by Amelia Shaw
Bella held up her hands and straightened her spine. “This magic is very powerful, but also quite limited,” she explained. I didn’t know how Bella could be so self-assured right now. I could barely stop myself from shaking. “So, let’s start at the beginning and see if we can work it out. When was the first time you heard her voice? In the human realm?”
“I...” I pressed my lips together, trying to let the memories come back to me. Why was it so difficult to remember something so simple? Was it at Aunt Alison’s house? “No.”
“Okay,” Bella said, her voice still soothing. “Where do you think you heard it?”
I looked off to the right, towards the kitchen, trying to remember. I chewed my bottom lip. My entire time with Alison was spent in silence. At least, I didn’t remember hearing the locket whatsoever. However, once I went through the portal...
“It was straight after I’d stepped into the magical realm,” I said, my words tumbling over each other. “I’d barely walked a few feet down the road when the locket began to heat and when I touched it, her voice filled my head.”
I was losing track of time, losing track of the sequence of events. It felt like everything that happened stretched out for at least half a year when, in reality, it had only been a couple of months. And yet, even coming back to visit my sisters, I felt like years had passed and we’d all grown so much.
Bella nodded, as though her conclusions were confirmed. “And did you hear it when you went to Fae realm?” she asked.
I nodded. This one, I knew. “Yes. Definitely... although I must admit, not as much as before.”
I hadn’t thought about not hearing Mother as much. I assumed it was because I had been so busy with training, so focused on hiding myself away from the danger the Council posed, that I didn’t speak to Mother as much as I had in the magic realm.
Bella’s lips pulled tight. “Then I believe the spell she created is linked to strong magic, perhaps Warlock magic, I’m not sure.” She shook her head, almost as though she was upset with herself for not knowing something. I wanted to pull her into a hug and tell her she didn’t have to know everything. “But it’s obvious it only works in certain realms.”
I jumped to my feet. “But... this is a magic realm!” I said. I spun on the balls of my foot, throwing my arms around. “Surely it should work in her own realm!”
This didn’t make any sense. How could the locket not work here of all places?
Bella shrugged. “I’m not actually sure what this place is,” she admitted, looking up at the ceiling as though she could find answers there. “It’s linked to the Earth and human realm, which means it may not be as magical as we think.”
“The human realm?” I asked, stopping.
“Think about it, Ava,” she said. “How did you and Tavlor access this realm?”
“By going through the portal,” I said.
“Which is where?”
The human world.
“Oh.”
Well, that made sense in a funny sort of way.
Courtney reached out a hand from her position on the couch, legs thrown over the arm, back hunched as it tried to mold to the back of the chair. “Can I see the locket for a bit?”
I handed it over to her. Part of me wanted to say no, wanted to keep it for myself, but I refused to do that. She wasn’t just my mother, and I had been lucky enough to get more time with her while Courtney and Bella had been on their own.
Courtney turned it over and looked at it with a critical eye. “I wonder why she gave it to you.”
I fought the need to be defensive and annoyed. I knew she was disappointed. I did my best to see it from her point of view. She wanted to connect with Mother in her own way. She knew Mother less than we did simply because she was the youngest. She sounded more hurt than anything else. It wasn’t about me.
I kept repeating that over and over in my mind. It wasn’t about me.
“Well, I don’t know,” I told her with a shrug. “Perhaps because I was physically with her when she had the strength to do the spell? Maybe because I’m the oldest...” I managed to smile at my youngest sister as I said, “Or maybe it was so she could say I told you so, when I escaped here, found our father, and all hell broke loose. I’m sure she knew that I’d be the first one to disobey her orders.”
That got a smile out of Courtney. “That sounds like something Mother would do. Reminding us how she was right even beyond the grave.”
I grinned back. “Right?”
She nodded and handed the locket back to me. “Yeah.”
My shaking had subsided, and I pushed the blanket away. I felt better. It was good to get my concern off my chest. At least I had not one, but two people I could bounce ideas off.
Bella probably had a good point. I’d never heard Mother’s voice in this realm. And I may not again until I stepped back into the magical realm. I just wish Mother had told me this. I wished I had known.
I rubbed my lips together. Once again, Mother kept something from me. Once again, I found out from someone else when I could have found out directly from her.
I glanced at Bella, needing to break free from my bitter thoughts. “Thanks for the reassurance Belle,” I said. “I was starting to freak out.”
Bella pursed her lips together. “And rightly so.” She nodded, her hair coming free from the loose ponytail. “It sounds like you’ve been clinging to her quite a lot. Has she helped you much?”
Clinging?
I wasn’t sure that was the word I would have used. Then again, it wasn’t like it was the wrong word, either. Maybe I was clinging too much to Mother’s ghost.
I cocked my head, thinking about the question. “Um, a little, I guess,” I said, trying to be as honest as I could be. “To start with, she was just full of woe and worries. Which, in hindsight, were kind of correct. Everything she said would happen... has.”
