Page 32 of Lucent Academy 2: Trinity Awakens
Amber yawned widely. "Shall we go get out of these dresses? They're pretty, but not very comfortable, and I'm looking forward to getting to bed. I don't think I've ever been this tired in my life."
It was only later, after the two of us were putting on our nightgowns and brushing our teeth, that I remembered I had never asked Seraphina if Ines had anything to do with what had happened to me on the horse riding trail.
Chapter 17: Going Home
The morning after the ball, our dormitory was filled with the sounds of packing. Everyone gathered their personal belongings they wanted to take home and packed them into their trunks. By the time my own packing was finished, I was dressed in the same traveling clothes I had first worn when I had left home. Only one thing was different: I had the shawl around my shoulders that my mother had sent me. As promised, I had taken good care of her pendant, the one she had given me before I'd left home. It was a family heirloom and was supposed to have magical properties. It hung around my neck with a weight I didn't even notice anymore, inside my clothes and against my skin.
The only thing that I was leaving behind was the beautiful ball gown that I'd worn the night before. I'd have no use for such an extravagant garment back home, and I didn't want it to get damaged. Staring at the empty spaces in the big closet, I felt a pang of something confusing and bittersweet: loss and longing, excitement about going home, and the anticipation of returning next term. I had so much more to learn about my powers. Lucent Academy wasn't done with me yet. It was more than that, though. Lucent Academy had become my second home.
"What are we looking at?" Amber said as she came to stand next to me and peered into my almost empty closet.
I laughed self-consciously and closed the door. "Nothing. Just wool gathering, I guess."
"Okay, good. For a moment there, you looked like you were expecting a door to open into some magical world."
Giggling, we made our way downstairs to the dining hall. Oliver was there, waiting for us. "I'm really going to miss you guys. Can I write to you?" He was leaving in another airship because his home was in a completely different part of the Empire. I was glad that I'd at least have Amber's company all the way back to Hartwick. Going home would take three days, as the airship would stop at different ports along the way, returning students to the cities and small towns they had come from.
Over a lovely last breakfast, the three of us made plans to stay in touch. I hoped that when we came back next term, the easy friendship the three of us had enjoyed would still be there. I reminded myself that the holidays were only a few weeks long and that people didn't change that fast. Of course, we'd all still be friends next term.
As we pushed our plates away, Oliver started rummaging in his pocket. "Before I forget, Leah, I meant to give you this." He handed me a piece of paper. When I tried to open it, he folded his hand over mine and shook his head. He was looking uncharacteristically solemn. "Not here, read it later," he whispered. He glanced around, and I suppose didn't see anyone paying too much attention to us. "I asked Naja about magic that could create the effects you had experienced on the riding path."
"You mean, she actually came up with something?"
"Not exactly, but you'll see. I've laid it all out for you in the letter. Only read it once you are home and together with your mates. Maybe together you can figure out how to proceed. Honestly, if it's what Naja suspects it to be, I don't know who can and who can't be trusted."
It was all very mysterious, and I promised him that I would only read it once I was safely back home. I tucked it away safely in my own pocket.
On our way downstairs, we ran into Caleb. "I just wanted to tell you what a pleasure it was being the instructor for the three of you this term. I expect next term you'll be learning magic on a different level, maybe even have a different instructor." He turned to me then and gave me a warm smile. "I was so proud of that last demonstration you gave, Leah. It was really spectacular. So much control, and it's obvious that you finally found your own strength there at the end."
I wanted to tell Caleb that I had him to thank for all of it, but the truth was that it had taken Cleopatra's little speech in the healing ward to really wake me up to what I should be concentrating on.
In the end, I knew I could perform the spell if I wanted to, because I had already done it when I thought I was being attacked on the riding path.
I thanked him anyway for his patience and for sticking with me when I wasn't performing at my best.
We shook his hand and wished him a good holiday. Trina was standing a distance away, and by the look on her face, she wasn't happy that Caleb had left her to say goodbye to his students. I wondered if they were returning to the orphanage. Where did the instructors go during the school holidays?
Returning to an orphanage sounded miserable. Perhaps they were staying with friends. I reminded myself that it was none of my business as I watched him meet Trina. The two of them had their heads together and seemed to be arguing as they climbed into one of the coaches, which then drove off with them.
After tight hugs and a goodbye that was harder than I thought it was going to be, Oliver climbed into one of the other designated coaches. It pulled away as we watched, taking him to one of the Academy's airships. Oliver had become one of my favorite people at the Academy, and I felt a pang as I watched him go.
Amber and I found a coach that said it was going to theSovereign's Pride, the airship we had come with. An attendant helped us load our trunks onto the back. As it pulled away with the clippety-clop of horse's hooves, I stuck my head out the window and watched the castle gates become smaller and smaller.
Soon we were at the port, ascending the steep gangplank, gripping the rope railings to keep from stumbling as we climbed. At the top, a man in an imperial uniform checked our names against a list before stepping aside to let us enter. I stepped through a doorway and found myself in a familiar wood-paneled corridor. We followed it until we entered the spacious, comfortable cabin. There were cushioned seats arranged along the walls. Amber and I sat in two of these and stared out the window, which offered a view of the plaza below. A handful of other students were already inside, sitting with friends they had made in the past few months. The expressions they wore were very different than when I had first entered the ship months ago. Back then, we'd all been anxiously waiting to travel into the unknown.
This time, the atmosphere on the airship was relaxed. I suspected most of these young people had learned more about themselves in the last three months than they ever had before about resilience and gaining confidence, about what it truly means to be Manaborn. Though there were still many lessons tobe learned, we were inevitably going home changed after just a few months away.
With a thrumming that grew louder and louder, the airship lifted off. I turned around in my seat to watch as we rose higher and higher. Lucent Academy, set into the mountain, fell behind, but not before I caught a glimpse of the Ice Phoenix, Crystalline, basking in the early morning sunlight. In all her magnificence, she perched on the highest tower like a rare jewel glimmering on a magical artifact. A giant bird made of ice and light, her wings were folded against her back, and her eyes gleamed with something unrecognizable. It seems she had come to see the ships off, and I felt humbled that such a powerful, singularly beautiful creature would think any of us worthy.
I felt a lump in my throat, a heaviness in my heart. I knew I was coming back, but I realized something large, sad, and troubling. From now on, I would always feel torn between this world and the mundane one where my family lived.
"It's strange, isn't it?" A voice said beside me. It was Seraphina. "The thought of going home?" She had also moved to this side of the ship to have a last look at the Academy.
I nodded and swallowed at the lump in my throat. I thought back to when we had come here, how a gaggle of highborns had surrounded her, all of them thinking they were better than the rest of us.
Amber had disappeared to the refreshments stand with a promise to bring me something back as well. For the moment, Seraphina and I were alone.
I wondered about the night before, at the ball. What had all that really been about? Did she know who had been waiting to ambush me in the maze? Or had she merely been actingon a feeling, as she had said? It was still difficult to judge her motivations. Even now, I didn't fully trust her.
