I was hunched over the sink, my hands on either side, and looked up into the bathroom mirror to glare at my own eyes. The pink glow taunting me with a magic I couldn't use. My body was rebelling against me again.

It was a bad one. My body ached and cramped. My limbs felt sluggish, like weights had been tied to them. I just had to get through this. In a few days this would all be over.

My reflection didn't look confident that I could do it. But no amount of doubt was going to change the truth. I had to get through this, so I would.

(*********)

I hated this feeling. I was in too much pain to feel anything but nauseous. I cursed both Artemis and evolution on this one. Both of them can rot in the deepest pit of Tartarus.

Angelina was the only one trying to make eye contact.

Everyone else was pointedly not doing that. They were all actively avoiding looking at me.

I sighed slowly, focusing my glare at the toast on my plate. Which was only a little bit better than glaring at my friends.

"Anyway," Angelina was continuing a conversation I was only half-listening to. "We all have mirrors, right?"

Celica would have rolled her eyes if anyone else had asked that question. Instead she just gave me a strange look.

"What?" I asked. I hoped my terrible mood wasn't too obvious. Not that they couldn't all see that I wasn't okay. Though I doubted most of them understood what it meant.

"I think she means you," Russel said low under his breath.

Did I have a mirror? What an odd… Oh, she means the ComMirrors. "Yeah. It's set to Serafina Stewart."

"Not Hearth?" Jade asked. They were lucky I could tell the difference between judgement and curiosity.

I had to take a slow breath before answering. "Mom took Dad's name. I'm a Stewart," I explained. Regardless of Mom's exact reasons for doing that, it was the truth. "I don't have a claim to the Hearth name at all."

Jarec made a weird sound. I turned to him. "Hey, I get it. Hearth is a heavy name. You don't have to justify it."

I was missing something. I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to focus on my breathing.

Angelina clapped once, very loudly, shattering the conversation. "Since we all have mirrors we have to stay in contact over the break."

Wonderful. Something else I was going to be terrible at. But I supposed I would have to try. Somehow. And depending on how the whole potential visit with the Hearth Coven went.

But I would have to worry about all of that later. "Sure, of course."

"Do you actually mean that or are you trust trying to avoid a fight?" Fethris teased.

Traitor!

"I can do both at the same time," I defended myself.

Fethris' smirk made me want to hit him. But we had an audience and he was out of slapping range anyway. I glared at him in hopes that he understood the desire.

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Russel was laughing at me. He was also spared my wrath by the presence of Angelina and Jade.

"You're also not allowed to get into trouble without us," Celica commented.

"I've told you, I only get into trouble here. I never had these issues before meeting you guys. I live thousands of miles from trouble."

"And I still don't believe you."

No faith at all. Though considering everything they've seen of me, perhaps not unwarranted. Still…some faith would be nice. They could at least pretend to believe in me.

"If she doesn't call us, I'll make sure we do a big call when she visits," Jarec offered. Either to change the topic or to save me. I wasn't entirely sure which.

I was even less sure of the look on Albenion's face. "What?" He asked.

Jarec just rolled his eyes though, so whatever it was must not have been that big of a deal. He didn't even look mad, if anything Jarec was amused by whatever his boyfriend's deal was.

This was why dating is overrated. I would never understand how other people did it.

(*********)

I was sitting quiet and trying to just breathe when I was going to miss my favorite spot by the stained-glass window of Dragon Tower. My head rested against the glass, frost gathered outside even as it felt almost warm inside.

The fireplace roared, but it didn't seem to affect the cold at all. Maybe because the chill wasn't in the air. The problem was me. But what else was new?

I clutched the front of my Dragon red overcoat. It was comforting, even if didn't keep me any warmer. Strange, wasn't it? How much I'd come to rely upon the uniform to ground me. How it dictated what people thought of me now. I wasn't the worst Pixie ever, I was a Dragon. The Dragon Tower Representative.

But I was Serafina Stewart first. And soon I would be able to just be that again for a little while. It was familiar, to dread something and be excited for it. No Dragon Tower, and limited contact with the others while I was home.

Hatchling?

That voice! Deep and booming and coming from the inside of my very skull. It made me sit up straight and instinctively look around despite knowing there was nothing but the walls and glass around me.

Finally, you hear me again.

"Hello?" I greeted. "What did you want to say? Better say it now. You've got about forty-eight hours."

You seemed troubled.

"I've been troubled since the door opened. On that first day." Actually, that made me think of a question I hadn't considered before. "While we can talk…can I ask you something?"

If I have an answer, I'll give it.

"When I opened the door, on the day we arrived here, why? Why me? Why not the others?"

You were there. And the oldest student present.

"What if I hadn't?"

I chose you because I can see the true color of your soul. It was a matter of time before that curiosity made you try. Regardless of low expectations.

"What if it had taken a while for me to get that curious?"

I'm over two thousand years old. The passage of time means something different for me than you.

"The door locks whenever an Echo plays. Did…did you lock me in on purpose?" I asked. I almost didn't want an answer…but it would be a long time before I could ask again and hope for an explanation.

I never imagined the resistance I felt would leave you unable to cast and defend yourself. By the time I realized something was wrong…something had over-written my control.

"Red?"

That is what you call this…phenomena.

"You sound like you're not a fan."

I'm…not used to not knowing. I can remember every footstep, and every face that was ever in my walls. And yet this…thing is unknown to me.

"I don't think Red is the one with bad intentions. But I think someone from her side is, and she doesn't tell me enough to figure out who or why."

It certainly seems that way. But how often are things exactly as they seem?

Red. The Wraith. Death's Echo. Dragon Tower. What was the connection there?

"And there's this business with Death's Echo going 'missing'," I didn't believe it. Not really. That there wasn't going to be more trouble on the horizon.

You think it stolen?

"I'm hoping it's just misplaced. But…"

That is a problem.

"I know, but we can't exactly do anything about it. I don't want the others to worry. Not that they probably aren't. I just wish I knew what we were all missing here."

Dragon Tower was silent for a long time. Just long enough that I was worried whatever allowed him to bypass my curse might have stopped working. But then he spoke again, I don't know where it is. But I can tell you this with certainty. It's in the school.

I stopped breathing for a moment. My wrist flared with a burning pain. "What?!" I demanded breathlessly.

I don't know where. I don't know who has it. But the pulse of Jantres' magic is here. Stronger than it should be. Faint, but enough that I know the difference. I would only be able to tell you if it entered my walls.

I needed to breathe. Something sharp and cold and electric ran through my body. We had to find that knife. But how?

I can't help you find it.

We had to! If we find out who has it….

Then what? What could we do? Tell Vivian? We'd probably need a bit more proof than, 'Dragon Tower told us.' She might believe us but accusing a professor or student of stealing a knife and maybe planning a murder was so beyond what faith could help with. This was serious! Too serious. I was in over my head for sure this time.

Breathe Serafina.

But I can tell you this, no one who has entered my walls has it.

Meaning the only people I could for sure trust were my fellow Dragons and Vivian Hearth. How on Earth were we going to get through this?

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