“It’s just me.”
Lydia makes herself comfortable on my bed, her long green robe fanning out elegantly over my tousled sheets.
“I see you’ve been working on your altar,” she smiles. “It’s so nice to see you settling in. I told you that you would love it here!”
“Or I’ve just developed Stockholm syndrome.”
I can tell from her grin that she sees through my weak sarcasm. Sheismy mother, after all.
“I was wondering…” she fingers a loose strand of her red hair absentmindedly. “If you needed to use the school computer again. You know, to get in touch with Jim…”
“Tim,” I sigh. I can see through her too. She doesn’t care about Timothy at all, she just wants to know if we’re still together. I guess I have to let her have this one. “Thank you for your thoughtful and selfless offer, but we’ve broken up, mom.”
“Oh,” her eyes widen in poorly-concealed delight. “I’m sorry, love, what a shame.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I wave my hand. “Anything else?”
“Well, yes, a few other things, darling. For one, I wanted to let you know that your mother will be coming by the academy to teach in a few weeks. We’ve just confirmed it. She thought it would be fun to come and visit.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” I say with an unexpected pang in my heart. When you have three moms (or any more than one, really), you know which one is being spoken about without it having to be explicitly stated. I can tell from Lydia’s voice that she’s referring to Astrid, and I realize suddenly how much I’ve missed her. This is the longest I’ve ever been away from her. The thought of getting to see her again makes my stomach feel gooey in away I’m young enough to still experience, but old enough to be embarrassed about.
Lydia notices, and pulls me to the bed in a tight, wordless hug. I hold onto her for a few beats, glad for once that there’s no sexy shifter roommate nearby.
“We’re all so proud of you, love,” she says. She fingers a stray thread on my cardigan, then twists it around her index finger and coils it magically back into place. “That’s what I wanted to speak with you about. The academy is preparing for Samhain, and I thought you could help me with some of the rituals.”
I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t know, mom, I’m not really the…strongest student in our year…”
I look towards Rae’s bed and I wonder for the hundredth time if I should tell her about what happened. How I healed Rae’s wound all by myself. But I’m worried that Hallie and Rae could get into trouble for hunting together. Hallie swore me to secrecy and I’m not comfortable enough with the norms of the magical world to tell if her fears are founded. I trust my mom, but I don’t know if I trust that magical witch council. I don’t know what they might do to Rae or her pack.
The image of Rae, helpless and wounded on the bed, floods my mind and I know I couldn’t do anything that might hurt her.
Better I don’t say anything about my impossibly effective healing spell. At least for now.
“Nonsense,” Lydia hums, gesturing towards my altar. It’s come a long way from the hastily packaged bundles of sage and jars of cinnamon. Now it holds my Book of Shadows, several jars of salt, three charms, a beautiful pink seashell that Gwen found, and the amulet Astrid gave me. The jars and seashell immediately perk up at Lydia’s attention, glowing and glittering joyfully.
She continues, “You’ve clearly started getting more involved in witchcraft, and your natural abilities are already unfoldingbeautifully. I saw you flying well about the third-floor windows the other day.”
I feel a little glow of pride. My flyingisgoing well…
“Well, ok,” I concede, biting the inside of my lip nervously. “But nothing flashy or anything! Just some, you know, behind-the-scenes…”
“Wonderful!” Lydia clasps her hands together, the long sleeves of her robe fluttering. She kisses me on the head briskly as she rises to leave. “I’ll see you on the grounds!”
Pan raises an eyebrow at me as the door swings shut.
“I know, I know, I already regret it,” I sigh.
Despite my recent heartbreak, I can’t help getting caught up in the excitement of the upcoming festival. The days become pleasantly chilly and the air crackles with anticipatory magic. The vampires aren’t really into Samhain, but the shifters and mermaids are all in a great mood, getting along much better than they were at the start of the semester. The witches, of course, are the most excited. I can’t walk down a hallway without hearing muttered incantations or the occasional candlestick breaking out into song.
“It’s on the mid-term exam for the advanced charms class,” Hallie explains. “Pass if it can hum, bonus if the candlestick can perform a full rendition by Paccini.”
“Well that explains it,” I nod. “It’s so oddly specific.”
June and her cronies are loitering by the door to my mother’s classroom. They giggle malevolently as we pass and a sense of dread wells up in my stomach.
“Ugh, I bet her candlestick will turn into Idina Menzel and blow them all away,” I moan. “I could never evengetinto advanced charms…”
“Hey,” Hallie squeezes the top of my arm. “You’re going to do great tonight. Your mom wouldn’t make you do anything you’re not fully capable of.”
