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I took the seat across from her and folded my arms on the table in front of me. My stomach felt like lead and waves of nausea rolled through me. I hadn’t even been this nervous on the night I’d arrived and been stuck in Dr. Green’s office.

“You’re in big trouble, Ms. Winters,” the woman said.

“That’s what they keep telling me,” I said.

She lifted her eyebrows. “You don’t think you’re in trouble?”

“Look.” I set my hand down flat on the table. “I’m new to this whole magic thing. I’m still trying to figure this all out. And there’s not exactly a guide book or list of rules somewhere to help me out.”

“You’re telling me that as a time wielder, you never knew your magic was illegal?” She leaned forward. “I thought for sure that was why you were in hiding.”

“What are you talking about? You can’t hide from something you don’t even know exists.”

“You’re very good,” she said. “I almost believe you. And I almost feel bad.”

“Feel bad for what?” I asked as my heart picked up pace. Something was going on here. Something very, very bad. I scooted the chair back a little, suddenly not wanting to be so close to this tiny woman.

She stood and locked her eyes on me. She was even shorter than I originally thought. Suddenly, she began mumbling words I couldn’t make out and her hair lifted as if drawn away from her head by static electricity. Her eyes glowed blue and tiny bursts of lightning traveled down her arms.

“What the fuck?” I scrambled off the chair so quickly I knocked it over and it clattered to the ground.

“By the sacred service of the hunters, I sentence you to death,” she said.

Instinctively, I tried to summon fire the way I had last time I’d been threatened. Nothing happened. Of course nothing happened. The stupid confinement room had drained everything.

I backed toward the wall as the woman moved closer to me. “I promise I won’t do it again.”

“I can’t afford to have you ruining my plans.” Her voice came out fuzzy and crackling with electricity. She was like a storm in the flesh.

My hair stood on end, rising from my arms and floating around my head. The whole room felt like it was charged and ready to explode. This was not how I imagined I’d die. A surge of fear spiked through me, sending my adrenaline into overdrive and I felt a sudden burst of energy.Not today.

I shifted to the side of the room, moving out of her path.

The woman’s eyes turned to me and she adjusted her position, moving toward me with slow purpose. “You’re only delaying the inevitable. I killed your parents and I’ll kill you, too.”

“You’re insane. My parents died in a car accident.” I moved again, into the corner, slowly sidestepping toward the door.

“That’s what they told that mundane aunt of yours. I wasn’t sure you’d survived until I felt the surge of your magic. It’s a shame that your bloodline must end.”

This woman was bat shit crazy. And apparently, she was also a mass murderer. I inched toward the door, getting closer with every step. She wasn’t in a hurry to kill me, apparently as she continued to move toward me with her slow, careful steps. I wondered if it was taking all of her energy to channel the lightning that was now encasing her whole body. She was like a walking science experiment. A woman trapped in a ball of unstable electricity. I had a feeling it wouldn’t end well for me if the two of us made contact. Especially while my magic was absent.

I was finally at the door and slowly I moved my hand to the doorknob and turned. To my surprise, the door opened a crack. I threw it open and took a breath of freedom before a jolt shot through me sending pain into every part of my body. I fell to the ground, screaming.

The stranger was looking down on me now, a wicked smile on her lips. “You thought you could flee? Your parents were the most powerful mages in a century and I bested them. You’re untrained with untamed magic. You don’t stand a chance.”

Blackness blurred around the edges of my vision and my breathing was ragged and difficult. Everything hurt. I tried to move, but I wasn’t able to control my limbs. I turned my head to the side and realized I was partially in the hallway. I’d been so close to freedom.

I screamed as bursts of sharp pain circled my ankles and I was dragged back into the room. I heard the door slam behind me. Fighting to gain control of my body, I gritted my teeth and tried to move. Nothing happened.

Tears rolled down my cheeks. I wasn’t ready to die. Especially not by a monster that had just confessed that she had killed my parents. Heat surged through my chest, fueled by anger. I embraced it, willing it to grow. I was not going to die lying down. I was not going to die by a madwoman’s magic. I had to live.


Tags: Alexis Calder Academy of the Elites Fantasy