Free Chosen (9781742844657) by Shayla Morgansen Page A

inability to keep up with the big kids. Those were much better times.
    â€˜Can you perform rudimentary level spells?’ Susannah asked. I frowned. Couldn’t Glen see all this information anyway, or was he just looking for links with White Elm enemies? 
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜What is the most advanced level of spell casting you have reached?’ Glen pressed. I turned to him as I thought this over. Glen was about medium height, with broad shoulders and light blonde hair. He was wearing robes of royal purple, like Susannah and the Chinese witch.
    â€˜Um, I can do wards,’ I offered, unsure how else to answer. I didn’t know what level that was!
    â€˜Reliably or only in controlled conditions?’
    â€˜She saved my life with her first ward,’ Angela answered for me, shutting the car door now that my stuff was unloaded. ‘Her wards are really strong.’
    â€˜I was in a panic – I didn’t think about it,’ I disagreed. ‘I’ve never done anything like that again.’
    Susannah smiled, and Glen withdrew from me. I felt his presence slide away. I fought the impulse to catch him.
    â€˜Thank you for your patience, Aristea,’ he said. He indicated the Chinese man. ‘This is Tian. He will show you up to the Academy once you have said your goodbyes to your sister.’
    I turned to Angela, and her sad smile made me want to cry. She was my only immediate family and I was leaving her alone in our flat.
    â€˜Will you be lonely?’ I asked, hoping I didn’t break down.
    â€˜Kelly wants to come and stay,’ Angela answered. ‘Not sure how long I’ll be able to handle that, but we’ll see.’
    Feeling tears stinging my eyes, I hugged her tightly.
    â€˜Okay. She can have my room. And Angela – I’ll miss you.’
    â€˜I’ll miss you too. But make sure you write as often as you can. Okay?’
    I nodded quickly. Keeping one arm around me, she reached through the car window and withdrew a folded woollen blanket.
    â€˜I think you’ll need this more than I will,’ she said, pressing it into my hands. I accepted it, confused, but as soon as I had I could feel that it was too solid and heavy to be just a blanket. I unwrapped a few layers and discovered the tattered old cover of our grandfather’s book.
    My mouth fell open. As a child I’d tried several times to sneak this beautiful old thing out of the bookcase to look at, and each time my mother had taken it from me and said it was too important to play with. It was her daddy’s, she’d explained, and it was the only thing he’d left for her. The blanket obscured most of the cover but I knew the title: Magic and Destiny , by Cassán Ó Grádaigh.
    â€˜Ange-’ I began to argue; this was a family heirloom, one of so few things we had of our ancestors, but she pressed it more firmly into my hands and spoke over me.
    â€˜Aristea, it’s yours. I have everything else at home. Besides, I’ve read it. It’s about time you did.’
    I hugged her again and wished this moment would last forever. Angela smiled as she pulled away from me. She turned and got back into the car. Glen shut the gates behind her. The clang of iron on iron struck me as very final and my chest tightened.
    â€˜Angela!’ I said suddenly, speaking through the iron bars of the gate. I felt very alone and stupid now – why had I been so eager to come here and be separated from the only person I had left in the world? She smiled at me through the open window of her car.
    â€˜I love you too, Aristea,’ she said, saving me the trouble. Looking sad, she turned the car on and drove away quickly.
    â€˜Come on, sweetie,’ Susannah said kindly. I turned to them numbly, feeling small and ridiculous. What was I doing here? Glen extracted a polished platinum wand from his robe pocket and tapped the pile of my belongings. They disappeared. Displaced,