Unbound (Unbound, Book 1) ~Formerly Casting Power~

Chapter 54

It was Friday, the last day that I'd have to endure walking the halls without Maible, and only eight hours until the weekend officially began. Not that I was looking forward to it. Maybe if Maible wasn't sick and it wasn't Mrs. Renaldi's days off, I would have something to enjoy. Without them, I knew that Monday morning would be welcomed—anything but the Manor. Upside? It was Miss Rose's days off, too.

Opting to wear my thick glasses for the first time since enrolling at Grimas, I piled my hair into a high, messy bun with stray tendrils that hung, and slipped into a pair of black yoga pants and navy hoody, officially dubbing it as my comfy day.

I was one of the first to arrive at school and ran all the way to art without stopping at my locker. The classroom was unlocked, which meant Mrs. Martin had also arrived already. I gathered supplies in my arms from the front of the room and literally skipped all the way back to the easel and my unfinished painting still resting on its ledge. If I hurried, I might finish it before first period began.

With a squeak of disbelief, everything I had in my arms clattered to the floor when my painting became visible. It was ruined. It was there, sure, but someone had painted a white x with thick, unfixable lines across it. The woman's face, a perfect resemblance to my mother yesterday, was marred by a huge black circle.

Fury burned through me, leaving no part within untouched. I felt the spark of power light my eyes—a sign I had begun to recognize as easy as breathing—and clenched my fists until I drew blood. It was unfair, unjust, and just... not right. Someone had blotted out my mother's face in the painting just like her life had been blotted out from its existence.

Leaving everything that fell, I pivoted on my heel and charged down the corridor, my feet slapping the floor unevenly. I put my hand on my hip to stop my bag from flying around. My anger fuelled me. It left me fearless and ready to act. No other painting had been vandalized and that proved to me one thing: this was personal. Very personal. And there was only one person who had the reason and enough guts to have done this.

"Whoa! Hey there, Nora." My arm was grabbed from the side and I fell against the lockers to my right with a loud bang with enough force to rattle my teeth.

I pulled back, trying to free myself, but my captor kept his constraining grip firm.

"Let me go!" I growled through clenched teeth, seething at the unexpected detour.

"You need to calm down." Calin flexed his fingers to gain a better hold of my arm and, even with the momentary reprieve, I was unable to escape. He was too quick and too strong.

"You don't know what you're talking about." I struggled, panting with exertion. "Let me go!"

"Tell me what's up first," he said, sounding as casual as if this kind of thing happened every day.

"No!" I stopped struggling to face him and the moment our eyes met my rage dissipated. I could still feel the anger roiling within me, but rational thought and control overwhelmed my need to kick someone's teeth in.

"What's up, Nora?" He lowered his voice to a whisper and loosened his grip until finally releasing it completely.

The moment I was free, I stepped back from his reach, yet didn't flee. I sighed and my shoulders slumped. Tears replaced the burn of my anger. "My painting has been ruined."

"And seeking retribution will fix it?"

Damn him for being so freaking reasonable. An unexplainable urge for him to touch me again bubbled to the surface as the anger began to rekindle itself. I raised my chin. "That's not what I am doing."

"No?"

"Nope, I'm just—" I spun my head towards a familiar laugh, and before I knew what I was doing, my body began to move with renewed determination through the crowd of students that now blocked my path. "Duvessa."