"Okay, seriously?" I asked as I exited my bedroom, pulling a sweater over my pajama t-shirt. "What was so important that you had to stalk my bedroom while I was in the tub?"
Devland turned from where he stood looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows in my sitting room, a scowl etched on his features. "Do you think that I am stupid, Nora?"
Trick question. Don't answer.
I kept my mouth closed.
"You know, I assumed that you went to Briarville but didn't know for sure," he said, clenching his jaw. "Then I received a phone call this evening from Astrid Bolder. She called to complain about the sale of land I had approved being retracted and said you were there to ambush the Open House that had been scheduled last Friday night. Do you care to explain?"
"Uh, not really?"
"Nora—"
"Noreena." I clenched my teeth and balled my fists. "You really would be stupid to think that finding a way to get around your blocking spell would be difficult for me, Devland."
"You went back on our deal."
"Oh, my God! Do you think before you speak? Seriously. I kept my end until I realized that you blocked my communications with Briarville." I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. "Actually, no. Even when you admitted to keeping me from contacting Briarville, I kept my promise. I didn't break it until you tried selling my mother's property."
What made him think he could keep me under control when he couldn't even help when a child went missing? Devland was delusional. I crossed my arms, my fists balled so tight I felt the crescents of my fingernails digging into my palms. He couldn't beat my mother, and I would be sure he didn't beat me. All I had to do was learn the rules of his game, whatever that was.
"Do not overestimate your abilities, Nora."
"Then stop underestimating them."
"You are still a minor. Watch your attitude."
"If that makes you feel better, believe what you want," I said and slowly smiled. "I promise, I will only take so much more before I head back to Briarville, and no spell you cast will stop me from leaving. It's so close to my birthday, it probably doesn't matter, but I know I have cause for emancipation. My lawyer, who I met with in Briarville, confirmed as much."
Devland narrowed his gaze and stared at me, but I didn't flinch as I suppose he expected me to. Instead, I taunted, raising my eyebrow as if to ask, "Is that it?"
A tick began to flex in his jaw.
I bit my cheek to keep from laughing. Just as I thought I would fail to control it, Devland relaxed his stance and shook his head, leaving without saying another word.
This time when the door slammed, I didn't jump.
I waited for a few seconds to ensure that Devland was gone and then turned on my heel and headed back into my bedroom. I pulled my phone out of my bag and sat on my bed, pulling open the contacts and dialing the one person I knew I could talk to without worrying about rumors being spread.
"Hello?"
"Hey, are you free to chat for a bit?" I asked Calin.
"Sure. What's up?"
I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and sighed, leaning back against the pillows. "Oh, the usual. Devland."
Calin laughed, and I felt myself begin to relax.
I relayed my conversation with Devland, intentionally leaving out the part that creeped me out as he waited for me to get out of the tub.
Once I'd vented, Calin asked what I was planning to do for Christmas after finals and I didn't know what to say. The holiday had always been spent with my mother, and I hadn't even thought about it yet this year. I didn't want to. Rather, I'd prefer to skip it and wallow. Heck, even enduring WC-1 with Mrs. Hendrey was better.
After talking for nearly an hour, my eyes began to droop. I said a quick goodbye and crawled under my blankets, hugging Onyx to me as I tried to fall asleep. No matter how well Calin calmed me, it wasn't enough to rid myself of the anger Devland induced, and I knew Mrs. Renaldi was going to chastise me again in the morning.
*****
The week passed in slow motion as I regained my energy again and avoided Devland. I continued with the same routine each day: getting up, having breakfast with Calin, going to school, and ensuring I was anywhere but the Manor until long after supper had ended.
Twice, I hung out with Luna at Celestial Java after studying with Maible for the upcoming finals. I enjoyed going to the clearing with Calin more, though we'd only managed to get away once without Maible tagging along. No matter how appreciative she claimed she was, if we weren't studying, Maible was complaining how she hated that her abilities wouldn't work. On Thursday, I directed the amended shielding spell at her once again to ensure that her efforts hadn't lessened its effects.
By Friday, I was ready to hibernate, and told Calin I was turning my phone off for the weekend.
