Page 223 of Castings & Curses

Completely useless, save for produce stores.

She sneered at the thought.

The scents of dinner cooking filtered onto the street and Leanna barely gained control over the frown on her face. This family was abysmal. They were just so veryordinary. Leanna wondered how anyone inside that house could be so important.

Witches or not, judging from the meatloaf and roasted potato dinner they were about to have, this family had little to no real power. Leanna failed to see what was so special about this family at all.

More importantly, what could Armstrong possibly want with their youngest daughter?

Even her name made Leanna roll her eyes.

Jade Montrose.

Oh, please.

But it did not matter what she thought. Stolbright was there on Armstrong’s order, and like it or not, she would hand deliver the acceptance letter. She raised her hand and knocked, waiting impatiently for someone to come. The breeze stirred, and Stolbright sneezed.

Fantastic.

Huge ceramic planters dripping evening primrose sat on the porch. The fragrant blossom had medicinal purposes, she knew, but to Leanna, it only brought misery in the shape of an allergic reaction.

The night blooming blossoms exuded a pollen that simply did not agree with her.

What was taking so long?

She needed to leave before the hives started to spread across her skin. Already, her arms itched. She knocked again.

“Hurry up,” Stolbright muttered.

“Coming,” someone shouted from inside.

Leanna rolled her eyes, standing straight when the click of the knob turning sounded loudly. A young woman, maybe twenty, opened the door, her curly hair was a frizzy mess on top of her head and there were streaks of mud on her cheeks.

“Hello!” the witch announced cheerfully. “Can I help you?”

Leanna was about to say something rude about doubting the young woman could help anyone—she could not even keep her face clean—but then her senses tingled. It was that same power that told her when someone had excellent untapped potential. She might not know how or what an earth witch could do, but there was no doubt about it.

The girl’s aura began to tremble and grow, taking on a greenish glow so bright it hurt Leanna’s eyes. She really had to learn to stop questioning Headmistress Armstrong. The old witch was never wrong about anyone. Made her wonder why she even kept Leanna on the payroll.

“Are you Jade Montrose?” she asked curiously.

“Yes, that’s me. Should I get my mother?”

“Unnecessary. This is for you, Miss Montrose,” Leanna said, handing her the thick envelope before she pivoted on her heeled boot and walked away.

“But what is it?” Jade asked after her.

Leanna did not pause. She knew better than to explain. Besides, she needed to get away from that house and its poisonous plants, and fast. The earth witch had something special about her after all, and shocking as that was, Leanna had done her duty.

Envelope delivered.

She was not required to read the damn thing to the witch. Miss Montrose sure was tenacious, though. She followed Leanna right up to the gate.

“But wait a second—”

“No,” Leanna stated, walking away without looking back. She uttered one last thing before she left.

“Welcome to Westwood Academy, Jade Montrose.”

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