by D J DuMont
“If you’re referring to the battle back at the island, none of you had to follow me,” Willow said hotly. “So don’t blame me for that.”
“I’m not blaming you for anything,” Cara said mildly. “I’m just pointing out that you don’t seem all that interested in being student captain, anyway.”
Willow looked to Sylvie, still hoping for some support from her friend. But Sylvie was looking down at the ground, conveniently avoiding Willow’s eyes. Willow had to get away from this conversation before she blew up in anger. If she lost her temper and set off a mental magic spell right now, Anjali would have a fit—and Willow was pretty sure she had used up all the grace that Anjali had to give her.
“I’ve said everything I’m going to say,” Willow said, putting her hands on her hips. “I’m searching for my father, and Anjali already knows that. And I’m not going to step down willingly from my post as student captain, so anyone who asks me to do that is wasting their breath.”
“If you won’t do it willingly, then I’ll figure out a way to force you,” Locke threatened.
“Go ahead and try. In the meantime, I’m out of here. I’ve got better things to do than stand here defending myself to all of you.”
Willow turned on her heel to head back toward the Birch Point side of campus. She heard rushing footsteps behind her, and a moment later, Sylvie was by her side.
“Willow, please. Wait. Won’t you at least talk to me? You know I’m not out to get you. I’m genuinely worried about you.”
Willow looked over at her friend, and shook her head sadly. “I can’t talk about it, and honestly, I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“You know Locke is going to try to convince Anjali to make you give up your student captain position.”
Willow snorted. “Trust me: Anjali has much bigger things to worry about right now than who is student captain. And honestly, so do I.”
Willow glanced over at Sylvie, who was struggling to keep up with Willow’s rapid pace. Sylvie made a face before speaking. “It seems like all you do lately is worry. You should try to relax a little. Alexis is throwing a giant back to school party in the rec room tonight. Why don’t you come?”
Willow laughed. “Seriously? I missed all my Birch Point classes this morning, and I have two days of homework to do for my Dragon Heart classes. I don’t exactly have time for partying.”
Sylvie stopped walking and grabbed Willow’s arm, forcing her to stop as well. “You need to slow down for a few minutes. You need to eat, and you need to rest. You don’t have to spend all night at the party, but you can’t keep going at the pace you’re going. Either you agree to go grab a couple slices of pizza at that party tonight, or I’m going to talk to Anjali and tell her I’m worried about you. If I talk to her, she’ll listen. She knows I’m not like Locke, just trying to make you look bad. I actually care.”
Willow scowled at Sylvie, feeling somewhat betrayed by her friend’s ultimatum. “Fine. I’ll go to the stupid party. But only for a minute, and then it’s back to working on my search for my father. And you have to promise me you’ll stay away from Anjali. I can’t afford any more run-ins with her.”
Sylvie grinned, happy that she was getting what she wanted. “Deal. And stop looking so morose. I’m asking you to go to a party for goodness’ sake!”
“I don’t feel much like partying,” Willow said with a frown. “But if it keeps you off my case for a few minutes, then I guess I can bear it. Then it’s right back to research and studying, though. This is the year I finally find my dad. I feel it in my bones.”
Sylvie frowned, and Willow was sure her friend was about to say something about how Willow shouldn’t get her hopes up. But then Sylvie simply shrugged and smiled.
“I hope you’re right,” she said. “For your sake and his.”
“And for the sake of the entire Dragon Heart Agency,” Willow added.
The girls both fell silent as they walked back toward the Birch Point side of campus, but Willow’s thoughts were racing. This wasn’t just about her father anymore. Whoever was leaking information was risking bringing down the whole Agency, and Willow wasn’t going to let that happen. She would find the leak, find her father, and save the Dragon Hearts.
Or she would die trying.
Chapter Ten
The smell of pizza hit Willow’s nose before she even entered the rec room, causing her stomach to growl audibly. Sylvie laughed, and for a moment, Willow thought about making some sort of sharp reply. But then, she couldn’t help laughing as well.
