Chapter 10 #2
That couldn’t have been the only thing. Art must have written more about it.
There had to be something else. Perhaps later on.
She grabbed the book, pulling it into the light and studying the page, margins and all.
Hasty scrawls and sketches littered the edges.
Her uncle had doodled as he worked and most of it was utter nonsense.
No wonder she’d ignored the scribbled instruction.
Because it couldn’t have just appeared out of nowhere, could it?
Behind her the chair scraped on the floor and she glanced back to see Noah moving it towards her.
‘It’s all right,’ she told him. ‘I just need to—’
‘Sit,’ he said, so gently it surprised her. ‘You’ll hurt your back leaning over it like that.’
She was too taken aback to argue. Why wasn’t he berating her? Why wasn’t he telling her she had been foolish and irresponsible? Because she had been. She knew she had.
And maybe that was why. Because she did know it.
‘Why are you being nice to me?’ she blurted out.
To her horror, Noah smiled. Oh, it wasn’t joyful or anything like that.
The situation was far too serious. But nonetheless, it was a smile.
‘Because being horrible to you wouldn’t achieve anything, would it?
We need to fix this. And when I say we, I mostly mean you because as I said, I have all the magical abilities of a rock. So, what do we do?’
She stared at him for a long moment, waiting for the trap to spring, but it didn’t. He nodded at the book meaningfully, all but telling her outright to just get on with it.
‘Some rocks have an enormous amount of magical ability,’ she told him curtly.
She didn’t know why. It was something to say.
‘They just can’t do anything about it. If you want to help…
’ She chewed on her lower lip as she thought furiously.
‘I need to study the book further, not just this recipe. I need to see what else he’s written about, and see if there are any other annotations.
Seb might know. Could you go and ask him?
I know he can’t leave the dragons, not right now, but he knows more about Art and Art’s magic than anyone else.
Just ask him about spells to… to reinforce or restore a magical connection, or anything Art might have left behind on how to do that.
Or… or any artifacts. Ask him about Art’s notes, the annotations and…
I don’t know. Anything that might help. He’ll understand how serious this is. He’ll have to know.’
Of all her siblings, Seb would understand best.
Noah nodded. ‘I’ll find out what I can. And if he can be spared I’ll send him down here to—’
Portia shook her head. ‘He won’t be able to leave them.
Believe me. Seb is the only one who can support the whole flight.
He’s the strongest of us, but he can’t really control it.
So long as he’s in the snuggery, the dragons will be fine, but anyone else going in there could be hurt.
Be careful, Noah. Anything could happen with Seb’s magic. ’
‘Do you need anything else?’
‘No. I need to study this book. If Art knew this was a danger, it must have happened to him somehow. He must have written about it. He wrote down everything eventually, but just… not always in the right order. He must have found a way to reverse it.’
Or at least, she hoped and prayed that he had. Her uncle’s magic was legendary. Not always reliable perhaps, but there had been no one like him when it came to creating new spells and artifacts. His book had to hold the answer.
Ophelia brought her a cup of tea but Portia forgot about it and let it go cold. When her sister returned, she wordlessly removed it and replaced it with a fresh cup.
‘Portia? You need to take a break.’
‘I don’t have time for a break,’ she growled.
‘Then you should make time. Now. You’re no good to anyone completely exhausted. Here, these came.’
She was holding two letters. Portia stared at the one on top, recognising Milo’s handwriting. The other though… the other looked horribly official. There was an Academy seal and that perfect calligraphy picking out her name and address. That couldn’t be good.
‘When?’ she asked.
‘Harry brought it up about ten minutes ago, as soon as the birds came in with them. He knew you’re waiting on anything from the capital.’
Portia sipped her tea and then took the letters from her sister.
The one from the Academy was thick, obviously containing far more than the few sheets of paper in Milo’s letter, and she realised at once that boded ill.
She put both the letters down next to the book and picked up her tea again, steeling herself. Or at least trying to.
Ophelia was still watching her intently, as if she knew the letter from the Academy could not be good news. Fi had always been quick like that. They had all been here when Seb’s one arrived. Had her family been expecting this again? Waiting on edge for history to repeat itself?
‘It’ll be all right, Portia. Whatever it says. We’ll work it out.’
‘You’re meant to be the little sister,’ Portia grumbled at her. ‘You do know that, don’t you?’
It was not going to be all right. Nothing was all right.
And look what her own overconfidence in her abilities had done in the short while she’d been here.
She should have paid better attention to what she was doing.
She should have checked for notes. And maybe Noah was right and she shouldn’t have rushed into it so quickly.
Fi smiled gently. ‘And yet here we are. Do you want me to take the letters away for now? You could open them once you’re finished your work?’
It was tempting. When had Ophelia grown up so much?
While Portia was away studying, she supposed, living her glorious life in the Academy, chasing her own star.
She could hide from it all for now. Her sister would give her that.
The letter would still be there though, lurking in the background, waiting for her, and preying on her mind.
No, that would distract her and make things even worse.
She set the cup down carefully, picked up the official letter, drew in a deep breath, and tore it open.