While pulling my hand from my face, I glanced to my finger. The ring was gone. “You took it!”
Zayne held his hands up in surrender. “I did take the ri—”
“That was my mother’s and I want it back!”
“Firstly, the ring was actually your grandmother’s, and it belongs with the Morelli people. Secondly, it seemed to have been causing you some issues. It was bringing on your magic too quickly. You don’t yet know how to control the power within you.”
“I was doing just fine,” I snarled.
“Really? Then why did you end up in Eylada?”
Thoughts of the vision I’d had of Zayne came to the front of my mind. “Probably because I already knew I needed to come here.”
My uncle tipped his head in interest. “You wanted to come to The Middle? This is a desolate place, so I am unsure that you’d truly want to come if you weren’t required to.”
I let out a loud, audible sigh. “Because I need to speak to you and this is where you live. Where else was I going to go?”
Zayne leaned back into his seat and rubbed his chin for a moment while looking at the ground. Finally, he stopped and brought his attention back to me. “Well, you’re here, aren’t you? Why is it that you needed to see me so badly? Does it have to do with that dream you summoned me to? The memory is all very hazy. Maybe you can remind me.”
Because I need you to make peace with The Side of Magic. The words caught in my throat and went no further than that. As I stared at my uncle, the idea felt ridiculous. Although he may not remember, he’d already told me so in my vision, and I was ninety-nine percent sure that was exactly what he would tell me now. “I want to see Nine and make sure he’s okay.” Those were the words that came out instead. I needed more time to figure out my situation since springing everything on Zayne was going to go badly. Maybe I could win his trust first. “Please?” The voice I used was as sweet as sugar.
Zayne blew out a breath. “Are you sure you are well enough to stand?”
Gingerly, I placed my toe to the tile, pressed both feet down and pushed myself up. No dizziness. “I’d like to see my cat.”
Zayne’s nostrils flared slightly. “Is he the same cat your mother had when she was little more than your age? I thought I might have recognized him.”
Once again, I was reminded of how old Nine must be, and I had no idea how that was possible. It had to be magic. But I shook that thought away. This was no time to be distracted about things that meant little.
“Nine was her cat and she sent him with me to The Other Side. Now I’d like to see him and make sure you haven’t hurt him in any way.”
He eyed me for a moment as if in thought. “Very well.” Zayne finally stood and gestured to the door. “Follow me.”
Quickly, I pulled on my boots and followed. Outside was a long hall with the same high ceilings as my room. Small sconces lined the walls, each flickering with a blue flame. I walked behind my uncle while clutching my arms over my chest. “Don’t you have guards or something?”
Zayne looked back at me. “Why? Do I need them?”
“Maybe,” I muttered, wishing silently that I was back with Aspen.
We stopped at a wooden door, and Zayne waved his hand in the air. Without him touching the handle, the door clicked open and swung back. Nine lay curled up asleep on a bed very similar to the one I’d just left.
I raced past Zayne to the bedside. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Morelli woman bow her head to my uncle and excuse herself from the room. She must have been guarding Nine. I reached out and ran my hand over my cat’s head and ears. “Are you okay?”
Nine opened his topaz eyes and focused on me as if he was trying to make out exactly who I was. Josy, he finally said in a groggy voice. Where are we? His attention flitted to Zayne, and his eyes widened. And why is he here?
“Somehow I brought us to Eylada. I have no idea how.”
“Which is why you need more magic training before you might even be allowed to return,” Zayne said from behind.
I twisted to my uncle, my heart picking up speed. “You can’t just keep us here. I need to get back to The Side of Magic and to my . . . friend. He has to be going crazy wondering where I am.”
Zayne’s mouth pressed into a flat line. “Josy. I’ve already needlessly lost your mother. I will not do that again. The Morelli need you here with us, so I apologize, but I can’t allow you to return at this time. Maybe never.”
Chapter 13
My breath came in short pants as I realized what he was saying. “You can’t force me to stay. You don’t have the right! I’m enrolled at Borealis and I need to get back there.”
My uncle remained calm as he stood between me and the door. “Josy, you are a minor and I happen to be your closest living relative. It’s my duty to keep you safe. On The Side of Magic, you are in constant danger of being hurt—even killed for who you are.”
Nine had flattened his body against the bed and wasn’t saying a word.
All the hopes I had of convincing Zayne to make peace with The Side of Magic came crashing down. My uncle thought of me as a foolish child who happened to have incredible power brewing inside of her. Now that he had me in his grasp there was no way he was going to listen to reason.
I flexed my fingers, attempting to will magic into them, but nothing happened.
Zayne dropped his attention down to my hand. “The ring was working as a catalyst for your magical abilities. Without it you are unlikely to be able to summon the powers inside you until you understand them better.”
“I want it back,” I demanded, knowing full well that there were no teeth behind the demand.
Zayne quirked a brow. “I’m sure that you do, but just as I cannot allow you to leave at this time, I cannot allow you to have the ring. The future may change that, but for now my decision is final.”
I clenched my teeth together, seething. “It’s no wonder my mother wanted nothing to do with you.”
