“Why?”“He tangled it in with some other laws …” His voice trails off. “Never mind. We need to work on the Mila power. Come midterm, we need to prove significant progress or you’ll have to return to magic class.”“What?” I give him a double-take. “That’s not happening.”“Let’s work on a simple healing.” He whips out a knife and slices his palm.I gasp. “What are you doing?”“Heal me.” He holds the bloody wound toward me.My pulse drums in my ears. “I don’t know how.”“Heal me,” he repeats.He has got to be kidding. That thing is really bleeding, and he’s waiting on me?“You wouldn’t let your father bleed out, would you?” He grins like this is some kind of joke.“I grew up on land!”“Time to stop using that excuse, love.”My heart feels like it’s going to explode. It’s hard to think. But I have to. There’s no other choice but to figure this out. “There’s no textbook I can study?”He shakes his head. “So few of us have it, it would be pointless.”That’s just perfect.I study his wound,

A flicker of something crosses her expression, but then it disappears as quickly as it showed.“What?” I lean closer to her.“In which libraries have you found books?”“The secret ones.”tell me much. Do you have any idea how many secret libraries Valora holds?”“At least three.”“Try more than twenty.”My mouth falls open. “What? Where?”“If I tell you, they wouldn’t be a secret, now would they?”I scowl at her.“Which three did you find, sweetheart?”“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret.”She bursts out laughing. “Fair enough. I—”“Wait just a minute!” My mind races. “It was you!”“Come again?”“You put the books there!”“What books? Where?”“Don’t play dumb. It all makes sense. Who would’ve wanted Martine dead more than you?”Mom takes a deep breath. “I wish I knew what you were talking about.”“It really wasn’t you?”“If you tell me what you’re talking about, I’m sure I can explain my innocence.”I study her, and she does look genuinely confused. “While you were banished, I fou

I hate this. All of it. Life would be so much easier if I was still living on the surface. But it wouldn’t be the same. Now that I’m in Valora, I can’t imagine my life without Isaac, Erica, or my real dad. I never in a million years would’ve guessed him to be my dad, although now that I know, it’s obvious.How did I not see it? My supposed uncle was more doting than my dad. And come to think of it, I can’t remember a time that Martine ever referred to me as his daughter. He often said “your daughter” when speaking to my mom. And it wasn’t like it was just because he was a jerk. Before my sister died, he adored Aria. I never put much thought into it though, because Mom always gave me so much attention. I just chalked it up to each of them having a favorite. But now it all makes sense. Either Mom preferred me because I was Toni’s child, or she was making up for the fact that Mila could barely stand me. He played the part of the loving dad only when he needed to.Crash!The door flings o

Does everyone still hate me?”Isaac squeezes my hand. “I don’t think anyone hates you.”“Do they think I’m a joke because of the Mrs Walker thing?”He doesn’t respond.“That’s what I thought.”“Ignore them. They aren’t worth it.”“It’s hard to ignore relentless teasing and stares.”Isaac kisses my cheek. “Then pay attention to me. I’ll tell you how wonderful you are.”I can’t help but smile.He grins and gives me another kiss. “That’s better. Let me see about getting you released in time for lunch.”I’m alone again. I struggle to remember what happened the night before. I place my hand on my stomach, trying to recall the pain that brought me here. Was it something I ate? Or something else entirely?Something to do with my curse related to the ancient legend? I’ve been spending more time with my dad lately, and he’s been talking about her powers and those stupid trials. My stomach knots just thinking about that. Maybe I’d been thinking about that, and that’s what caused the pain.Might

I turn over and nearly bump into Mom, who’s sleeping next to me. Dad is snoring in a chair on the other side of her. I’m not sure where Erica and Isaac are, but it comforts me that my parents are here. No doubt Martine would have taken off for kingly duties if he was still acting as my father. But my actual dad is here with me, sleeping in an uncomfortable-looking position.I sit up and try not to move the bed. Mom doesn’t budge. I hold my breath, slide off the mattress, then head for the bathroom. A wire stuck to my chest prevents me from moving any farther. I yank it off and am free. But as I inch away from the bed, the machine attached to the wire beeps loudly, quickly.So much for not disturbing anyone.Mom bolts upright and looks around. “Mila? What are you doing?”“Going to empty my bladder, if you must know.”Dad opens his eyes and studies me, while rubbing his eyes. “How are you feeling?”“Fine.”“That won’t last long.”“Thanks for the encouragement.” I hurry toward the bathro