” She tilts her head before snapping her fingers. “Next time, what about a snake pit?”
I tilt my head, intrigued by the idea. Venomous snakes. That would be… intense.
“Let’s call it a girls’ night.”
“Yesss,” Allie says, her dark eyes sparkling morbidly.
After I pull on a gown and slippers, we leave the Academy pool together. It’s night already, but Jaddati gave us permission to train here.
It’s been four months since Sienna left us. Four months since Uncle Ray returned. It’s confusing – how I feel, how everything is.
There have been good changes. Having Uncle back is great. Yet Sienna’s absence has us stuck in time, worse thanwhen Dad died or when we thought Uncle was dead.
Because it’s not an end.
She left us with a thousand questions and only a handful of answers.
But even though Sienna’s intentions were good, the consequences cost us a lot. Mentally, with relations, trust, and bonds…
Things have been the hardest on Allie, even if she pretends she doesn’t care.
It’s one of the reasons I look to my jaddati as a role model. Even in anger and pain, she doesn’t speak from emotion; she speaks from her mind, in control, with the willpower only a goddess could have.
In my eyes, she is one.
Mama, Aunty Delsanra, Uncle, Allie, and I have scoured countless books trying to find a way to bring Sienna back. Ahren and Tatum, too. Jaddati. We’re all searching for a solution, some loophole where we can find a way to trick a god into letting her go.
The Academy is not the same without her here. The halls feel emptier, the days darker, and it’s just not as much fun. Sienna was the one who brought cheer in so many ways, the one who knew when both Allie and I needed a shoulder. She comforted us even when we tried to pretend everything was all right.
We aren’t great with emotions, and she didn’t need us to vocalise that. She was there for us when we needed her, but I justwish she had let us be there for her, too.
“I haven’t seen Holden around lately, not that I’m complaining.” Allie’s voice pulls me from my thoughts as we walk quietly to our dorm rooms. We’re in the same hall but have separate rooms.
Holden… my kind of boyfriend. I know I’ve been shutting him out lately. Well, I think I’ve been doing that since Sienna left, and that’s around when we got together. So really, it’s always been rocky between us.
“He’s around. He’s patient with me. I’ll give him that.”
“He’s got to be with the daughter of Raihana,” Allie chimes slyly.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
“I am not a diva.” I toss my hair.
