The affection was foreign. “Thanks.” I stepped back and fiddled with my new tie.
Mom glanced out the window. “We have the afternoon before we need to go back. Do you want to eat lunch together?”
For a second, my heart grew lighter. I waited so long for them to reach out to me like that.
Gray stood off to the side, watching me. His messy black hair reminding me of Neil.
I shook my head. “Sorry, I have to get back to the library. Thanks for coming.” I hugged Mom and, after a moment’s hesitation, stepped forward to hug Dad, too, before walking past them to Gray.
I’d waited my whole life for their acceptance, but it was no longer the thing I needed. I’d give back my white tie if it meant having Neil and Ivy safely beside me.
“It’s been a week and we still haven’t found anything helpful.” I pulled on my hair. The other students were stressed about finals, which had started the day before, but all I could focus on was Neil and the Arresting Crystal.
“Sit down before you pass out again.” Gray reached for my elbow, but I paced out of reach.
“We’ve been reading books in the library all week. I can’t sit anymore. What do we do, Gray? What if we can’t get Ivy and Neil back?”
He stood directly in my path, stopping me in my tracks. “First of all, Neil isn’t gone. He’s just inaccessible right now.”
“He’s trapped in a crystal that’s slowly killing him! We can’t talk to him. He can’t move. We don’t even know if he’s okay. Essentially, he’s gone.”
“And second, we’ll find Ivy.” His voice was tight. “We need to believe in Oliver and give him time. He has the best chance of finding her.”
“He doesn’t seem to be making much progress.”
“Just yesterday, he told me he sensed her magic. It was so faint that he was sure she’s in a different region. He’s been talking to Headmistress Elsie to see if there’s any way he can leave school to track her.”
I closed my eyes and let out a trembling breath. “Gray, is this hopeless?”
He took my face between both of his hands, forcing me to look at him. “No, Emmie. It isn’t hopeless. Hopelessness isn’t something that is. It’s something you choose. And I will never let you choose hopelessness. If our loved ones are out there, we will fight for them.” The sweet moment was ruined when he squeezed my cheeks together giving me fish lips.
I flushed and pushed him off. “Gray, how do you say such smart things, but do such stupid things?”
“It’s a gift.” He shrugged in mock-humility and turned back to his book.
I fiddled with my white tie. “Gray, you really believe we’ll get Neil out of the Arresting Crystal, right?”
He nodded without lifting his gaze.
The smooth silk of the tie slid between my fingers, whispering possibilities, and I bit my bottom lip. “Do you think…” I stopped and looked around. The library was empty, just like it’d been since the attack. I rushed through the rest of my question. “Do you think there’s a chance Neil would ever consider Binding with me now that I have magic?”
Gray’s head whipped up, and he stared at me.
I flushed but pressed on. “I know it’s crazy, since you both probably saw me as your helpless little sister, but I had to ask. Maybe it was impossible before, but do you think I could hope now?”
Gray reached forward, and his hand lightly brushed my cheek. “I’ve never thought of you as a sister.”
I flinched. Didn’t Gray love me the way I loved him?
He dropped his hand and his gaze. “And I don’t think Neil does either.”
My heart took off. Was he saying there was a chance?
He held his book in front of his face. “Now, off to your room with you. We have a long day of research ahead of us tomorrow.”
I stood and gathered my stuff. “Good night, Gray.”
“Night, Emmie.” His voice was soft.
I turned a corner, and almost ran into Lukas. Stepping back, I blew out a breath.
He looked me up and down, gaze lingering on my white tie. “You probably think you’re something special now that you’re in the Light Academy.”
Lukas’s pitiful comments, once so hard to bear, paled in comparison to everything else going on. Why had I let him bother me for so long? My hands shook, but I straightened my shoulders. “Listen, Lukas. I’m s-sorry your cousin didn’t get into Ackley, but that’s not my fault. I’m in an Academy just like you, and I deserve to be here. Now move. I have more pressing concerns than your childish vendetta.”