What I didn’t say out loud was everything had happened because of me. I was the one who chose not to listen to her. I was the one who decided not only to put myself in danger, but my sisters as well.
This was all my fault.
Mother was right.
Courtney shifted in her chair, drawing my attention.
“What’s our father like?” she asked.
I snapped my head out of my pity-party and regarded Courtney with a curious stare. She wanted to know about our father?
I leaned back against the comfortable couch cushions. “He’s... intense,” I said. I wasn’t exactly sure how else to describe him. “I can see why Mother went for him so long ago, however. He’s not charming but there’s something magnetic about him.”
Courtney made a ‘go-on’ gesture with her hand.
I laughed, then sighed. I should have known I’d have to do a full de-brief with my sisters. I should have prepared something to make this part easier. “He has dark hair, and dark eyes. He wears capes and robes, and looks super regal.”
“Does he speak... you know, like... differently to us?” Courtney asked. Her voice was small, almost shy, which gave me pause.
“Not really.” I winkled my nose, trying to remember. Everything was starting to fade now. I was paranoid I wouldn’t be able to hold onto the memories the way I hoped to. “He is very proper and is... a little withdrawn.”
“Withdrawn?” Bella repeated. There was a note of curiosity in her voice now.
“Yes, well, maybe that’s the wrong word,” I said. I nodded my head to one side and then the other. “He tries really hard to keep a lid on his passion. In their world, he’s more than just a High Warlock. They treat him like a king.”
“What do you mean?” Bella asked. All pretense of indifference was gone. She leaned forward, hands on her thighs, eyebrows raised to her hairline. I wanted to laugh at her eagerness.
I told them all about the pressure on him to go into an arranged marriage. The way the blood lines and breeding were manipulated to make sure that the next High Warlock would be under the control of the Council. The w
ay the Council had the real power even though it was assumed it was our father. I told them that any threat to everything they had already built would be enough to be regarded as treason, which meant I was going to be arrested and probably put to death because of it.
When I’d finished telling them everything I’d gone through, from the trial, to the actual court trial and the way our stepmother had outed me on purpose, my sisters were fuming. Courtney’s face was so red, the color seeped down to the back of her throat, while Bella’s lips were pressed so tightly together, I was surprised she didn’t make herself bleed.
“That fucking bitch!” Courtney slammed her hands on the table and stood up.
I laughed, I had to. Because Courtney was right.
I put a hand out to both of them. “I am glad of only one thing, and that is that I never told anyone about you,” I said. I locked eyes with Bella and then with Courtney. I needed them to know I did everything I could to protect them, and I would continue to protect them no matter what. “Well... I did tell our father, but after he denied any connection to me, he isn’t about to explain that there’s three threats to the Council instead of just me.”
“I still don’t understand how we are a threat to them,” Bella said. There was a big wrinkle on her forehead. I wanted to hold her in my arms and tell her that unfortunately, the world wasn’t black and white.
I sighed. “Yeah, I know,” I agreed. “I think it’s a fear of the unknown more than anything, but I do know that there’s never been an heir that wasn’t a male, nor born from the arranged marriage the Council had deigned appropriate. We are... like, way out of left field for them. They want to maintain their power at all costs, and if I’m honest...” I chewed on my lip for a moment before saying, “If I was High Warlock, they are the first thing I’d get rid of.”
Courtney burst out laughing, then grinned. “No wonder they wanted to get rid of you.”
“Courtney...” Bella said, her warning clear.
I shook my head. “No, she’s right,” I said. I didn’t want to sugar coat things. My sisters needed to be aware that this wasn’t a game. This was serious. “We didn’t grow up in their realm, and I see nothing but problems with a system that commands martial law over every magical being in the known universe. The bigotry... the rules... the absolute power. It’s wrong. And they’re right... I am a threat to them. We all are. Because I can tell you that none of us would simply stand by and let the Council torture and wage war on every whim. We’ve got far too much of our mother in us.”
Bella sighed. “You, maybe...”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked down as though she was embarrassed, ashamed that she didn’t have much of our mother in her.
I squeezed her hand.
“Our father said you look just like his mother, you know,” I told her. I wasn’t sure if it would make a difference, but I tried.
Bella’s eyes twinkled. “Really?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “And I can tell you that our father is not lacking in fire or passion. He may look reserved and try his best to put a lid on his real personality, but it’s there, Bella. And it’s in you too. Sometimes, you’ve just gotta find something to fight for, something that will make you break the rules and stand up.”
Bella shrugged. “Maybe.”
The light in her eyes dimmed, as though she didn’t believe that was something she could ever feel for herself.
“No maybe about it. Plus, we can’t all be hot heads. Mother, Court, me... Jeez, we’d never get a moment’s peace.”
Bella grinned.
“We need you to rein us in, Belle,” I said seriously. “If we all followed our whims, we’d be weightless, floating, selfish. You anchor us, bring us to reality, make us understand that there’s more to things than what we feel. You help us see the truth.”
