Shadow's Edge (Shadows Saga bk1)

Chapter 14- Blocked

"But Natalie!"

"No but's. These are the terms if you want to stay," Natalie said sternly. "I don't think you understand the severity of the situation here, Mara. A dangerous accident occurred on the school's watch. Parents were notified.

"The school's been put under the microscope. It was either you go under lock and key, or you were expelled. Security on the school will be increased. I have even accepted a job to help tighten things down. You and your friends will no longer be able to take any of your day or night trips." Natalie looked pointedly among the four of them.

Trixle, Marx, and Zander all looked at the ground, the walls, anywhere but at Natalie. Mara however met her aunt's gaze, not looking away for a second.

Natalie left the room, talking about getting her things so she could move into staff boarding. Soon after Trixle left to get their room ready for Mara's release. That left Marx and Zander sitting on each side of Mara in uncomfortable silence.

After a few moments Zander cleared his throat and stood up. "I have some things I need to do. I'll see you later Mara." He patted her shoulder before leaving.

"We were all worried about you," Marx said after a long pause.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think anything like that was going to happen..." she trailed off.

"That's just it, Mara. You don't think before you dive headfirst into whatever it is you want to do. You just do it and deal with the whiplash later. We all thought you weren't going to pull through, and now your powers are blocked with no guarantee of their return-"

"So what? Are you saying that if I don't have my powers anymore, if I'm no longer a witch, you would feel differently about me? If I were a human you wouldn't want to be my friend?" Her voice rose and the beeping of her heart monitor started to accelerate.

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all. I would never turn my back on you. I couldn't. I'm just trying to get you to see things from our perspective. We almost lost a friend this week."

"And I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I'm not going to apologize for what I did. I needed to go see my friends, the outcome was just less than desired."

Marx's jaw dropped. "Less than desired? That's all you have to say about all of this? That the outcome was less than desired!" He said incredulously, a deep growl rumbling deep in his throat.

Marx clenched his fists tightly, his nails biting into the skin as he calmed himself down. He looked up into Mara's blue-green eyes, his hand reached out slightly, he wanted to run it through her soft blond hair, but he pulled back quickly.

"Mara, I'm sorry I lost my temper. It's just, when it comes to those I care about, I get defensive. If anything ever happened to you-" he cut off.

"I know," she said reaching her hand out to cover his. This time the fluttering feeling went all the way through her, affecting her heartbeat and broadcasting it for both of them to hear.

Mara pulled her hand away quickly, her face turning bright red from embarrassment. Marx smiled down at her. He had decided to stay with Mara until she was released from the medical center.

The nurse came in with a bag of clothes and told her she was allowed to change and check out.

Mara gathered up the clothes and looked up at Marx pointedly. He chuckled and stepped outside, closing the door behind him to give Mara some privacy to change.

When Mara stepped out into the hall, she felt slightly off balance, it had been a couple days since she was last on her feet, but she gave Marx a reassuring smile. "Shall we head on?" She asked, holding out her arm.