With her father's memory failing and her mother gone, Soraya Thenayu enrolls in distant Darkwood Academy and immediately becomes enemies with the richest kid at school. Between hiding her father's gift of illegally harvested magic, befriending socia...
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"Aren't you going to answer any of my questions?"
Soraya kept her expression blank and unreadable, like Rhys had taught her. It was imperative that the girl hide what she was thinking, especially with Ms. Whispers snooping around and gathering information on her and her friends.
Norma tapped the top of the desk with her slender fingers, her icy, blue stare boring into the girl's eyes. "Well?"
"I already did," the girl said without emotion.
"Care to expand on your explanations?"
"No."
Soraya's eyes flitted to the clock on the wall. Thirteen twenty-seven. Just three more minutes until I'm free...
The past twenty-seven minutes had been excruciating for the girl. Norma had attempted various methods of getting her to open up and talk about herself and her friends. She had tried being nice and befriending Soraya for about ten minutes before losing patience and handing her a list of questions to fill out. Soraya had dawdled by doodling on the pages and giving one word answers, which only made Ms. Whispers even more irate.
Norma followed the girl's gaze and frowned at the time. "I'll ask Mr. Demarko to double our sessions to an hour starting next Solis."
"And I'll ask the principal to find me a new therapist!" Soraya blurted aloud, much to her dismay. I wonder if I've picked up Jacquelle's attitude by fusing with her...
Ms. Whispers stood up, her slender figure towering over the desk. "That's it! I've had it with you!" she hissed. "You wouldn't want anything happening to your Shadelkin friends now, would you?"
Soraya blinked. "Pardon?"
"You heard me!" the therapist's ruby painted lips stretched into a sharp fanged grin. "I know one of them must have used magic, but I don't know which. They're the only two kids who have cat ears in Matumi, and I want that ₾50,000."
The image of the wanted poster Soraya had seen in Matumi flashed in her mind's eye. Is she actually a spy from MagiCorp, or is she only interested in Lari?
"I'm confident you know which one did it," Norma's clacking heels echoed around them as she approached the girl like a predator hunting its prey, her pupils dilated so wide they looked like tunnels leading straight into the pits of Hell.
"But they didn't do anything!" Soraya cried, beads of sweat building up on her forehead, but she didn't dare wipe them off for fear of looking guilty under Norma's scrutinizing gaze. "And they don't even have magic! Where would they get it from?"
"I'll find out," Norma's eyes narrowed into snake-like slits. "They could have dyed their hair or worn a wig, and maybe gotten a hold of different colored contacts, which is also illegal."
