Ender
Priscillaandtheheadmasterdidn’t let me see Selene for the first few days she was in the infirmary. An immediate reinforced infirmary room had been created just for her—complemented with the magic-nullifying glass lining the original walls, a faint green glowing from them. Tungsten cuffs locked around her wrists and ankles were a secondary precaution. It was Selene. There was nothing dark about her—I knew it in my bones. However, they couldn’t chance the safety of the other students until she woke and it was certain there was no dark magic within her.
I leaned forward in the ugly green chair, rubbing the stubble along my chin. It had been seven days and Selene had still not woken up. Chaos’s lanky body draped across her legs, his tail hanging off the bed and brushing the floor in small flicks as he slept. Aura curled against Selene’s hip, fast asleep.
Vivian visited, understanding why Selene had done what she had, but she was hurting. David had killed April, not Selene, even though it had been Selene who controlled the blade. Aura had tried to heal April, but she was already gone, and Aura had used up her healing magic on me. If it was not for the little fox, I would have been dead.
Someone knocked at the door. Priscilla entered with a tray of food. Only five people were allowed to enter her room—the headmaster, Priscilla, Vivian, Nurse Adair, and me.
“You need to eat.” Priscilla handed the tray to me, and I took it with thanks.
“What was the update from the council?” I asked, eyeing the ham sandwich and fries—no doubt the fries were specially made at Priscilla’s request.
“Eat, and I will tell.” Priscilla nodded at the tray and sat in the chair next to me.
A few members of the Magic Council had flown in, along with extra security, after David’s attack. The council member who approved and pushed for David’s enrollment at the Academy wouldn’t see the light of day again. They had known David was a dark mage and had taken some sort of deal.
The council’s most recent meeting was held to decide what to do with Selene. If I had my way, I would have been in attendance.
I took a large bite of the sandwich, waiting for Priscilla to start.
“They have decided to approve the request that she stays here for the time being.” Priscilla’s gaze darted to Selene’s bed. “She has been tested and confirmed that she no longer holds dark magic. However, the extra security measures are still in effect until she wakes.”
Meaning the restraints will stay on.
“When she does, she will be furious to have those on her,” I said, giving a small smile of hope. I had been worried they were going to take her off campus—away from me.
“She certainly will.” Priscilla grinned and then her smile dropped. “How are you holding up? Besides Selene.”
If she wasn’t talking about Selene, she could have been talking about my near-death experience, but I knew she was talking about the death of my last-living relative. Miss Lee had been killed while giving the headmaster and Priscilla time to get to Selene and me. The morning of the attack, the headmaster had seen Chaos fly off alone into the forest. He wanted to alert Priscilla, who had been monitoring the grounds, that the dragon was out for a morning flight. When he couldn’t reach her or the other guard stationed on the opposite side of the grounds, he became suspicious.
The headmaster followed in the direction Chaos had gone, hoping to find Priscilla. Shortly after he found her, they discovered a group of dark mages who had slipped through a breach in the ward at the far end of the grounds and trapped Chaos. Miss Lee had been fighting the dark mages.
Once Priscilla and Headmaster John freed Chaos, they needed to get back to the academy. Miss Lee had offered to stay and fight alone. After David’s death, all but one of the demon rats withered into ash, and the dark mages seemed volatile. Even with his burns, Mr. Hastings had been able to free the other guards and professors, and the dark mages and last rat were destroyed.
Once things calmed down, the guards had gone to the scene where the dark mages had breached. Miss Lee didn’t make it.
“I’m fine,” I told Priscilla, immediately following with another bite of food to fill my mouth. Miss Lee had severed any kinship we could have or would have had by attempting to off Selene. However, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. I once told Selene therewas goodness inalmosteveryone and that it was just buried—I believed that held true for Miss Lee despite the disgust I held for her.
“Well, I need to go see a few of the council members off, as they prefer not to stay any longer than necessary.” There was a slight eye roll as Priscilla spoke. “They weren’t pleased Headmaster John and I had hidden Selene’s ability and hidden the sisters’ true identity. The fact that they had a mole on the council made them question our loyalty, but it also played a pivotal point in why it was important to keep their identities hidden. They will not be removing us from our positions or titles.”
“That’s good.” I didn’t see anything wrong with their decision.
“You know, Nick stopped me in the hall. He wanted me to give you a beer.” She raised a brow.
“Leave it to Nick to try to give my guardian a beer for me.” I laughed. “Let me guess: that beer is no longer his?”
“You would be correct.” Priscilla smiled, then rested a hand on my shoulder before leaving.
Sighing, I set the tray in the empty chair, leaving the last few bites of the sandwich untouched. I stood, picking up my chair and moving it next to Selene’s bed. I rested my hand on top of hers, squeezing tightly. Aura uncurled, stretching her little furry body and one eye cracking open, then curled right back into a tight ball.
I had once thought that I couldn’t give part of my soul to create a familiar. Now, I understood why the desire was never there. My soul already belonged to someone else.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Selene
Darkominouscloudsabove,with red rivets like horizontal lightning, made me feel insignificant as I stood in this dream world, wearing my dirty pajamas. The white-dusted ground was vast, with nothing else in sight.
