Chapter 28: Traitors

“I’m very impressed with how you handled yourself in the arena yesterday,” Master Rhoslyn said once I offered to help her clean up after class.

I had wondered what the small pocket on the right thigh of our pants was for. Now that I had my wand, I realized it fit perfectly into the pocket.

“Thank you so much,” I told her as I scooped up a heap of dried mint leaves and put it back in its jar. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.”

“We have gotten close this year, haven’t we?” the master said. “I think it’s because we’re so similar.”

The statement confused me. Yes, I was good at making potions, but she was an accomplished master who always seemed calm and sure of herself. It was going to take me years to get to her level, if I managed to get there at all.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” I told her honestly.

She approached and fixed the lapel of my shirt. “People who are exceptionally skilled at a certain type of magic are all connected in a unique way,” she said. “It means there’s something that ties us together.”

“Oh, does that mean that we could be distant relatives?” I asked, hopeful.

“No, not exactly. But we have more in common than you think. It will make sense, eventually. Now, help me get the lizards back into their tank. If we don’t catch them all, at least one of them is bound to scurry over to the kitchen and end up in someone’s soup.”

I stuck my tongue out at the thought of lizard soup. It made the master laugh until she cried.

The truth was, she was so different from all the other masters at the academy. She was just as passionate but not as strict. For example, I would’ve never voluntarily spent time with Master Carleton after combat class, but every night, I counted the seconds until Celestria started snoring, so I could sneak out and visit Master Rhoslyn.

She made me feel smart and brave. She had a great sense of humor, and the air of mystery she carried around pulled me to her like a fly to sweet honey.

My stomach rumbled at the thought of food.

The master raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like that’s your cue to go to dinner. Don’t worry, I can manage on my own.”

I thanked her and headed for the dining hall, bumping into Hunter on the way.

“Hey, where did you come from?” he asked, steadying me. His hands felt so nice that I deflated as soon as he took them off me and dropped them at his sides.

“The library.”

“Really? I was just there, but I didn’t see you.”

I hesitated for a second. “That’s because I only popped in for a second, to pick up a new book,” I lied. ” I needed some fresh air, so I decided to study outside.”

Hunter looked me up and down. “Did you leave your book outside?”

I might’ve been good at potions, but clearly, I was terrible at coming up with lies on the spot. “Yes,” I said, realizing that if I kept weaving an elaborate lie, it would only get worse.

Before Hunter could ask me anything else, Celestria appeared like a guardian angel.

“The administrator would like to see you.”

She didn’t need to tell me anything else. We said goodbye to Hunter and walked, no, ran to his office.

“He looked so serious when he asked me to find you,” she said. “I think he may finally have answers to give you.”

“You think?”

“Yes. Just know that no matter what happens, I’ll be there for you,” she promised.

When we stepped forward, the double doors swung open and allowed us in. Then, they closed behind us with a dull bang.

“Good evening, ladies,” the administrator said.

His voice sounded pleasant, but just like Celestria had said, he looked very concerned.

“Have a seat. Would you like some tea?”

“No offense, but I’m so tired of waiting for news. If you have something to share, please do it now.”

Dawson nodded. “I must warn you—it is not the news you may have wanted to hear. However, it is something I believe you have a right to know.”

~It’s bad. I can feel it.~

“We found the people who raised you on the border. They were headed for the kingdom of Arachnid.”

“The male killed himself before we could get any information out of him. The woman tried to do so as well. In the end, she was unsuccessful. We captured her, revived her, and threw her in the dungeon. We are waiting for further instructions from the queen.”

My supposed parents were traitors to the crown. To the entire kingdom and every person who lived here. I shouldn’t have cried for them, but I couldn’t hold back the tears as they spilled down my cheeks.

“Are you telling me that spies from Arachnid settled down in a quiet Berwick farming village, kidnapped me, and raised me as their own in near poverty?” I asked, the words sounding ridiculous as they were leaving my mouth. “Why would they do something like that?”

Dawson was silent for a moment. He cleared his throat and took a sip of tea before he could bring himself to speak again.

“There are people from Arachnid who sneak into our kingdom and steal our young. It’s something we don’t usually speak of. The queen doesn’t want to spread panic, so she’s ordered everyone to keep this information under wraps.”

Anger rose inside of me, but I waited for him to confirm my suspicions.

“You were one of those children, Drake. Sarah hasn’t confirmed it yet, but we believe she is a mother spy. They kill the real parents, steal the children, and raise them in Berwick in order to figure out whether the child has powers or not. If the child does, they are taken to Arachnid. If the child doesn’t exhibit any magical inclinations by the age of eighteen, the parents simply let them attend Oswalda and leave.”

Next to me, Celestria covered her mouth with her hand.

It was common knowledge that Arachnids couldn’t do magic. They were too evil for the magic powers to ever manifest inside their bodies. Now that I heard Dawson’s explanation, stealing powerful kids and using them as weapons against Berwick made perfect sense. I just couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized it before.

The room started to spin. I couldn’t see straight.

“What is going to happen to Sarah?” I asked. “Will she be tortured?”

“If she willingly answers our questions, probably not.”

“And what if she isn’t?”

“Our safety depends on weeding out the threat, Drake. You must understand that we must do whatever we can to protect ourselves.”

I nodded. Of course I understood. What I didn’t understand, however, was how I could’ve lived with such evil people and had no idea.

~Does that mean that I’m evil too and just don’t know it?~

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I managed to say before the room went dark.