by L. C. Mawson
I folded my arms. “Is magical politics really so ridiculous?”
“It’s about as ridiculous as any form of politics. So, yes. Which is why you should do everything you can to stay out of it.”
Chapter Three
We passed back through the portal to my auntie’s house to see Gail already waiting there for us.
“I assume taking Amelia off campus was necessary,” she said, her hands on her hips as she gave my auntie a cold look.
“The curse was lifted from her mother. I thought Amy should see her now that she was awake.”
Gail’s expression softened a little. “I understand. I just wish you’d told me.”
“I didn’t want you to get in trouble if we were caught leaving.”
“Jessica, we’re only in as much trouble as we’re currently in because you’ve not been telling me things. The Amazons are here to evaluate the school, including my ability to run it. You undermining my ability to do so helps no one.”
“Speaking of the Amazons, have you told them about Amy? About what she is?”
Gail pressed her lips into a tight line. “I should,” she eventually said. “But no, I’ve chosen not to. I don’t think it’s a good idea until we know exactly what they intend. But there’s only so far I can lie to them, Jessica. If they get close to the truth, I will tell them.”
Auntie Jess nodded, and I figured that that was probably the best we could have hoped for.
“Thank you for that much at least.”
Gail didn’t respond, her jaw tightening.
I suppressed a sigh. Between them and my parents... Could the supposed adults in the room just put their personal hang-ups aside for one moment to focus on the powerful Witches who might want to magically experiment on me?
“What about Mr Stiles?” I asked, hoping to nudge them in the right direction, even if it took all of my patience not to do a hell of a lot more than nudge. “What are the Amazons going to think when they see one of Queen Freya’s private guards in the infirmary? Won’t they have to examine him, given that he was hurt by Maria’s spell?”
“I’ve covered up his tattoos,” Gail said. “That should stop anyone from recognising him. Unless they’ve been to the Underworld and had extensive dealings with Queen Freya, but I don’t think any of the Amazons coming have. Though Esme did say something about a healer coming.”
“It’s okay,” my auntie said. “The healer is Sarah, and she already knows everything about this situation.”
Gail nodded. “Then we should be safe. And perhaps Sarah can help us break him from this damn curse.”
I frowned. “He’s still cursed? How? I thought you said that it wouldn’t take long to break.”
“We thought that it wouldn’t, but it seems we underestimated Maria Brown. But as long as they don’t recognise him, the Amazons should be able to help.”
My frown deepened. “But I could see through his glamours. Surely at least one of the Amazons might see through it if we glamour him again.”
Gail smiled. “That’s what stage make-up is for.” Her expression then sobered. “If you’re ready, we probably shouldn’t delay much longer. The Amazons are due to arrive at any moment.”
I nodded, bracing myself for what was to come.
I’d hoped that the Amazons wouldn’t come until later in the day, but I supposed that it was probably better to get it over with.
Depending on what these tests might be...
My stomach twisted violently as we left my auntie’s house, and it took everything I had to remain upright, as I began to worry that they might not actually test me.
That they might jump straight to taking me away and trying to figure out what makes me so powerful.
Or maybe they would test me, but the tests would be impossible, so that they had an excuse to take me away.
Maybe my mum’s bad feeling wasn’t so ridiculous after all...
My stomach twisted once more, and I was very glad that I hadn’t had anything to eat yet.
Gail led us down to the main hall, which had wards set up around it.
I hesitated as I approached, but Gail gave me a reassuring look. “Don’t worry, Amy. You, your aunt, and I can pass through the wards. They’re just there to keep any of the other students from listening in. I’ve not told anyone about what happened last night, or your part in it. I would rather the other students not know the specifics.”
I nodded. As much as I would want to know in their shoes, I didn’t exactly want something making me stand out on top of ‘only came into her magic at sixteen’.
Gail passed through the wards, and my auntie and I followed, the three of us making our way through to the hall.
Inside, a large portal shimmered on the far wall.
As Gail approached, several women stepped through, all in leather armour.
The woman at the front was older and tall, with grey streaks in her dark hair and grey eyes that were regarding me coolly. Everyone else stood behind her.
I spotted Sarah at the back, next to an older woman with white hair.
She seemed even older than the woman at the front, and given how slowly Witches aged, I wondered just how many centuries she’d seen.
“Gail,” the Amazon at the front greeted as the portal closed behind them.
Gail bowed her head. “Coven Head Dana. It is an honour to have you and the Amazons here.”
Dana just nodded before looking me over once more. “Is this the girl?”
“Yes,” Gail said as Dana walked over to me, her raking gaze making my skin crawl.
As if she were examining a prized animal.
“Gail informs us that you were the student Maria Brown tricked into helping with her spell.”
I nodded, my throat refusing to form sounds.
“You must be powerful. A spell like that would have killed most Witches who tried it.”
I just shrugged, not wanting to risk saying anything.
Getting caught in a lie seemed like the worst idea here.
