Some days later, I got my first letter from my father.
He'd written my mother every week for as long as I could remember. As England's Guardian of Artefacts, he was always traveling—but I'd never resented him for being gone. Mum was more than capable of taking care of me, and the stories Dad sent home were well worth his brief absences.
I smiled to know that those letters weren't something I'd lose now that I'd left home.
Dear Aven, it read,
I can't write much—I'm two minutes from diving into the Helodranon! Believe it or not, this is the first chance I've had to write in the last week. An old bit of dark magic's gone missing, a bracelet they call the Bloodstone—like the mineral, you know, heliotrope. Now I'm Hopping myself all over the globe trying to find it. I'll be at Olden in a few days, if all goes as planned.
Lots of love,
Dad
P.S. Send Ehr & Adam my congratulations on the Councillor seats.
P.P.S. Better not mention the Bloodstone to your friends. Last thing we need right now is a panic.
I paused at the word friends, looking up. Noah sat at his desk with his back to me, scribbling furiously. He'd been at it for hours, all to prepare for Ehren's class this afternoon. I wouldn't even know how to prepare if I wanted to.
Did I really have friends?
It was true that I'd spent almost every breakfast and dinner with Ivy and Noah since arriving at Olden. It was also true that Ivy brought her phone and snacks to our room every night, and that I'd even been coerced into watching a movie with them once. And I had been unduly terrified when I'd hurt Noah with that spell.
But I'd also kept Keiko's note, the one with her room number on it. Her proposition seemed almost too good to be true—a friendship of convenience with someone well-liked, someone who would keep the questions off my back, someone who wouldn't get attached. Before Noah and Ivy, I would've said yes in a heartbeat.
Now I felt sick with uncertainty.
"I'm gonna head to class early," Noah said, gathering his things. "I'd like to ask Professor Cross some questions."
Ehren would love that. Noah was already his favorite student, although he pretended to be impartial. Sometimes I wondered if I should invite Noah to our weekly dinners, then was angry with myself for even having the thought. My family, my shadows, my solitude—these had always been enough. It would be selfish to ask for more.
I headed for class sluggishly, taking my time so that I didn't catch up with Noah. Students parted where I walked. I'm not the fucking Queen, I wanted to tell them, but instead I played my part—chin high, gaze indifferent. They seemed satisfied.
The crowds dwindled the further I climbed up into the tower, until I was alone. It was then that I heard the low voice up ahead.
"God, are all humans this weak?" It was Jonah Bonavich. He gave a dark chuckle. "It's a lucky thing you're pretty, or you wouldn't be good for much of anything at all."
I heard Noah whimper, and my magic acted without command, streaking in tendrils up the spiral staircase. I followed it, rounding the corner to find Jonah pressing Noah up against the wall, one hand over his mouth.
My magic reached him.
Jonah's body went rigid. He grasped at air, staggering back, his mouth stretched open in a wordless scream.
I remembered that pain. My mentor, Áillun, had had me do it to myself once, to teach me what I was capable of. But she didn't know that I'd held back then, as I held back now, as I always held back. No one—not even I—truly knew what I was capable of.
I was tempted to find out.
"Aven, stop," Noah gasped, stumbling down the stairs towards me. His left cheek was swollen and grazed. The second he neared me, my magic dissipated, like it had no choice. Jonah fell to his knees.
"Are you alright?" I murmured, subconsciously reaching a tendril toward his cheek. To my shock, he didn't shy back, and the bruise disappeared at the tendril's touch. Healed.
Noah threw his arms around me. I froze, startled. I hadn't been hugged in years, not even by my mother. I hated being touched more than anything.
But Noah was trembling, and I realized for the first time how frightened he must have been. Fear was foreign to me. I could stifle lightning; I could blacken a midday sky; I could kill a man from a mile away—
But Noah had no magic. He was helpless.
I gathered him close, pressing my face into his soft curls. He let out a breath, nestling into my chest, and I felt my heart swell in spite of itself.
"You're no Hero," Jonah hissed from the ground. "You're the fucking devil."
I opened my palm in his direction, and he flinched violently. His face flushed when he realized my palm was empty. I smiled.
∆∆∆
I walked Noah to the Hall after class, even though I wasn't hungry. I had meant to leave him with Ivy when we reached the table, but I found myself sitting beside him instead. I felt paranoid. Protective. I didn't like it at all.
"Aven?" Noah asked quietly. I braced myself for another one of his apologies—it sometimes seemed like he asked forgiveness for everything he did—but then he said, "Earlier ... with the bruise." He touched his left cheek.
Ivy looked up, her mouth full of cheese fries. "What bruise?"
"Jonah kind of attacked me," Noah said quietly. Ivy's eyes bulged, and Noah reached out to touch her hand. "It's okay," he assured her. "Aven handled it."
I was in awe of how unprovoked he seemed. Was he even angry? Was he even capable of anger?
Ivy nodded at me in understanding. "You blasted him, didn't you? Good. All he's done since the start of term is preach bigotry. I wouldn't be surprised if he were the Great Evil."
"Don't say that," Noah chastised. "Look, the point is ... when Aven's magic touched me ... " He glanced between us. "It healed me, Ivy. Like the salve did last week."
"What?" Ivy turned to me in disbelief. "That's impossible. I know hundreds of spells, and I've never heard of magic like that."
"It was nothing," I said, casting a glance around. "I didn't even mean to do it. It might never happen again."
"I doubt it," Ivy said. "Maybe you should talk to—" She broke off, her eyes narrowing on something over my shoulder.
"How cute is this?" My fists clenched. "Aven Ellington made friends with the two biggest freaks in our year." Jonah joined us at our square table, sitting just around the corner from Noah. "You know Ivy and I went to high school together, don't you? Ivy, how would you like it if I told them—"
"Shut up," she growled.
He smiled bitingly, and turned instead to Noah. "Miss me?" he asked, his voice full of venom. He reached for Noah's face, and my magic shot out, winding around his wrist. I pulled Noah up and behind me.
The entire Hall seemed to be watching us by now.
"You don't frighten me," I said quietly. Jonah glanced around, and I tilted my head. "Oh—did you think you were safe in front of all these people?" I smiled, letting my tendril tighten around his arm, watching his knuckles go bloodless and pale. "I'm not afraid of them either. Now ... " I moved to the seat beside him and looked into his eyes. "Is there someone you'd like to apologize to?"
"It's okay, Aven," Noah said softly, touching my shoulder. "I don't want his apology."
I let my tendrils unravel and pool on the floor. Jonah jolted to his feet, and glared for a moment as though he would speak. He'd surely meant to come in and reclaim his dignity, not lose whatever he had left of it.
"You'll regret this," he finally said, and stormed out the door.
Ivy smirked at me. "I'm impressed, Ellington. You really know how to put on the theatrics."
I shrugged. "Comes with the job."
Δ Δ Δ
I am never anywhere
Anywhere I go
And when I'm home, I'm never there
Long enough to know
Ketchum, ID (boygenius)
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