His mouth fell open.
I stepped around him, and my shoulders relaxed. Ivy was right. I should’ve told him off years ago.
“Wait.”
My steps slowed at his call. His tone lacked its usual condescension.
He took a deep breath, as if bolstering himself for what he was about to say. “That wasn’t what I meant to say,” he mumbled.
I looked over my shoulder at him but didn’t say anything.
He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled noisily. “You were right.”
I spun around. “What?”
He turned around to face me. “What you said just now, you were right.” His voice was barely above a whisper.
My mouth fell open. Was this really happening?
He fidgeted before shoving his hands in his pockets. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for everything over the years.” He glanced at me, but as soon as we made eye-contact, he looked down again. “That’s all.” Before I could react he turned on his heel and disappeared around the corner.
I stumbled back to my room replaying his apology in my head. What had gotten in to Lukas?
His shocking behavior almost distracted me until sleep could claim me, but at the very last moment, thoughts of Ivy and Neil slipped in, weighing me down with worries before I drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Oliver found Gray and I in the library. “Headmistress Elsie will only allow me to leave campus if I have my parents’ permission, and they’re too scared to let me go anywhere.” He hung his head.
My hopes of finding Ivy cracked. “You did your best.” I tried to comfort him even though my lips burned with the unspoken words, “Sneak out of school to track her!” It wouldn’t be fair to put him in danger.
“I’ll check in with her every day to see if anything changes,” he promised.
“Thanks.” Gray gave him a half-smile.
“I’ll help you do a bit of research while I’m here.” Oliver sat beside us and grabbed a book off my stack. Not only were we not making progress with researching the Arresting Crystals, but we’d also reached a dead-end with Ivy.
The Arresting Crystal still stood in the corner of the room. None of the teachers wanted to move it in case it had unintended consequences, so it sat there as a constant reminder of why we couldn’t give up.
The hours slipped stealthily by while we scanned the books for any mention of something even remotely similar to the Arresting Crystal. The only good news we had was that our research was limited to a short period of time since Andar’s founding once Light and Dark Magicals appeared, but before they were outlawed, but the books and scrolls were thick, and translating was slow.
Currently, all we knew was that it was made from Dark Magic and the person trapped inside was slowly drained of life.
Each hour that passed weighed heavily on me. Sometimes it was so hard to breathe, it seemed like I was the one trapped in the crystal instead of him.
When Gray joined Henry and me in the library three days later, Headmistress Elsie and the other Academy Heads came with him.
“What’s up?” I studied each new face, hunting for clues.
“It’s time to try to get Neil out of the Arresting Crystal,” Headmistress Elsie said.
“Have you figured out how?” Hope pulsed through me, reviving me from the despair of the last week. Like walking after sitting on my legs for too long, there was a painful prickling in my heart, but it
was better than not feeling anything.
“While reading an old Enderian text, I found a passage that mentioned Arresting Crystals can be broken with magic.” Mr. Kaji stepped closer to the crystal, and my heart constricted with worry.
“Broken? But what if you end up hurting the crystal and it hurts Neil?”
Headmistress Elsie laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. “The crystal is already hurting him.”
Gray’s eyes darkened with indecision.
I gulped in a deep breath of air. “Can I do anything?”
Instead of dismissing me like I expected, she appraised me with an unfamiliar look that I’d been seeing a lot of since Howie’s visit. “For now, keep researching.”
Gray took Henry's place while Henry joined the teachers around the Arresting Crystal.
I fought the urge to reach out for Gray's hand again. “I’m scared.” My voice came out small and wobbly.
“Me, too. But she's right. We need to do something.” He stared at the crystal.
We fell silent and the teachers formed a semi-circle. Memories of my Inquiry filled me with dread.
Headmistress Elsie raised her arms, and a small thrill of anticipation rolled through me. Except for when Andley attacked campus, I rarely had a chance to see her use magic. I leaned forward.
