It’s so strange to not be rushing off to change my clothes for weapons class, but I do sneak into the barracks. I can't swipe a sword. That would be too conspicuous, but twin daggers? Yes, please.
Guess I’ll never be able to give Valerie a hard time for stealing again. But I will return the daggers when I come back.
If I come back.
Considering I have no idea what I might find, I opt to bring along some potions. My mind draws a blank when I try to think of anything else worthwhile to bring along. I guess I’ll just make do with this.
And now the multimillion-dollar question—how do I get from the academy to the orphanage? No one here has a car. They aren't permitted. There are a few breaks here and there at the end of the semester before the next one begins, but if they want to visit family, their family has to come and pick them up. Yes, I walked here in about forty minutes, but I would much rather be there faster, if at all possible.
There is the stable full of horses…
The entire trek to the stable, I debate whether this is a good idea or not. I slip inside. A class is going on nearby, but a few horses remain inside. I coax one out, slip her an apple slice, and climb onto her back. I slip toward the trees and then make a dash for the entrance to the academy.
Hooves pound the ground behind me, and I wince, glancing over my shoulder, expecting to see a mentor or someone from the stable chasing me down. Everyone knows I don’t have Riding and Flying right now.
But it’s Kayden. He pulls up alongside me. “Hey, Mirella. What are you doing?”
My mouth turns dry, and I can’t meet his gaze. “Nothing.”
“It’s not nice to lie,” he says lightly. He pulls back on his reins.
Even though I’m itching to get out of here, I stop my horse but refuse to look at him. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I heard that your project didn’t turn out right.”
“It’s impossible for it to when—” I stop and shake my head. What does a stupid project matter in the grand scheme of things? I honestly don’t think Valerie is making a big deal out of nothing. Yes, she can be a little over the top at times, but not when it comes to something important, something like this.
“When what?” he presses.
"It's done and over with," I say, unable to keep the bitter taste of regret and frustration out of my mouth.
“So you’re just ditching classes now? After you’ve been so fanatical about them?”
I sit up straighter, indignant, and then shrug. Part of me wants to cry, but I refuse. "I failed. I should've remade the potion in front of everyone, but I didn't. Maybe it sat too long—"
“You know that’s not the case.”
“Maybe some of the ingredients weren’t the freshest.”
“Mirella, I know you.”
“And?”
“Something is wrong.”
“I’m suspended,” I blurt out.
His eyes widened, and he blinks a few times. Wow, his eyes are really green. Not human green either. Like the green of the grass after a spring sprinkle.
But then he grimaces. “And I know something else is going on.”
“Go back to class, Kayden. I’m a troublemaker, clearly. Probation, now suspended… Next, I’ll be expelled.”
“You won’t be expelled,” he protests. He rubs the back of his head. His horse prances a bit beneath him, and all he has to do is touch his neck, and the horse stills. “You know… with all of your friends and tutors and everything, you aren’t the easiest person to get alone time with.”
For a second, I’m confused. Alone time? Wait… does he mean… I can’t deal with this right now.
“I just… I know you have a tutor for elementals, but… you never even asked what magic I can do since I’m part fairy.”
“So the giant tree thing isn’t both fairy and giant?” I ask, feeling all sorts of conflicted. He just wanted to be another tutor or helper. Nothing more.
“Not only can I control the wind, but I’ve shown some promise that maybe one day, I can create storms.”
I smile. “Create storms? That’s wild. You should get back to class.”
“All right. Fine. Have it your way. Push me away. I just want to be your friend, Mirella, but you have time for everyone else and not me.”
I close my eyes. Valerie’s going to be pissed to hear that I blew my chances with Kayden for her, but she’s more important. The orphans are more important. I’m not about to worry about my nonexistent love life when there could be something magical and dark and even sinister happening at the orphanage.
Why the orphanage? Why now? Why not when I had been living there for years, leaking magic all over the place? It’s not my fault that the orphanage is under attack, is it? Not that I know for certain it’s under attack per se, but I just know in my bones that something isn’t right.
Only after Kayden trots back to class do I open my eyes and urge my horse onward. I have to leave and now. No more delays. No more excuses. No more feeling inadequate. Time to put on my big witch boots and knock down doors.
There aren’t any guards at the entrance of the academy, and I don’t sense any kind of magical barrier. I breeze on by and glance behind. The academy is gone from view.
“Come on, girl.” I pat my horse. “Let’s see how fast you can go.”
I urge her onward, whispering encouragement to her as Linones suggested I always do, especially with new mounts. Horses like to be appreciated, just like everyone else.
She's galloping so fast, she's almost flying. Flying. That's still one type of magic I haven't attempted yet, but I think I should be able to use the wind to force me into the air. Will I have to fly away from some kind of creature? I hope not, but I have to admit that the closer I get to the orphanage, the more scared I'm becoming.
Because, honestly, my mind is racing as swiftly as the horse is, and I’m realizing just how much I’ve poured everything into the academy, into my studies. I gave my all, and my all hasn’t been good enough. I’m just a failure. Maybe I never should have attempted all of the different kinds of magic. Maybe I doomed myself to fail. I wanted to be the best I could be, and I’m not even close. Mastering one branch of magic should’ve been my goal. Then I could’ve moved onto another and another…
I think that learning I was so far behind everyone else freaked me out, so I overcompensated. I’ve been trying so hard to become smarter, stronger, better that maybe I’ve lost sight of things. I’ve gained friends, yes, but I need to relax some, let down my hair, be a teen again, not just an overachiever of a witch.
