by Lexie Scott
He jumped up and looked around the room before running to my bed.
“You have to take this.” He held up my old, ragged Mr. Snuggles, the stuffed bunny I had since I was a baby.
That wasn’t necessarily something I wanted to bring with me to a boarding school, but the thought of leaving him behind twisted my gut.
“Would you mind keeping him company for me? It would make me feel better if I knew you were watching after him.”
His eyes widened. “Really?”
He knew just how special that bunny was to me. “Yeah, can you do that?”
He nodded vigorously. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”
I grinned. “Thanks, Aiden.”
Masie folded the last of my clothes and carefully arranged the piles in the second suitcase. The first was already full and waiting by the stairs.
“You’ll probably need a warmer coat this winter, but we can ship that to you along with anything else you end up needing.”
I looked around my sparse room, my eyes landed on the window, and reality sunk in. I was leaving. My secret spot would be abandoned, and I didn’t know when I’d return.
Who would I be when I did? I was walking out of my room for the last time as a normal teenage girl. After this, I’d have to accept that I was really a witch. And my dad had been a shifter. Whatever that meant. I could only handle so much, and if they didn’t think I was a shifter, then I didn’t have to worry about that right now.
Life as I knew it was over.
Hell, the life I thought I had maybe never was.
I blinked the thoughts away and put my hand on Aiden’s shoulder, leading him down the hall. With Masie following, I picked up my suitcase, and we went back down to where my parents waited in the living room.
“All packed?” Dad asked as he moved toward me.
I nodded, and he pulled me in for a tight hug.
“I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you sooner. I never want you to question how much we love you.” He kissed the top of my head, and I looked up at him.
“I love you too.” I wanted to be mad at him and Mom, but there wasn’t enough time. I could go through their lies later. Right now, I needed to soak up his strength.
“Let us know as soon as you land, and remember to call if you need anything.”
I agreed, and he kissed my forehead before stepping back so Mom could replace him.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried into my hair as I squeezed her back. “It was naïve of us to think this wouldn’t happen. We should have prepared you rather than trying to protect you.”
Preparing me would have been protecting me, but it was too late to change the past.
Mom kissed my cheek before squeezing one more time. “I love you so much, and I’m going to miss you like crazy. Please be careful.”
I sniffed and turned away toward Aiden. He stood next to dad, watching us with a hint of confusion. I couldn’t let Mom’s emotions get to me. I forced a laugh. “Mom cries over everything, huh?”
He giggled as I moved to him. I kneeled down and wrapped my arms around his small shoulders. He hugged me back, and I closed my eyes, wanting to commit this moment to memory.
“I’ll miss you so much,” I whispered. He balled his fists in my shirt. “Be good for Mom and Dad, and take care of Mr. Snuggles and Brielle for me, okay?”
He squeezed me one more time and pulled away. “I will.”
I smiled and kissed the top of his head the way Dad had done to me. “I’ll call and talk to you soon. I’ll show you all the cool trees.”
He grinned. “Maybe you’ll see a bear!”
I widened my eyes. “That would be so cool.”
He nodded, bobbing on his toes. Good, now he had something to occupy his thoughts and look forward to talking to me about.
Brielle was still sleeping on the couch, but I couldn't leave without saying bye. I snuck over and gently kissed her chubby cheek then stroked a finger down her smooth arm. “Bye, sweetie.”
She didn’t move, and I was a bit disappointed. I knew she wouldn’t remember whether I said bye later, but I couldn’t help feeling guilty.
Masie moved to the front door. “Ready?”
I glanced around the room at my family, offering them each a smile before nodding and following her out to my future. We loaded my suitcases into the trunk of her car, and I waved once to where my parents and brother were waiting on the porch.
My heart nearly shattered to pieces as I got into the front seat, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to leave. I had to protect them. I had to find out the truth of who I was. The Drexel Academy might hold all the answers.
Chapter 4
The closest major airport to the academy was still a two-hour drive, but Masie explained as we landed in Grand Falls that we were taking another plane to a small private airport the school owned.
What kind of school had something like an airport? Not even the fanciest of Ivy leagues had that. That question fell pretty low on my priorities right now, though. I was too tired to care about those kinds of details. Our last flight had been a red-eye following a painfully long layover in Chicago. All I wanted now was a bed and to be left alone for twelve hours.
Exhaustion would make sure I wouldn’t dream, but my churning mind wound me up too much to rest. I tried to ask Masie questions on the previous two flights, but she kept her answers vague, promising to answer them all later.
Well, we were running out of time. Later had to be now.
“This way.” She led the way through the airport to a set of frosted glass doors. There was no sign marking an entrance, but she walked through confidently and smiled at the woman standing at a high counter.
“Ms. Stone?” The lovely brunette greeted.
“Yes, and this is my niece, Saige.”
She offered me a pleasant smile. “Welcome. Please make yourselves comfortable. Can I get you anything to drink? Water, soda, wine?”
“No, thank you,” Masie replied.
“If you think of anything, let me know.”
