Persie Merlin and the Door to Nowhere by Bella Forrest Page 0,34
his commanding voice, though it was less of an accent and more of a musical note. “You should be honored to have an Atlantean here. She is descended from lauded hunters, who saw and caught creatures that even our most decorated hunters have never seen. You could learn a great deal from Genie.”
A wave of surprised whispers rolled through the crowd. I guessed that showed just how little they knew about my homeland. Did they think we didn’t have hunters?
That’s right. You didn’t know that, did you? My mom’s career made me prouder than anything. If they’d wanted to hear stories, I’d have happily regaled them. But they’d only just described me as a powerful upstart who hadn’t earned her spot. And now, Hosseini had delivered a few home truths. That made him my new favorite, usurping Nathan from the top spot.
“Get out, all of you, and take this evening to reconsider your actions here. If I so much as hear a hint of this sort of thing happening again, there will be far greater consequences. Consider this a first, and last, warning.” Hosseini dismissed everyone, and they all went running. He turned back to Charlotte. “Charlotte, you’ll help clean this up?”
Resentment passed over her face, but it was quickly replaced by her usual armor. “Yes, Hosseini.”
He noticed and visibly returned to that gentle giant I’d seen on stage, touching Charlotte’s shoulder in a friendly fashion. “People look to you as a leader.” He gestured to the room-turned-aquarium. “We want to set a good example for those who are… ignorant. When people in authority stand back in the face of discrimination, it gives validation to the act itself. We must always fight that battle.”
Charlotte bowed her head. “I know, I could have—no, I should have intervened more firmly…”
I wondered if she was sincere, or if she was thinking about her mom. Shailene wouldn’t be happy to hear about this. Places like the Institute received integration grants from the UCA. She’d be irked if she found out the bigotry of some of her hunters, and I was sure neither she nor Charlotte wanted their surname tied up in it in any way.
Hosseini looked at me. “Genie, I’m sorry you had to go through that. I hope you can forgive the idiocy of mob mentality.”
“I’ll give Charlotte a hand,” I replied. “In the spirit of peace. It was my mess, after all.”
“Very honorable of you.” He dipped his head. “For my part, I’m looking forward to training you and turning your talents toward less chaotic ends. If you have Water abilities that can cause this, then your future as a hunter is very promising, indeed.”
I grinned, though my insides felt hollow. A futile victory. “The feeling’s mutual.”
“I’ll leave you to it.” Hosseini walked out, leaving me with a sullen Charlotte. She hadn’t argued against the punishment, but I could see she wasn’t jazzed about cleaning up. I couldn’t blame her. If anyone should have been mopping up, it was Bike-Pump Teddy and his fan club.
I stalked over to the counter, where one of the banquet hall workers was gathering mops. He handed two to me, complete with rusty buckets. I carried them back over and set one down beside Charlotte.
“Thanks,” I said, “for speaking up.”
She merely nodded, remaining cool to me as we cleaned, extinguishing any notions I had of a budding friendship between the two of us. Maybe the others would have a change of heart, maybe they wouldn’t. I couldn’t control anyone but myself. What hurt most was knowing my dad had faced this for years and had shielded me from it. But he’d hung on, thanks to the few who’d made him feel he belonged. That was enough to help me cling to my faith in the magical world. There was room for me in it. And I’d find my nook, sooner or later.
I was stubborn as a mule. It would take more than this for me to give up.
Seven
Persie
With everything rapidly slipping out of my control, I flung open the window, snatched up my backpack of pre-hexed Mason jars, and raced out the door, slamming it behind me to try to keep the smoke from setting off any alarms. How would I even begin to explain the mess in my bedroom to anyone who caught a glimpse? It looked like a bomb had gone off. Eyes watering and still shaky from the Purge, I took off down the hall to find the little monsters.