Spotlight

Chapter 30

The rest of the term goes by quickly.

Maybe it's because I'm dreading going back home.

It'll be a lot harder to be insubordinate at home. Before I walk into my Wednesday exam, I get messages from Keri.

She wants me to go over my Itenary for the break.

I respond with "what happened to the two weeks in Tarwick?"

She actually responds with "haha."

The night before my Fire exam, I stop by class.

"Professor Cara," I call.

The room is empty.

I came by to say goodbye. I'm leaving immediately after the exam. I'm being serious. As soon as I'm done, Mavis is whisking me away to the black car. She and Yara even packed my stuff this afternoon.

I walk up to her desk and admire the plant. I light it on fire and it glows brighter than I've ever seen it.

I check to see if anyone's there and focus all my energy on my magic.

What comes out isn't exactly white, but it's not red.

It's been hard to practice with either Tweedledee or Tweedledum at my tail all month.

I knew Mavis wouldn't let me leave so late so I snuck out while she was in the bathroom.

I get a notification on my phone and check to see if it's from Keri. It's not, it's just Arin.

I respond and tell him that I'll meet him for dinner in ten minutes.

Cara's desk is as usual, messy. It's a miracle she can keep all her papers intact.

I huff and begin arranging them according to topic.

Her pile of flowers and magical plants is the easiest to sort. She truly is obsessed.

I stop at a particular piece of paper. It's an in-depth profile of Princess Kaili.

It contains information I couldn't even get my hands on.

I get another notification on my phone. I ignore it.

I examine the paper closely, it's highlighted in several places.

I riffle through her desk and find more colourfully coded pieces of paper.

There are three in total. They have the same template, and similar bits of information are highlighted in the same colour.

I'm very confused. Cara told me she wasn't researching this anymore. When I mentioned my progress, she looked bored and indifferent. Besides, she was only interested in Delia Beltane.

I keep searching her desk and go very still when I see a particular paper. It's the same as others. Except, the profile is on me.

It has my full name, my magical abilities, my parents home address, and there's a whole paragraph under all that with notes on me.

I flip the page over slowly and there's a picture of me on the day I took the pledge.

Cara circled my tiara.

"Cassandra," someone calls my name.

I turn back slowly.

Cara's smiling sweetly back at me.

"The entire building is empty. It's time for dinner, what are you doing here?" She asks.

"I wanted to say goodbye. Before I left." It's a miracle she can't hear the beating of my heart.