Masie thanked her and headed across the luxurious lounge. The cream and gold carpet coordinated flawlessly with the walls, furniture, and decor.
“What’s this?” I asked, heading to the soft leather couch she sat on with a heavy sigh.
“It’s the lounge for the private flights,” she answered, before kicking her feet up on the table in front of her. She sure was making herself comfortable. I glanced around for any other employee or other passengers, but we had the huge room to ourselves.
“When is our next flight?”
She closed her eyes and dropped her head back. “An hour or so.”
Well, if we were waiting that long, I might as well relax too. I sat across from her in an armchair that had a message remote built into the arm. I pressed a few random buttons and nearly squealed when the chair started vibrating and something hard pressed into the middle of my back and began moving up toward my neck.
After a second, I relaxed into it and sighed. This felt wonderful after nearly thirteen hours of traveling with two layovers and a brief nap at an airport hotel. My fingers twitched to check my phone, but I pushed away the urge. I sent my friends a group message letting them know I was going to a boarding school and would only have email access. My parents and Masie thought it would be easier to distance myself from them if we limited contact, and knowing my friends, none of them would bother. Soon enough, I’d become a memory, but it was better this way. I had no way of explaining anything to them. I couldn’t tell them the truth, and I didn’t want to have to lie.
“Masie Lynn Stone, sit up and act like a lady,” a woman’s voice scolded, and my eyes popped open.
An older, very refined-looking couple stood at the door, staring down their noses at us.
Masie shot up instantly with her back rod straight and her ankles crossed as her hands landed in her lap. “Hello, Mother.” Her eyes moved to the man. “Father.”
These were her parents? My gran
dparents? They didn’t look remotely how I pictured them. Masie was so free-spirited and kind and loving, and they were . . . not.
The woman, my grandma, had all-too-familiar red hair pulled back in a low bun that accentuated her fair, smooth skin. Had she had work done, or did I have some amazing genes?
She wore a navy pantsuit and stilettos with an elegant strand of pearls at her neck. Her husband carried himself like he was the most important person in the room, and his well-fitting suit accentuated his tall, lean form. Neither of them looked old enough to be Masie’s parents, let alone my grandparents.
He was handsome and reminded me of an actor I couldn’t name with his distinguished salt and pepper hair and matching, neatly trimmed beard. His blue eyes matched mine—and Masie’s. How had I never noticed how similar we looked when I looked nothing like Mom?
After casting her daughter a disapproving look, the woman’s eyes settled on me. She took in my rumpled shirt and baggy jeans with a small frown. Well, had I known I’d be meeting the queen, I would have taken out my ball gown.
I almost rolled my eyes but didn’t think that would help.
Masie stood and stepped in front, blocking me from her parents’ view. The tension in the air was so thick I worried I’d suffocate.
The man cleared his throat. “Now, now Masie. We come in peace. We want to meet our granddaughter.”
She didn’t move, but I leaned forward enough to see them.
“Why now?” she asked. I wondered the same thing.
“You know the answer to that,” the woman snapped.
“You always had the option of being in her life.” Masie’s voice was low, protective. “You chose not to.”
The woman lifted her nose in the air and turned away as if she disagreed, but she didn’t argue.
“It’s not that simple.” The man’s voice held an air of authority that made me feel like I had to listen to every word.
“You could have found a way. If you really wanted to.” Masie wasn’t giving in. As much as I appreciated her watching out for me, I wanted to know these people and why they stayed away. They clearly knew who I was, which meant they’d chosen not to be in my life for the past seventeen years, unlike Masie. She was right. She found a way to fit into my life. Why couldn’t they?
I stood and moved to her side. Maybe it was the fatigue making my brain work too slow to stop me, but I was sick of being dragged along without understanding what was happening to me.
“I’d like to know the answer too.” The couple stared at me, eyes trailing over every inch of me. Searching but I wasn’t sure for what.
The man snapped his attention back to the conversation first. “It’s complicated. We’re well-known in our society. People watch us. We worried we might lead them to you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Lead who?”
Masie reached out and wrapped her hand around my wrist. Her father noted that and tilted his head up. Some sort of understanding set in.
“We have enemies—as most people in our position do.” I was getting tired of being fed these vague answers. They were keeping something from me. Something big. I knew it as surely as I knew his wife didn’t like me.
She had finished her assessment and found me wanting. She stared at her manicure like it was more interesting than the granddaughter she was meeting for the first time. Well, the first time I remembered. They might have met me when I was a baby before my birth parents died.
“Your position? Are you a politician or something?” I asked.
His lip quirked like he was about to smile, but it vanished in an instant. “Not quite.”
“There’s a whole new world you’re about to be a part of. The society he’s talking about isn’t the one you know. It’s the one of supernaturals. Witches, shifters, and . . .” she blew out a breath, “vampires.”
I blinked. Watching her to see the second she broke out laughing, slapping me on the back and telling me she was kidding.
“Vampires?” I deadpanned.
She nodded.
