and wraps her hand tightly around mine. “We will celebrate privately, at home, with only family.”
If there was any doubt in my mind before, it vanishes. The only reason Mother would forgo a public celebration is if she’s unsure of my mental state. Which means, despite what she’s told me, I could still go crazy.
“Now, I’d like a moment with my daughter.”
Immediately, the room clears. My guards and all. No one questions Mother. They just leave.
“Lunch?” Mother gestures to a row of delicacies lining the middle of the table.
My stomach hasn’t settled down yet and I shake my head. “No, thank you.”
She clucks at me. “You’re going to need your strength for the assessment.”
I tuck a strand of chestnut hair behind my ear. “The assessment?”
Excitement flickers across Mother’s face. “I’ve arranged for you to sit for it today. In two hours, to be exact.”
My mouth drops open. I had thought…
“You didn’t think you could skip it, did you?”
Actually, yes. “Of course not.”
Mother knits her brows together. “You’re scowling and that isn’t becoming. You should be excited, not to mention thankful. Annalise told me how distraught you were about missing it the first time.”
“I am excited.” I try to sound happy, but my voice falls flat. “But how can I join the State if I don’t have…” Beck. But I can’t say that. Especially after the conversation we had earlier. “An acceptable mate?”
“What would you like me to do about your problem, Lark?” Mother clasps her hands before her like one of my old teachers waiting for me to give the right answer.
“I can’t be bound, you know that.” Once a witch is bound, the only way to undo it is by death. If Mother doesn’t see this as a problem, it means one thing: she knows Beck is dead. My legs wobble and I grasp the edge of the table for support.
“I’ll ask you again. What would you like to do about that?”
I frown. What is she asking me? If I want to be bound to someone else? What does that mean? I can’t be bound to anyone else as long as Beck’s alive. Which means…is she asking if I want him dead?
My heart flutters. This is the first hint she’s given that he may be okay. I clench my jaw and smash my lips together in hope that I don’t give away my emotions.
Tiny pulses of ice pummel my body as Mother targets her magic at me. It creeps along the edge of my arms, over my chest and toward my heart. In response, my pulse accelerates.
“What are you doing?” I ask, stepping back from her.
Mother raises her eyebrows and sighs. “Helping you remember who you are.”
I bite my lower lip. Something isn’t right about this.
“Mother, I know who I am.”Another wave of magic hits me in the chest, knocking me off balance and my unease turns to fear. Once I regain my footing, I scramble to the far end of the table, but I don’t take my eyes off my Mother.
She waits at the other end, one hand on her hip, her headed cocked to the side. “Hold out your arm.”
Tension rolls through me. “Why?”
“Lark, do not disobey me.”
The hard edge of her words sends my heart into overdrive, but I’m more afraid of what she’ll do if I don’t listen. I lift my trembling arm.
“The other one.”
I raise my left arm slowly, holding it before me. The restraint falls to the ground.
Mother smiles. “That’s better.”
I blink. “Thank you.”
“Hands up.” Mother paces between the table and the wall.
This can’t be good. Vomit sits in the back of my throat, but I lift my hands so that they’re chest height and hold my breath.
The air around Mother vibrates with magic, and even though it does me no good, I imagine a wall between us. Magic rips through the room, electric and crackling.
I jump back, but I keep my hands up. The pulses radiating from Mother slam into something invisible and explode before me. But they don’t touch me.
I quickly inspect my body, making sure I have all my parts, and see slivers of ice lying at my feet.
“Well done, Love.” Mother grins, shifting her weight back and forth between the balls of feet and her heels. She flings both her arms toward me with fingers splayed. “Deflect.”
A suffocating gust of hot air envelops me.
I spin, drawing the heat closer to me just as I remember Eloise doing with the moonlight. A soft orange glow surrounds me and my body