None of us have ever really spoken about what happened on Inchkeith Island. Aunt Leanna’s partner, and Marley’s would-be stepfather, was secretly a Siren. A magical creature that looked, sounded, and behaved like any other human. Except a Siren’s voice holds extreme power. They are deeply persuasive and influential and, if they are strong enough, they can make people do things that they do not want to do.
Ren abducted Marley and lured me to the island, and he probably would have killed me if Aunt Opal hadn’t arrived. She used her witchery to turn Ren
to stone.
Now, no one speaks of it. Even though it changed everything.
That was the night I discovered the true nature of my own magic. It was so much more than being able to see through Glamour. It was an affinity with water. The ability to move things without touching them.
Flying.
Opal says I’m not allowed to even attempt flying without her present. The whole thing is frustrating. I’m special. I’m different. I should be allowed to celebrate and bask in that glow, but the whole family wants me to be quiet and cautious.
And Hidden. Just like other magical creatures.
I don’t want to be hidden.
The phone in the kitchen rings shrilly, causing the adults to jump and start in their chairs. I get up and grab the old receiver and let out and exhale.
“Hello?” I say, grumpily.
“Hey, kid!”
I smile, despite the bad mood I’m determined to be in. “Hey, Dad. How’s London?”
“Oh, it’s…it’s fine. Listen, bub, your mum isn’t answering the landline at home, I was wondering—”
“Yeah, she’s here. So is Aunt Leanna.”
I hear him exhale in relief, while Mum gets to her feet and holds out her hand for the phone. I clutch it more tightly and shake my head at her. “And—”
“Can you put Mum on, Ramya? I need to tell her—”
“About Portia? Yeah, we know. She’s in Edinburgh.”
I can hear Dad’s shocked silence on the other end of the line and Mum starts clicking her fingers at me, which she knows I find enraging.
“Dad, they’re saying we all have to lay low. It’s not fair, I want—”
The phone suddenly flies out of my hands, and I spin around to watch it soar into Mum’s hands. I still have to get used to the fact that she is also a witch. She kept it from me for so long.
Her affinity is fire.
The opposite of mine.
“Hi,” she says stiffly into the receiver, fixing me with a cold look. “She’s fine, just overexcited.”
Aunt Leanna pulls me into her lap and gives me a squeeze. I don’t know if it’s her particular brand of witchcraft but some of the anger and tension releases out of me. She jiggles me until I roll my eyes and smile slightly. I look over at Marley and my smile slips as I see he is staring into space, completely expressionless.
“Marley?”
He glances at me. “Yeah?”
“Did you… did you see her?”
He doesn’t answer because he does not have to. His face tells it all. I don’t even need him to answer or explain.
I remember what it is that he’s feeling. It was years ago, when I saw her for the first and only time. I still remember it.
Mum finishes her conversation with Dad and hands the phone back to me. I get up from Leanna’s knee and take it. “Dad?”
“Hey, kid. Listen. Go easy on everyone, all right? I know you want to help—”
“I’m the only one immune to her,” I say fiercely. I catch Opal’s eye. “Well, one of two people immune to her.”
“I know. But you’re not grown. And Opal is still teaching you to control everything. So you’re where you need to be right now.”
I swallow the unfairness. It would also be unfair to tell Dad that, as he has no magic, he has no business telling me what to do with mine. I’m the one who is special. I’m the one this is all about. Therefore, I am the one who has to go out there and stop her.
“I’ll see you before Christmas,” he says.
“Fine,” I reply. “Bye for now.”
I hang up the phone before he does.
“I think,” Mum says loftily, holding open the kitchen door, “someone is overtired.”
“All right,” I say innocently. “You’d better get some rest then, Mum.”
