Dad was quiet in the large room in the back of the cabin. I'd never been in a ballroom before, but it reminded me a little of the big gym at my old school. Just nicer and without the smell that always lingered. Probably decades of sweaty teenagers.

At least, I was mostly certain it was supposed to be a ballroom. The ceiling was far above our heads, probably close to thirty feet tall. Above us was a chandelier made of delicate glass twisted and curved to imitate flames. Because Hearths.

The tile floor was a mosaic of blues and reds, all together was an image of a bright and bold red dragon on a clear sky. Wings outstretched in midflight, a mouth full of crimson fire.

Dad was leaning back against one of the walls, taking the room in. He barely moved to look up as Mom skipped over to him. She kept her hands folded behind her as she leaned towards him.

I rolled my eyes as he greeted her wordlessly. Barely any movement in his face, but the emotions clear as day to someone trained in translating Dad.

She didn't say anything either, but Mom's grin made me want to retreat.

Thankfully my salvation was already here. My cousin was standing across the room, leaning against the wall. Bits of light around him from the candles behind the glass on the chandelier.

Jarec was playing with another paper creation of some kind. Bright and colorful squares floating around him. I couldn't find Ruby or Vivian.

I didn't run towards him to avoid Mom's giggle, but it was a near thing.

Jarec didn't look at me as he spoke. "So…what happened?"

"I'm sorry for freaking you out," I started my explanation. "I'm not sure what came over me."

"I believe they call that a panic attack."

"I know that part."

"You have a lot of those."

"Not that many." I hated showing that kind of weakness. This wasn't my first attack around my Towermates, and likely not my last.

"You sure you can handle this?" Jarec asked. "Not just what's currently happening, but everything."

"I'm going to," I told him. "It's not about if I have much choice anymore, I think."

The papers around him froze, even while he continued to fold his creation. "You can always turn back, you know."

"If you're all right about this, I probably can't. And I can kinda cast. Can't go back to human school with magic powers I can't really control." In theory. It wouldn't stop Mom from homeschooling me.

"What do you mean kinda?"

I held out my right hand, where the warm feeling was strongest. And tried to force the feeling to the tips of my fingers. I kept the image of a nearly empty toothpaste tube in my head.

A few sparks of pink left my fingers. No bleeding required. My left wrist gained a sharp pain that was getting easier to ignore.

"And your eyes aren't even glowing for once."

"It's something. Progress?"

"And all it took was scaring the daylights out of all of us."

"You'll get used to it."

"Oh? Make a habit of scaring your friends?"

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I tried to not think too much about the time my old school hosted a haunted house run by our classmates. It was child's play compared to a proper one with real scare actors, but poor Ethan had cowered behind me when it was our turn. "Only a little."

"You love being mysterious, don't you?"

"You guys have your secrets, I have mine."

"Think whatever's blocking telepathy might be weakened?"

"You're welcome to try. If I get a headache, I'll let you know."

It was frankly a welcome distraction to Dad pulling out his phone and playing a familiar classical tune quietly.

I wasn't surprised, of course they would. I was proud of myself for holding in my sigh.

"Are they always like this?" Jarec asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, pretty much."

I could hear Mom giggling again even while I refused to look at them. I was subjected to this enough in my everyday, no need to increase my exposure to it.

Instead I decided to distract myself. "So, where did you learn origami?"

Jarec blinked once. Then twice. "You know what it's called?"

"Yes?" That was an odd question.

"Most don't."

"I'm special," I joked.

"Mom taught me," Jarec answered my question. "Not sure where she learned it."

Huh.

A paper bird flew close to my face. I held up my right hand with a finger raised, like I was trying to invite a butterfly to rest on my hand. It rested there, wings flapping in that awkward stilted motion that was characteristic of whatever spell Jarec used to make them resemble life.

There was an ache behind my eyes. A familiar one that I recognized almost instantly. Okay Serafina, telepathy. Think something at him.

Hello? Not exactly elegant, but tests didn't need poetry.

"It's…almost there, it sounds like you're talking through a wall."

Then I heard static ring in my ears. Like a radio on max volume that couldn't connect to a station. I covered my ears, not that it did anything. I waited until the ache was gone before removing.

"I'll take that as a 'doesn't work'."

"I couldn't hear you, but I did hear something."

"Progress of some kind."

"I'll take progress, it's good to know we're not completely wasting our time."

"How can you be so calm and be worrying too much?"

"Welcome to my brain."

"You know I'm going to have to call Celica about this, right?"

"I don't keep secrets from you."

The incredulous look on his face was a little rude but also probably fair. "What are you going to tell her?"

"I had an emotional breakthrough that did something to the curse. It's like…I put a leak in it."

"But not free of it completely."

"Not even close."

"Do you want to keep that secret?"

"We can tell fellow Dragons," I decided after a moment of thought. "But maybe no one else."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Unless you have an idea?"

"Not right now."

I wasn't built for leadership, whose idea was it to leave everything in my hands? Ugh.

"You know we trust you, right?" Jarec asked.

"I do. And I trust you guys too." I didn't like the hints of doubt I was seeing on his face. "If I didn't, I'd have run away."

He frowned, "Just…be careful with this."

"I promise to not explode."

"That's not reassuring."

Well…I tried.

I looked away from Jarec when I heard footsteps on the tile. Ruby and Vivian were back from whatever they were doing. Mom and Dad still dancing, like they were the only ones in the world.

Mom was giving Dad that dazed look that made me want to puke. Like he was the stars themselves come to hang out with us mortals.

Vivian barely even looked at Jarec's creations. Even as one landed right on Ruby's left shoulder.

"Sister."

Mom returned to Earth with a sigh full of longing. Gross. She turned to Ruby, her head resting on Dad's shoulder and her whole body leaning against his.

"You sure about this?" Mom asked.

"As sure as I'm going to be. You'll have to ask him."

"Ask who what?" Jarec demanded.

"Have you ever done a Titan Trial?" Mom asked. She stepped a little from Dad but kept her hand in his.

A what?

Jarec seemed to know what that was. He gave a little head tilt and was looking at my mother like she was a problem to solve. "Are you serious?"

"If you're interested."

Can someone please explain what is happening?

Dad didn't say anything, but he must have done something because Mom suddenly turned to look at him before perking up in surprise. "Oh right!" She turned to me with a grin I wasn't sure about. "Serafina, do you want to join us?"

"Join you in what?" I demanded.

Jarec chuckled, "Titan Trial. Younger generation duel against a member of previous generation in their coven."

"What, so…you and me versus Mom?" I clarified.

"That would be the plan," Jarec nodded. I could almost see the gears turning in his head.

"I'm leaving all the magic to you," I commented as I tried to think about what on Earth she was signing me up for now.

"So you're staying out of it?" Jarec seemed skeptical.

"I haven't decided yet." What could I possibly add in a duel between them? The cold of the curse that still stung with a sharp pain told me nothing. But I knew Mom way better than Jarec. There were too many factors. "What are the rules?"

"Every coven does it a little bit differently, I think for our situation I'll go easy on you. Make me take my hands out of my pockets and we'll call it a win."

Jarec looked ready to throw a fireball at her. I wasn't sure about our chances even with that kind of handicap, frankly. But it also felt wrong to deny him the chance to try.

Not that I could stop them, that was only duels at school.

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