A round table stood a few feet away, topped by a crystal decanter filled with some amber liquid. Three matching glasses had been left on the same doily. Paintings on the walls depicted fantastical battle scenes with armor-clad combatants. In the one nearest to the door, soldiers rode white and black dragons the size of horses, shooting flaming arrows from longbows at what looked like winged demons.
When I didn’t speak, Ankha let out an annoyed huff.
“Well?” she repeated, exasperated. “How did youdo?”
I looked at my aunt. I tried very hard not to stare at the creature glaring at me from behind her legs.
“How on earth would I know that?” I asked.
“Magique,” my aunt corrected. “We don’t call it ‘Earth’ here.”
I bit my lip, tried to decide if I should pursue that, or one of the hundreds of other things I’d wanted to ask. In the end, my frustration and anger won out.
“Are you going to tell me what…this…” I waved angrily around me. “…even is? You said you’d explain as soon as you could. Can you now? Or am I supposed to blunder around in the dark here for a few hours more?”
None of the hardness in Ankha’s expression lessened.
“Yes, I can speak to you now,” she said. “But will I? When you ask like that?”
I folded my arms and stared back.
When I didn’t say anything, Ankha gave another annoyed exhale.
“The block on your magic’s been lifted,” she explained shortly. “More importantly, you’re here now, in Magique, and you’ve completed your test. So yes, we can speak.” She exhaledanother huff of breath. “Did they tell you when results would be communicated?”
I fought another stab of anger, but nodded after a slight pause.
“Today,” I said.
“Good.” Ankha nodded approvingly. “That means your inspector doesn’t expect anyone to dispute the results, nor will he contest them himself. The outcome was incontrovertible, in other words.” Her eyes flickered up and down my body. “I’m guessing that means it went well. But it could equally mean you failed it so badly, there was no question in his mind that you’d be sent back.”
I felt my confusion return, only to revert quickly to annoyance.
“I’d like to go backnow,if it’s all the same,” I said. “I’d like to be there before Archie gets off school. Before, really. I still need to bake him a cake.”
The older woman blinked at me in surprise.
Her surprise quickly turned to a harder irritation.
“Back?” Ankha’s eyebrows rose to her hairline. “You mean back to that dismal outpost where I’ve been banished for eight years? You want to gobackto that horrid, Overworld school, surrounded by animals and perverts?” She scoffed. “Whatever for?”
I stared at her in disbelief. “Perverts? What’re you on about?Archie’sthere?”
“Arcturus,” Ankha corrected. “And no. You will not be returning.”
My jaw hardened. “I told you, I?”
“And I just said no,” Ankha cut in, her voice even more warning. “As for your brother, you’ll just have to wait until he’s of age himself, and takes his own test.” She sniffed. “Well, unless you failed. Then, everything I just said is moot. In either case, wearen’t going anywhere until the results are communicated to us officially. In writing.”
I refolded my arms more tightly over my chest. “And if I ‘passed’? Just how long do you plan to keep me here, then?”
Ankha’s eyes grew a visible fire.
“Forever,” she snapped. “Assuming you displayed enough magical potential, thisisyour home now, girl.”
My entire body stiffened.
I shook my head, once.
