Free Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1) by Tricia Drammeh Page B

between us. “Yeah, I can come. I’m not doing
anything today,” I replied.
    “That’s not what I asked. Can you
play? Are you any good? I bet my dad a day of yard work that I
could beat him in tennis. He said he wouldn’t play without his
partner—Mom. That’s because she’s better than him. He knows he
can’t beat me alone. So, can you?”
    “I’m okay. I haven’t played in a
while, but I’m pretty good. My backhand sucks, though.” I was
excited. The weather was cool—only in the seventies. I was anxious
to get outside, but more importantly, anxious to nurture my close
relationship with Jace.
    “I’ll pick up the slack,” he offered.
“I’ll be there at three to pick you up. Bye.”
    After our high-stakes tennis
tournament, we headed back to his house for dinner. Jace was flying
high on adrenaline. It was his first time beating his parents at
tennis, and he was already making complicated workout and training
schedules for the two of us. His next goal was to defeat the
dreaded Bryce/Jerica combination.
    “We do need to discuss your training
schedule, and I’m not talking about tennis,” Jerica said with a
frown. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in the training
room.”
    “I know, Mom,” Jace agreed. “I
realized after last night that I have some things to work on. I was
waiting for the right time to talk to you.”
    “What happened?” Abe asked.
    “I’m not inattentive. I swear I
honestly never picked up on anything before. But last night at the
dance…” Jace paused, thinking. “It was crazy. I danced with Rachel
and then… it happened.”
    “Tell us everything.” Abe leaned
forward and I could tell he was committing everything Jace said to
memory.
    “I asked Rachel to dance, and as soon
as I grabbed a hold of her, she was inside my head.” Jace’s
expression clouded over. His parents looked expectant, but
worried.
    “She began sifting through my brain,
searching. I tried to protect my magic, but that’s not what she was
after. I think she was just experimenting. She doesn’t even know
what I am, or who she is,” he explained. “The connection surprised
her. She didn’t realize anyone else had the ability she had.” Jace
smiled briefly. “It was a surprise to me too. I didn’t know I had
it in me. She had a very strong link. I couldn’t break it on my
own. Finally some guy bumped into her and broke her concentration.
That’s about it. I didn’t really talk to her after
that.”
    “What do you mean you didn’t talk to
her after that?” Abe asked, narrowing his eyes.
    “Well, you know. Her date came over
and started talking, so I left her with him,” Jace
explained.
    “Oh, honey,” Jerica said, shaking her
head. “She’s going to need protection now more than ever. You left
her alone? And without explaining anything to her?”
    “What was I supposed to do? Drag her
away and tell her she’s a Spellbringer? She would have thought I
was joking or crazy or both,” Jace said defensively. “I mean, you
can’t tell someone that and expect them to believe you right
away.”
    “Well, I’m worried about her,” Jerica
said. “She needs our help. We need to invite her over and explain
she has a gift. She also needs to be aware she is
vulnerable.”
    Abe looked at me and asked, “Alisa,
how well do you know Rachel?”
    “I’ve known her since kindergarten,
but we’re not exactly close,” I admitted.
    “We may need your help in getting her
over here. It might even help if you are with us when we talk to
her. She’s known you longer than Jace, and she might be more likely
to believe what we’re saying if she sees a familiar face. Do you
mind?” Abe asked.
    “I’ll help any way I can,” I offered.
I felt like a fraud. The Alexanders probably thought I was so
helpful and kind, but in reality, my motives were completely
selfish. I wanted to be there, but not just to help them. The idea
of being excluded was worse than anything I could imagine. On