Page 90 of Revenge is a Witch

Derek chuckles beside me. “Oh, I bet.”

Sebastian gives me a supportive smile, but I can tell he’s thinking the same thing. My parents aren’t exactly going to throw a party when they hear I’ve been dueling witches.

Principal Halford’s voice breaks through my thoughts. “Additionally, I’ll be reviewing the grimoire that Kyla handed in. There will be a full assessment of it to determine its origin.”

My heart skips a beat. This is what I’ve been waiting for—proof that Kyla stole from me, that she isn’t the witch she pretends to be. But I can’t help but feel the tiniest twinge of guilt. After all, I broke her wand.

“Kyla isn’t speaking at the moment,” the principal continues, his voice lowering as if he’s letting me in on a secret. “I assume it has something to do with a particular truth spell cast during the battle.”

I blink, confused for a moment. “Wait… what?”

Principal Halford raises an eyebrow. “The truth spell you cast? I believe you misinterpreted it. You see, Miss Kendle cannot speak unless the words she says are truthful.”

I feel Sebastian stiffen beside me as he connects the dots. “So she’s basically mute now,” he says, his tone filled with a mixture of amusement and satisfaction.

“Correct,” the principal confirms, his expression carefully neutral. “Until the spell is undone or wears off, she’ll be unable to lie or twist the truth in any way.”

I can’t help but smirk. I hadn’t meant for that spell to linger quite this long, but there’s something poetic about the idea of Kyla being unable to speak her usual lies. “Well, I guess she’s got a lot of truth to reflect on then.”

“Indeed,” Principal Halford says. “I will keep you updated on the results of the grimoire review. In the meantime, I suggest you take some time to recover. You’ve been through a lot today.”

“Thanks,” I say, feeling a bit lighter after hearing that Kyla’s truth bomb has backfired so perfectly. As he turns to leave, I glance at Sebastian and Derek. “Well, that was unexpected.”

Sebastian chuckles. “Unexpected, but not unwelcome.”

Derek crosses his arms, a smirk playing on his lips. “So, she’s got to keep her mouth shut unless it’s the truth. Guess she’s going to be pretty quiet for a while.”

“I’ll take that as a win,” I say, grinning as I turn and lead the way back to the dorm.

Sebastian and Derek fall into step behind me, and for the first time all day, I feel a little more like myself—sassy, confident, and maybe just a tiny bit satisfied with how things turned out. Kyla might not be completely out of the picture yet, but she’s certainly taken down a notch. And for now, that’s good enough for me.

As we approach my dorm, I’m surprised to see Hazel and Skylar sitting on the floor outside my door, boxes of pizza balanced precariously on their laps. They’re chatting away, laughing about something, but the moment they spot me, they pause and grin like a pair of mischievous cats.

“Well, look who finally decided to show up,” Hazel calls out, waving a slice of pizza in the air.

I raise an eyebrow, unable to hold back my smirk. “You two missed the show.”

Skylar sits up straighter, eyes wide with curiosity. “Wait, did you win?”

Derek scoffs like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, crossing his arms. “Of course she won. Did you really think anyone else would stand a chance?”

The girls cheer, Skylar tossing her slice of pizza in the air like it’s a party favor. “That’s our girl!”

I can’t help but laugh as I walk up to them, the weight of the day lifting just a little more. “What is this, a pizza celebration? You guys didn’t even wait for me?”

Hazel grins, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Hey, we’ve been sitting out here for a while. Figured we’d get a head start. Besides, you know we always come prepared.”

Sebastian chuckles from behind me, his arms crossed lazily over his chest. “Sounds like you picked up more than just pizza, though.”

Hazel shrugs, not even attempting to hide her grin. “Well, let’s just say... I wouldn’t go sniffing around the drink we brought. It’s more... medicinal.”

Skylar chimes in, eyes twinkling. “You mean, you wouldn’t sniff it unless you really want to know what scotch tastes like on an empty stomach.”

I shake my head, laughing as I unlock my door and usher everyone inside. “You guys are terrible, but I love it. Come on, we’ll all just... find somewhere to crash.” The room is already feeling smaller with everyone piling in, but it’s cozy, and after today, cozy is exactly what I need.

Derek takes up a space on the floor by the bed, legs stretched out as he leans back on his elbows, eyeing the pizza boxes with approval. Sebastian drops down next to him with a groan, clearly done with standing for the night. Hazel and Skylar settle in, and I can already tell that tonight is going to be full of bad jokes and even worse ideas.

“Well,” I say, grabbing a slice of pizza and plopping myself down next to them on the floor, “we’re definitely not standing for anything tonight.”

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