Phoenix Academy - Lucy Auburn Page 0,70

tether, until it falls apart in the air around us.

Lizzy screams.

Xavier growls.

The runes fall apart beneath our feet.

Falling to her knees, my sister cries in pain. I hold her, catching her before she falls, and stare into the woods behind the abandoned train station. He's there; I can sense him, even if I'm barely able to make out his form. He knows I'm taking her from him, and his rage is as palpable as the sun beating overhead.

"It's going to be okay."

I summon the portal back to the academy, thinking of its green campus and Gothic structures, the heavy gates and all the strange and wonderful students inside. Pulling Lizzy to her feet, I run through to the other side, three shifters at my heels.

The gate closes behind us a few seconds later.

Just in time to hear the sound of my father howling in rage.

Chapter 16

Nearly an hour after returning with my sister, I head to Headmaster Towers office with the guys, freshly showered, my blue hair darkened with water. It felt amazing to scrub the grime, dirt, and oil from my scalp after days in the woods; at one point I'm pretty sure I even pulled a dead bug out of my blue locks, though I've tried not to think about it too hard.

Lizzy was in the infirmary being checked out, but now Towers has let us know that it's time to have her phoenix self scried. My sister seemed more herself when I dropped her off with the nurses at the infirmary. She was still scared and pale, but less a shadow, and without that strange soulless anger in her eyes.

Also, her hair gradually faded to a deep silver-grey as I watched in wonder, while her eyes became a nearly colorless hazel with flecks of green and gold.

So she isn't exactly the sister she was before the Heretic caught her and killed her. Neither am I. While we awkwardly sat near each other in the infirmary, waiting for the nurses to check their tests and listen to her heart, she reached out and tugged gently at the hair near my left ear.

"It's blue now," she said in wonder. "Is that dye, or?"

"That's how it grows. Straight from the scalp, certified organic."

It was an awkward joke, and neither of us laughed at it, but we were starting to feel a little more normal. Than the academy physician arrived and requested some alone time with Lizzy to check her over more intensely. The guys and I took the opportunity to clean ourselves off, and now here we are, taking the steps up towards the headmaster's office, where my sister is apparently waiting for us.

"You did good," David tells me, as we knock on the office door and wait outside. "If you decide not to go after the Heretic right away, no one will blame you. You can take your time."

I shake my head. "We have to get him as soon as possible. Before he rebuilds his support or finds some other newborn phoenix to brainwash. It's too dangerous otherwise—especially now that witches are waking across the globe, ripe for him to abuse and kill."

The door opens before we can speak further, and my heart leaps at the sight of my sister. She's sitting in the chair opposite Towers' desk, seeming even smaller than usual, maybe because of how high-back the chair is.

As I walk over to sit at her side, I observe a few things with thanks: there's color in her cheeks now, and she looks like she took a shower, her damp hair braided back from her face. When she glances over at me she smiles, picking nervously at the plaid skirt they gave her, fidgeting in her button-up shirt.

She looks like the little girl I remember. A little older, a tiny bit taller, with wholly new powers, as well as the hair and eyes to go with them, but she's Lizzy. She's real. And she's here.

"Hey," she says softly, as the guys arrange themselves in other chairs across from the desk, instructed by Towers' new office assistant. "I forgot to say earlier... thanks."

"For what?"

"What you did." She tugs at the edge of her collar, and I instinctively reach out to unbutton the top button at her throat, grateful when she doesn't pull away from me. "I know I was a real ass to you. Everything... everything from then feels a little foggy and grey, but I remember that much. I can't believe you came back for me anyway."

"You're