“I guess I am a little bit hungry,” she admitted.
That might have been the understatement of the century. Willow had been so wrapped up in researching the lie detector spells that she had forgotten to eat the day before. Then, she’d been so frantic to get to her Dragon Heart classes that she hadn’t had a moment to grab a bite to eat. For a while, she’d been too upset about everything to notice the hunger gnawing at her stomach. But now, the smell of pizza had brought her full attention to just how hungry she was.
“Come on,” Sylvie said, pulling her into the rec room. “Alexis is going to be thrilled to see you.”
Willow allowed herself to be dragged into the room, but she found herself feeling strangely nervous. She had no real reason to be anxious. After all, she was officially an upperclassman now that she’d made it to her junior year. Only the seniors were older than her, and Willow was friends with many of them. This would be a room full of familiar, friendly faces.
So why did she feel so uneasy?
She pasted a smile on her face despite the swirls of fear in the pit of her stomach. She had showered and flat-ironed her hair, and even put on makeup. She wasn’t as much of a fashionista as Sylvie, but she’d managed to put together what she felt was a pretty chic outfit, with a pair of jeans from a popular brand and a classic button-down shirt. Since she’d missed the first day of classes, this was the first time many of her fellow Birch Point students were going to see her this school year. She wanted to make a good impression. At least her skin was glowing and tanned after a summer on a Caribbean island.
Thinking about the island only made the troubled feelings deep inside of her grow stronger, though, and so she pushed them away and tried to smile even wider than she already was. Right now, for just a few minutes, she just wanted to feel like a normal teenager. She wanted to forget the wizarding worries that weighed down on her and pretend that her biggest worries really were Algebra class and catching the attention of whatever boy had caught her eye.
The thought of boys made Willow frown again. She wondered if she’d ever have a chance to date. Her roommate Alexis was dating her friend Marcus, and things seemed to be going quite well for them. But things weren’t so simple for Willow. If she dated a non-wizard, she’d have to hide a huge part of herself from him. How could she have any sort of real, trusting relationship when the things that mattered most to her—her father, her magic, and her dragon—all had to remain secrets? Her own mother was not a wizard, and so her father had always hidden his magic from her. It seemed to have worked out alright for them, but it seemed extraordinarily complicated to Willow. She would prefer to find someone who was also a wizard, but the only option for her at the Dragon Heart Academy was Locke.
Willow made a face at just the thought of dating him. No thank you. He was undeniably handsome, but he was obnoxious and far too full of himself for Willow to want to spend any more time with him than she had to.
“Willow!”
The sound of Alexis shrieking out her name pulled Willow’s thoughts out of the dreary ditch they’d fallen into. Willow looked up and smiled at the sight of Alexis bounding across the room.
Tonight, you’re just a normal teen, she told herself. Forget about all the complications of your secret double life, and just have fun.
“I didn’t think you’d make it,” Alexis said as she reached Willow and wrapped her in a big bear hug. “Sylvie promised me she could convince you to come
out, but I must admit I had my doubts.”
Beside Willow, Sylvie laughed. “That’s what you get for doubting me. I know Willow, and I knew just what buttons to push to get her here.”
Sylvie winked at Willow, and Willow stuck her tongue out at her. If it wasn’t for the fact that she knew Sylvie genuinely cared about her, she would have been annoyed being practically blackmailed to show up. But Willow could never stay mad at Sylvie for long.
“How was your summer?” Alexis asked. “You two both look so tanned! I’m jealous I couldn’t come with you to wherever it was you were this summer.”
“The U.S. Virgin Islands, basically,” Willow said quickly. “And we would have loved to have you there, but at least we’re all back together now.”
Willow hoped that Alexis wouldn’t push the issue. They’d had so many conversations about the fact that Willow and Sylvie had things that they just couldn’t share, and Alexis had been understanding for the most part. But lately, it seemed that Alexis was getting more and more impatient with being left out of the loop. Willow understood her impatience, but there was nothing she could do about it. She would never be allowed to explain things to Alexis, and unless Alexis understood that, their friendship was doomed.
