CHAPTER 1 #2
“It does my heart good to see a Mayweather in academy uniform once more,” she said, taking in my crisp white shirt, black blazer, and black-and-silver pleated skirt.
A black ribbon tie, black knee-high socks, and shiny dress shoes completed the outfit.
Raising a hand to reverently touch the silver-stitched H and A crest on my blazer, she whispered, “It suits you perfectly.”
I swallowed hard, feeling the full weight of my decision with those words.
But, despite my many reservations, I had to do this.
I had to do it for them. For my family. We’d been outcasts for far too long, so long that my brother had never even met others of his own kind.
So long that he was acting more and more human every day.
His curiosity of the outside world was getting harder to suppress, but it wasn’t the supernatural world he was curious about.
In his eyes, the supernatural world destroyed his family, so why would he want to be a part of it?
Humans were what intrigued him, and although Gran had forbidden us both from attending human schools, Wyatt continued to emulate them—especially American humans, to Gran’s chagrin.
He’d become so immersed in acting like one that he still hadn’t manifested a single spark of magic. He was only ten, but I knew Gran was worried. The Mayweathers were known for manifesting early. If his magic didn’t appear soon, it might be a sign. A sign that he was . . .
I didn’t finish the thought, afraid I’d make it true if I did.
Something cold settled around my neck, snapping me from my thoughts. “What’s this?” I asked, glancing down.
I lifted the silver chain Gran had clasped around my neck to better see the pendant attached.
It was a pentacle—a five-pointed upright star within a circle—a symbol that all witches knew well.
Nestled in its center was a black stone.
At first, I thought it was obsidian, but upon closer inspection . . .
A sharp gasp left me, and I looked up at Gran in disbelief. “Is this what I think it is?”
“The rarest gemstone in the world, so rare that humans aren’t even aware of it?” Her lips curved into an impish grin. “Yes, darling. It’s a heartstone.”
I blinked. “But . . . but how? Witches haven’t been able to find more heartstone in decades.”
She shrugged. “They haven’t, but I’ve been secretly saving this little stone for a special occasion, and that time has finally come.”
“Oh, Gran,” I whispered, my throat tightening with emotion. “I . . . I’m truly honored, but I can’t accept something so precious.”
“You are precious, more precious than any stone,” she adamantly replied, her expression sobering.
“You were destined to carry it, especially considering where you’re going.
This amulet will protect you when I cannot, acting both as a shield and an amplifier to compensate for the absence of your coven. Never take it off.”
“But first years aren’t allowed to bring any personal items with them to school, including jewelry,” I reminded her.
She waved my words away. “Nonsense. All the other families and covens will be protecting their scholars in a similar fashion. It’s the witches’ way.” Reaching up to fist the amulet, she closed her eyes and chanted, “Shadows mine, aid my spell. Cloak this necklace, shield it well.”
The necklace faded, then completely disappeared.
“There,” Gran said, dropping the now invisible pendant. “The invisibility spell won’t last forever, but if it wears off, repeat those words to keep it hidden.”
I nodded, oddly comforted by the feel of the cool gemstone against my skin—even if I couldn’t see it. “Guess we should go, then,” I said, hating how thin my voice sounded.
Gran solemnly nodded. “Yes, it’s time.”
Taking a step back, she raised her hands and, with a confident sweep of her arms, conjured a human-sized portal between us.
The edges shimmered dark violet, and inside the mysterious depths of its center was a void of pitch-black nothingness, swirling and grasping, threatening to swallow whole anyone who trespassed.
“The Ether” was what we called the endless space between the earthly plane and the celestial.
Only witches and their familiars could enter this realm, but not all who did came back out whole.
And some didn’t come back out at all.
I wasn’t afraid of entering it, though, especially with Gran as my guide. She’d been traveling by portal for decades and had never once lost her way.
Sweeping a final glance over Blackrose Manor—praying this wouldn’t be the last time I saw my childhood home—I stepped around the portal and accepted my grandmother’s outstretched hand.
Together, we entered the black hole and were immediately transported to another dimension.
Wind snatched at my hair, throwing it into my face as the world sped by impossibly fast. Gran firmed her grip on my hand, the only anchor keeping me from the Ether’s clutches.
Seconds later, we exited the screaming maelstrom, our feet landing on solid ground. Sand, more specifically.
Pushing my windswept hair back, I immediately noticed the time change.
The sky was a dull gray, the sun still struggling to breach the horizon.
I was used to seeing mountains, the rural town of Plymouth where I grew up sitting at the foot of one, but these mountains were far bigger.
