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“You look like you’ve gotten some pretty bad news. I heard the announcement over the speakers,” Ren said. “What did Principal Wolf want to talk to you about?”
“I’m not going to graduate,” I answered quietly. “My grades are too low.”
“Ah, crap, that’s awful. I’m so sorry, Darya.” He reached out to give my arm a soft pat.
“Don’t feel sorry for me. It’s my own fault. What did I expect going off on an undercover mission during the last few weeks of term? If anything I deserve this.” My words dripped with self-recrimination.
“You can always repeat next year.”
“I know,” I said, exhaling heavily. “I’m sure my parents will insist on it.”
“You don’t want to?”
“I’ve never been cut out for academia. I’ve always just wanted to get out there and start living, join the Guard, but now I can’t even do that.”
“My gran says that life seldom goes the way you plan it. She’s seen so many people’s futures and they rarely end up where they expect.”
“Seems like I’m going to be another one of those. Peter broke up with me the other night.” Just stating it made my heart sink.
Ren blinked in surprise. “Peter broke up with you? Why?”
I rubbed my chest before bringing my hand back to the steering wheel, hating to be reminded. “Because of the mark. Peter created a spell to remove it but…he sensed I didn’t want to go through with it.”
“Goodness, Darya, I’m so sorry. That is a lot of bad stuff all at once.”
“Yeah, and get this, Carra’s in a coma so if I want to rescue Vas and Sven I’m going to have to do it on my own.”
Ren cast me an empathetic look. I pressed my lips together, pushing down the tidal wave of emotion that wanted to spring forth. Days like this it felt like the world was out to get me.
A few moments of quiet fell before he said, “Are you really considering travelling to Oreylia on your own? Don’t you at least need Carra to open the portal for you?”
What he said reminded me of Belinda’s offer from earlier.
“There’s another way, but without Carra I’ll be going in blind. I’ll have no idea where to go to find them. It’s not like I can conjure a map.”
“That is a tough one,” Ren agreed. “But since you already saw yourself there in the future you must find a way to locate them.”
“Are you suggesting I just go and figure out the rest along the way?” I asked, raising both eyebrows.
Ren shrugged. “It’s reckless, but like I said, if those visions are true it all works out for you.”
“Right, I just have no idea what I might have to endure before everything works out.”
“That’s the chance you take,” Ren said and a flame of ambition sparked within me. There was courage there, too. I could do this. If I wanted to see Vas again and get the chance to explain myself, to tell him that I wished I hadn’t kept my undercover mission a secret for so long, then I needed to do this. I needed to take Belinda up on her offer and step into a dimension where I was sure to face new dangers at every turn.
Gulp.
If I was going to do this without my parents’ blessing now would be the perfect time. I also didn’t want to be around when Principal Wolf called and informed them I wouldn’t be graduating.
“What does that look mean?” Ren asked, his attention fixed on me.
“It means I think I’m actually going to do this.”
“Are you sure?”
“Not in the slightest.”
Ren chuckled. “That’s the spirit.”
A little while later Ren and I sat in my bedroom staring at Belinda. Well, I stared at her and recited what she said for Ren while he looked in the general direction I was looking. He’d insisted on tagging along back to my house out of sheer curiosity.
“I haven’t tried to open a portal for an actual live person yet,” she explained. “So there’s a chance it won’t work.”
“Don’t worry about that. Let’s just try and see what happens,” I said, eager to get the show on the road. If I paused and thought about things for too long I might change my mind.
“What if she sends you to the wrong place?” Ren asked, his brow crinkling.
“That’s a chance I have to take,” I replied, my hand trembling as I pulled out a clean T-shirt.
“Why are you rifling through your wardrobe?” Belinda questioned. “Are you planning on putting on a fashion show?”
“I’m searching for the best clothes to bring with me.”
“Have you got any boots?” Ren asked. “A hardy pair of boots are always a good idea when venturing into the unknown.”
“Yes, boots. Good suggestion,” I agreed, grabbing the black leather lace ups I wore in the winter. My outfit consisted of jeans, a T-shirt, black hoodie and a wool coat. I recalled Vas saying that though his city was hot during the day, it turned freezing cold at night. I stuffed some extras into my backpack, as well as some non-perishable food I took from the pantry. Before I forgot, I grabbed the scarf Roman gave me, as well as the dagger that could kill demons, sliding it into a discreet side pocket.