Dana placed her hands on her hips. “Well, your magic certainly feels strange. It’s far stronger than your aunt’s and given that she’s the only one you should have inherited anything from, that is truly a mystery. Given the unusual nature of your powers, we have deemed that you require special attention. The Amazons here with me shall remain at the school and train you. To ensure that you have the discipline necessary to control your powers.”
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say, so I just nodded.
Dana narrowed her eyes a little. “It is a great honour to be trained by the Amazons, Amelia. I know that you are still new to magic, but you should appreciate that many Witches would kill for this opportunity.”
“Thank you,” I said, figuring that that was what she was after.
I’d tried my best to sound sincere, but my words had barely come out as more than a whisper.
Dana regarded me once more before nodding and turning to Gail. “As we are here to train Amelia, we shall also allow any of your students to apply for training, if they so wish. Come, you and I should discuss the details.”
Auntie Jess placed her hand on my shoulder and ushered me back out of the room.
“So, this training...” I said, once we were clear of the wards.
Auntie Jess gave me a reassuring smile. “It won’t be easy – the Amazons only train the best of the best for a reason – but hopefully you’ll pass their tests and they will be content to leave you be.”
“And if I don’t?”
She continued to smile, though it faded a little around her eyes. “Don’t worry, Amy, Gail and I will keep you safe.”
I didn’t believe her, and it must have been obvious on my face as my auntie sighed before folding her arms.
“I’m sorry, Amy. I know that I’ve not done the best job of protecting you so far, and you have as much right to distrust me for lying to you beforehand as your mother does. I didn’t do anything to rectify that distrust before, and it led you to helping Maria B
rown. I promise you, Amy, I won’t let that happen again.”
I just nodded. I didn’t think that she was the one to blame there, but I had no idea what I should say, so I just remained quiet as we parted ways.
I HEADED BACK TO MY room, only to run into Willow in the hallway.
“Amelia!” she said as she saw me. “I was just on my way to see you.”
She rushed over before pulling me into a tight hug, though she pulled away as I winced at her squishing my scars.
“Sorry, I’ve just been so worried. There was some kind of death magic spell cast, and now people are saying Ms Maltere was involved and she’s now missing... You were in the middle of it, weren’t you?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry, if I knew that you would think I was there, I would have told you. I’ve just... It’s been a stressful twenty-four hours.”
Willow smiled. “It’s not even been that, to be fair.”
“Yeah, but I somehow think it might get worse...” I sighed before looking back to my room.
Natalie and the others would be there, and as much as I wanted to tell them of the new updates, I wanted to talk to Willow about everything without everyone else there.
Willow must have seen me looking as she said, “Do you want to come to my room to talk? My roommate already went to breakfast.”
I nodded, my mouth going a little dry as she led me down to the floor below.
She’d said that we were just going to talk, so that was what she meant, right?
Not that I would have been against anything else, I just...
It had been a long day already and I couldn’t really form thoughts coherently enough to answer questions like ‘just how far was I willing to go with my new girlfriend?’
Though, again, we’d not really used the word...
Willow opened the door to her room and indicated for me to take a seat on her bed.
I did so, but it wasn’t without hesitation.
Willow gave me a sympathetic look as she closed the door behind her. “You’d think they would give us chairs.”
“Maybe we can ask for them,” I said as Willow came to sit next to me. “I know there was one in our room for a bit, but it seems to have disappeared.”
The edge of Willow’s smile quirked up for a moment before she spoke again. “So, what happened?”
“You know how Maria Brown escaped her tomb?”
“Yes.”
“It turns out, the rest of her coven’s still trapped under a curse cast by the Angel that trapped her. She needed the help of another Angelborn to lift it, and she somehow found me. So, she came up with a convoluted plan that involved getting a job here as a teacher and cursing my mum so that I would be forced to come here, where she could train me up until I was strong enough to help her.”
Willow frowned for a moment before understanding dawned across her features. “Ms Maltere. She was Maria Brown.”
I nodded. “Natalie realised that the spell was death magic, and she came to stop us.”
“Wait, death magic? Did she sacrifice an animal?”
“A person. Mr Stiles. He also came to stop her, and it turned out that my sister had sent him here to look after me.”
“Your sister?”
“Oh, right, I told you that Freya was the Angel who helped make me, but not why. When she was living among Humans, my parents adopted her. I haven’t seen her in years, but apparently, Mr Stiles is one of her most trusted guards, and she sent him here to protect me.
“Anyway, Ms Maltere... She’d had me plant the cursed object in his house. I saw through Mr Stiles’ glamour and realised that he had a tattoo that meant that he was part of Lord Uther’s house, and since Lord Uther tried to kill my sister-”
“And you didn’t know about Prince Damon?”
I groaned, flopping backwards on the bed. “That’s it. I give up.”
Willow smiled as she too lay down before turning to face me, her head propped up a little by her arm.
I turned to my side as well, tucking my hands beneath my head.
Willow moved her free hand to my head, brushing a stray lock of hair from my eyes. “Your hair’s getting longer.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think much about how much faster it would seem to grow if I cut it this short.”