Zayne clicked his tongue. “Charlette and I had a good relationship until she made irrational choices about falling in love.” He raised his brow. “You know why your mother was at Borealis in the first place, right?”
I glanced at Nine. “Because she and your family wanted to integrate back into magical society.”
He pursed his lips together. “She was a spy for the Morelli.”
My eyes widened at my cat.
I didn’t know. He shook his head. That’s not what she told me.
I whirled back to my uncle. “No, she wasn’t! She wanted peace—just like I do. She was part of an underground organization that wanted to heal the rift.” I stepped toward Zayne, but he threw out his hand and white magic glowed around it. I stumbled backward onto the bed next to Nine.
“Charlette believed in the Morelli cause just as much as me until that Academy somehow changed her. She became soft and met . . . what was his name again?”
“Liam. My father’s name was Liam.” I balled my hands into fists on my lap.
Zayne lowered his hand, but magic still swirled around his fingers, ready to use against me if necessary. “Yes, Liam. But that underground organization? Your mother was infiltrating them to find weak spots for the Morelli.” He scoffed. “But everything backfired when they indoctrinated her. Turned her against me.”
“We need peace,” I whispered.
“Peace? That is the same stupid idea Charlette had when, for whatever reason, she returned to Eylada before she married. She thought the curse could be broken and she would get to live some happily ever after with Liam. Ridiculous. I had to banish her because she was trying to spread her pipe-dream that somehow The Side of Magic would accept the Morelli. Even if they were to accept us, we’d be nothing but second-class citizens that mothers would pull their children away from. Hope is an infection. The only salvation of the Morelli will be to claim power or die trying.”
My stomach roiled and I squeezed my arms around my middle to try and stop the nausea. Behind me, Nine had wriggled
his way under the pillow and only his tail stuck out. He was no help, but honestly, I didn’t blame him. I wished that I could hide under the covers, too.
“But if there were another way . . . a better way, wouldn’t you want to try it? A way to save us all.”
Zayne chuckled. “It’s been over two hundred years. I’m sure you know from all your recent studies that many Morelli tried to find a better way. We were always rejected . . . laughed at . . . feared.”
I bit at the inside of my cheek, trying to sort out my visions. I’d seen my mom, but she hadn’t told me the full truth. She had told me nothing of being a spy, only the good parts about falling in love with my dad. Were the other parts of my visions completely true? Or was it my own mind making up stories? Was there a darkness coming beyond the Morelli war? “What if there is a greater evil? Something that’s not only going to destroy The Side of Magic but the Morelli, too?”
“Worse than we’ve already experienced?” He chuckled. “I’m not sure that’s possible.” Zayne approached me and took my arm. I wanted to resist, but I didn’t dare. He pulled me to stand and ushered me over to the window. “This is The Middle.”
My lips parted as I scanned the barren scene outside. There was nothing but dry, scorched earth for as far as I could see. Morelli people dotted the streets several floors below us, and there was a scattering of modest structures. A large, chained war dog paced within a fenced enclosure.
My mind flashed with the memory of my uncle riding a war dog when he attacked the Academy. The beast had nearly killed Nine and Aspen.
“Little grows here. Eylada is a place of death, but it was all we had and somehow the Morelli survived. We are stronger than the Directorate ever imagined when they forced us from their lands. Through our magic, we scraped out a living and now we have become stronger than ever.” My uncle took my shoulders and turned me to him, then he took my shaking hands and held them palms up. I didn’t resist. “And with the power inside you, our people can become stronger than ever. Absorbing the magic of others and then funneling it to increase the intensity is a very rare gift, but you need to be trained. Right now you cannot understand the magic you possess—it’s far too unpredictable. But I can teach you.” He released my hands.
Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them loose. I touched my fingers to the warm glass.
“You cannot escape out the windows. They are magically sealed and extremely difficult to break.”
I slid my fingers down the glass and rested them on the sill. “Why can’t you see that your desire for revenge is going to kill you? It’s going to kill everyone. My mother was right, and she finally saw what was true because of her love for my dad. All you have is hate, and it’s going to destroy you.”
Zayne scoffed. “You are as blind as she was.” He left me at the window and walked for the door. “For now, you will remain in here.”
I followed hot on his heels. “I told you, I’m not staying!” I reached out to grab his arm. Before I got there, he threw out his hand and a burst of white magic slammed into me, stopping me in my tracks like I’d hit a force field.
My uncle flung open the door and turned back, glaring at me. “I’ll have dinner brought to you and your . . . pet.”
Before I could get out a word, Zayne slammed the door and the magic force in front of me dissipated. I raced for the exit and jiggled the handle, but of course it didn’t budge.
Shaking, I whirled back toward the bed and scanned it for signs of Nine, but there were none.
“Where are you!” I marched to the bed and grabbed the pillow he’d been under, but there was nothing but a few stray black cat hairs on the sheets.
Faint squeaking noises came from the space between the head of the bed and the wall, and I knelt to see what was going on. Nine sat crouched against the wall, his ears flattened in agitation and his tail flicking.
“What are you doing?” I scolded and my mind spun. Thoughts refused to come together. The most convincing thing I could think of to say was, “We’ve got a huge problem on our hands.”
