“Demanding little thing, you are.”
‘I must warn you that your father has a bad aura around him.’
I tilted my head. “How can you tell from a call?”
‘Calls allow voice travel, and when a voice travels, little bits of their essence travel with it. I can tell he’s bad. What are you going to do?’He cut straight to the point.
I sighed and pushed my glasses to the top of my head before I rubbed my eyes. “I guess I have no choice but to bring this to the headmaster.”
‘Headmaster? Isn’t that your mate’s mate?’
“How do you know that?” I poked his stomach.
He used his small hands to bat my hand away.‘I have been watching you to make sure you’re a suitable warlock for me to bond with. The white-haired goddess caught my attention easily.’
My face warmed at him speaking of Wren in such a truthful and respectful manner. “You’re the one that’s been watching me? So I had the vision of you to speed along the familiar process?”
‘Wow, you’re really slow on the uptake, aren’t you?’He gave me that look like I was stupid again.
I gasped. “And you’re rude, aren’t you?”
He shrugged.‘If the shoe fits.’
I chuckled at his audacity. For such a small squirrel, his attitude was large. I couldn’t wait to tell Wren all about Nightshade. She would love to meet him, and I knew they would get along.
But first, I had to speak with Rowan and tell him about the vision I just had about my father.
“Comein.”Rowan’spowerfulvoice traveled through the door, and I opened it to reveal him sitting at his desk with piles upon piles of paperwork in front of him. He set down a pen and looked up at me expectantly. “What’re you doing here so late?”
“I needed to talk to you about something.” I stepped into his office and shut the door.
“You gained a familiar.” He pointed at Nightshade, who sat on my shoulder.
‘Wow. The firedrake has more power radiating off him than I have ever seen from any supernatural being in the forest!’Nightshade squeaked.
I nodded at Nightshade before glancing at Rowan. It didn’t seem like Rowan understood him, which solidified the fact that only I could hear his thoughts. “Yes. He’s my familiar. I was woken up by a vision of a black orb, so I ventured out into the forest to find it. That black orb was actually a ball of fluff. His name is Nightshade. He bonded with me after I had another vision… My father called me.”
Rowan held out his hand and gestured to the seat in front of him. “Have a seat and take a breath. It’s okay. You don’t have to get it all out at once. You can take a breather.”
“Okay. I’m not surprised to see that you’re working this late,” I rambled. “It’s about two in the morning. You know, it’s okay if you take a little time to rest.”
There were bags under his eyes and the flames within his irises were duller than usual. He chuckled, running a hand through his unruly red curls. “You sound just like Wren.”
“How is she?” I hadn’t seen her outside of class in a while, and my heart ached at the mention of her. I missed her so much.
“She’s good. She’s sleeping in that room right now.” He nodded his head toward his bedroom door. A small buzz flickered in the room that assured me that she was behind that door sleeping.
“Why aren’t you in bed with her?” I blurted out the question before I slapped my hand over my mouth. “I’m sorry. That’s not my business.”
He grinned. “You really do remind me of Wren. No wonder you get along so well. Damien is with her. I just needed to finish a few things before I went to bed… to be honest with you, I lost track of time. Usually she reminds me, but I guess she fell asleep.” His smile slipped into a frown. “So, what’s going on?”
“Well, my father called, and he was urgently asking me to come home. Which was strange because he knows Fate Hollow was made to train supernaturals for war against humans. He said he wanted me home because we are at war, which made no sense.”
He nodded. “That’s suspicious.”
“And then during the call, I had a vision of my father shaking hands with someone who I believe to be a dragon in Blezen.”
“What!” He snarled and grasped the crystal sphere he constantly held, and fire started to rage within it. His eyes burned with rage.