I sighed and leaned back against the couch. I felt... more relaxed. Happy.
“God, I feel so much better here. I’ve been so stressed.” I put my hands against the sides of my head and squeezed, needing the pressure against the weird headache that had developed.
“Well, looks like you’re staying with us for a while. So, you won’t need to worry about any of that shit.” Courtney smiled and stood up to go find something.
Her words didn’t bring with them the relief I was expecting. Instead, my shoulders were heavy and a frown touched my lips. There was a sadness that I couldn’t shake. I didn’t want to be without the magical realm. I didn’t want to just step away, hide, forget who I was and who I should be. Not forever.
If everything was fair and equal, I would be able to do as I pleased. But it wasn’t.
I didn’t say anything to my sisters. I didn’t want to worry them any more than I already had.
I relaxed with my sisters and chatted for hours, before falling into bed and getting another great sleep.
Even though I missed Tavlor and everything I’d left behind, when I was with my sisters, I was home. I was safe.
For now.
Chapter 9.
Life with my sisters was the same as it ever had been. That didn’t mean it was boring. I relished this, the way nothing happened, the way I didn’t have to look over my shoulders constantly, worried someone was going to discover us. Too soon we fell into a very similar routine our mother had set. Three meals a day, relaxing after dinner, study and training during the day.
The biggest difference was in our magical dynamic.
Bella was always the best of us, precise. She knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Magic came easily from us. Courtney was wilder. Her magic came from her emotions—whatever she happened to be experiencing at the time. This made her unpredictable. And powerful.
I’d always been slightly more advanced that my sisters, being the oldest. Bella might have been better but I knew more and had mastered more than she had. She would never admit it, but I knew she wanted to catch up to me, to beat me.
Regardless of my expertise, there were moments I resented the extra attention my mother gave me simply because I was the oldest. I always felt like I had to be perfect. Had to get mother’s approval.
But with everything I had experienced, with everything going on, I was league’s ahead. If we had been in different circumstances, I would have enjoyed a battle of magic between the three of us, just like old times.
We stood outside in a field, where we had practiced many times before.
I thrust my hand out in Courtney’s direction. She flew back with such force that even I winced as she crash-landed. I jogged over to where she sprawled on the ground and offered her my hand.
“Where did you learn all this?” she asked, breathing hard as she took my hand in hers. I pulled her to her feet. We walked back to Belle, across the field.
I’d knocked her ten feet backwards, easily, using some of the magic that Horlow had taught me. I missed him. I wished he was here. There was so much more I needed to learn.
“From a mage in one of the Fae realms I was hiding in,” I said.
“One of?” Courtney asked, tilting her head to the side. She began to undo her braid before braiding her hair tighter. “How many are there?”
I shrugged. “Honestly, no idea,” I said. “The Fae realm is different from anything I’ve ever experienced. I have no idea what type of creatures there are, hiding in plain sight.”
And I didn’t. There was the magical realm, then smaller magic realms, shifter realms, Fae realms, and god knew what else. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more my head began to pinch.
“I didn’t ask a lot of those sorts of questions,” I admitted. “You would have been so cross with me. Looking back, I realize I probably should have but...” I shrugged. “I had other things on my mind. I had one goal.”
Courtney threw her hands up. “You did better than either of us would have, Ava. Don’t worry about it.”
I stared at her, surprised by the strange compliment that came from her lips.
“Ah... thanks.” I made
sure that my appreciation didn’t come out like a question. I didn’t want her to think I was being sarcastic, not when she was genuinely trying to be nice.
“Can you teach me that technique you just employed on me?” she asked slowly.
“Sure,” I said. I was surprised she would even think to ask me. Normally, she thought she knew everything and didn’t give any consideration to what Bella or I had to tell her.
I stood next to her and took her hand in mine. I raised it so it formed a right angle to her body and I thrust out her palm.
“Feel that?” I asked. At her nod, I continued. “That’s the arm gesture you need to do when you call on the force within you.”
“The force within you?” she asked.
I closed my eyes. “We all have a force inside of us, Court,” I explained, slowly opening my eyes. “Humans call this gut instinct or intuition. With us magic users, we can control it. Use it to our advantage. You just have to connect with it.”
“And how do I do that?” she asked.
“Well, you reach inside of yourself. You stay still. It’ll find you.” I winced. “I know that sounds strange. You just have to trust me.”
Courtney nodded and closed her eyes. I furrowed my brow. I hadn’t been expecting that. I thought she sure she’d brush me off and tell me I was crazy. I didn’t think she would actually indulge me.
After a moment, her eyes snapped open and a smile beamed on her face. “I feel it!” she said. “Or, at least, I think I do.”
“Excellent,” I said. “That’s faster than me when I found mine. Okay, so now that you have it, use the gesture. But before you do anything, you have to tell your force what you’re going to do. If you don’t, it could have disastrous consequences.”
Courtney blinked. “What do you mean?”