“Are you able to help us?” he asks.
I watch them carefully. He must have a million things to ask her, yet he doesn’t.
“I hope so.” Thessaly stands slowly. Behind her, from a large trunk, she takes out a pile of clothes. “You should all change into these,” she says. “We don’t have much time, and there’s a lot you must see.”
“We need fancy dress for that?” Luther asks sarcastically.
Kole shoots him a dark stare, but his mother simply smiles. “Yes, for the spell we’re about to attempt, you do.”
28
MACK
When we’re dressed in our new clothes, looking like extras from a period drama, Thessaly returns. Sitting back down, she gestures for us to do the same then reaches behind her and pulls a large leather-bound book into her lap. Kole narrows his eyes.
“You remember this book?” Thessaly asks him.
“The Origins of Magick,” he says.
“My school had something similar.” I hold out my hands. Thessaly presses the book into them. I turn to Nova as she leans in to see. Her fingers brush mine when she opens the cover.
She frowns and runs her index finger over the title, inked in elaborate lettering at the top of the first page. Below it is a story I know by heart alongside drawings I studied as a kid.
“I can’t read it.” Nova turns to me.
“It’s written inMageia—the language of our spells,” Thessaly says softly.
I narrow my eyes at her. “What does this book have to do with the prophecy?”
“It’s not in the book,” Kole says. “The prophecy isn’t old enough.”
Breathing in deeply, Thessaly fixes her eyes on her son. She places a smooth hand on his shoulder. “You’re right, The Phoenix Prophecy isn’t in the book,” she says. “But the reason for its existence is.” Thessaly closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them, she says, “Kole, Mack, Tanner, Luther—the four of you are mages. You grew up in our world. You know the story of The Original Six.”
I breathe in sharply. Tanner and Luther are nodding. Kole is stock still.
As Sam slips his hand into Nova’s, she stares down at the pen and ink pictures in the book. “The Original Six?” she asks, stroking the ridges of the parchment.
I look at Thessaly and she nods at me, folding her arms in front of her stomach and sitting back on her heels as if she’s waiting for me to take over.
Tentatively, trying to explain while—at the same time—keeping the information as succinct as possible, I tell Nova, “Our history is divided into two eras.The Days of MageiaandThe Days After The Six.”
Nova tilts her head. Her eyes fix on mine.
“The Days of Mageiawere the early days of magick. Dark, pure magicks. As humanity changed, magick faded.” I glance at Thessaly.The Original Six. Something about that story is important. I breathe in slowly and push my fingers through my hair. Sam and Nova grew up outside the magickal community, so they do not know the stories. They do not know their own history.
I tap the book and draw Nova’s gaze to the images on the first page. “In the early 1600s, witches had forgotten how to be witches. Supers were living in the shadows. Magick was all but dead and buried.”
“But humans set it free,” Luther growls. His jaw pulses as he looks down at his hands.
I nod slowly. “Legend saysThe Days After The Sixbegan in a small town. There was a woman. A young, beautiful woman called Ava. And this young woman fell in love.” I pause. A heavy, twisting sensation in the pit of my stomach tells me Nova shouldn’t have to hear this. I remember listening to the tale as a child and feeling such overwhelming sadness that it brought tears to my eyes.
Luther cuts in. “Ava fell in love, but not just with one man. She loved several... five to be exact.” His eyes narrow. Is he thinking the same as me?Fated to Five.
Nova is watching him closely. Sam edges nearer to her.
Taking over for Luther, Thessaly says, “The men Ava loved were like brothers. They loved her as fiercely as she loved them, and they loved each other like brothers. But the town couldn’t accept their love. People started to talk and they were cruel. Ava feared for her safety and her reputation. So, when she fell pregnant, she knew she had to marry.”
“She had to choose?” Nova presses her lips together, her eyes grazing ours as she looks at each of us in turn. “How could she? If she loved them all?”