I looked at the couple, and neither one of them gave a sign that they, too, thought their daughter had lost her mind.
“Are there unicorns and dragons I should expect to run into as well? How about fairies and bogeymen?”
She shook her head. “No, Saige. It’s just the three.”
I was going home. Now. She was insane. So were her parents, and I wanted nothing to do with this.
“Well, this has been fun. I’m going to find a flight back home now.” I pulled on the handle of my suitcase, ready to desert the other one, but Masie stopped me.
“You can’t.”
I stared her down. “Watch me.”
I pushed past her but walked into a wall. An invisible wall. I stepped back and shook my head, then took another step and hit something solid. I slapped the air, making contact with it again.
“What the hell!”
“He can manipulate air, Saige. He’s blocking you,” she explained calmly.
I glared at the man. “Let me go!”
He shook his head. “I’m not going to do that. You can’t go back home, not until you learn everything you need to about your own powers.”
I was tempted to try causing another earthquake or another distraction, but that didn’t sound like the best idea. I didn’t want to hurt anyone accidentally, so I sucked in a deep breath and counted to five before releasing it.
“What do you want now? Why wait all this time then show up now?”
Finally, the woman spoke. “We’ve allowed too much time to pass. We’ve also allowed you to be raised with the norms, and that was obviously a mistake. We have much to rectify, and not enough time.” She sighed as if it was my fault they wasted my entire life. “You need to understand some important things before you enter the academy. We’re here to discuss those, then we will take you there.”
I turned to Masie, and she nodded. I left my suitcase where it was and returned to my armchair, dropping into it too overwhelmed to care about sitting up properly like I’m sure dear old grandmother would prefer.
She eyed me as she passed to the couch, and I could feel her disapproval wash over me. I almost snorted. As if I cared what this stranger thought of me.
The man, I still refused to think of either of them as anything else, sat on the edge of the cushion and rested his knees on his elbows. Masie took the armchair next to me and reached out to take my hand.
I wasn’t particularly pleased with her. Obviously, she knew the private jet ride was with my grandparents, but I accepted her peace offering and laced my fingers through hers.
“To make this as quick as possible, please hold your questions. If I don’t answer them with everything I tell you, then you may ask at the end.”
He waited for me to agree, and I did even though this was one of the weirdest conversations I’d ever had. Well, maybe conversation wasn’t the right word. I was expected to sit and listen. No talking.
“You will continue to use the surname Williams.”
What else would I use? That was my name.
“You will tell anyone that asks that your parents' names are Jason and Melissa. You will not under any circumstance tell anyone who your real parents are.”
I cringed at his word choice. Jason and Melissa were my real parents. So was his daughter, though. Why couldn’t I tell anyone my truth? If I wanted to share that, I should be able to. How else was I going to cope with the bomb that had upended my entire life?
“Has she displayed any shifter traits?” he asked, looking at his daughter.
“No, not that we’re aware of,” Masie answered, and her mom made a small noise I couldn’t decipher, but I was pretty sure she was relieved.
Why was that a good thing? What was wrong with being a shifter? I wasn’t even positive of what a shifter was. I’d assumed that was like a werewolf, but what did I know? Another question that would have to wait.
“Good. You will tell everyone that you are a witch, and you have
exhibited an affinity for Earth and Water.” He waited for me to agree, and I gave another small nod.
“Since we are escorting you, people may ask what your relation is to myself and my wife and daughter. You will tell them we are sponsoring you. We’ve done that occasionally over the years, so it won’t raise any suspicions. We usually pick out students based on their needs and potential. Leave it at that and allow them to draw their own conclusions.”
So I’m some charity case to them? Perfect.
“Finally, obey the rules. Don’t draw attention to yourself. Do well in your classes, and live up to the reputation our legacy has earned.”
“Respect, integrity, propriety, intelligence, and excellence,” his wife recited.
I nodded, and they both stood.
“It’s time,” he said, and I jumped to my feet.
“What about my questions?” I pressed.
“You may ask on the plane.” He waved me off before offering his elbow to his wife and striding across the room to a door I hadn’t noticed. It opened, revealing a uniformed woman that greeted them by name.
“Mr. and Mrs. Stone. Always a pleasure.” She grinned and walked with them on the tarmac.
“Come on.” Masie grabbed one suitcase, and I took the other. “Just a few more hours.” She mumbled the words under her breath, and I almost laughed. I wasn’t the only one dreading being in a confined space with those people.
Soon, I’d be at the academy. Alone and burdened with more secrets.
Chapter 5
The private jet was small with four reclining chairs on either side that faced each other with small tables between each set. They were just as comfortable as the one I’d occupied in the lounge. I sat across from Masie with her parents on the other side of the narrow aisle. I already had three tiny braids in the bottom section of my hair, and I had a feeling I’d end up with a dozen by the time we made it to the school.
It was a thirty minute flight, which made this whole experience seem even more ridiculous and unnecessary than before. We could have easily taken a car and had time to talk, but the couple didn’t seem the type to do something so plebeian.