A steady stream of light from her fingers fed into the crystal, slowly brightening the room. Worry pounded a painful rhythm in my heart.
The Arresting Crystal erupted in a blinding array of lights and colors, and the room was bathed in its warm glow. Enchanted by the sight, I held up my hand and the colors skittered across my palm in a deceivingly playful dance.
“I can sense him inside.” Headmistress Elsie’s worried voice brought me back to the terrible truth with a painful jolt. “He’s weak.” She flooded it with even more light, and the room shimmered like a thousand rainbows had burst to life. It was an ethereal beauty, a cold brightness, whose glimmering surface hid the inherent darkness within. “Gray,” she grunted.
He strode to her. One glance revealed the closeness of their teacher-student relationship—how they were accustomed to working together and could communicate without speaking. He put a glowing hand on her shoulder.
Some of the stress lines on her face faded.
Gray’s shoulders relaxed.
I blew out a breath. It wasn’t fair that he got to help, and I didn’t. If I could just do something...
Headmistress Elsie put her hands down. Her pursed lips conveyed her disappointment. “Cora.”
Mrs. Terrel raised her hands, and her Earth Magic flowed into the Arresting Crystal. A green light pulsed off the edge and cast the room in an emerald smoulder. It was different from the Earth Magic Henry used during sparring.
Was she testing for a weakness? When her forehead gathered frustrated lines, a little piece of my hope chipped away.
“I can’t.” She shook her head and turned to Mr. Kaji.
He stepped forward to face off with the Crystal. A fireball the size of my fist leaped back and forth between his fists in a graceful pirouette.
I stepped back from the heat of it.
At the headmistress's curt nod of approval, he cast it at the Arresting Crystal. The fireball flew through the air and sputtered out when it made contact. Mr. Kaji widened his stance and straightened his shoulders before gathering a larger one.
Gray shielded his face with an arm and took a step back.
After a minute, Mr. Kaji heaved the sphere of flaming energy with a grunt. The fireball shrank after it made contact, returning the temperature to normal when it puffed out of existence. There wasn't a mark on the Arresting Crystal.
Was their magic doing anything?
Mr. Kaji stepped forward again, jaw clenched and steps angry.
“Abraham.” Headmistress Elsie gave another short shake of her head.
He stepped back, and Mr. Mizuno took his place with raised hands. The air grew heavy and humid before he pulled it all toward him. Hundreds of tiny ice marbles floated in the air, and the library looked like a peaceful wonderland frozen in time. The illusion shattered when he snapped a finger and the balls assaulted the Arresting Crystal. Distressing pings echoed as the ice and Crystal collided.
I covered my ears, but there wasn't any way to protect myself from the memory of Ivy’s duel with Oliver, which his attack conjured. My jaw clenched, and I closed my eyes. I’m coming for you Ivy.
Once the marbles all connected with the ice, Mr. Mizuno moved his hands in a familiar gesture, and I covered my face, expecting it to shatter like Oliver’s earth shield had.
The beat of silence that followed caught me off guard, and I lowered my arms.
Mr. Mizuno slowly shook his head.
What happened to his magic? The Arresting Crystal should’ve exploded.
When Ms. Ventor raised her hands, I wasn't even sure why I still watched. The hope that had bloomed when the teachers arrived was already so fragmented, yet I couldn't drag my gaze away.
She sliced her hands through the air, and a whip of wind slashed the Crystal.
I had a nagging feeling I was overlooking something crucial. It was almost like they were feeding the Crystal with their energy instead of breaking it down.
Headmistress Elsie let Ms. Ventor continue for another minute before she put a hand on her arm.
The teachers stood there in a circle of silence, looking more downtrodden than I’d ever seen them look before. It was one of those moments that made me realize that adults didn't know the answer to everything, and they couldn’t fix all the problems.
