Page 102 of Love Bites

BELLA

Ihurried through lunch, suddenly feeling desperate to talk to Jon.

My brother would expect me to text every day, even if he didn’t always answer. And I had missed calling him last night.

I slipped my phone out of one of my dress pockets and tapped out a quick message.

How r u?

A moment later it buzzed,and I felt warmth in my chest like I did every time I thought of my big brother. He usually wasn’t so quick to text back these days, and for sure it wouldn’t be more than a few words. But I was glad he was getting back to me. He must have been worried yesterday.

Your message could not be sent.

I exitedthe message app and pulled up my home screen.

I had no bars. Not half a bar or a bit of a bar -nobars at all. I figured that wasn’t really all that surprising in a giant mountaintop castle.

“Guys,” I said. “I don’t have any service. Can someone give me the WiFi password?”

“Oh,” Cori said, exchanging a glance with Anya.

“There’s a spell over the castle,” Anya said. “No communication in or out. It’s to keep the school off the grid.”

“I can’t be off the grid,” I said. “I have to talk to my brother.”

“When we go off-campus, you can catch up with him,” Anya said.

“When’s that?” I asked.

“We sometimes go down to the town on the weekend,” Cori said. “It’s tiny, but it’s cute.”

“Most of us have to be cloaked though,” Anya warned me. “They don’t want the people in town knowing we’re up here.”

I had no idea what she meant by cloaked, and I didn’t care.

“I can’t wait until the weekend to check on my brother,” I said, the note of panic in my voice inching up.

“You can write to him,” Anya offered. “One of the third-year girls can do this cantrip that mimics the postmark of wherever you’re supposed to be.”

“I told my family I transferred,” Cori said with a wink.

“My family doesn’t really care where I am,” Anya said softly. “What did you tell your brother, Bella?”

“I didn’t tell him anything at all,” I moaned. “I didn’t have the chance.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Cori said. “You were at college, surely he knows you might have met someone or gotten busy cramming for exams.”

“I always text or call,” I said. “Always.”

“We’ll think of something,” Cori said dubiously. “But right now, it’s time for Practical. You have Flora, right?”

I nodded.

“We’ll walk you there,” she offered. “And then we’ll pick you up after class and help you get ready for tonight.”

I nodded my thanks, afraid I would start sobbing if I opened my mouth.

We dumped our trays and headed out to the opposite wing.

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