Selena awoke feeling better rested than she had in a long time.
She nearly pulled the blanket tighter, returning to slumber and whatever dream awaited her. Then the events of last night flashed before her mind’s eye. The blanket fell to the floor as Selena swung her legs over the side of the bed and pondered the ramifications of what she had done.
When the lightheadedness of sleep and the residual rapture of her achievement subsided, she hopped out of bed, wincing at a sudden pain in her foot. A cursory examination revealed a small scab on the sole of her foot—a souvenir from the piece of glass she had pulled out.
She opened her shutters and stood at the window for a moment, basking in the warmth of the sunlight.
“Thank you, Sisters,” she said softly.
She wondered which goddess has given her power for the spell. White Syphrenia? Neutral Quess? Vhestaz, the Nighttime Lady?
Selena found a basin filled with lukewarm water and a lump of soap sitting outside her door. She cleaned herself and dressed, her brain abuzz with excitement. She worried that her great deed would be as transparent as the glass shards she had picked up off the floor. Might her mother be able to detect the broken taboo just by looking at her? Would Father Briarbridge sense the influence of a deity other than the Great Protector?
She shook the silly notions from her head. First things first—she must deal with evidence.
The ruined hourglass was safe for the time being, but she was no longer satisfied with the spell book’s hiding place. It was only a matter of time before it was discovered between the mattresses. She retrieved the tome, rummaged through the clothes in the rear of the wardrobe, and deposited it behind a puffy yellow gown.
When she crouched down to find the bowl of sand, she spotted something on the other side of the bed that made her breath catch in her throat. Quickly setting the bowl on her table, she ran over to the dark shape.
The cat lay on its side, motionless, his eyes shut.
She patted the black fur, but there was no reaction. The yellow eyes did not open, not even when she began poking a little rougher. The spell had hit its target after all! She had worried the spell backfired, affecting her because she had missed the cat. After further reflection, she thought she understood what had happened.
The book about Lyrend of Rend and the Champions referenced of an exhaustion that stole upon spell-casters when they tapped too often or too deeply into the Magic Goddesses’ power. Apparently, Selena’s first spell had been enough to lay her out.
She wondered how long the animal would sleep, yet there was no time to fret about it. She was already late for Briarbridge’s lessons.
Selena resolved to keep her joy hidden behind a mask of indifference, mimicking the expression her father wore while negotiating, so as not to arouse his suspicion. Given the giddiness stirring in her soul, she knew such a feat would be difficult indeed—a miracle that would almost eclipse last night’s wonder.
* * *
Somehow Selena managed to avoid her room—and the forbidden spell book and the slumbering cat—all day.
She had lunch and supper in the dining room with her family, a rare event that raised her mother’s eyebrow. In fact, the Duchess was watching Selena very closely that evening. Halfway through the second course, Selena decided whatever preoccupied her mother, it was not magic.
Charlotte’s expression held no traces of anger. Rather, there seemed to be a glint of bemusement in her mother’s eyes.
What did she know?
What did she do?
When her mother asked her to join her in the drawing room after dinner, Selena’s heart did a somersault that Mongalith Fair’s acrobats might have envied. Her gaze immediately went to the empty spot on the shelf that had once housed an antique hourglass.
The words that came out of her mother’s mouth could not have surprised—or bewildered—her more.
“Although we celebrated this milestone more than a year ago, today I truly welcome you to womanhood.”
Selena was speechless. Her mother’s smile widened.
“You need not be embarrassed, daughter. This is a happy time. Thom Mello assured me time and again you were in no way unhealthy…that even though you bloomed much later than your sisters, you were in no way unhealthy. Nevertheless, I am relieved the wait is over.”
Selena thought she understood what her mother was getting it, but it made no sense.
“What…” Selena took a breath. “How…how did you find out?”
“Your chambermaid told me of course. It is my business, as Lady of the House, to know when my daughters bleed for the first time.”
Bleed? What blood? Selena wondered. She was on the verge of denying it when she recalled the wound on her foot—and the blood-stained sheets she had left in the hall. It was so ludicrous, she nearly laughed.
“I do not doubt your sisters have told you what you need to know on the subject,” Charlotte continued. “As your mother, however, I thought I ought to acknowledge this significant moment in your life.”
“Oh…well…thank you,” Selena replied, suddenly sad.
Although it was silly for her mother to delight over so trivial a thing, Selena felt she had disappointed her mother by being a late bloomer. And, in truth, she still was.
Her physiological development was not something Selena had ever fretted over herself. She had pieced together facts from books and a few conversations she had overheard in her Slinky days, not from discussions with her sisters. Nature would take its course in due time, she knew.
Now she could not help but feel a little self-conscious.
When Charlotte dismissed herself, leaving her alone in the drawing room, Selena considered catching up with her mother to point out her mistake. Perversely, she wanted to steal the wind from Charlotte’s sails. Yet how would she explain the real reason the chambermaid had found a splotch of blood while laundering Selena’s sheets?
Though she was eager to return to the spell book, she idled around the castle until it was dark enough to visit Lucas.
She nearly told him everything about the incantation, but even if she trusted him to keep her secret, she could not be certain of his reaction. The men and women of Param were known to be even more superstitious than Superians.
Instead, Selena spent the night speaking about all the places she wanted to see. Lucas did not contribute much to the conversation, but she did enough talking for both of them. The topic might have depressed her only a week ago—Evelyn was practically engaged to a lesser, albeit wealthy, lord named Tarrant Ferricci, which made Selena’s own engagement one step closer—but she shrugged off the powerlessness that so often fell upon her thoughts.
She often boasted to Lucas that if her mother tried to marry her off, she would simply run away, leaving Castle Nelesti far behind. The claim had been somewhat hollow, since Selena harbored more than a few fears about the outside world. How would she make money? Who would look out for her?
But now that Selena knew she could cast spells, the prospect of being on her own was less intimidating. With the Goddesses’ help, she could make a name for herself, a reputation apart from the inherent renown of her surname.
Even as she chattered the night away, fantasizing about the wild lands of Ristidae, she found herself wondering if Lucas had somehow learned of her supposed coming of age. The servants were such gossips, so it would not have surprised her. She tried not to think of it—hating how she blushed—but at the same time, she wondered what the sixteen-year-old boy would think of it.
Did he even see her as a female?
Selena did her best to avoid that confusing line of thought, and afterward found many excuses to delay her next visit to Lucas Thorne.