Just then, I hear hooves behind me. For the most part, the streets are empty. Everyone is at work, but there have been a few cars, the drivers casting me suspicious, curious glances. Another rider, though?
My mouth gapes, and I pull back on the reins, slowing down but not stopping. I have about another mile to go before reaching the orphanage. The sooner I reach it, the sooner I can sort out this mystery, but no. Kayden has to follow me.
“Where are we off to?” he asks casually as he pulls up beside me.
“Kayden—”
“I’m not going back without you, and you’re clearly going somewhere in a rush, so… where are we going?”
“You’ll get in trouble!”
He snorts. “And you won’t?”
"I'm already in trouble, so it doesn't matter."
“Mirella, you’re stuck with me.”
I sigh dramatically and almost make a quip that he’s a stalker, but that’s my joke with Logan, so I refrain. “I’m going to visit the orphanage where I grew up.”
“Going back for the first time?”
“Well, yeah. It’s not as if we’ve had a break.”
“Don’t you think it would be easier to return with a friend?”
Under normal circumstances, yes. It would even be ideal, but this… whatever this is… Okay, maybe I’ll feel better if I don’t have to face this alone.
“Thank you,” I say shyly.
“No problem. Just think of me as your spriggan in shining armor.” He sits up straighter, striking a noble pose, looking absolutely ridiculous and adorable.
I laugh.
“See? I’m not such a bad guy,” he says.
“I never thought you were,” I assure him.
“Could’ve fooled me. You hardly call me to ask if I want to eat with you. Makes a guy feel like he’s not wanted.”
“I’m sorry. That was never my intent. I just… I get caught up in things and forget the time, and sometimes, I even forget to eat dinner. I just collapse into bed, exhausted.”
“Pushing yourself too hard isn’t for the best, and all of that training requires more food, not less.”
“Yes, yes. You’re going to eat as many meals with me as possible now to make sure I eat enough, aren’t you?”
“You read my mind,” he jokes, but his eyes are serious.
“I can take care of myself,” I say lightly.
“But that doesn’t mean friends can’t be there for you.”
Things are getting a little too heavy for me, so I clear my throat. "Race you!"
And I take off, giggling like mad as he protests, “Hey! Not fair! I don’t know the way!”
He thunders behind me, and we arrive at the orphanage two minutes later. The iron gate is shut, and I start to climb down, but Kayden beats me to it. He opens the gate, which creaks loudly in protest. Instead of getting back onto his horse, Kayden walks the horse inside, and I trail behind, now walking beside my horse too. We tie them to a tree, and I stare at the building I lived in for most of my life. Returning is… well, it’s not exactly the homecoming I wanted, trying to see if something supernatural is going on.
“What’s wrong? You’re so pale all of a sudden,” Kayden says, touching my back lightly.
I force in and out several deep breaths. “It’s not always easy to return…”
“Home?” he questions.
“Not anymore.”
Kayden allows me to walk ahead, and I start for the front door before veering off to the left side of the building, where the children’s rooms are. It’s hard to see their windows clearly from on the ground, and I walk over to a tree.
“What are you doing?” Kayden asks, sounding both puzzled and amused.
“I need to see something.”
“This isn’t an ordinary visit, huh?”
“Not exactly.” I try to reach for the lowest branch, but it’s just out of reach. “Um, can I have a boost?”
Kayden shakes his head, but he helps me up, grabbing me by the waist. I scramble onto the lowest branch and quickly climb up, my uniform only getting caught a few times. I peek at the windowsills and wince at how deep the jagged claw marks are. Reaching out, I put my fingers in them. There are several more claw marks, leading up to the roof, but I can’t spy any below the windowsills.
Roof access isn't allowed, not to the orphans, and I climb the tree all the way to the top. The tree naturally is much thinner at its pinnacle and therefore too far away from the building for me to easily jump onto the roof.
“What are you doing?” Kayden hisses, glancing around. “We’re going to get caught!”
“We will if you keep shouting.” I eye the distance. Maybe a jump is feasible with a little wind support.
“Are you thinking about… Hold on.”
Kayden swiftly climbs the tree and stands on the branch next to mine. “We want onto the roof?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not even going to ask why,” he mutters. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
“You’re crazy for tagging along.”
“Not denying that. Can you use your wind to get over?”
“I think so.”
“You’ve never flown.”
“Never tried.”
“Now’s not the time.”
He holds out his hand, and I hesitate before gripping it. His hand is strong, firm, and then he jumps, taking me with him, but we only fall for a second before we’re hovering, floating, flying over to the roof. We land, and I giggle, standing way too close to him, wanting to hug him.
“That was fun!”
“That was nothing. Flying is amazing. Controlling the wind is powerful. I would’ve taught you how to fly long ago.” He brushes a strand of hair from my face.
Flushing, I turn around, scanning the roof.
“What are we looking for?” Kayden asks.
“I’m not sure.”
“Whatever left those claw marks?” he guesses.
I nod.
We wander around, and I spy a few strange stones all gathered together to form a pile in one of the corners. I brush the stones away, and they crumble to ash, hot to the touch. Underneath is a large egg that appears to be made of stone.
Kayden’s face turns white. He grabs the egg and shakes it violently. Only then does he smile faintly.
“It’s dead.”
“It’s an egg?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“And the baby is dead?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you smiling?”
“Because.” He tosses the egg back down. “It’s a gargoyle egg.”
“A gargoyle?”
“Yes. It seems a gargoyle has started to haunt your orphanage, Mirella, and given that her baby died here…”
“She’s not going to be happy.”
“Not at all.”