“Lets try one final attack all together.” Headmistress Elsie's disheartened voice made me want to put my arms around her. Henry, Gray, and the Academy Heads joined hands, wearing matching resolute expressions.
“Wait.” My word pierced the circle of concentration.
“It's all right, Emmie.” Gray tried to reassure me, but the hard knot of anxiety in my chest remained.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
The other teachers looked at me with expressions ranging from curiosity to agitation.
I gulped and took a step forward, desperately shoving my memories of the Inquiry back to a place where they could only bother me in my dreams. “It's like the C-crystal is absorbing your magic. It’s shining more brightly now than before you came in, and there’s not a crack on it or any sort or damage.” I stalled at Mr. Kaji’s disapproving look, but the Crystal’s unmarked surface shimmered mockingly and encouraged me to continue. “What if you're only making it stronger? What if it’s feeding on your energy just like it’s feeding on Neil’s?” The book I’d read a few days ago hadn't been super clear, but I had more confidence in my theory than in their methods.
“So what do you want us to do? Give up?” Frustration consumed Gray’s expression, and I was the one who put it there.
“Maybe she's right. We tried to best it with magic without knowing its weakness, and we accomplished nothing. We need an actual plan.”
I exhaled when Henry agreed with me.
The headmistress crossed her arms and tapped her finger against her forearm as she stared at the crystal. “We will wait for now.”
Henry and I exchanged relieved glances. The tightness around his eyes eased, and the anxiety seeped from my shoulders.
“Gray and Miss Lyland will continue researching in place of their afternoon classes, and each teacher will dedicate their free period to searching for information about the Arresting Crystal. This is our top priority.”
“W-what about Ivy?” I asked.
“Some of the Koban we employed are tracking her, but so far, they haven't reported anything. I also reached out to a few contacts in each region and provided descriptions of Miss Hart so they can keep an eye open for her.”
“Oliver c-could help. He wants to help.” I shoved my hands into my skirt pockets to hide their trembling.
The headmistress’ shoulders slumped. “Oliver is still too young to make tho
se decisions for himself, and his parents have denied him permission to leave campus.”
The teachers filed out of the room. Surprise. Disappointment. Frustration. Their expressions said everything they didn’t.
It’d been two weeks since Ivy was taken and Neil was trapped in the Crystal. One week since the teachers failed to rescue Neil.
Noah dropped into the neighboring chair, and Gray gave him a tired smile. “Hey, Noah. Thanks for coming.”
I pushed away the Beltan text in front of me and sighed before pulling one written in old Ra toward me. Translating was slow going, and the first page was all about the Great War.
Noah leaned over to glance at Gray’s book. “Find anything new?”
Gray slammed it shut. “Emmie has the notes. You can get one from over there.” He tilted his head toward our pile of unread books.
Noah looked at Gray, down to his book, and then over at me.
In answer to his question, I slid the page of translated notes across the table and returned to my book.
Noah read quietly to himself. The words were so familiar I could easily recite them in my sleep. “They came to be called Arresting Crystals because they suspend someone in a moment, stopping the flow of life. The natural biological processes of the body are frozen and the trapped Magical is slowly drained of magic. When the Magical runs out of magic to feed the Arresting Crystal, he dies. With no source of magic to sustain it, the crystal disappears. Arresting Crystals were created after the Great War, by Dark Magicals, but when the monarchs discovered them, they were outlawed.”
The page crinkled as Noah put it down. “So Neil’s magic doesn’t have a chance to regenerate while he’s trapped.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “But he’ll be fine, right? Once we get him out.”
A hint of silence passed before Gray cleared his throat. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
Noah reached over and patted my hand. “Your magic is like your blood. Given enough time, it’ll always replenish.”
“But we haven’t found any records of Magicals who escaped from the crystal. What if it does something permanent to him?”
Gray’s gaze remained glued to the book in his hands. “He’ll be fine. We’re going to get him out.”
Unleashed Magic (The Chronicles of Andar Book 1) Page 20
