“Of course.” Hazel sighs dreamily. “Will you show me the rest of the building after this?”
“One step at a time,” I say, eyeing her smoothie. Her excitement has been making objects levitate all morning, and her smoothie is bubbling like lava. “When you’ve got a bit more control.”
Natalie chuckles. “Look who’s become the voice of caution. Never thought I’d hear you vouch for patience, Katie.”
I nudge her with my elbow. “I’ve learned some things the hard way.”
Hazel gestures enthusiastically, and her glass trembles. “I just can’t wrap my head around being a—”
The smoothie erupts like a volcano, splattering across the table, our faces, and several nearby witches. Hazel freezes, her hands mid-gesture, her face a perfect mask of horror.
For a beat, there’s silence. Then Sky bursts out laughing.
“I’m so sorry.” Hazel grabs napkins, making it worse as they begin to float and scatter through the air like doves. “Oh God, I’m—”
“Relax,” Sky says, still chuckling. She waves her hand, and the mess lifts from our clothes, the table, and the floor, gathering into a green sphere that hovers before settling back into the glass. “Maybe don’t drink it, now that it’s been on every surface…”
Hazel grimaces and sits back. “Noted.”
Natalie and I exchange a look and casually slide our teacups off the table and into our laps.
Hazel looks from the restored smoothie to Sky with awe. “Will I be able to do that?”
“Eventually,” Sky says. “But you’ll have to practice not exploding things first.”
Hazel’s cheeks flush, but she’s smiling.
Past them, Fiona approaches. Her arm is in a sling, and even from across the lounge, weariness is plain on her face. Her usually perfect posture has given way to a slump, and dark circles shadow her eyes. As she makes her way over, she nods to several witches who call out to her.
“Mind if I join you?” she asks, her voice raspy from shouting orders during the battle.
Sky scoots over, making room. “Please do.”
Fiona sinks onto the bench with a sigh that seems to come from deep in her soul. “The infirmary is at capacity. We haven’t seen this many injuries since the cursed petting zoo incident of ’09.”
My stomachtwists. “How bad?”
“No fatalities, thankfully.” Fiona accepts the tablet from Sky and puts an order in. “Though it was close. Millie’s stable.”
I sit up straighter. “She’ll be okay?”
Fiona nods. “The bio magic nearly tore her apart from the inside, but she’s strong as heck, that girl. She’ll recover. In fact, Doctor Sharma informs me she’s cancer-free.”
Gasps of awe and delight rise from our group, and my eyes prickle as a smile breaks across my face.
“Wonderful,” Troy says.
“I’m so happy for her,” Sky says.
“Whether from bio magic or the treatments she was receiving before all this, we might never know.” Fiona drums her fingers on the table. “Time for a new start for her and Sebastian. We’ve decided to drop all charges against them.”
“Good,” I say firmly.
“Yes, well.” Fiona meets my eyes. “Speaking of charges…”
Heat floods my face.
“Those against you have been formally dismissed,” she says. “I spoke with the other Directors.”
