My having a fit and accidentally breaking one of the crystals made everything more complicated than Logan let on. We ended up spending the better part of the night shuffling the crystals around in hopes of distributing the magic evenly enough that no one would discover I’d broken the one in the west wing. I’d suggested we call Hadley and tell her what happened, but Logan was worried someone would overhear the conversation.
“Are you sure this is going to work?” I asked, scooting one sky blue crystal a few feet from its original place, hidden near the gargoyles in the front yard. We couldn’t move them too far or someone would notice.
“Sure.” Logan didn’t sound convinced. At all. Even though the centers of the crystals gleamed brighter as we moved them.
We’d made the rounds around the entire perimeter, dodging faculty and other students in an effort of keeping the shields strong enough that we could make a trip to see Hadley and replace what I’d broken without leaving the school vulnerable.
“At least we don’t have to break into the other houses and move anything there. Those should be safe,” he said.
“I didn’t even know there were crystals in them.”
“Yeah, those are different. They are hidden in the attics and are spelled to specifically hide the shifters from the main house in case someone spots them as they shift. The area around the houses, all the way to the forest, is protected by those. I only know this because McTavish told me when I helped him with the perimeter,” Logan explained, his gaze still locked on the last crystal, clearly wondering if this strange idea of redistributing the magic was actually going to work. “I guess now is as good a time as ever to go and tell Hadley we need her help.”
He shifted and lowered his body to the ground in an obvious invitation for me to ride.
“I suppose this means we aren’t taking a taxi this time unless you moonlight as ‘the dragon express,’” I joked as I crawled up.
He huffed and blew out a coil of smoke, none too impressed with my witty humor, then stood and leapt into the sky. I wrapped my arms tight around his neck, feeling his magic pulse along his scales. For the first time, I wondered what it would be like to fly like this, gliding in the moonlight, high above the earth.
I will try it one day, if he will help me, I decided. After all, he did ask me for a date of sorts a while back.
Our moonlit flight didn’t last nearly long enough. Before I knew it, he was descending into a vacant lot near Hadley’s house.
I barely had enough time to slide off his back when her back porch light came on. The door opened, and Hadley squinted out at us as Logan shifted to human form.
“What’s going on this time?” she asked, sounding resigned as we approached.
“We sort of…” Logan began, but I cut him off.
“I accidentally broke the crystal in the west wing,” I told her as we made it inside. “There wasn’t any we. It was all my fault. Can you make us another one?”
“How did you…?” Hadley shook her head. “Forget it. I don’t want to know. What’s more important is that you know the shields are at risk now, right? There will be a hole in them that anyone and anything can get through.”
“We shifted the others around, hoping to distribute the power more evenly,” I said sheepishly.
Her eyes widened until they were the size of saucers. “How far did you move them?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“Not far,” Logan spoke up. “Only a few feet from where they were sitting to begin with.”
She let out a huge breath. “It might hold until you replace the one you broke,” she said, biting her lip. “I have one crystal that Bronwyn left here the other day. I don’t know how well it will work, but it’s better than nothing, which is what you have,” she admitted. “I need to call Aunt Sally and tell her—”
“No!” Logan and I exclaimed at the same time, then looked at each other.
“What we mean,” I explained, “is that we’d rather not tell anyone.” Because I would have to explain what happened, and then they’ll want to know the details of how I became a dragon, I added silently.
Hadley pursed her lips, no doubt wondering why I was willing to jeopardize the safety of the school. “I trust you,” she said finally. She left the room, returning a moment later with a deep green crystal that filled her palm. “I will work on the spells again tonight. Once you put this into the west wing, you’ll need to put all the others back where they were.” She frowned. “This isn’t a game of chess where you can just move the pieces around. They’ll need to be put back exactly as they were.”
“We’ll get them,” Logan said. “I promise.”
“Okay.” She handed him the crystal. “Not that I wouldn’t love for you guys to hang around and chat, but you’d better get going. The longer you’re here, the more chance there is of someone making it through the shields.”
Without a word, Logan slipped the crystal into the pocket of his jacket and headed out the door. Hadley wrapped me in a hug before I could follow him. “Be careful, Claire. I don’t know what’s going on with you guys, but promise you’ll be careful.”
“I will,” I said, giving her a tight squeeze before letting go and dashing to catch up with Logan.
In the distance, I saw the headmistress’s star light up. I felt my heart drop. She knew we were gone. Which meant she also probably knew the crystal had been broken. On that short flight back, a thousand scenarios worked through my head. What if she exiled us to the Forest? What if she only realized we were gone and didn’t know about the crystal? What if the star was just a cry for help and Imperium was under attack again?
Whichever scenario I contemplated, everything inside of me was screaming that everyone would soon know exactly what I was.