The warm feeling died down after a little while. Not completely, when I focused I could still feel it, but it was cool enough that it was almost imperceivable at times. The ice in my wrist wasn't fading. It was strong and sharp and unyielding.

It probably wasn't ever going to go away completely.

Not until I broke the curse.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mom was fretting as I sat on one of the couches. She was sitting on the floor in front of me, the fireplace to her back and her eyes at the same level as my hands.

I'd taken both gloves off, not wanting to only wear one or for the left glove to mess with the bandage wrapped around my wrist.

"Pretty sure. For now at least. Sorry for worrying you."

"Serafina, I'm always going to worry."

"I think I feel…better? I want to run a few experiments, I think."

"Experiments? For what?" Mom sounded more confused than I was used to.

I glanced at the unlit fireplace behind her. It wasn't like the one in Dragon Tower. This was an ordinary one. Well…as ordinary as it got in a magic cabin in the middle of nowhere.

I remembered the things Vivian had asked me to try. The fire spells we'd been taught in class. A lifetime of watching Mom light candles just by looking at them.

I took a deep breath, and focused.

Comparatively, the fire was tiny. A flicker that would barely be enough to light a candle.

But it meant the world to me. Even with the immediate layer of exhaustion that dropped on my shoulders.

The ice in my wrist spread just a little bit farther, but I didn't mind. Even with the sharp pain that was accompanying it.

Mom's gasp told me everything. She'd seen and understood. I closed my eyes and slumped onto the armrest of the couch. Not quite sleeping, but not really awake anymore.

I'd done something. The curse wasn't broken obviously, I could still feel it. But…I could also feel my mana. It really was like having another system of veins and arteries pulsing energy through my body. It felt like someone had turned my blood into freshly brewed tea.

I tried to remember what it had felt like when I'd cast my first spell, but all I could remember was the fear and the fangs of spiders.

I was learning magic completely out of order. But I was learning it. I could feel it now.

This wasn't a useless effort anymore.

I could actually do it. It was so much more than just words now. I could feel a slightly stronger pulse under my skin at the excitement. It was a start, there was almost an infinite amount of things to learn still.

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But…there was hope. And I was going to keep that hope alive whatever it took.

I let myself rest for just a little while. Just breathing and letting myself feel the new sensations in my body. My body was undergoing slow changes. Has been for months. Ever since that spider attack and my first spell.

I was getting stronger.

I was actually getting stronger.

I counted my breaths. Up to ten before opening my eyes again.

Mom was sitting on the floor with her back leaned against the front of the couch. Her legs tucked into her chest as she stared into the small fire burning. It wasn't pink anymore. It had turned the orange of a natural flame.

"What do you know about Death's Echo?" Mom asked slowly, calmly, and with very careful enunciation.

"Magic knife. Made by Jantres the Feared. The same man who did the enchantments in Dragon Tower. Was involved when you were kidnapped by Merripen."

"Did you know it's gone missing?"

I sighed, "I did."

"And you didn't mention anything to me?"

"Are you going to pull me out of school over it?"

"I wanted to," she admitted. Because we both knew there wasn't a point in denying it. "Victor guessed that was why."

"I'm more scared of losing my new friends than a knife."

She chuckled once, humorlessly, "Priorities."

"It's what I went there for. I don't want to lose it yet."

Mom sighed, "I don't think I can anymore. I can't send you back to human school with burgeoning powers. Too risky for everyone involved. And they can't protect you if whoever has that knife tries anything."

She had no idea that the school was the location of the thief. That the knife was already there. There's no way she'd let me go back if she knew. She'd homeschool me herself. She had after I was expelled from my old school.

"Why does everyone seem to think I'm the target here?" I asked instead.

"You've done more in your time there than I did in my first three years," Mom said. "Sure. Anyone could have done what you've done. But you're the one who's done it. Opened Dragon Tower. Become Representative. Being mentored by Vivian Hearth. Being a potential heir to the Hearth coven. And that's not counting the curse you're slowly conquering."

"I'm not scared."

"Victor mentioned that too."

"I feel like I should be, but I'm not. I'm worried. I'm stressed. But…I can't make myself believe I'm here to do anything special."

"You don't have to. You've been special to me since I first held you in my arms. You were so small. Six pounds even."

"Being special to you and being special enough to be murdered are pretty different."

"Probably."

"I don't want to be special."

"We don't get to choose how other people perceive us. We can try our best but there's no guarantee."

"I know."

"It won't always match how you see yourself, but that's okay. People who refuse to admit they can be wrong aren't worth your time."

"A lot of people struggle to admit they're wrong. You're like that sometimes," I pointed out.

"Sometimes. That's what your father's for."

"I didn't fool him even a little, did I?"

"Not really. But between you and me, fooling Victor is the hardest thing I ever tried to do."

And she hadn't succeeded. "Are you mad?"

"I would be, if I wasn't the same way," Mom admitted. "You still should have told us."

"I know." I should tell her what I know. I knew that. But I couldn't figure out how to explain it without her panicking? She'd already been talked out of keeping me in school. What if this pushed her over the edge? I really would never see my friends again.

I couldn't accept that.

"Victor thinks you kids might know more than we do," Mom commented.

And we did. Hiding stuff from Dad was nearly impossible. But he wouldn't know unless Jarec or I said something. I was mostly confident he wouldn't talk without telling me. But what we knew wasn't enough to do anything with anyway. "Maybe. But I don't know what we know. Or if it's useful."

"I know how you are. I trust you, I promise I do."

"I know, I trust you too. Even when you're annoying me."

She threw back her head and laughed, "I'm your mother, I'm supposed to be annoying when fussing over you."

"Did you ever find Vivian annoying?"

"Often, that's how I know I'm doing this right."

"When you don't tell me things, I know you have a plan of some kind. I trust you," I repeated. "If there was something I'm not telling you, it's because I know what I'm doing."

Mom sighed, "I will try. Just promise me you'll stay safe?"

"I will do my best."

"I suppose that's all I can ask."

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