One package of baby wipes was not going to be enough. My belly churned, and I swallowed back the bile rising in my throat.
After carefully cleaning each nail and drying it with a cloth, I massaged in the cream then laid her hands on the railing, the talons curling about eight inches over the edge.
Now came the fun part. I unscrewed the nail polish and lifted the wand. “You sure I can’t talk you into flowers or…”
“Hate flowerssss. Love bugssss.”
Naturally. “I can do bugs.” In Sirra’s world, bugs must be treasured jewels. Who was I to judge someone else’s perception of beauty? “Ladybug? Beetle? Spider? What’s it going to be?”
“Black beetle.”
“Perfect choice for the season and black will look fantastic with the red.” With infinite care, I coated each nail. And yay for the quick-drying variety of polish. Once I’d finished, I stood back to admire my handiwork. “You, Sirra, are smokin’!”
While I recapped the bottles and tucked everything into my bag, Sirra held up her hands, twisting them to catch the light. “Fairest in land!”
“In the world, Sirra. In the world.”
“I like this playsssss.”
Me, too, surprisingly. It had been fun hanging out with Sirra. Who would’ve thought?
“I likesss you, student,” she said. “We friendssss.”
I held out my hand for a shake to solidify our new relationship. “My name’s Fleur, by the way.”
“You come playsss again, Fleur. In watersss next time.”
“While I’d love to…” Doubtful. “I can’t breathe under water.”
Her eyebrows shifted, and her gaze narrowed to a sly slant. “Yousss sure?”
This was the second time she’d implied something like this. “Is there a spell that allows a wizard to breath under water?”
She dipped her head coyly. “Perhapssss.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to try. Failure meant drowning. But it would be cool to explore the moat.
And the room underneath the Academy.
Her face lit with eagerness, Sirra turned to leave. “I show sisterssss.”
“Wait!” I held up the small box I’d kept hidden in the bag. “I have another gift for you.”
Taking it from me, she carefully opened it. “Necklace?”
“A special one. I had it made for you.” Katya drove a hard bargain.
Sirra lifted it and it dangled, shooting colorful arcs around her. “Pretty.”
“See the circle in the center of the pendant?”
She stroked a talon across it. “Yessss.”
“Give it a turn. Just one click each time.”
Her gasp rang out as her nails turned bright blue, decorated with red spiders this time.
“Bespelled?” she asked.
“Yup. Now you don’t need to have your nails painted again. You can accessorize the color to match your…outfit.” Which she wasn’t wearing, because she wore nothing. “That is, you can change the color to make your sisters even more envious.”
“Yesss!” Dropping the chain over her head, she stared down at the pendant lying on her chest.
“We good, now, Sirra?” I asked.
“Good. But…” Rising out of the water, she hovered above me, dripping moat-muck.
Which I ignored. Tried to anyway as it drizzled down my temple. “But what?” Did I really want to know?
“Now Sirra owessss Fleur a favor.”
“No way. I was the one in the wrong. We’re even.”
“No favor for youssss today, though.” She dropped down into the water until only her bright eyes peered above the waves rippling around her. “You comessss back for it laterssss, and I sharessss secret.”
Her head dipped below the water.
I leaned over the rail. “Sirra! Wait.”
She popped back above the surface. “Yessss?”
“Would you mind—too much—if I came back soon for a swim? I’d like to explore the room underneath the Academy.”
Silence stretched out so long, I prepared myself for a vehement no. But then she rose up out of the water and moved in fast, not stopping until her head was close enough to mine her froggy breath smacked the back of my sinuses. “You wishessss to enter Minerva’s room and learn all she knowssss? Very well. I grant you accessss.” Spinning, she dove back into the water, her tail flipping in the air before sinking beneath the waves.
Turning, I walked toward the steel entrance door.
Soon, I’d learn more about the sixth family.
The Elites who’d been banished.
Chapter 33
“Say someone wanted to permanently break a bespelling…” I said to Cloven. Yes, I was willing to wait for the Court Bespeller to leave and for the spell to fade, but maybe there was something Donovan or I could do to make it happen faster.
On my way to meet Patty in the cafeteria for dinner, I’d seen Cloven’s door open and ducked inside for a quick chat. I couldn’t stay long, but Donovan’s problem kept running through my mind.
Cloven waved me inside but I hung in the doorway. “Not a simple task, I’m afraid. Why are you asking?”
I shrugged. “It was just something I was curious about.” Yeah sure. “For a class.” The sharp look in his eyes suggested he saw right though me.
“Your curiosity may never be satisfied. When Professor Mealor was hunting on campus, the Headmistress and I warded the grounds. Wards wear off. Unlike a bespelling, which cannot be broken. Not any longer, that is.”
Wait. This wasn’t what Donovan told me at all. I shook my head as confusion spiraled through me, but pressed on. “What if someone was bespelled to forget another person existed, the spell would eventually fade and they’d remember, correct?”
“Unfortunately, no. Bespellings last forever.” He frowned while I pressed my fist against my breastbone, holding back the anguish rising inside me. “Unusual concept, however. Bespelled to forget someone?” His low chuckle leaked out. “I suppose it might be nice to forget one or two wizards sometimes, but if the person bespelled didn’t wish to forget, it would be a violation of their will.”