On Monday, he picked me up and we went to school to write our first exam. After it was completed, we went to the library and studied for the exam held in the afternoon. Time dragged. I wished we could write them back-to-back so that they were done and over with in a day rather than dragging it out for a whole week. With only three written tests to complete, my schedule was scattered.
Two on Monday, one on Wednesday, and the practical for WC-1 on Thursday.
It was laughable that I still had to show up for a placement test.
After the afternoon exam finished on Monday, Calin dropped me off at the Manor and went home to study for his biology exam Tuesday morning. I spent the evening in the library, reading about the history of spells to pass the time and then headed to bed around midnight. He came back after his exam was finished Tuesday and we watched movies for the rest of the day. Since Calin didn't have an exam until the afternoon on Wednesday and mine was in the morning, we didn't meet up.
As soon as I was finished, I drove to the clearing, bringing the Book of Shadows Islene had given me so that I could update it with the spell I'd used to unbind Maible. In addition, I wrote another secret passage about being able to sense people who weren't actively using their abilities, keeping enough room at the bottom to add how to sense someone if you hadn't met them once I learned the secret.
Just before supper, I packed up and stopped at Celestial Java to eat, then went to the Manor and climbed into bed with Onyx at my side once again. I didn't dream and woke up feeling rested, though slightly unsettled. It wasn't that I was going to have to take a placement test. I wasn't comfortable using my abilities just to prove that I could.
I drove myself to school and stopped at my locker to drop off my books, then wandered around the hallways until I couldn't put it off any longer.
I stopped at the tower door and went through the security process, flinching as the pad of my thumb was pricked to confirm my heritage. The heavy door shut behind me and I slowly climbed the stairs to the second secured door. I hadn't been in the tower since I had put Mrs. Hendrey in her place, though the moment I walked in, the familiar hum of magic washed over me and soothed my nerves.
Students in the halls and the teachers manning doors watched as I made my way to Mrs. Hendrey's classroom. I kept my gaze on the floor, counting cracks to avoid meeting anyone's curiosity. When I arrived, she was already there, laughing with students who were passing by. When she saw me, she sobered, and whispered a quick goodbye to stand straight and wait for me to reach her.
"You haven't been to class, Miss Fallyn," she said as I approached.
"Did you really want me here?"
"I—"
"Okay, better question. Did the syllabus change?"
"No." Mrs. Hendrey shook her head.
"Then I don't see why you would want me to come and interrupt class. You said yourself, I didn't know how to be quiet."
"Well, here's to the last time we'll have to endure, hmm?"
"What if I don't get moved up? Then you'll be stuck with me," I said, biting my cheek to keep from laughing as the look on her face almost made it worth failing on purpose.
"Given what you've already proven, that's not possible," she said.
I shrugged and entered the classroom, taking a seat in the desk in the middle of the front row. Looking around, I noticed I was the only one here. I glanced back at Mrs. Hendrey, narrowing my eyes.
"Where is everyone?"
"Oh, WC-1 has already taken their exam."
"What?" I stood back up. "Why was I given the wrong timetable?"
"You weren't." She smiled. "I requested that you be examined separately. For obvious reasons. You understand."
I sighed and crossed my arms. "So, then where's the test?"
Mrs. Hendrey looked out the door and smiled, then at me, moving out of the way as two more people entered.
Devland came in and hovered at the back of the classroom as Mr. Corbin whispered something to Mrs. Hendrey. She nodded and crossed the room to sit at her desk. Mr. Corbin walked over to me and set a booklet down on the desk I'd been sitting at.
Tapping the cover of the booklet, which appeared to hold at least fifty double-sided pages, he said, "This test was created especially for you, Miss Fallyn. You have two hours and then we go to the practice room for practical applications. I suggest you get started."
I looked at each of them, my eyes widening.
The test was only supposed to be three hours long! How was I supposed to write for two hours and then spend who-knew-how-long being tested on what I could do?
"Sit down, Nora," Devland said from the back of the room. "Your time has already begun."
With a sigh, I sat in the chair as Mr. Corbin set a pencil beside the booklet. I grabbed it and broke the seal on the test, flipping through the pages quickly. Thankfully, all but ten questions were formatted as multiple choice. Still, just because I could do more didn't mean that it was fair that I was expected to.