What if he’s found me?
I knew Thaddeus finding me would not be a good thing. He could say what he wanted about us being a family, but I knew in my heart he was lying.
“Come on.” Theo reached for my hand. “We better hear what’s going on, but stay close to me just in case.”
We filed out of the room, Theo taking the lead. He kept hold of my hand, like he was afraid if he let go I might be lost forever.
We reached the dining hall and it seemed we were some of the last to arrive. A few others trickled in behind us and then the doors closed on their own with a mighty bang.
We took a seat and Victor stood in front of the doors, a solemn look on his face.
“We’ve received word that the New York safe house has been compromised. There were many casualties and for that reason, we’ve chosen to place the manor on lockdown for the foreseeable future. Your lives are far too important to sit by idly.”
“How many casualties?” Finn asked.
Victor cleared his throat. “All of them. There were approximately fifty there.”
Silence descended upon the room.
“We will be fortifying the spells protecting the manor. Your safety is of the utmost importance, I assure you.” His eyes lingered on me. “If we find out any more news we will let you know. Right now, all we know is it was an attack by The Iniquitous and we can only assume if they find out where we are they’ll come here next.”
A shiver of fear ran down my spine.
“For now, return to your rooms and relax if you can. Dinner will be served at its usual time.”
Victor turned around and faced the doors; waving his hand they swung open and he strode out.
Theo stood, his sword still grasped in his hand. His face was dark, his eyes lost in thought.
Finally, he shook his head. “I don’t like this,” he muttered. “I don’t like this at all.”
“Pack a bag,” Theo commanded when we were back in my room.
“Why? Are we leaving?”
He peered out my bedroom window. “No, not yet. But I want you to have a bag packed if we need to.”
I didn’t argue with him, because I knew he was right.
“I’ll be right back,” he muttered, and disappeared from my room.
Nigel cracked an eye open as he left but quickly went back to his nap.
I found a large backpack, black and sturdy with a million different pockets, in the back of the closet. I piled several pairs of fighting pants—leather with straps for weapons—in them, along with fitted black tops. I tossed in a pair of walking boots and sneakers before adding in the jar of salve I’d collected in botany class this morning. I placed the backpack on the floor and added in the box from my mother. I figured it must be important since Theo had insisted I bring it with me, so I didn’t want to leave it behind if we left in a hurry.
I was backing out of my closet when Theo slipped into my room.
“Here, I want you to have this in your bag.” He held out a dagger to me. It was short but dangerously sharp with emerald stones in the hilt.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, taking it from him gently like it was a child I needed to be careful with.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said, and for once his words were genuine, not sarcastic.
I stared at the dagger a moment longer before slipping it into my bag.
“I think we should go to the library to practice. We’re running out of time.”
He looked over my shoulder as he said the words, almost as if he was viewing something else entirely. I’m sure he was as scared as me about what would happen if we were attacked and I couldn’t defend myself efficiently. Theo might be my protector but if we had multiple assailants he’d only be able to do so much.
“That’s a good idea,” I agreed.
He shook his head and his eyes cleared as he came back to me.
We snuck out of my room and up to the attic library. I didn’t think it was actually considered an attic, but since it was at the very top of the manor I decided to call it that.
Theo pulled out one of the chairs and collapsed into it. He shoved his fingers through his curly hair and groaned.
“I don’t even know where to begin. I don’t want to push you too hard too fast, but I’m afraid it’s necessary,” he said more to himself than me.
I sat down beside him. “We’ll do what we can, okay?”
He nodded. “But what if it’s not enough?”
“What if it is?” I countered.
He nodded again, more firmly this time. “I want you to know, if they come for you, the most important thing is to run first, fight later if you have to.”
“Where would I even go?”
“Honestly, with the New York safe house now compromised I wouldn’t even know what to tell you. Just run and hide. Stay under the radar.”
“That sounds impossible. I didn’t even know about this world until a couple of months ago.”
“You’re strong, Mara. And smart. You’ll figure it out.”
My brows knitted together. “Why are you talking like you won’t be with me?”
“I can’t predict the future, but I want you to be prepared to run on your own if it comes to it.”
My stomach knotted with queasiness at the idea, but I didn’t voice my concerns because I knew Theo would shut them down.
“Okay, then. What should we cover first?”
He stood. “I had you try the candle thing for something bigger so let’s work on that.”
I stood too and he moved so a good ten feet separated us.
“I want you to think about the fire again, but instead of lighting the candle I want you to think about it in your hand.”
“Um …” I hesitated. “Won’t that burn my hand?”
He chuckled. “Not yours since you conjured it, but when you throw it at me it will burn me if I don’t block it quick enough.”
“Oh, great.”
I took a breath and closed my eyes, holding my hands up in front of me.
I envisioned a bright burning orange flame licking my hands. The fire caressed them and flickered in the light.
When I opened my eyes, I gasped and my eyes shot across to Theo who smiled widely with pride.
“Now throw it at me.”
I took a throwing stance and launched it at him.
He brought his hands up and blocked it with a gust of air. My flames vanished in a puff of smoke.
“Again.”
He made me practice until I was drenched in sweat and then had me move on to conjuring water in a cup before again having it appear in my hands to use as a weapon.
“I once heard of an enchanter who was drowned by an Iniquitous,” he explained as I closed my eyes to concentrate.
“That sounds … pleasant.”
I opened my eyes and found the water swirling around my hands like many orbs of waves.
Theo was distracted at the moment so I threw one at him and it pushed him back about three feet with the force and drenched him from head to toe.
I fell over, clutching my stomach as laughter choked me.
“You look like a drowned rat,” I chortled.
“You’re going to pay for that,” he growled.
A second later, I yelped when fire stung my ass.
“That was not nice,” I scolded, gathering myself.