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It still lurched forward faster than they’d anticipated. Damn, it was touchy. Nikki throttled back the pressure and tried again. Good, okay, that felt more controllable. They were going only fifteen km/h but who the hell cared. They were moving.
Nikki was driving.
Nikki was driving. They never thought to see this day. Nikki beamed.
And promptly ran over an orange cone.
“Keep in mind you can’t give something too much space when you turn,” Tori counseled. “Things are a little deceptive in the mirrors, too.”
“Right.” Nikki focused a little harder and tried to get this whole car-space dimension thing down. No more hitting orange cones.
They weaved in and out, backed up a few times, ran the course again. Tori had been very generous on how he spaced out the cones. Nikki managed to hit three of them anyway.
This driving thing was more complicated than it looked.
Nikki stopped at the end of the course and put the car into park. They huffed out a breath, looking in the rear-view mirror at the destruction in their wake. “I think I might need a breather.”
“That’s fine. Dominique, you want to switch?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, sit tight a moment, I’ll re-set the cones.”
Tori hopped out of the car and walked back to the first felled victim, not at all bothered.
Nikki got out to let Dominique in, but they both paused outside the car, standing and stretching for a moment.
“I’m really glad he offered this,” Dominique admitted. “Not being able to leave on my own bothered me, but I didn’t know how to fix it.”
“Yeah, same. But Tori’s history is similar to ours, in a way. I think he gets it. It’s why he offered. If the others had still been here, we would have had a car full of people.”
Dominique gave a bittersweet smile. “But it’s good for them that they found their family.”
“I’m not saying otherwise.” It just felt unfair, a little. Out of all the mages rescued from the Jaeggi, only Nikki and Dominique had no family left. With the others, Gunter and Cassie had been able to find family. They’d started looking the minute they got people’s names, or so Nikki understood, eager to reunite families. Those who wanted to be trained in magic hooked up with the other clans for training. Those who wanted to stay, stayed. Long-lost mages had reunited these past weeks with many tears, hugs, and words of gratitude. It had been very heartwarming scenes, but…part of Nikki remained envious.
It wasn’t a scene they would ever have.
Seeing it play out brought back old memories for Nikki. They’d told Gunter of how they’d been taken in by the Jaeggi, but in truth, there was a lot about that night they didn’t know. Nikki still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened to their parents. They were there, then gone. The Jaeggi had said they’d died and they would now adopt Nikki. But that was just what they’d been told. Nikki had no details, no way of knowing what was the truth. They didn’t think their parents were still alive—the Jaeggi would have taken all three of them if given a chance. But Nikki wasn’t sure how their parents had died, either.
Maybe they should look into that. Nikki felt ready for the truth, however dark and bitter it may be. They’d rather have the truth than not knowing.
Tori walked back, and Dominique slid into the driver’s side, making adjustments and commenting as she did so, “You have short legs, Nikki.”
Grinning, they sassed back, “Bite me, Dominique. I bet you hit more cones than I do.”
“There’s a challenge. You only left two standing.”
Nikki had no retort.
By the time Nikki returned to the castle, they were feeling far more comfortable driving a car. They’d managed to run the whole course without hitting anything, thank you very much, and Tori had promised another lesson on Saturday. So clearly, they hadn’t scarred the man for life.
But once back, Nikki became a person on a mission. There were some questions they wanted answered, and they had a feeling they knew the right person to ask for help.
Cassie was in her lair—aka workroom—when Nikki knocked on the door, calling out a cheery, “ENTER!”
Nikki stepped inside, looking around curiously as they did. Nikki had never actually been in here before, just caught glimpses through an open door while passing by. Cassie looked very ensconced, like a spider in its web. Only instead of dead flies, she kept dead coffee mugs, stacks of paper, and fuzzy blankets.
She turned, blinking behind yellow-tinted glasses. “Well, well, look who’s here. How did driving lessons go?”
“I think pretty good. Tori said we’d do it again Saturday, so…”
“Can’t have traumatized the man too bad if he’s offering to teach you again. Cool. What can I do for ya?”
Nikki took the chair she waved them to, likely here for Sasha’s sake or any visitor who dropped by. It was plush and comfortable, so Nikki settled in easily.
