“That sounds like an excellent idea. I do miss having you here, dear,” Professor Bree says to Ahren before turning gravely to Uncle Leo. “But I am worried. None of my security features showed a breach. That is worrying, My King.”
Uncle Leo is quiet as he smokes his cigarette slowly. “We don’t know the enemy properly. No matter how many people I have on it, they are able to keep themselves hidden. I am confident enough to say they will have plenty of powerhouses that we don’t know of on their side. We just need to remain on alert and make sure the students are prepared, too. I’ll be implementing some stronger security. How many witches can you spare to join the security team for the Academy?”
The last question is directed at Aunty.
“I can get back to you on that in 48 hours,” she replies.
Uncle Leo nods. “Sure.”
“May I have a word in private, Alpha King?” Alpha Aaron asks. I glance over at him. He looks pale, and his lips are pressed together in a thin line.
“I’ll be with you in your office in fifteen. I want the room. You four stay,” Uncle Leo says, glancing at the four of us who sit on one side. Alpha Aaron and the three professors stand, lowering their heads to their King before leaving the room.
Uncle Leo now leans back in his seat.
“Do you have anything left from that book? Because we need to figure it out.”
“I have a couple pages,” Jayce answers truthfully.
Uncle Leo nods, his eyes now turning on me. “Your Schattensicht was picking up immense power for a few minutes. If, as you said, she drained you fast, you wouldn’t have lasted longer than a minute or two. What am I missing?”
Oh gods…
“Sienna has a lot of power,” Aunty Ri explains, making me feel guilty that she’s defending me when I am hiding something.
Leo looks between us, his eyes seeming to burn into my soul.
“Sure. But if for some reason you had access to greater power and aren’t fucking telling us, and we underestimate this woman, then that might just come back to bite us in the fucking ass.”
Oh, he’s pissed.
“Then maybe you need to think of her as ten times fucking worse than she might be. Never underestimate your enemy, right?” Jayce remarks, his voice almost as cold. But for some reason, it isn’t so terrifying right now.
Leo simply smiles humorously. “I don’t like things being kept from me, so I’m only going to ask one last fucking time.”
“Easy there, Leo, you can’t just accuse-”
“I can,” the King cuts Aunty off, his eyes glowing dangerously. Aunty Ri frowns as she now looks at me.
“Si, is there anything that you may not have shared?”
Ahren’s looking at me now, his arm no longer around me as he’s turned in his seat to look at me. I look into his grey eyes, which are filled with concern, then at Leo’s icy blue ones that are dissecting me, then Aunty Ri’s warm brown ones, before I steal aglance at Jayce. Gorgeous green eyes gaze back into mine, and I feel a sliver of strength.
I don’t want him to think of me as weak… Taking a deep breath, I shrink in my seat, staring at one of my butterflies.
“I have stored backup excess power in sigils…” I say quietly.
Silence follows, and I dare look up at Aunty Ri, whose now glowing eyes are full of shock.
“What sigils?”
I hold my arm out, letting them see the butterflies. “They’re not just tattoos; they hold excess power that I transfer over when it feels too much to handle.”
“And there we have it,” Uncle Leo’s cold voice comes, but I don’t even look at him.
I’m sorry, Heaven, but I’m not going to drag you into this.
“That is… dangerous magic.” Aunty Ri’s voice is shaking slightly as she now reaches over for my wrist.