Luckily, Alexis didn’t seem to be in the mood to push things today. Instead, she laughed and pulled Willow further into the rec room. “We are altogether now, and we should celebrate with some pizza and soda. Are you hungry?”
As if on cue, Willow’s stomach gave another loud growl.
Alexis laughed merrily. “Well, I guess that answers that question.”
The three of them went to the rec center’s kitchen where an entire counter was covered with pizza boxes from a local pizzeria. Willow loaded a plate with several slices, not caring if she looked like a pig. She desperately needed to refuel, and besides, she was with her best friends. They wouldn’t judge her.
“Look, there’s Marcus!” Alexis said, waving excitedly as her boyfriend entered the rec room. Willow saw his face light up when he saw Alexis, and she felt a pang of jealousy. She was happy for Alexis, of course. But she wondered if she would ever get to experience normal teenage things like dating. Probably not. Not when she was busy trying to save a secret, magical department of the CIA. She tried to remind herself that it was an honor to be part of the Dragon Heart Agency, and that the sacrifices she had to make were worth it. But the pangs of jealousy only intensified when she saw Marcus giving Alexis a warm hug and a quick kiss. Willow looked over to Sylvie, hoping that her friend might somehow understand the internal anguish she was feeling. But Sylvie was merrily chatting away with another one of their classmates, oblivious to Willow’s frustrations.
Willow forced a smile back onto her face as she greeted Marcus, and then, she shoved a giant bite of pizza into her mouth as Marcus and Alexis started recounting the summer adventures they’d had together in Alexis’ hometown of San Jose, California. Marcus was halfway through a story about how they’d gotten lost while trying to run a local 5k together when Willow was distracted by the sight of the most gorgeous boy she’d ever seen. She could hear Marcus continuing on with his animated retelling of how they’d ended up basically running a 10k instead of a 5k, but she was barely registering the words he was saying. Instead, she was staring at the tall, dark-haired specimen of perfection that had just walked in. Marcus didn’t notice that he was losing his audience, but Alexis did. She followed Willow’s gaze, and then laughed, poking her playfully in the side.
“He is quite distracting, isn’t he?”
Willow snapped her attention back to Marcus. “What? No. I was still paying attention. I was just surprised at how tall that guy is. He must be a freshman, because I’ve never seen him before. But he’s as tall as most of the seniors.”
Alexis shook her head, her eyes dancing mischievously. “He’s not a freshman. He’s a junior. You’ve never seen him before because he’s new—a transfer student. He’s the guy I wanted you to meet. Let me introduce you…”
Willow shook her head emphatically as Alexis let her words trail off suggestively. “No, I’ll introduce myself at some point. I didn’t come here to meet boys. I’m just here to see you and eat a bit of pizza before taking off again to work on some, uh, stuff.”
To prove her point, Willow shoved a giant bite of pizza into her mouth. Alexis rolled her eyes, not fooled by Willow’s attempt to act like she could care less about the handsome new boy at school. But Marcus, completely oblivious to what was actually going on, laughed and started waving the boy over.
“Nonsense, there’s no reason you can’t meet Kent really quickly before you have to go. He’s a really nice guy. Funny as heck, too. I think he’d make a great addition to our little group of friends.”
Willow tried to protest as Marcus started waving the boy over, but her mouth was too full of pizza for her to say anything. In desperation, she started chewing as fast as she could, hoping that she at least wouldn’t still have a giant mouthful of food puffing out her cheeks when Marcus introduced her.
No such luck. Kent saw Marcus waving and rushed over with a broad smile on his face.
“Marcus! I was hoping I’d see you here. This rec center is awesome. It’s way better than anything we had at my old school.”
