“For now.” Declan winked at me, which made Wendy gag exaggeratedly.
Laughing, Declan took my hand and led me out of the room, into the night. Into freedom.
After flipping the pancake over, I glanced at the wall, checking the clock in the coven kitchen. Classes wouldn’t start for two hours. Outside, the sun hadn’t even begun to crest off the horizon yet, and Wendy was half-asleep at the table.
When the food was done, I piled a pancake, some bacon, and eggs on a plate and slid it in front of her.
“Eat up,” I said.
The girl’s eyes fluttered all the way open, and she snatched up a fork and began devouring the meal.
Halfway through eating, Wendy slowed and set the fork aside.
“Are you okay?” I said, knowing she probably wasn’t. Not with what we needed to do this morning.
Wendy nodded. “I think so. I just… I don’t know. It’s sad.”
“Do you want to go ahead and get it done?”
She nodded and slid off the chair.
“The portal is ready,” I said. “One of the professors conjured it last night, so it would be ready for us.” I was gettingmuchbetter at magic, but for this I wanted to bepositivethe portal was ready for us.
“Cool,” she muttered as she put on her coat and shouldered her backpack.
Without another word, I led her outside, and we began the trek to the secluded spot out in the woods. Our breath puffed out in clouds in the late-January air, and our shoes crunched in the inches of new snow. I didn’t force conversation, allowing Wendy to process as we went.
Eventually, we came upon the small underportal hidden behind a grove of trees and a few tall rock outcroppings. The portal led to one of the many magical hidden areas, similar to The Shadow Streets or Tombstone Station, but this one would take us somewhere quieter and more subdued.
“Ready?” I asked.
Nodding, she gripped my hand, and we stepped through. My ears popped, and a moment later, we found ourselves in a green meadow. Clouds obscured the sun overhead, but the weather was much warmer, with no snow in sight. Tombstones and crypts were spread out as far as the eye could see. Unlike the Tacitus family graveyard, this one resonated as a happier, less gloomy place while still being reverent.
We walked the field headed toward a specific crypt, the warm sun melting the snow off my boots. When we got close, the chiseled name on the tomb shone out in stark relief: FREEDMAN.
Wendy pressed her hand to the stone door, and some magical blood connection activated a spell. A deep, boomingclicksounded, and the door swung inward. Inside, there were rows and rows of small shelves. Brass containers sat on the shelves, many in various stages of tarnish.
Wendy put her backpack down and pulled out the urn we’d brought along. Balthazar’s name, birth date, and death date were engraved on the vessel. With quiet respect and love, she walked to the nearest stone shelf and put the urn on top of it, next to her mother and father’s urns.
“There you go, Momma,” Wendy whispered. “Your big brother is here to protect you along with Daddy.” She touched a fingertip to her parents' urns. “You’ll all take care of each other now.”
She turned to look, tears glimmering in her eyes. I crouched in front of her.
“You know they’re always with you, right?” I said, touching her chest. “Right here?”
Wendy nodded. “It’s just hard.”
“I know it is,” I said. “I lost almost my entire pack to disease. I lost friends, family, loved ones. It was awful, and it took a long time for me and the surviving pack members to get over it. That’s part of why I was excited when your uncle offered me a spot at the academy. I could get a fresh start. I could learn and grow.”
“I’m glad you came,” Wendy said, openly crying now.
“I’m glad too,” I said, tears stinging my own eyes. “I got my very best friend ever out of the deal.”
“You…you mean me?”
Chuckling, I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. “Well, uh,yeah, I mean you.”
Wendy threw her arms around me and hugged my neck so tight, I worried she’d cut off my airway.