“But…but…Are you sure the spell won’t fade once the person who created it is far away?”
“I’m sorry. I can see this troubles you, but bespellings don’t work like that. You’re speaking of a ward.”
Donovan lied. The hurt crashing through me made me want to slink to the carpet and cry. “There must be a way to break it. The person can’t be trapped in the spell forever. That would be cruel.”
“This is why the two remaining Bespellers are registered and regulated. By the Council and the palace.”
And why a king used one as his own personal Bespeller. Why ward when he could create a spell that would never end? “You said there was no longer a way to break the spell?”
“They can be broken by someone with an unraveling skapti. An Unraveler, they’re called.”
I stepped forward, grasping at this thread of hope. “Awesome. Where can I find the right wizard?”
“I’m afraid you’d have to go back in time. And…” His gaze traveled over my face. “This is all hypothetical, correct?”
Get control of yourself. I schooled my features and slouched back against the doorframe. “Of course. Like I said. It’s research. For a class.”
“I see. I’m happy to help you anytime, as you know, especially regarding schoolwork. Unraveling takes a particularly specialized skill, one that died out…” His gaze darted from mine. “The last wizard with a Level Five unraveling skapti passed away during my mother’s generation. A member of the sixth family.”
Dead? Terrifying news for me and Donovan. But an Unraveler… I still hadn’t dismissed the idea I might secretly have Elite, sixth family blood on my father’s side. And I hadn’t yet discovered my final skapti. What if… “Is the unraveling skapti a family trait?”
“Oh, no, not at all,” he said. “They’re rare, like Bespellers. There’s never been more t
han one in any family.”
There went that theory.
We’d wondered if his son was somehow involved, but what if the nightlace wasn’t being manipulated by a plant-controlling skapti or a ward, after all?
The clusters could be bespelled. That would explain why their pursuit hadn’t faded, like it would with a ward. And it would explain why it appeared every nightlace cluster within the surrounding area was after us. A plant-controlling wizard couldn’t be everywhere at once.
“We could really use an Unraveler right now,” I said.
His eyebrows lifted.
“To break the nightlace bespelling.”
“Ah, yes. Interesting notion. The clusters could’ve been bespelled to hunt outlings at the Academy.”
Persistent. They were killing my friends!
“I’ll notify Justine immediately, of course.” He frowned a moment then hung up.
“Without an Unraveler, there’s no other way to stop the nightlace? Could a Bespeller break it?” And eliminate Donovan’s spell? The nightlace must’ve been directed on Niles’ command. But I knew of one other Bespeller, Katya. I’d beg her to stop the nightlace and free Donovan, if I had to.
“Not possible. The only way to end a bespelling permanently is with a Level Five Unraveler.”
“Which means the person—I mean the nightlace—will be cursed forever.” My knees weak from how this impacted Donovan, I sank into a chair.
“Person? Yes. Bespellings are for wizards and outlings. Whereas a ward usually works best on an inanimate object.”
“They bespell things like…a door?” Why?
“Long ago, when Bespellers and Unravelers were common, spells were used for what we, today, might consider silly tasks. For example, someone might be hosting a party and wish to light up their gardens with strategically placed wilty-sparks. A Bespeller could compel the creatures to remain in certain locations throughout the party, then the Unraveler would arrive after the party ended to release the spell and free the wiltys to go on as they pleased.”
“They were bespelled against their will?”
He pointed a finger at me, a pleased smile on his face. “Bingo. And therein lies the problem with bespelling in general. The Bespeller doesn’t need consent. This created a world of problems, especially with the sixth family, and it explains why the remaining Bespellers are regulated. Ethics are a sticky thing when magic is involved.”
“The sixth family, you said?” Was this a clue to their banishment?
“Did I say the sixth family?” He frowned. “Not sure why.”
I held in my growl. “Wilty-sparks aren’t inanimate objects.”
“True. As far as inanimate objects go, a Bespeller, could create a spell to hold a door open for a certain period of time during the day then close it at night. That sort of thing.”
“So bespellings work on everything but, in the case of wizards and outlings, they last forever,” I repeated, fear tainting my words.
“Yes.”
But Donovan had told me… “Pain can suspend the spell, though, right? Like, a burn or a broken bone?” Hurting his arm had allowed Donovan to escape the bespelling long enough to flit to his family. He’d implied he’d be free once the court Bespeller left the campus, that the bespelling would fade, but that wasn’t true. Why had he been dishonest with me?
Dread roared through me, spiking my pulse and overheating my face.
“Breaking a bespelling with pain is a myth. Believe me, many wizards have tried. While it’s believed pain might allow someone to behave normally for a short time, the bespelling would clamp back down again quickly and they’d return to the bespelled behavior.”
Had Donovan found an Unraveler? If so, why hadn’t he told me?
“You seem sad,” Cloven said. “Are you sure this relates only to a class?”
“Of course.” I flicked my hand to dismiss the question but my voice sounded tense even to my own ears.
Donovan had done something. What was it?