“It was just added last year,” Alexis piped in, giving Willow a wary glance. Willow glared at her, and would have mouthed something about keeping Marcus under control, but again, the mouthful of pizza was getting in the way. Alexis understood well enough what Willow’s glare meant, though, and shrugged sheepishly. Willow kept glaring.
Marcus, still unaware of the anxiety he was causing Willow, pushed her right in front of Kent. “Kent, I want you to meet someone. This is my good friend, Willow. She’s one of Alexis’ roommates, and an all-around great person.”
Kent turned to look at Willow, and Willow thought she might die of embarrassment. Her cheeks were still stuffed with pizza, and she pointed sheepishly at her mouth to indicate that she was chewing and couldn’t talk. She half-expected Kent to react with disgust. What sort of proper girl stuffs her face like a chipmunk? But he only grinned at her and laughed.
“Nice to meet you, Willow. I’m Kent. And don’t worry. I totally understand stuffing your face with pizza. That stuff is good! I can’t believe a pizzeria from a random small town in Maine makes the best pizza I’ve ever tasted.”
“That’s Birch Point for you,” Marcus said, a hint of pride in his voice. “Full of surprises.”
If only you knew, Willow thought. They had no idea just how many surprises lay just beyond the Birch Point campus.
Kent laughed again, the hearty sound of it warming Willow down to her toes. She forgot to feel self-conscious or embarrassed as she watched his sea-green eyes lighting up with laughter. His dark brown hair was neatly cropped close to his head, and his sharp jaw line showed off his tanned skin. He looked almost like he had spent his summer on an island somewhere, too. Willow would have to ask him about that—just as soon as she finished chewing.
Finish she did, and she managed to not sound like a complete blubbering idiot as she asked Kent about where he’d come from and what he’d done over the summer. He told her that he was originally from Texas, but that his parents had moved to the east coast a few years ago. Willow had wondered where his slight drawl came from. When she commented on it, he laughed and said he was trying not to let it show through when he spoke.
“Why not?” Willow asked. “It sounds really cool.”
Kent laughed again, and Willow thought she could listen to that sound all day long. “Some people think it makes me sound uneducated,” he said.
“Some people?”
“My parents, mostly. They pulled me out of the boarding school I was still going to back in Texas to send me here. They want to turn me into some sort of upper crust east coast boarding school type.”
Willow wrinkled her nose. “Birch Point is a boarding school, but it isn’t exactly upper crust. There are far crustier
schools to choose from, if that’s what they were after.”
Another laugh from Kent. “Yes, well, they missed the deadlines on all the crustier schools. This was the best school they could get me into, given the late start they gave themselves. That’s just fine by me. I’m not into crusty schools, and this place seems pretty nice. The girls are definitely good looking.”
He winked at Willow, and she felt her mouth go completely dry. She hadn’t had much practice at flirting, since she’d spent most of her high school career learning how to ride a dragon and master magic spells. She hadn’t expected Kent to be so forward, and she felt like a blubbering idiot as she tried to figure out how to respond.
Luckily, Kent didn’t seem to notice her blubbering, or, if he did, he kindly ignored it. He launched instead into a detailed account of how he’d spent his summer touring Europe because his parents wanted to make sure that he was cultured. His favorite stop had been Spain, where he’d loved the laidback meals and warm beaches.
At some point, Alexis and Marcus drifted off to talk to some other classmates, but Willow hardly noticed. She forgot all about her vow to head back to the library after a quick bite of pizza, and instead found herself speaking with Kent for the better part of an hour. After a while, Sylvie, who had also disappeared, circled back around and tried to pull Willow away.
“Willow, can I talk to you for a moment?”
Willow looked over at her and grinned. “Uh, sure. But do you want to meet Kent first? He’s really nice. He had quite some adventures this summer.”
Willow giggled, hating herself for sounding like a silly schoolgirl, but hardly able to care. Kent had made her forget about all the heavier issues pressing down on her. For the first time in a long time, perhaps the first time ever, she felt like a normal high schooler.
