The Legend of the Eight: The Charmed (Book 4)

18: Did You Hear About the Affair?

EIGHTEEN: DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE AFFAIR?
OCTOBER 13
PHOEBE DOMINGO

EVERYONE WAS TALKING ABOUT IT.  Word about Wil's outburst made its way around the Academy but no one knew what had actually happened. Wil had yelled at her mother and was escorted out of the Dining Hall by Damon Donovan and from there, the rumors took over. People crafted whatever version seemed most entertaining and didn't bother with the truth.

On Monday, Phoebe walked to Wil's dorm and knocked on the door. When Wil didn't answer, Phoebe wasn't surprised. But she sat on the ground and leaned her back against the door.

"I know you're in there, Wil," she said through the wood. "I know you can hear me. And I know you're going through something and you don't want to talk and that's fine. Just know that we're going to get through this—just like we get through everything else."

She pulled her knees into her chest.

"You have every right to be upset. And angry. And to lash out. But we need you. We're the Eight—give or take a few. This is what we do. We're there for each other. So let us be there for you."

The other side of the door remained silent. Had Phoebe not known her so well, she would've thought Wil wasn't even in there. She would've believed she was on her way back from class. But she knew too much to believe something so naïve. Wil was in her room, searching for answers at the bottom of a bottle and trying her damnedest not to feel the rush of emotions flooding her.

Lyla used to do the same thing.

"Please, Wil. We're here for you. Let us be here for you."

"DID YOU KNOW?" PHOEBE ASKED Dr. K later during their after-hours training. She was making progress—with smaller hexes down and cloaking mastered, she'd moved on to more challenging feats with attack jinxes. Summoning jinxes still required a bit of work (read: a shit-ton of work) but she was getting there.

"Did I know what?" Dr. K replied, circling her with slow, calculated steps. In the center of the gym, Phoebe wore a blindfold and spun around whenever she sensed Dr. K near. She was supposed to be using her Shadow Magic to "see" her surroundings by sensing the magic that was around her. So far, her distracted efforts had allowed Dr. K to knock her flat on her butt. Nine times.

"Did you know about Wil? About King Walter's affair?" Phoebe asked though it was unlikely Dr. K didn't already know what she was talking about. He was standing right there when Wil confronted Queen Clarion about it. And he was King Walter's closest friend.

"What Walt did in his marriage was never any of my business," Dr. K replied, vague and neutral. Like a politician.

"Quite the diplomatic answer," Phoebe noted, pulling down her blindfold. It hung like a necklace and she stared at Dr. K.

He shrugged. "After Bernadette was Banished, Walt came to me and asked for my help creating a passage in and out of the Shadow Lands—one only he could use. When I turned him down, he went to another friend of ours. She was an Alchemist."

"Eva," Phoebe whispered the name, ever so softly, but Dr. K heard and he made a face.

"That's right. How did you know?"

Shrugging casually, Phoebe lied, "I think I read about her when I was researching about my father. And you mentioned an Alchemist so I just assumed."

Dr. K's dark eyes shifted like he didn't believe her but he didn't press the issue.

"I had my suspicions about it," he revealed after a while. "Not once during Clare's pregnancy did they mention twins. And then Walt went missing for a week leading up to the birth. Clarion pretended she was okay but we all knew she was a wreck. And when the baby came, there were two. That was that. It was never my place to question him."