smile. "Sorry to try and cut this short, but I think I need another nap," I admitted.
Mrs. CloverSpell, Mr. Daily, and Dad nodded in understanding, looking a little relieved that I was willing to acknowledge the need to rest.
"Tonight you'll stay here, but tomorrow we'll transfer you over to a special medical department to analyze your magic levels. I allowed you to stay here so I wouldn't have to deal with Violet's lectures," CloverSpell explained.
"Which is stupid," Dad huffed.
"Do I have to stay alone?" I inquired.
"No," Mr. Daily responded. "We only need two of your team members. You three can work out who’s coming with me so we can start filling out the witness reports."
"Westley can stay," Gabriel concluded.
"Ya. He deserves it and probably will need a nap in ten minutes," Keru reasoned.
Westley gave them both a glare, but I smiled slightly at their intriguing decision making.
"So...just to make sure, Clara's-"
"Alive and recovery well," CloverSpell assured me. "Once everything is over, Alice, I'll offer you some therapy sessions if you'd be willing to attend them?"
I thought about it and slowly nodded.
"That would be nice."
Dad looked relieved with my agreement, and the others nodded.
"Let's make our way out," CloverSpell encouraged. "Please make sure you rest, Alice. We'll handle things from here," she encouraged.
"Okay," I replied, watching them to begin to exit. Dad came over to my bed and leaned down to press a kiss to my forehead. "Make sure you rest. No arguments or trying to climb out of bed."
"What if I need to pee?"
"Westley will help you," he replied.
"The amount of trust you now have worries me," I muttered, but smiled. "I'll be good, Dad. Don't worry about me."
"I always worry, silly." He flicked my forehead lightly. "Rest up, my dear."
He was the next to leave, and Gabriel walked over and looked at me with a deep frown.
"Couldn't you at least give me a smile?" I suggested. "I did well."
"After going against what we said," he pointed out the obvious.
"Yes, but it saved many students, and I only died for like ten minutes."
"Thirty," the three of them corrected.
"Same thing." I brushed it off like it wasn't a big deal.
"I swear, you're truly something else," he whispered, but leaned down and gave me a soft kiss.
"Oh?"
"I like you," he bluntly declared. "Now I won't say it again, so you better remember that."
I blushed and then grinned. "I've suddenly forgotten what you said, can you repeat it?"
"Hmph." He turned right around and was already down the ladder.
"Gabriel!" I whined.
"Go to sleep and stop being cute!" he huffed on the rest of the way down.
I smirked and looked to Keru, noticing his conflicted gaze as he tried to avoid my eyes.
"Keru," I whispered. "Stop beating yourself up. I'm not mad at you."
"I'm sorry for what I said," he apologized, moving closer to the right side of my bed. "It was inappropriate and selfish."
"You said what you said based on your past experiences, right?" I felt there was more to his past than what he'd already revealed to me, and I'd have to wait for the right moment to discover those sealed doors.
I wouldn't judge him for his words, and his obvious regret proved that he truly didn't mean them.
"Ya," he replied.
"Then it's fine. You already apologized," I comforted and let out a yawn.
He gave me a sad smile and reached down to give me a hug. "Get some rest, Blazing Queen."
"Okay," I replied tiredly.
With a kiss to my cheek, he quickly said bye to Westley and headed down the ladder.
Glancing at Westley, my eyes fought to remain open.
"Then...there was two," I whispered.
"That's when you know it's bedtime." Westley chuckled.
"You're supposed to be tired."
"Only when I don't use magic for a long period of time," he revealed. "Used far too much, so I'm energized."
"I wanna cuddle."
"Do you now?" he inquired. "Will you stay awake long enough to enjoy the cuddling moment.
"I'll try to," I mumbled, my eyes already closed.
I felt the shuffling of the blanket, and the warm hug that followed.
"Alice?" I didn't reply, my mind beginning to wander away. Something pressed to my lips, and a soft whispered drifted into my ear, "Good job, my Blazing Queen. You saved a lot of people. Mother Flame is proud."
I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
A loud boom startled me awake, and I noticed Westley was sitting up and looking around with sleepy eyes.
"What was that?" I muttered weakly, my eyes fighting to remain open.
"GRR!" Cyrus’s sudden growl was followed with her racing off the bed, down to the floor, and across the room, where she clawed at the locked door. Westley was still for a moment before his eyes shifted silver and he was rushing out of bed and unlocking the door to the ladder.
"Westley?"
"Call 911 now!"
His sudden order had me looking for my phone, my eyes landing on the nightstand, and I quickly reached for it and dialed the emergency number.
“911. What's your emergency?"
"I-I'm not sure. I-I think there's been a break-in at my hous- EEP!"
The house suddenly shook, and the bolt of energy that surged into me had me up and scrambling down the ladder. Running to the living room, I immediately heard Westley groan and raced to where I heard the sound.
My eyes landed on his body. Cyrus was already on his lap while a silver flaming shield began to fade, the majority of it filled with cracks that suddenly shattered at the last second of its disappearance.
Running to his side, I dropped to the floor; the phone sliding across the wood as I checked to make sure he didn't have any major wounds. I immediately wanted to heal him, but he stopped my hands.
"I'm fine. Did you call 911?"
"Ya. W-What's going on? Was someone here? Where's grand..."
My words trailed off as the two of us looked forward at the eerie sight.
There was my grandma, on the floor in pool of blood with a gun next to her right hand. The sight should have triggered a reaction, but my eyes merely looked up to the large sign that hung above her dead body.
"Welcome to the club, Blazing Horseman."
It was then that I realize that semester one at Blazing Academy was the trigger to unfolding the first set of lies my mother had left behind.