Dad massaged the back of his neck. “I guess we should talk about pulling you out of Bloodline.”
“Nope.”
Mama crossed her arms in front of her like she was cold despite the inferno Charming was producing. “Sophie.”
“I’m not leaving. Not like this.”
“It’s not safe.”
“No, it’s not.” It wouldn’t be safe for whoever decided they would go through my things and turn my personal space upside down. Maybe Max was right, I did have only-child tendencies when it came to my stuff. Thinking about Max made the corresponding fire in my chest burn brighter. I didn’t need the professors to tell me the claw marks in my room were shifter made. I’d been around enough of them to know it on sight.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Mama said. “I know you’re upset but staying out of stubbornness isn’t going to help things.”
“But leaving out of fear is okay? You wanted me to be here. I’m staying.”
“That’s not what this is.”
I picked up a handful of dried beans and threw them into the chilli one by one like I was throwing rocks at somebody’s head. “I am not going to be intimidated into leaving.”
“I’m glad to hear you say it,” Jacqueline said. I didn’t glance up as she closed the classroom door behind her. “But I do think you should consider a few days off to settle yourself.”
Several chairs scraped. It was only then I noticed Professor Mortimer was with her. He came to stand beside me. “Smells good.”
I bit my tongue. I wanted to tell him I was imagining cooking the bones of the culprit. Yeah I was thinking about it but I would never actually do it. That was way too messed up.
“Can I please have a sprig of the winterflower?” I asked.
He raised a brow. Professor Mortimer wasn’t a Potions teacher but he was a high-magic mage. Some ingredients were universal.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Sophie.”
“Just a little.”
I gave him my most pleading look. One of the advantages of being human and sixteen was that to a supernatural, no matter how dangerous I might be, I would always seem harmless. “What kind of spell are you working?”
“Sleep spell,” I said right away.
“Seems counterintuitive to use winterflower when you want to sleep.”
“It’s just a base. So that I can have something to measure against.” He thought for a second longer before moving off towards the glass cabinet. Professor McKenna would never have believed that rubbish. I was surprised he believed it too. Maybe he was just pretending because he was glad I wasn’t curled up in a corner rocking myself.
“What have you got?” Mama asked.
Jacqueline leaned against the edge of a desk. “There are no traces of biological or supernatural residue outside of that which was already in the room.”
Dad balled his fist. “How is that possible?”
Jacqueline shook her head. “It was the same with the dining hall kitchen.” Professor Mortimer returned with a sprig of a dried, thorny blue flower. Winterflowers were grown in the small arboretum in the Grove that belonged to the wood nymphs. Once upon a time, they grew in great swathes in the wood nymph dimension. In their fresh form, they exuded a scent that lulled people into a trance. Dried, the toxins became a natural stimulant. The perfect thing to go into my insomnia spell.
Professor Mortimer moved off to speak to my parents. I let them discuss me like I wasn’t even in the room. Using a scalpel, I sliced the petals of the winterflower into thin strips and dropped it into the chilli.
“Somebody has gone to a lot of trouble to ensure they’re not detected,” Professor Mortimer said. “Unfortunately, there are a few high-magic families who fit that bill.”
“What about the Barnabys?” Mama asked.
“It’s a possibility.” Jacqueline noted. “The thought had crossed my mind. Curtis and Bran are going through the room inch by inch. Bruce will take the rest of the evidence with him for safekeeping until we can work out what’s going on. In the meantime, we understand if you want to remove Sophie temporarily.”
I had a little aneurysm. If Professor Mortimer happened to look inside the storage chest, he’d find great grandfather’s diary. As much as I wracked my brain, I couldn’t come up with a reason to keep it. My only hope was to act as innocent as possible.
“It’s not happening,” I said. “And I want my room back when the Nephilim are done.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Mama said. “Anything could happen to you.”
We locked gazes. It had been a long time since I’d been able to get away with a tantrum. Right now I wanted to throw myself down on the ground and scream.
“If I leave now, then whoever did this will win. They’ll have successfully driven me away. I’m not going to let that happen.”
“Now isn’t the time to be idealistic,” Dad said. I could tell he was ready to ship me off right this instant. It occurred to me that we were having our age-old argument about Bloodline, only this time our stances were reversed.
“You’re welcome to stay if that makes things easier,” Jacqueline offered. “Our guest dorms are always prepared for visitors.”
My heart stuttered at the thought. Not just because having my parents at school was beyond mortifying but also because whatever was happening here might affect them. Mama was a kitchen witch but her gift was weak. Dad was an earth wizard. He worked as a geologist in the compound. They weren’t equipped to defend themselves. To be fair, neither was I. The only advantage I had was simmering in my cauldron. At times like these, my trump card was always history.
“You’re acting like this is the first time something like this has ever happened. Didn’t the nymphs try to scare off one of the Fae like this
