Page 76 of Spelling Disaster

Her mouth opens and closes while she gets herself under control. There’s no way Mom is going to fight with me with the High Priest and Priestess watching her.

Finally, she thrusts her arms into the air. “Fine! Leave me.” But the thin line of her lips twitches and I know she’s hiding her grin.

I’d go back to the academy whether Eli wanted me to or not. It’s not the right time to kick up a fuss, though. So I shoot him a grateful smile, a little tighter around the edges than the one I give Theo, and stuff my exhaustion aside.

The pages of the romance novel ripple again in an invisible breeze and Blaire, Remi, and Atlas all spring out of the book dressed as characters from the story. My roommates’ hair is in knots around her face and she has bags under her eyes.

Glancing around, she pulls it together first.

“Girl,neversend me into a book again. How long were we in there?” she asks.

“Only for a few minutes. Twenty at most,” I tell her.

“Well, for us, it was a whole ass week and I am happy it’s over.” She sags. “I’m over this whole thing without modern conveniences and bathing in lakes.”

She might look like she’s been put through the ringer but Remi and Atlas appear almost regal. From their bearing to their clothes, I can see how the balance of power was shifted during their trip inside the story.

The magic can be fickle. It’s hard to say who you’ll end up being.

“What’s this, now?” Mom gestures toward Atlas with her nose, seeing how close the two of them stand. “Both my daughters have been involved with boys and no one wanted to tell me?”

“This is my boyfriend.” Remi sounds strong, and only a little Scottish. “Atlas, this is my mother, Jaime. Mom…it doesn’t matter what you say. We’re together and we’re not going to break up just because you don’t approve.” She loops her arm through his. “He’s mine.”

The look on her face dares Mom to argue.

I give Mom credit. She shows no sign of her usual reaction as she walks up to the two of them and draws them into a hug. “Remi, you have my blessing,” she says. “I’m going to stay out of your life. Both of your lives. Okay?”

My sister blinks, confused, before returning the hug. “It’s okay, Mom, it’s fine. We’re safe. You can stop with the panic now.”

I shake my head and Theo tugs at me. “The bike is parked at the edge of the barrier,” he tells me softly. “Are you ready to go?”

If he’s surprised by me having a familiar, he doesn’t show it. Not when Gus gives him the appraising eye and ducks into my bag for the ride.

“Yes,” I agree. “I’m more than ready to go.”

I want to sleep for days. Weeks. I want to sleep with Theo and wake up in his arms where I know for sure I’ll be safe.

Mom shifts her attention to the barrier around the town and closes her eyes. She breathes out slowly once, twice. Eventually the barrier falls, shifting away into nothingness and letting the light of the moon and stars finally shine through.

ChapterTwenty-Five

There’s no time for sleep once we get back to campus, though. Riding back took hours, with Blaire waving me away and saying she’d find her own way back, whatever that meant. There wasn’t room for her on the bike but I would have made it work.

My arms were limp trying to hold on to Theo, and I halfway debated spending the night at the motel, in the same room.

“I can make it back,” he assures me. “I took a cat nap at the motel and slept in a fine tent in the Highlands. Bed of furs, Yas. Bed of furs.” He bent to kiss me then shoved his helmet over his head. “I thought about taking you there.”

“To the Highlands?”

“No,” he says. “On those furs.”

I’m blushing before we jet off toward Andora.

Exams are right around the corner, and classes start tomorrow morning as soon as the sun rises. If we get a few hours of sleep tonight then we’re gonna be lucky.

And how in the world is Theo going to explain his highlander style hair to everyone when we get back?

With Gus safely tucked into my shirt, the engine is a lull and I might have dozed off a few times during the drive home. The landscape shifts into those rolling hills, visible even in the night, and the knot in my chest slowly loosens.

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