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I couldn’t keep my eyes off the ponytail swinging around her head.
“Helen. As in, possibly, Helen Hollow?” the woman asked hesitantly, her eyebrows furrowing together.
I swore she was hoping I would deny her. Too bad for her.
“That’s her.” At least I knew that much about my mother.
The woman pursed her lips, staring at me for a moment too long. I shifted my weight, uncomfortable about how she stared me down, but I couldn’t move. I didn’t think my feet would obey even if I wanted to. Besides, something was nudging me inside, telling me to stay put.
“You have her eyes and hair,” she commented, her voice turning to awe. “I really thought you were her from behind.”
I blinked. “You knew my mother?”
Confusion sparked in her eyes. “Knew?” she echoed, shaking her head. “I do know her. I haven’t spoken to her in a while, though, in quite a few years. I didn’t even know she had a daughter, let alone one old enough to be in medic training.”
I held up my head, clenching my teeth as I stared at her.
“Has she ever told you about a man named Xander McEntire?” she suddenly asked.
I looked at Carli, who caught my eye and shrugged in just as much confusion as I was. The woman was watching me intently when I turned back, squaring my shoulders.
“That’s my father.”
She let out a hiss of breath between her teeth and glanced at the two girls flanking each of my sides. “Are you two also Helen’s?”
“These are my friends. How did you know my mother?” I asked, trying to pull the topic back into place. “You knew her.”
“Knew?” she repeated and shook her head. “We – we were in training together.” She motioned around us.
I detected the odd tinge of something in her voice that I just couldn’t figure out.
“Are your parents still in love?” She sighed, her tone suddenly changing as wistfulness fell over her eyes. “They fell in love right away.”
“I don’t know,” I said bluntly, grimacing when her eyes flickered back to me. “She’s gone. A Skeletal took her… a while ago.”
Her eyes widenedand shimmered in momentary tears that disappeared almost as quickly as they had been given life. “Oh.” Was all she could say. The woman cleared her throat and drew her head up, turning. “Come along then. We’ll be starting.”
“Why does it matter?” I asked her. “Why do you even care about my parents? About my mother?”
She proceeded to ignore me, acting as if she didn’t hear me, but she was right there in front of us. She could very well hear me.
“Why do you care?” I demanded.
“Come along, we’re starting.” She told me, her voice sounding slightly airy as she disappeared through the door.
I shared another look with Carli and then Mallory, who looked just as confused. We followed, though, falling into step behind her. Making our way towards the one little house we had signed our names within, the woman left us out front of it. The rest of the trainees were beginning to pile up, drawn to the start. There was mild chatter, bristling of feet being shifted, and the low hum of various magic in the air.
I caught sight of the Veela from the day before. She stood in a small circle, with at least five other girls just like her swarmed around her. They were chittering, huddled together, and their skin sparkling. I knew it was an alluring mechanism, but the sight still made my skin crawl. Because Veela’s were just as bad as Siren’s. They lured men straight to their death. They were dangerous creatures to reckon with. I’d heard rumors they could also coax females to their death, given the right circumstance, which worried me, mostly for Mallory’s sake. She was still young and impressionable but was old enough to know who she liked, and obviously, that was girls. I didn’t care about that. I cared about the impact the Veelas would have on her. Plus, she was Timothy’s sister. Once he got wind of where we’d run off to, he was already going to be furious. If I let anything happen to his little sister, he would lose his freaking mind.
Glancing at Mallory, I found her drooling over the Veelas again, unable to help herself. I slammed my elbow into her ribcage just like before, bringing her back to reality or at least the present moment. She could ogle them later. We had to focus for the time being.
“Welcome, to the Hollow Training for all Magical Creatures alike. Whatever your heart desires and you aspire to be, you will find it here.”
They cheered a loud cacophony of noise in my ears. All I could do was stare in aghast. The name had to be a coincidence, didn’t it?
The woman held out her arms, and a flock of birds rose up, chirping loudly as they flapped their wings to lead them up into the sky. Another round of cheering entered my ears, but the sweep of a chill brushing over my skin turned my head away from it all. The shadowy figure stood at the water’s edge, wavering, the edges fuzzy but clear in shape. It was staring right at me. I wasn’t sure how I knew, as there were no obvious eyes to catch, but I knew. I felt it. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up in warning.
A clap alerted me back to the moment, and I jerked my head forward. The woman was laughing about something, but I couldn’t hear her. Suddenly, she wasn’t there. Emptiness fell around me as the people around me faded away. My breath hitched as the sun turned to night, and darkness enveloped me. A scream ignited, shrieking. Pain flared through my body, and I was shoved to the ground, my breath yanked from my chest. The cold bite of metal fell over my flesh, sending a wave of ice over me. I shivered and found myself pinned to the ground. My teeth clamped down, and my voice was lost entirely now.