Nine turned his head my way and when he did, I could see a crack in the wall, just above the floor. A tiny brown mouse peeked its head out and wiggled its whiskers, then disappeared from view.
“Are you seriously trying to get a snack right now?”
Nine slow blinked at me. While yes, in a time like this a full stomach would be preferable, that’s not what I’m doing.
“Then what are you doing?”
Nine released an exasperated sigh. I’ve told you before, I’m very persuasive with mice. And this mouse just might know where your ring is.
Chapter 14
“What are you talking about?” Still on my hands and knees, I peered at the closed door to check for Zayne coming back. He wasn’t there, and no footsteps sounded from the hall. I returned my attention to under the bed.
Nine turned back to the crack in the wall.
When he didn’t answer, my heart sped up and heat rushed my chest. “Do you understand what’s going on? My uncle wants to keep us here . . . maybe turn me into some monster to help them defeat The Side of Magic.”
I understand exactly what’s going on. That’s why I slid under here a few moments ago when I saw a mouse hole. Come to find out, there’s an entire network of mice living inside the walls. They have access to many rooms, and they’re willing to help us.
Confused, I scrunched my brows at him. “So you're telling me that mice are going to help get us out of here? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”
Nine twitched his left ear. A few months ago, you would have thought that your cat talking back to you was absurd. Just go with it.
“I’m not putting my life in mice hands!” I hissed.
Paws . . . mice paws.
I growled at Nine and pushed myself up to stand. Knowing it would be useless, I wiggled the door handle again, but of course, it didn’t budge. Groaning, I made my way back to the window. I pulled up on the sash, but it was shut tight, as well. The dust had kicked up outside. Below, the war dog was lying down and had nuzzled its face under one giant paw to protect it from the dirt. Morelli were scattering and running into buildings for shelter.
My heart sank into my stomach as I watched the scene. It was a stark contrast to the beauty of The Side of Magic, at least the parts I’d seen. Eylada was not a place I would want to live either, and if the Morelli were forced here, I could see even further how they had become bitter and hardened against the lives of those who were so much more fortunate. Even Aspen and the animal shifters were able to hide away and enjoy a life that they found meaningful, even if they wanted more from it.
Here in Eylada, they were barely existing, and it had been like that for hundreds of years. I pressed my hands to the windowsill as my heart ached for the Morelli. They were my people, and I wanted to help them so badly. But there was no way that I could do that as long as so much anger remained in their hearts. My mind carouseled. What I was going to do? Zayne had said that someone would be bringing us food soon. Maybe we could escape then. I shook my head at the stupid idea. Even if I managed to get out of this room or outside, where would I go? Unless I could summon magic, no way was I getting back to Tumbling Falls.
Okay. So we just have to wait.
I turned to see Nine slinking out from under the bed.
He walked to my side and jumped onto the sill, craning his neck to survey the bleak scene. Yes. That’s how I remember this place looking the last time I was here.
I let out an exasperated sigh, walked to the bed, and sat on the edge.
I’m truly sorry that I didn’t know about your mother’s past. Nine twisted the upper half of his body to face me. Either she was really good at keeping secrets, or she made me forget with a spell. I would have told you if I’d known.
My stomach clenched, and I pinched at the bridge of my nose. “Are you sure that you would have? The fact that she was a spy has tainted everything. How in the world am I supp
osed to know what’s true anymore?”
Nine closed his eyes in thought before he spoke. I think you already know what’s right and true. The past doesn’t have to dictate where you are going. You know the part of your mother that was good, and it seems that she wanted the best for you. She sent you to Borealis for a reason. I know for sure that she had visions just like you do, and I think she wanted to set you on a path leading to good.
The corners of my lips curved into the slightest smile. “Getting all wise? Or are you just trying to make me feel better?”
Wise for sure. Was that really ever in question? Nine’s golden eyes flitted to the area beside me, and he opened his mouth to let out a chitter.
I peeked behind me and saw a little brown mouse—I had no idea if it was the same one as before—holding a glistening gold and ruby ring in its tiny paws. It wiggled its whiskers and presented the ring to me.
Wide-eyed, I turned back to Nine.
See? I told you I had it all under control.
The mouse scurried onto my lap, squeaked and held the ring out to me once more.
I gingerly took it from the tiny animal. “Thank you?”
The beast bowed its head to me and nodded to Nine.
If I can be of service to you in the future, I will try to do so, Nine said to the mouse.
As I clutched the ring in my hand, the mouse scampered off and disappeared between the head of the bed and the wall.
I’d recommend trying to use it, and not just sitting there. Nine leaped from the sill to the bed.
I blew out a nervous breath and wriggled the ring onto my sweaty finger. A hearty push was required to get the band over my knuckle, but I finally succeeded. Holding my hand out in front of me, I admired it and focused on getting myself back to Tumbling Falls.
“Come on, magic,” I muttered under my breath as Nine flicked his tail next to me.
My breath shortened, and I waited for warmth to spread over my hand, but I felt nothing. Frustrated, I brought the ring closer to my face. “Are you sure this is the right one?”
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