Blazing Academy: Semester One (Academy For All Things Scorching #1) - Avery Song Page 0,11

whoever's hand made me smile, and again, I recalled those times when I'd hold my Dad's hand to my cheek and tell him everything was going to be okay.

If he was here, he'd be so worried. He'd sit by my side all day and night and make sure I was better. He may have been an alcoholic who missed the woman he loved for years, but when I needed him the most, he was always there to nurse me back to health.

I felt a tear leave my eye and roll down to meet the hand I continued to hold in place. With enough gathered strength, I opened my heavy eyelids, but they only lifted just a little bit.

A blurry figure was staring down at me, but those vivid blue eyes could only belong to one man. The figure in my life that didn't abandon me, even if he wasn't the perfect parent.

"Daddy..." Another tear rolled down my cheek, and my vision became blurrier than before.

"Shh, Alice dear. It's okay. I'm right here. Everything is going to be okay. You know that, my princess?" He cupped my cheek, and his face moved in so I could get a better look at his compassionate expression.

His eyes were the same, just like his face, but he wore a black hood, one that reminded me of the woman in red from long ago.

The woman who I believed was my mother.

"You won't leave? Don't leave, Daddy. I don't want to lose you too," I cried.

"Shh, my dear. I will never abandon you. We promised. I'll always be here when you need me the most. No matter what."

"I...did bad. Even if...I keep doing bad?"

"You did nothing wrong, Alice. Don't fear. We need you to rest. It's your birthday," Dad whispered.

"Birthday," I repeated, but my eyes grew heavy. Closing my eyes once more, I allowed my tense body to relax but kept a tight hold on Dad's hand.

He promised he wasn't going away, but this helped to assure me that he wouldn't. Knowing that my dad was here as always gave me enough calm to let myself begin to fall back asleep.

There was a conversation happening, or at least the voices were back once more, but I only caught glimpses of it.

Her powers awakened early.

They can't keep hiding what she is.

She'll be stronger than her mother.

We can't offer her protection here. It's too risky.

That kid, Rick, was sent, wasn't he?

We're investigating.

Meaning he was, and the book was enchanted with a mind-breaking spell.

She wouldn't have-

Alice gets sick once a year. Even that is more of a gamble as to whether she’d get sick at all. You wouldn't have summoned me otherwise.

We'll look into it, Mr. Chambers.

It's Mr. Blaze when I'm in this form, and you better, or I'll lay judgment on him by myself. You both know I don't need anyone's permission to carry that out.

We know.

Good. I'll stay until her grandparents arrive. They hate my guts.

They're humans. They don't accept what they can't understand.

True...

We'll leave you be. I'll warn you when the grandparents arrive.

Thank you, CloverSpell. Ow.

Don't go using my real name.

Jeez. You were calling me by mine moments earlier.

That's different.

Sure.

There was a deep inhale and a light stroke to my cheek. I was too far in between wakefulness and unconsciousness to move, but it felt nice. Any bits of worry I had left faded away.

"It'll be okay, Alice. Just sleep, my sweet daughter."

Yes. Everything will be okay.

"Alice?"

My eyes squeezed together in an attempt to sleep longer. I was far too comfortable to wake up now. Not until I finished the large red velvet cake that was drowned in chocolate frosting.

Now that I thought about it, I was hungry.

"Come back, chocolate frosting red velvet cake. I need you," I mumbled. Rolling over to my side, I snugged the pillow next to me, and relaxed at the sweet smell of red velvet delight.

"Woof?" The light nudge to my nose made me giggle. "You want cake, Cyrus? I want cake. I deserve cake. Birthday cake."

I was talking gibberish in my sleep, but I had a tiny smile on my lips. I dozed off for what felt like a good hour, but something told me it was far less than that.

Something brushed a few strands of hair from my face and lightly stroked my cheek. For a second, I wondered if it was my dad, but he'd always cup my cheek first to let me know it was him.

Who could this be? Actually, this pillow doesn't feel like one of