Everyone else approached closer, and nodded. Their unity was felt in the air and, despite everything, Mina realized that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
“What about mom?” Mina suddenly remembered.
“Mom?” Kellam repeated.
“I spoke to her,” she told him carefully, as if she was revealing a well guarded secret.
“You have?” Now, it was Kellam’s turn to be surprised.
“I met a few girls who were half witches and they allowed me to attend the Witches’ Sabbath. Mom was there. She came back just to talk to me.”
“What did she say?” Kellam’s eyes filled with tears at the mention of their mother.
He remembered her well. Mina was sure that he missed her even more than she did. A part of her wished that it could have been him to talk to her during the Witches’ Sabbath but fate had it this way.
“She knew of your plan,” Mina smiled. “She told me you were safe and that I needed to be patient. It was a bit after I got that message, to be careful. That was from you, wasn’t it?”
Kellam only nodded, as he was listening.
“She told me about the book, how I’m the real keeper, but you took over for a while. Then, she was gone, just like that…”
While she was talking about her mother, Mina felt as if a light was shining over them, warm and safe, letting them know that everything would be alright in the end.
“No matter what happens, we can’t let Dante get the book,” Kellam got serious.
The time for melancholy was over. They needed to act, fast.
“What can we do?” Mina wondered.
“We attack him first.”
“But, he’s not here yet,” Mina replied. “I’ve been checking.”
“I know exactly where he is,” Kellam assured her. “I’ve been keeping him busy in London. I have a friend there, who wanted to help me, so he kept Dante occupied with work, at their university. Dante should have arrived back to Zeadore this morning, if I’m not mistaken.”
“How can we be sure of this?” Mina asked.
“Only one way. We go and check personally,” Kellam nodded.
“At his office?”
“No, he won’t be at his office now. He’s probably tired from the trip. He might even be sleeping already. That’s why we need to head over there now.”
“And where is there?”
“His lodge, of course,” Kellam nodded.
“But… we can’t just go there, like that… without any preparation… or anything…” Mina was nervous, she was scared, even though her big brother was by her side.
Dante’s reputation preceded him. He was ruthless, merciless, dangerous. Mina couldn’t bear the thought of potentially losing her brother now that she had found him, safe and sound. She felt like she wasn’t ready, like she spent all that precious time hanging out with these guys she liked, instead of preparing properly for the face off with Dante.
However, if someone asked her whether she thought she’d wasted that time, she would shake her head immediately. Whatever happened in the end, she’d never regret anything here, in Zeadore Academy. If her love life took a hit because of this, she’d still consider herself lucky to have been able to experience something so wonderful with Thorne, Hendrik, Raphael and Renwick. They were just something else, and she’d always think of them with a sense of happiness.
“We need to do this, Mina,” Kellam spoke softly, stirring her from her thoughts and she knew he was right.
The time had finally come. There was no turning back.
Chapter 20