Instead of being covered in trees, they jutted up into the sky like giant rock behemoths, jagged and dusted in white.
The air was also thinner and chillier than back home.
We were in the mountains, not at their base.
“Where are we?” I asked, turning in a circle to take in the gorgeous panoramic view.
We were standing on the sandy beach of a crystal clear lake, a glacier-fed river nearby steadily pouring into it.
A thick border of pine trees surrounded the lake, not a single road or man-made building in sight.
Birds chirped in the trees, but other than that and the gurgling water, I couldn’t hear any signs of life.
“Sorry, darling, but I’m not allowed to tell you,” Gran replied, letting go of my hand to tuck a few strands of white hair back into her otherwise pristine bun.
“As your guardian, I was given permission to drop you off at this location, but all first years must face their initiation into Heartstone alone and without prior guidance. You’ll pass through the magical wards as soon as you leave the beach, and that’s all I can share.
What happens after that is completely up to you. ”
The reminder sank like a rock in the pit of my stomach, but I nodded anyway, valiantly trying not to show how nervous I was.
This wasn’t a typical college drop-off experience.
Heartstone was an elite college for young and powerful witches and warlocks.
Only the best were admitted, but I had to prove that I was the best. It made sense that I’d have to prove my worth from day one.
Otherwise, the school wouldn’t have a reputation for being cutthroat and dangerous.
Not to mention deadly. Every year, students died at Heartstone.
A foreboding chill suddenly crept over the peaceful landscape. The wind picked up, and I caught a whiff of something, a scent that didn’t belong in the fresh mountain air.
Despair.
Cold fingers of dread raced up my spine, and I couldn’t suppress a shiver.
No doubt seeing the fear bleeding into my eyes, Gran abruptly reached up and grabbed my face, pulling it down to hers before saying, “You’re a Mayweather.
Show them all what you’re made of. Prove that you belong.
Reinstate your place. Do it for yourself, but also do it for me and your brother.
Do it for your parents and for your aunt Clarice, rest her soul. ”
“Yes, Gran,” I replied, feeling my heart begin to race.
“Don’t bow to anyone. You’re royalty; they’ve just forgotten. Remind them that Mayweathers used to sit on the throne. It’s your birthright to rule, and once you’ve conquered this challenge before you, Mayweathers will rise again.”
“Yes, Gran.”
Her sharp nails dug into my cheeks, her eyes boring holes into mine as if she could etch her next words into my brain.
“Do whatever it takes to survive, but you must stay away from Thorne Hudson at all costs. Considering his family’s position, I can only assume they had something to do with your acceptance to Heartstone.
The Hudsons want nothing more than to make a mockery of you, to see you fail, to see you dead.
This is your chance to prove just how resilient Mayweathers are.
You deserve to be at that school, Winter.
Don’t let them destroy the last hope we have of reinstating our position. ”
At the mention of his name, my heart practically pounded out of my chest.
“Yes, Gran,” I whispered, my voice reed thin. “I love you.”
“Oh, my darling, I love you too,” she murmured back, lifting up to kiss my cheek. “May the spirits of our ancestors guide and protect you on this journey. Now go. I’ve already lingered too long. The others will get a head start.”
With that, she let go of me and turned to form another portal. As it sprang into existence and she stepped forward to enter it, I almost cried out for her to take me with. Instead, I viciously bit my tongue, forcing my feet to stay where they were.
Gran threw one last glance at me over her shoulder, her gaze brimming with love and pride. I smiled at her, though it was forced. She smiled back, then swept inside her portal and vanished from view.
The portal disappeared, leaving me utterly alone.
The moment she was gone, I immediately felt small and insignificant, completely inept to the task before me.
I was just one witch, a disgraced one in a great big world that wanted to crush me like a bug.
How had I convinced myself that I could do this?
I had no clue what awaited me behind those invisible magical wards.
I could fail in an instant, proving to the entire witch community that the Mayweather name truly was dead.
So many what-ifs. So many doubts and fears.
It was only by the power of my grandmother’s parting words that I managed to push aside my fear and move.
One step, then two, my shoes sank into the soft sand as I made my way across the beach.
When only one step remained between the beach’s end and the unknown, I lifted my chin and plowed ahead, bracing myself for whatever awaited me.
The second my shoes hit grass, the world around me changed. A deep gloom plunged the morning into night, and the temperature dropped by several degrees.
Before my eyes could adjust to the sudden darkness, a bloodcurdling scream lit up the night.