Spellbound

The Burnout

Avery doesn't return until late Sunday afternoon. I watch her carefully as she walks through our messy room. I have no right to know what I know about her, but I can't pretend I don't know it either. She's different to me now. Her strength, her anger, it makes sense. I have a deeper understanding of why she is the way she is, and I know that is the exact reason she would never tell anyone. It makes her vulnerable. Weak. And Avery is anything but weak.

"Problem, Hurst?"

I've been staring too long. I focus my attention back to the Magical History essay I've barely started. But staring at the empty pages doesn't help—all I can feel are Avery's harsh eyes burning me. My body tenses beneath her stare, and I forget how to breathe. Everything goes quiet. I turn my head to catch a glimpse of her. She stands over her pile of clothes, staring at the pamphlet sprawled across her jacket—

"You went through my things?!" She kicks her jacket across the floor, and moves straight towards me. I jump up so fast, I knock over Lilith's tea, and move to the other side of my bed.

"I didn't mean to—"

She holds her hand out. Her anger fills the entire room, but it's more than that. It's hurt and betrayal and fear and overwhelming heartache. It takes every ounce of strength I have to block it out and not collapse beneath the weight of her emotion. I turn my head, and brace for something—anything. But nothing comes.

When I open my eyes again, Avery is throwing her clothes into her closet.

"If you tell anyone, and I mean anyone, you will live to regret it. That is a promise."

She leaves the room without another word, leaving me alone once more. When she leaves, she takes the weight of the room with her. I fall in a heap on my bed. I don't know when the tears start, and this time, I don't try to stop them.

*

The only times I see Avery for the rest of the week are early in the morning, and right before bed. She doesn't show up on Tuesday afternoon for a private lesson in Elements, and she's skipped all our joined classes. I know I can't ask the other girls about it without giving everything away, so I grit my teeth and deal with it.

When I make it to the attic for my private lesson with Adrian, I don't bother knocking. I walk straight into his living room, to find a blonde girl with a pointed face.

"Talon?"

She spins to me, her grin, toothy and wide. I stare between her and Adrian. He looks as uncomfortable as I feel. She places her boney hand on his shoulder, and leans in close enough so only he can hear her. Her presence makes my skin crawl. Especially now—

It's only when I see a bundle of blankets reserved for a wolf that panic sets in. I scan the room for her, my eyes bulging so hard they might fall from their sockets. Thankfully, Talon's too wrapped up in flirting with Adrian to notice as I move through the room. My body tenses with nausea when she makes an awful noise that sounds like a dying walrus—which I realise is her laugh. I take my moment, and quietly slip onto the second level of the loft. To my right is the door that leads to the bathroom, but something else catches my eye—

Behind Adrian's bed, purple light pools beneath thick black curtains nailed to the wall. Silent whispers only I can hear, drawing me closer...Dazed and light-headed, I don't stop until I'm holding a fistful of fabric.

"Can I help you?"

His presence startles me. There's a slam from the front door signalling Talon's departure, and I'm broken from my trance.

Standing toe to toe with Adrian isn't as intimidating as it once was, and my voice no longer trembles when I speak, "What's this?"

"Portal." He tells me honestly.