Page 21 of The Black Witch

Paige glances meekly at Fallon and forces a small, quavering smile.

I motion toward Echo’s marked hands. “Have you been fasted a long time?”

Echo’s solemn stare doesn’t waver. “To Basyl Dorne. Five years ago.”

I study her, trying to catch a glimpse of how she feels about this, but Echo’s as private and unreadable as a statue.

My eyes wander to Fallon’s unmarked hands. “So... I see you’re not fasted.”

Fallon’s expression turns cold, and she fixes me with a belligerent stare. “Notyet.” She says it like a challenge.

“Fallon likes Lukas Grey.” Paige giggles nervously. Fallon swivels her head smoothly toward Paige and stares her down. Paige’s smile vanishes. “Well...youdo...like Lukas, I mean.”

I remember my aunt’s gushing praise of Lukas Grey, the prospective fasting partner she seems to want most forme. I’m amused that Aunt Vyvian actually thinks I could compete with Fallon Bane for anything—and win.

“He’sreallyhandsome,” gushes Paige, “and his father is the High Commander of theentireMage Guard. He comes from averyimportant family,andhe’s a Level Five Mage.”

Fallon is watching me closely, a gloating look on her face, like she’s won some prize.

“When are you getting fasted to Lukas?” I ask.

Fallon’s smile freezes, and she narrows her eyes at me. “Soon.Verysoon.” There’s warning in her inflection.Stay away from Lukas. He’s mine.

I wonder why she’s so insecure about him, and whether or not she knows Aunt Vyvian ludicrously wants him for me. I find myself even more curious about my aunt’s party, if only for the chance to meet the mysterious Lukas Grey. My eyes are drawn to the wand that sticks out from Fallon’s belt like some great thorn.

“So—” I gesture toward the wand “—you’ve quite a bit of power, I’ve heard.”

She bares her teeth. “A little.”

I can tell by the incredulous looks Echo and Paige throw her that she’s being wildly sarcastic.

“I’ve never seen magic used,” I tell her.

Her feral smile inches wider. “You’ve no magic, then?”

I shake my head, bothered by the gloating look on her face.

In one smooth, deft movement, Fallon pulls out her wand, holds it straight up and murmurs a spell.

A loud crack sends Echo, Paige and me recoiling back against our seats as a flash of blue light bursts from Fallon’s wand. The sound jars me to the bone, and I gasp as the light quickly coalesces into a whirling, glowing sphere that floats just above the wand’s tip, its rhythmic, deepwhoosha jagged scrape to my ears, the carriage rapidly cooling, frost forming on the windows.

“Stop it,Fallon,” Echo snaps as she glares at Fallon with annoyance, all of us cast in sapphire light. “You’ll freeze us to death.”

Fallon lets out a contemptuous laugh but relents. She murmurs more strange words and the iceball instantly morphs into a roiling, white vapor that quickly explodes into a frigid, odorless mist and disappears.

Fallon sits back and grins, a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

“That’s amazing,” I breathe, swallowing hard, fighting back a shiver.

“That’snothing,” Paige says, eyes wide. “You should see whatelseshe can do. She’s a Level Five Mage. One of the best of thewholeGuard.”

“It sounds like you and Lukas Grey are well suited for each other,” I tell Fallon placatingly, wanting to be struck clear off her list of potential enemies.

Aunt Vyvian needs to abandon her absurd dream of matching me with Lukas Grey. All she’s going to do is place me directly into scary Fallon Bane’s line of fire.

Fallon seems pleased by my comment. She nods approvingly, sets her wand back into her belt and relaxes against her seat.

Echo shoots Fallon a look of mild disapproval, then glances down at my unmarked hands and frowns. “I don’t understand why you’re not fasted.”

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