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“Kira is telling the truth.” Laila backs me up. Her voice is flat, though. I’m fairly certain she’s still suspicious about the spell I used.
“I think you two girls should go back to your room and wait for me there. I need to make sure Gabrielle is okay. Then I’ll talk to you more.”
“Yes, Octavia,” Laila says.
I sense I need to say the same words. “Yes, Octavia.”
“That was freaky,” Laila says when we’re back in our room. “Seriously freaky. I’ve never seen anyone go flying like that because of a spell. Not on campus, anyway. Maybe out in the field against the Reavers.” She’s sitting cross-legged on her bed, looking as though she’s in shock.
“It all happened so fast. I guess I let instinct take over. She was shoving me towards the cliff.”
“I know.” Laila shakes her head. “I don’t blame you. It was just…”
“Freaky?” I offer.
“Yeah.”
There’s a knock at the door, and I answer, letting Octavia into the room.
“First things first: Gabrielle is okay,” Octavia says. “She had a bruised back, but we’ve healed it. And the concussion would worry me, but our healer is excellent, and she seems fine.”
“Good.” I’m truly relieved. “I really didn’t want to hurt her, Octavia. I just let instinct take over.”
“Yes, about that.” Octavia pulls out a chair from Laila’s desk and sits. She seems out of place here in our room, like an ethereal queen at a children’s party. “It seems you have a lot more power than we expected. Obviously, your family has a rich history, but with your mother choosing not to use magic, we had assumed that your family’s power may have dimmed over the years.” She pauses. “For now, I’d like you to refrain from using magic outside of the classroom. Even there, you will need to be very careful.”
“I… It was that bad? What I did?”
“No,” she says. “Just unusual for someone so new to magic.” She offers me a reassuring smile. “I can feel your anxiety, Kira. Please try not to worry. We’ll get to grips with this. It’s a good thing, really.” She stands, spreading out the folds of her dress. “All that tension you’re holding may have come into play today. It seems you had a lot to let out.”
She sighs. “And I will be giving Gabrielle a stern talking-to. I’m afraid she has fixated on you after finding you in the room the day Jenny was taken. Something else you should know is that her family sided with the vampires for a while during the war. Now, they did eventually change sides, but there has always been a rivalry between the Monets and the Belvederes.”
“Oh.” I swallow hard. “I didn’t know that.”
Octavia places a hand on my shoulder. “We wouldn’texpect you to.” She makes her way towards the door. “Oh, and I heard from your mother. She’s coming to visit next week. I think that’s an excellent idea.”
Thirty-One
A rippleof whispers travels around the dining hall when Laila and I arrive later that evening.
“I don’t think I want to stay.” I glance at Laila. “I’m going to take some food back to the room. But you stay.”
“Are you sure?” she asks. She’s had trouble making eye contact with me since the incident. “I could come back with you.” But her gaze travels over to a group of students I don’t know. It’s obvious she wants to sit with someone else today.
“Yeah, it’s fine. I won’t be great company anyway. You don’t want to see me wallowing. It’s all Taylor Swift on loud, eating in bed, and ugly-crying.”
“But if you’re upset after—”
“I was kidding. I’m fine.” I give her a small smile. “Go sit with your friends. I’ve been hogging you these last few days.”
“Okay.”
As she walks away, I grab some bread, fruit, and yoghurt. Then I hurry through the recreation hall to the secret study. After checking I’m alone, I pull the secret book to open thetunnels, carefully closing the door behind me. Only this time, I hear voices. There are people in the tunnels up ahead.
“Apparently, she knocked Gabby right out. It was quite something.” That voice might be one of Gabrielle’s friends.
“Who cares about the Belvedere chick?” says a male voice. “Let’s have some fun.”
I cringe when I hear kissing noises and back slowly out, settling into an armchair in the study. I pretend to read a book for about ten minutes until the two students emerge from the bookcase. The boy smooths down his hair, and the girl straightens her skirt. It is one of Gabrielle’s friends, and she has long black hair and smudged red lipstick. She glares at me and flounces away.
