Both Drew and Kylee managed to get shields up. I was too strong. My flames were burning through. With their last bit of energy, the shields exploded, knocking them both back against the same building as Penelope. All three lay there, knocked unconscious.
Now that she was back my dragon was ready to take control. It was all I could manage to take in deep, clearing breaths and back her down. I wouldn’t risk shifting again. I focused my sensations. The asphalt beneath my feet. The sting of the bones in my nose. Heat underneath my skin. I let it all go until it was just human Sophie again.
“Sophie? Sophie!” The words sounded muffled. I opened my eyes and let reality flood my senses once more. Hudson was running toward me. He wrapped me up in a hug and twirled me around. When he set me on my feet, he leaned in and kissed me. It happened so fast it took a moment for my brain to register. Hudson dropped my hands like I’d shocked him and took a step back. My cheeks were burning. My brother was looking back and forth between us. He rolled his eyes and patted me on the shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go find Gracie and Willa.”
They were waiting for us at the gate to the school.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Gracie yelled when she found us. She grabbed all of us into a hug.
“We were worried about you. We were thinking about coming back. Where are the others?”
“Knocked out, thanks to Sophie,” Hudson said. He caught my eye and I blushed again. “We left them there.”
“You guys need to get back inside. Sophie, I’m going to call Dad and have him come to the school first thing in the morning. Get that phone working before your friends decide to show up again.”
“Let them try.” Fire rippled under my skin.
A couple of hours and about a thousand spells later we were all standing around the table in mine and Willa’s room watching the video. Clear as day, it showed the front building of Animage Academy. It wasn’t old and decrepit as it was supposed to appear, instead it was a whole and hail Gilded Age mansion. The video continued around the property of the Academy until it ended with the video of us shifting and the fight that ensued.
“We did it,” I said.
“Who knew a cell phone would be so hard to crack?” Willa sat down on the couch, wiping her sweaty face. “What do we do with it now?”
“We go straight to the headmistress,” I said.
“What about Drew, Penelope, and Kylee?” Gracie asked. She and Hudson had snuck into our room when we got back. I had expected them to try again, but nothing had happened so far.
“They’re not going to try anything with the professors around. Plus, my dad should be here soon.”
I felt odd walking across campus still in the dark clothes I’d worn in the night when everyone else was in their uniform. People were staring and pointing. Their eyes followed me and I heard snippets of their conversations. I didn’t care. This was more important than what my fellow students thought of me.
When we arrived Headmistress Adiana’s office, Professor Vickers opened the door.
“We have proof.”
“Sophie—”
“Let them in Charles.” It was my father. Professor Vickers stepped back to reveal the headmistress, my father, and Chief Winston.
I stepped inside, my friends at my back.
“Sophie, what is this?” Dad asked. I put the phone down on the table in front of them.
“We have proof the wards to the school were down the night the humans saw us. And Penelope, Kylee, and Drew knew about it. They wiped the memories of the women who saw us.”
The adults watched the whole video. From the unrestricted view of the Academy all the way to the fight at the end. If it was possible, Headmistress Adiana’s face had gotten paler. As soon as it was over, she headed for the door.
“You students stay here; we will be right back.” Without another word all the adults filed after her.
“Maybe we should sit?” Hudson suggested when it became apparent it was going to be awhile.
“Thank you all for coming with me. You didn’t have to. You still might get into trouble.” The events of the night began to catch up with me, and I realized how lucky we’d truly been. Hudson shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “We wanted to help you.”
Tears leaked out of my eyes despite my attempt to hold them back.
“Sophie, don’t cry,” Willa said. “You’re going to make me cry too.”
“Sorry, I’m just emotional right now.”
Gracie came over and wrapped her arms around me.
“There’s something else.” I tried to compose myself to get out what I wanted to say next.
“I’m not supposed to tell you this, so if you want me to stop, just tell me when. Not even Simon knows this about me yet, although I plan to tell him this summer. I’m just tired of all the secrets.” I paused, waiting to see if anyone would stop me.
“Tell us, Sophie,” Hudson said.
“I’m immortal.” I kept my eyes on the ground, not wanting to see their reactions.
“Is that why you were hanging out with the other students? Are they immortal too?” I nodded, still keeping my eyes trained on the parquet floor. A soft hand grabbed my chin and lifted my head up.
“Sophie, did you think we would feel differently about you, if we knew?” Gracie’s eyes crinkled in the corner.
“I didn’t know. I
