AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Like protection wards,” Cara said.
“Basically.”
Just like protection wards. Cara smiled to herself.
The elders had done incredible work, and Cara didn’t stand a chance of breaking through their spell. But she didn’t need to. The elders built their wards on top of the existing foundation. Cara’s mother had spelled those wards, and Cara knew how it worked.
They were powerful and complex, but they were still just protection wards.
Cara finished what she was doing, and the rune in front of her split into three parts. She looked around and decided the stone wall was the best idea. She went to it and found the sharpest edge, and she put the side of her hand against it.
Cara took a breath and closed her eyes, and she pulled her hand roughly. The stone scratched her hand, and she opened her eyes to find a drop of blood beading on her skin.
“Perfect,” she said, and she hurried back to the wards.
The drop fell onto the rune, and she held her hands in front of her, letting the magic guide her tongue and pull ancient words from her throat. The spell flowed from her and she closed her eyes, riding the waves of energy and light and warmth.
The magic faded, and Cara opened her eyes. She didn’t need to look to know that it worked.
She didn’t need to break through the elders’ spell. She just needed to strengthen the bond with the foundation they built it on.
They thought they could trap her in her own home, but they never thought of this.
Cara stood up and took a cautious step forward. The original wards let her come and go freely, and if she was successful, then the new wards would do the same.
She took another step.
Nothing happened.
“It worked,” she whispered.
“What are you doing?”
Cara almost jumped out of her skin. She turned to find Jay sitting on the wall above her.
“Jay? Gods, what are you doing here? That was terrifying.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Me? Well, I came to talk about some of the void stuff we found in the library and I saw you leaving your house. The real question is what are you doing?”
“Nothing, I just-”
“There’s no point lying. I asked because I want to know what’s going through your head, but I know exactly what you’re doing. I’ve been watching you for a few minutes. To be honest, I’m surprised you didn’t notice. It’s not like I was hiding.”
“Get down from there,” she said. “Before my parents see you.”
He hopped down and nodded to the wards. “Well?”
Cara hesitated. “I’m leaving. I need to get to Nick. And this place... I feel like a prisoner. I can’t stay here. I feel like I’m going crazy.”
He was quiet for a moment. “I’m surprised it took you this long.”
“What?”
“Honestly, I was expecting you to find a way out before now.”
“You were?”
“Yeah,” he said. “You were never going to take this lying down.”
