Page 69 of Magic in the Woods
A pang of jealousy echoed in my chest. It wasn’t that Brooke was with Luke; it was that they hadeach other. It was what Gideon and I had once had.
I pushed that emotion away. That feeling wouldn’t help me today.
“I know you and Gideon aren’t getting along right now,” Brooke said, “but don’t let that distract you from the task. You’re a powerful witch, Dafni. Show the Academy what you’re made of.”
I couldn’t do anything but nod. It was time that I showed everyone what I could do. Even if Gideon didn’t pick me—I could show them the power I had.
“We have to go,” Brooke said, pulling Luke along with her. “Good luck! We’ll be rooting for you!”
I paced our room like a caged animal—waiting for Arcana to come and collect each of us from our rooms.
This was my chance to differentiate myself from the rest of the witches here. I didn’t have to be Gideon’s choice—I could be the witches’ choice. The Coven needed a new leader, and I could be that. Everyone here was a victim of my mother’styranny, yet no one questioned her. She’d been here unchecked for years, and everyone was so far under her spell that they no longer questioned anything. It was time to create some doubt, some hesitation inside the Coven. The witches living here should be suspicious of everything. I could be the one to question the Coven’s leadership.
Gideon had told me what the task would be.Rage.I could create it—I already felt it bubbling in my blood, and I’d felt it bubbling off the witches here at the Academy during the last task. They were waiting for that spark that would ignite a rebellion.
My pacing was interrupted by a fist pounding on the door. I opened it to find a line of witches standing behind the instructor who’d knocked. I joined the end of the line, walking by the water magics, each holding their own flashlight. Everyone walked down the two flights of stairs together, through the Academy to the cavern. It was silent, no one speaking as we walked into the unknown.
The cavern was loud when we entered. Lanterns with billowing flames lined the walls, illuminating the space. The sand had been removed, and the floors were once again dirt. On the far end of the cavern, near the wall Brooke had tried to climb through, were long tables with burners on top. There looked to be enough for each of us to have our own.
The witches on the bleachers were buzzing with excitement, their voices vibrating off the ceiling and walls. I scanned the rows, looking for Brooke. She raised her hand, waving back and forth as soon as we made eye contact. The line stopped moving, and I ran into the witch in front of me. She turned around and hissed. I took a small step back.
The line disintegrated as we huddled into a group facing the stage. Robinson was standing there, scowling down at me.What did I do to him?
I looked back toward the chair Gideon usually occupied. It was empty.Where is he?
Robinson droned on and on, standing on the stage in front of the witches of the Academy and the members of the Coven who’d shown up for the final task. They were getting restless, as was the crowd. The whispers between witches became louder than Robinson’s voice on stage. My feet were getting sore from standing, the room becoming stuffy with so many bodies.
A gust of wind rushed through the cavern. There were no windows, nowhere for the wind to be coming from except…
The flames blew out. The cavern plunged into darkness.
A gasp echoed throughout the cavern, now suddenly quiet with the lack of light.
The witches quickly became a mess of whispers and wheezes and some screams. No one could see anything as we shifted back and forth, our balance thrown off from our lack of sight, bumping into witches and stepping on their boots. How long would they leave us in the dark? Robinson yelled from the stage, asking everyone to “wait just a moment.”
It seemed the witches either weren’t listening or didn’t care because the panic continued to escalate. The group of witches on the floor acted like waves, falling into one another, taking down the witch next to them, one after another. I grabbed onto anything I could to make sure I didn’t fall to the ground.
It was hard to know how much time had passed. The adrenaline pumping around us made time seem to pass both slower and faster at the same time. I tried counting at first but lost track every time someone bumped into me or cried out.
“Robinson, light them up.” A familiar voice radiated through the arena, many of the witches gasping for a breath along with me when they’d heard it.
Heard her.
One by one, Robinson used his magic to relight the lanterns along the circular arena, returning the space to that spooky glow. Everyone righted themselves, adjusting their dresses and hair now that they could see. I’d somehow ended up in the back of the group, nearest to the bleachers and the door we’d entered.
“Welcome! I’m so glad to be back!” That voice. The one I’d heard in my dreams. The one that I’d dreaded hearing as a young girl at my grandmother’s cottage.
She was here.
The witches on the bleachers were a mix of screams and cheers. I looked into the crowd, finding some of the witches standing, clapping, and yelling in support while others had sunk down in their seats, a look of fear on their faces.
“Dafni!” The loud, pointed yell behind me had me turning around, searching the crowd for the source. My eyes zeroed in on light-red hair—Annabel, standing at the cavern’s entrance. What was she doing here?
She had Emily’s hand in hers, both of their eyes wide. Emily stuck out like a sore thumb in the sea of green plaid in the room, standing there in her off-white, knee-length dress. I left the group and ran over to them.
“The freezer!” Annabel gulped in several shallow breaths. “The power went out at the trailer…” She took a few more breaths. “The electricity was out—it thawed!”
Annabel pointed a shaking finger to where Matilda was standing on the stage in front of me. “I took the pail out of the freezer for just a bit, early this morning. We had vegetables from the garden, and I was organizing them in the freezer. I didn’t leave it out of the cold for too long.” She grabbed ahold of my arms. “But I didn’t know the electricity was out.” Her eyes were quivered as she spoke. “I closed the door, and it never got cold. I should’ve realized that the lights weren’t working, but Iwent right back outside to the garden.” Her hand squeezed my arms again. “It’s all my fault.”
