Alaric tucked a stray curl behind my ear, his fingers lingering on my cheek. He was about to say something when the chamber door slammed open. We both turned to see Elias and Seraphine glide into the room, followed by three other younger Bloodwrights who must have been around Alaric and my age.
“What the hell is going on here?” Dr. Duvall’s smooth voice echoed throughout the room, her murderous dark stare focused on me. Elias followed quickly behind, worry and anxiety whirling behind his eyes.
“We felt a power shift,” Elias explained as he came closer. The three younger Bloodwrights stood back, evaluating the situation from afar. Two of the younger Bloodwrights looked like twins, a boy and a girl with identical freckles, strawberry-blonde hair, and gray eyes. The other girl was tall and slim with an exquisite face; she reminded me of the perfume models I’d seen on advertisements in Times Square. Her dark, raven hair hung past her shoulders, and her hazel eyes were focused on where Alaric’s hand had just barely brushed mine. I realized she was the same girl I had seen at lunch a few days ago.
“A power shift?” I turned to focus my attention on Elias and Seraphine. “What do you mean?”
“The wards in this chamber flickered for a few moments, and Seraphine felt her illusion fall. We feared there had been a breach,” Elias explained, wringing his hands together, ink splotches staining his fingertips.
“There was no breach.” Alaric stepped forward in front of me, almost as if he were shielding me. “Mari came into her power. She dissolved both the illusion I created along with Seraphine’s.”
Dr. Duvall’s already pale face turned sallower, her eyebrows hitching up in disbelief. “Impossible. Not even Richard could make a dent in dismantling one of my illusions.”
“How did it happen?” Elias stepped forward, pushing Alaric to the side so he could get a better look at me, his wrinkled, gray eyes wide in wonder. “Tell me everything that happened.”
I looked at Alaric hesitantly, but he merely nodded, encouraging me to explain what I had done.
As I walked Elias and Dr. Duvall through my training with Alaric, the other three Bloodwrights moved in closer, led by the raven-haired beauty whose eyes never left Alaric.Interesting.
When I got to the part about the death echo of what must have been a Bloodwright execution, what I assumed was another test by Alaric, Alaric grabbed myhand, forcing me to look at him.
“What do you mean by the death echo test?” His voice was strained, fear and confusion clouding his eyes.
“Well, when I rounded one of the corners of the maze trying to get some space between me and the shadowed Stonebound, I brushed my hand against the wall and then found myself within what I assumed was a death echo you had planted . . .” My voice trailed when all eyes locked in on me, the others’ concerned and pale faces telling me in no uncertain terms that whatever I had experienced was not normal.
“No, Mari, that was not one of my illusions,” Alaric finally spoke. “You must tell us exactly what you saw, what you heard.”
I hesitated, my eyes glancing to the others, noting that the tall raven-haired had finally torn her eyes from Alaric and was glaring daggers at me. I turned my full attention to Alaric, trying to ignore the eyes of the others in the room.
“Well, it looked like a chamber like this, but I got the feeling it was much, much older. There were dozens of robed Bloodwrights standing in a circle, and at the center was a badly beaten man, chained to the ground by magic. Another hooded figure stepped forward and slit his throat,” I explained, my voice choking on the last word. A chill rushed through me at the memory.
“Did he say anything?” Elias moved closer to me; so closeI could feel his breath on my cheek.
Alaric slapped his hand on Elias’ chest, pushing him back a few steps, and commanded, “Give her space.”
I licked my lips nervously. “Uh, not exactly.”
“What do you mean, ‘uh, not exactly’?” Dr. Duvall mimicked my voice, clearly irritated with my very existence.
“I mean, I heard the man’s voice, but I think he was only speaking to me,” I explained. “He said, ‘Blood remembers. Blood returns.’”
Alaric and the other young Bloodwrights seemed confused, but Elias and Dr. Duvall visibly tensed, clearly recognizing the words.
Alaric noticed too and turned his attention to our headmistress. “What does it mean?”
She schooled her features into a mask of indifference, shrugging. “Could mean anything. Could be nothing at all.”
“What color were his eyes?” Elias asked, still awestruck, and ignoring the daggers that Seraphine was glaring at him.
“Blue,” I replied. “The clearest blue I’d ever seen. Like the sky.”
Elias nodded, his hand going to his chin as he began to pace in thought. Dr. Duvall rolled her eyes, turning her attention to the three younger Bloodwrights.
“Celeste, be a dear and recreate the shadowed Stonebound illusion. I’d like to see Mari train, alongside your cousins.” Her voice soft as velvet, she reached her hand out to the raven-haired model, Celeste. Celeste smirked, her eyes weighing me and finding me lacking.
I internally groaned, blood rushing to my cheeks as I realized this was Alaric’s Celeste. Of course, she was also a Bloodwright.
“Of course, aunt,” Celeste purred, reaching her hand out to Alaric instead. “But only if I can power-share with Alaric. It’s been so long.”
