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“My mother said something like that, in the letter she left me,” Claire said. “She said she left magic in the Academy to ensure I would be accepted.”
Andy and Helene shared another look. “While that might be true,” Helene said tentatively, “there was no way for your mother to ensure your acceptance if the Academy didn’t find you a worthy candidate. Your mother might have left the acceptance letter but the Academy decided to send it.”
That put a fresh perspective on Claire's earlier thoughts in the Postulationem room. She had been worthy enough of a place at the Academy even without her mother’s interference.
“I’m sorry but I still don’t understand what a Postulationem room is?” Zack broke in.
“It was rumored that to students or staff who really needed it, the Academy could provide, when required, almost anything and it was procured in the form of a room. One that was on no map and that you could never find if you weren’t looking for it with the right intentions.”
“So that’s where the Academy led you?” Holly asked Claire.
Claire nodded with a shrug. “I guess? I was in my mother’s dorm and there was this rune she had etched on the wall. When I activated it, this path in the stones started glowing. I followed it and it led me to the Postulationem room.” She left out the part where she walked through a wall to get there. Malcolm might have a fit if she shared that. She would never get him to let her out of his sight again.
“And that’s where you found the letter and the journal,” Bethany surmised.
Claire shook her head. “No, that’s where I found the letter. The journal I found after. When I asked…” She trailed off.
“When you asked what?” Everett said gently, sensing her mood dampening.
“When I asked who at the Academy betrayed and killed my mother.”
“Oh, Claire,” Holly said, a sad smile on her face as if she felt the wave of grief that rocked through Claire’s body. If anyone understood how Claire felt in the room besides her Triad then it was probably Holly.
Everett wrapped her in a hug from behind as Malcolm and Desmond sent warmth down their bonds. Claire smiled weakly at her friend group, determined to push through and finish the story.
“When I asked that, the room showed me another room. A secret office. That’s where I found the journal and a map. I didn’t have time to read the journal fully, I wasn’t sure if the person who it belonged to would be back. But there is an entry in there that says‘As instructed by the Council, the Queen of Elves is dead. Unable to secure the child.’And the dates match up to what Toan said.”
Desmond held out his hand for the journal and Claire gratefully gave it over, happy to be released from its weight for a little bit.
“You said there was a map too?” Holly asked, gently changing the subject.
Claire nodded. “It had four X’s in it. In the journal, the person writes down that there are four ingredients needed for the Council’s ultimate weapon. He or she doesn’t write them down by name, just letters but I figured the four X’s on the map had to have some significance. They were in every territory except the Shifters.”
“What else did your mother’s letter say? Besides about your invitation to the Academy?” Andy’s question sparked Claire’s memory.
“Oh!” She said, eyes wide as she looked between Malcolm and Andy. She had almost forgotten the second part of her mother’s letter with the focus on the journal and map.
“My mother wrote she actually left enough magic with the Academy to send two letters. The second letter was my invitation but the first letter was to you.” She gestured towards Andy.
Andy’s eyebrows drew together, “To me?”
“Yes!” Claire said. “She said she sent you a letter telling you to be at a certain place in the Dragon Mountain territory to stop an attack from happening.”
She turned to Malcolm. “The attack was on you.”
Malcolm’s brows furrowed as well before his eyes widened. “The flight accident when I was a child. My father suspected but he never…” He trailed off and looked at Andy who’s wide-eyed expression mirrored his.
“That was you,” she whispered. “I knew both of your dragons were red but I didn’t put two and two together until now.”
“For those of us not in the know,” Cody raised his hand, “would someone fill us in?”
“I had just started teaching here at the Academy. Helene and I … One day this letter appeared on my desk in my classroom. The tale it told was so fantastical I almost didn’t believe it. But there were details in there that I had never told anyone.” She glanced at Helene.
“In the letter was instructions that a future student of mine needed me. That there was an attack being planned against a young dragon and that if I wanted to save him and in turn one day save the Realm I needed to be at this specific location’s day and time. I wasn’t to let anyone see me and I could never tell a soul. Only…”
“Only who?”
“Only the soul that mine belonged to,” Andy breathed, looking at Helene, her expression filled with love and tenderness. “Helene and I hadn’t told anyone about our relationship yet. My coven wouldn’t have taken it well to put it mildly. That’s part of the reason I believed the letter. I told Helene who convinced me to go. I didn’t have to do much, the letter was clear on that. Just provide a rune or two for distraction to let the young dragon get control of his wings again and allow his mother to reach him.”