I only needed to unlock a few more pieces of the puzzle. “Assuming someone possessed an unraveling skapti…” I studied the pattern in the carpet as if it possessed all the secrets in the parallel universe when, in fact, all the secrets might reside within Cloven.
“Unraveling is a special skapti, as I said. Even if someone was born with the skill today, they’d never achieve their full potential. They might, perhaps, be able to unravel a bespelling for a second before it renewed itself again. But the only way out is with a Level Five, and to achieve that, the wizard would need to study under the tutelage of a Master Unraveler. The last one died years ago.”
“What’s the highest level someone could achieve on their own?” Why was I pursuing this? There must be another way to work this out. I just needed to think.
“At most, a Level Three.”
Niles had asked me to let Donovan choose, but he’d made Donovan’s decision for him. If he was here, I’d wrap my hands around his skinny throat.
“I see this is distressing you. But you needn’t be concerned. There are strict rules regarding bespellings.”
“Yet the nightlace appears to be bespelled.”
“As I said, bespellings are permanent when applied to wizards and outlings but they fade when applied to plants. If we wait a short period of time, the spell will end. Until then, the Council Seekers will keep you and your friends safe.”
I stood. “Thank you for answering my questions. I appreciate your help.”
“You’re welcome. It was nice seeing you, Fleur. Please feel free to stop by at any time. I’m always glad to chat with a student.”
I reached for the doorknob.
“Oh, wait.” His chair creaked when he leaned forward. “There is one other way to break a bespelling. I shouldn’t bother mentioning it because no one would consider it a true option. But in the interest in furthering your education…”
My fingers trembled on the knob, because I knew.
Here was the final piece of the puzzle.
Cloven’s sigh broke through my rising anguish. “After what happened years ago… Now that was a truly horrible situation. Who would’ve thought something like it was possible?”
Pivoting, I braced my trembling body against the doorframe. “What happened?” I didn’t want to hear, did I?
“That wizard’s mistake has stood as an example to us all.”
Get to it!
“For an exorbitant price, a bespelled wizard persuaded Katya—a sorceress you’d do well to avoid, by the way—to make a charm that would suspend his bespelling. Such a cluster. No one has used one since. The final price was too much for the wizard to pay.”
Katya. The creepy spider who could create a device that would do anything. Cloven was wise to warn me away, but it was too late.
“The wizard suspended his bespelling, right?” I said.
“Yes. And no.”
My heartbeat slowed to almost nothing.
Cloven scratched the back of his neck. “The charm was a curse.”
“What did it do?”
“What you should be asking is, what price did the charm collect from the wizard to hold back the bespelling?”
“Tell me.”
“If he removed the charm, the bespelling whiplashed back on him tenfold.”
“Then he wore it forever.” What was the trick?
“To keep the spell at bay, the charm slowly drained his power until he had none left. After that, it no longer mattered.”
“Couldn’t he pull in threads to replenish his power?”
“Impossible. We’re not talking about thread power but elemental magic, magic innate to each individual. It feeds on itself but once completely drained, a wizard is left with no elemental magic at all. And, sadly, no skapti and no ability to pull in threads. Powerless. Turned into an outling, he was sent to live with…” He swallowed. “He was sent to live in the world you grew up in.”
No. Donovan would never do something like that. He’d temporari
ly broken the spell by breaking his arm.
Or, the bespelling would fade once Niles and his entourage returned to the palace.
Please, let the spell fade.
Cloven had no reason to be dishonest with me. But Donovan? He’d told me a story he hoped I’d believe, because the truth would’ve devastated me.
After the healer had mended his arm, he said he’d flitted to his family for help. Had he instead flitted to Katya’s Kuriosities?
“What would a charm like that look like?” I asked, hoping—no praying—that my suspicions were unfounded.
There had to be a rational explanation for all this.
“Katya adores her own image,” Cloven said. “The wizard’s charm was shaped like a spider.”
Like Donovan’s new pendant.
My knees crumpled, and I sank back into a chair, dropping my face into my hands.
By the fae, Donovan.
What have you done?
Chapter 34
“All I can say is that I’m grateful the Headmistress is finally going to do something about the dumb thing,” Alys said.
She and Moira sat behind me in the library the evening after my conversation with Cloven. After dinner in the cafeteria with Bryce and Patty, I’d come here. They’d gone to our room, promising to leave Beatrice a treat so I could study late.
I had a big test in Power Thread Engagement coming up. Threads could unravel as you pulled them in. And I could blend colors to manipulate power. Who would’ve known?
Busy all day with classes, I hadn’t found a second to flit to the meadow to see Donovan.
Liar.
I’d told myself I was too busy with classes all day because I was afraid to go to the meadow. If I saw Donovan, I’d shriek. Wail.
Cry.
I couldn’t face him—what he’d done—yet. It wasn’t the fact that he’d been dishonest. Who could blame him?
It was the fact that I couldn’t help him. I couldn’t fix this.
“I feel bad for the poor thing.” Moira’s words broke through my troubled thoughts. “It wants something. If they could figure it out, the poor babe might leave on its own. Maybe a student in one of the Second Year magical creatures classes can help.”
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