“Want it cut again?”
“Yes. Why?”
She pulled her wand from her jacket and muttered an incantation before waving it over my head.
Hair trimmings drifted from my scalp to the bedding but disintegrated before actually hitting it.
“How do I look?” I asked as she finally pulled the wand away.
“Incredibly handsome.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Not pretty?”
“Pretty too, but I’ve yet to see you in a skirt, your hair is almost cut to the scalp in places, and are you even wearing make-up?”
“I’m wearing tinted moisturiser, an anti-breakout powder, and plain lip balm.”
Willow snorted. “Well, that’s more than I’m wearing, at least.”
“Well, you’re an other-worldly, ethereal beauty, so I’m not sure that you need it.”
She rolled her eyes, though the blush across her cheeks betrayed her.
It only lasted for a moment, however, before she was regarding me carefully.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“No,” I admitted. “If I had known about Prince Damon, I wouldn’t have distrusted Mr Stiles. And if I had been able to sense death magic myself, it wouldn’t have gotten as far as it did.”
“But you did stop the spell, right?”
I nodded. “But Mr Stiles is still in the infirmary. No one has figured out how to break him from the spell and it’s still siphoning his life force.”
“They’ll figure it out.”
“Perhaps. But now the Amazons are here to investigate the school and figure out why I’m so powerful. And if I have the ‘discipline’ to control my powers.” I looked down at the bedding. “I’m not sure what they’ll do with me if they decide that I don’t, but I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be able to stay here.”
Willow moved her hand to my cheek and the tears that I had been trying to suppress ever since I got back from the hospital finally fell silently from my eyes.
I sat up to stop them from falling sideways.
“Want to know the ridiculous thing?” I asked as I wiped them away, very glad that I wasn’t wearing much make-up. “Despite all of this... It’s not even what I’m upset about.”
Willow sat up as well, placing a hand on my shoulder. “What are you upset about?”
“My mum woke up from the curse. It looks like Maria Brown lifted it now that she has no use for it. But my dad’s known about magic for years, and he didn’t tell her. She didn’t react well.” I looked down at my hands in my lap, picking at the cuticles of one of my fingers. “It looks like they’re gonna live apart for a while.”
“I’m sorry, Amelia.”
I shook my head, doing my best to clear away any sign of tears as I cleared my throat. “It’s fine. These things happen, right? And I’m sorry. You said that your father wasn’t home a lot, I shouldn’t be complaining because my family had one little spat.”
“Amelia, I regret that my father wasn’t around for me much, but my parents, while maybe not a couple in the traditional sense, did always get along. I’ve seen my friends go through their nuclear family divorcing, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
Her saying the word I’d been avoiding even thinking of was like the floor being pulled out from beneath me, my stomach disappearing.
“You really think they’ll get divorced?”
Willow cringed. “I... Sorry, I assumed from what you’d said... But maybe they’ll work it out.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I hope that they will, but... I don’t know. And I don’t know where that leaves me. I know that I’m here, but I’d kind of assumed that home would still be waiting for me in the end, you know?”
; “Yeah, I know,” Willow said before wrapping her arm around my side and leaning into me.
I nuzzled into her shoulder for a moment, not wanting to leave her embrace.
“We should probably go and find the others,” Willow said as she finally pulled away. “They’re probably just as worried about you as I was.”
I nodded, knowing that as much as I wanted to stay here, the rest of the world wouldn’t stop for us.
WE ARRIVED BACK AT my room to see everyone still waiting for me.
“Amy, what happened?” Natalie asked as she got up from where she was leaning on the wall by the window to step closer to me.
I took a moment before answering, my mind stalling a little at having both her and Willow beside me, though I couldn’t put my finger on why.
I pushed the thought aside, refocusing. “The Amazons are here. They examined me and then said that they would take over my training to figure out if I had the ‘discipline’ to control my powers. They also said that they would train other students who applied.”
Lena turned to the others. “Well, if they’re training Lia and letting others join her, we should apply, right? So that she’s not alone.”
Willow folded her arms. “As much as Amelia shouldn’t be alone, I don’t think any of us here have a chance of qualifying except Charlotte.”
Her jaw clenched a little, and I instinctively wrapped my arm around her waist.
She gave me a small smile, though it didn’t meet her eyes.
That bypassed my protective instincts and sent me straight to fury.
“Who says that none of you would qualify?” I said, conviction behind my words as I placed my hands on my hips. “All of you are powerful Witches. Willow, you got told that you were powerful by Maria Brown herself. She might not have the best moral compass, but no one has ever argued that she wasn’t brilliant. If she thought you were powerful, who are these Amazons to argue?”
“It’s not my raw power they’ll argue with,” Willow said as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind one of her pointed ears.
“Then let them be bigoted enough to say it, rather than not trying at all.” I took her hands in mine as I stepped closer. “If I have to go through this training, I want nothing more than for you to be by my side through it.”