an important announcement last night,” Eli said.
“Yes.” Ivan turned his attention toward me. “You ran out.”
“As you can imagine, it was a bit of a shock to me,” I mumbled.
Eli leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “Goddesses aren’t meant to fight,” he stated fiercely.
M. Aleksandrov grabbed a pen from its holder, scribbled on a piece of paper and slid it over to us.
“You forget she isn’t completely a goddess. She has special abilities that are very important to the council and to me. My decision is final.”
Sprawled onto the paper in black ink was a warning : We can’t talk here. I’ll come find you later.
Mr. Aleksandrov used his wand to pull the flame from the tea light candle and burned the paper. Eli and I rose from our chairs and waltzed from the tea room. There was something going on here, something to do with me, and we had to wait for Mr. Aleksandrov to tell us.
“What do we do?” I whispered to Eli as we walked across the field and back toward the armed security team hidden in the shrubbery.
“We wait.”
When I arrived back at my place, Mila was awake and making breakfast. She didn’t look too good. Her pale-green complexion told me she’d been hugging the toilet bowl all morning.
“Ruby!” she greeted me. “There you are. I’m making bacon and eggs f—” Cutting her sentence off, Mila placed a hand on her mouth.
I cringed, taking a step back. “Maybe I’ll take over breakfast…”
Mila sprinted from the room and I chuckled to myself. Somehow I had become immune to hangovers. That didn’t mean I’d forgotten my first one. It was the morning after the dance and I felt disgusting. The bacon sizzled in the pan, making my stomach growl. The eggs were done to perfection, they were light, fluffy, and salted just right.
With a freshly washed face, Mila re-entered the room and leaned on the bench. I pushed the plate of eggs over to her and I could’ve sworn she turned a shade greener. “I think I’ll have toast instead.”
I turned away and popped two slices of bread into the toaster.
“I don’t suppose you were too drunk to remember last night?” she asked sheepishly.
I shook my head. “Nope, I’m surprised you remember, though.”
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to do that to you… I remember the promise you made me, it doesn’t count. I want you to do whatever you want.”
I smiled at her. Looking at her face now, I could tell she wanted me to keep my promise. A drunken promise was still a promise.
After breakfast, Mila went to the library. She needed to grab a few books for her upcoming plant essay. I wasn’t allowed to go; visitors weren’t permitted to wander around the school campus, so I showered instead.
The first droplet of water hit my skin, immediately releasing built-up tension. It had only been an hour or so since my work-out session and already my muscles were becoming stiff. I closed my eyes and the hot steam enveloped my body. So many voices were rolling around my mind. ‘ My first act as the higher power is instating Ruby Moore as one of my head guardians.’ Was it his decision? The note he wrote suggested otherwise, perhaps the council was running the show?Steam clung to the shower glass, blocking out the rest of the bathroom. I tilted my head back, letting the water run down my hair. ‘ We can’t talk here. I’ll come find you later.’ I couldn’t be misinterpreting the situation—it seemed so clear, so undeniable. What did the council want with Mr. Aleksandrov, better yet, what did they want with me? A goddess had never protected anything before… they weren’t meant to. There was a chance the council genuinely thought I could protect Mr. Aleksandrov, but as the higher power, he’ll have the best guardian angels protecting him… he wouldn’t need me.
After the shower, I got changed and headed to Eli’s house. It had been over two hours since we left Mr. Aleksandrov’s house and I
“Yes.” Ivan turned his attention toward me. “You ran out.”
“As you can imagine, it was a bit of a shock to me,” I mumbled.
Eli leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “Goddesses aren’t meant to fight,” he stated fiercely.
M. Aleksandrov grabbed a pen from its holder, scribbled on a piece of paper and slid it over to us.
“You forget she isn’t completely a goddess. She has special abilities that are very important to the council and to me. My decision is final.”
Sprawled onto the paper in black ink was a warning : We can’t talk here. I’ll come find you later.
Mr. Aleksandrov used his wand to pull the flame from the tea light candle and burned the paper. Eli and I rose from our chairs and waltzed from the tea room. There was something going on here, something to do with me, and we had to wait for Mr. Aleksandrov to tell us.
“What do we do?” I whispered to Eli as we walked across the field and back toward the armed security team hidden in the shrubbery.
“We wait.”
When I arrived back at my place, Mila was awake and making breakfast. She didn’t look too good. Her pale-green complexion told me she’d been hugging the toilet bowl all morning.
“Ruby!” she greeted me. “There you are. I’m making bacon and eggs f—” Cutting her sentence off, Mila placed a hand on her mouth.
I cringed, taking a step back. “Maybe I’ll take over breakfast…”
Mila sprinted from the room and I chuckled to myself. Somehow I had become immune to hangovers. That didn’t mean I’d forgotten my first one. It was the morning after the dance and I felt disgusting. The bacon sizzled in the pan, making my stomach growl. The eggs were done to perfection, they were light, fluffy, and salted just right.
With a freshly washed face, Mila re-entered the room and leaned on the bench. I pushed the plate of eggs over to her and I could’ve sworn she turned a shade greener. “I think I’ll have toast instead.”
I turned away and popped two slices of bread into the toaster.
“I don’t suppose you were too drunk to remember last night?” she asked sheepishly.
I shook my head. “Nope, I’m surprised you remember, though.”
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to do that to you… I remember the promise you made me, it doesn’t count. I want you to do whatever you want.”
I smiled at her. Looking at her face now, I could tell she wanted me to keep my promise. A drunken promise was still a promise.
After breakfast, Mila went to the library. She needed to grab a few books for her upcoming plant essay. I wasn’t allowed to go; visitors weren’t permitted to wander around the school campus, so I showered instead.
The first droplet of water hit my skin, immediately releasing built-up tension. It had only been an hour or so since my work-out session and already my muscles were becoming stiff. I closed my eyes and the hot steam enveloped my body. So many voices were rolling around my mind. ‘ My first act as the higher power is instating Ruby Moore as one of my head guardians.’ Was it his decision? The note he wrote suggested otherwise, perhaps the council was running the show?Steam clung to the shower glass, blocking out the rest of the bathroom. I tilted my head back, letting the water run down my hair. ‘ We can’t talk here. I’ll come find you later.’ I couldn’t be misinterpreting the situation—it seemed so clear, so undeniable. What did the council want with Mr. Aleksandrov, better yet, what did they want with me? A goddess had never protected anything before… they weren’t meant to. There was a chance the council genuinely thought I could protect Mr. Aleksandrov, but as the higher power, he’ll have the best guardian angels protecting him… he wouldn’t need me.
After the shower, I got changed and headed to Eli’s house. It had been over two hours since we left Mr. Aleksandrov’s house and I
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