Page 116 of Hero of Havoc

“Honestly, I have no idea,” I admit. “Any other time, I would be hoping to do some fencing, but I think that's pretty much off the table now,” I decide, and he nods.

“Yeah, you're going to have to beat me another day,” he agrees.

The forest looms in the distance, a stark reminder of what I experienced two nights ago. As if sensing my train of thought, Teddy squeezes my hand tight.

“Are you sure you want to forgive him so easily?” he asks, and I huff.

“There is nothing to forgive.”

He lifts his free hand in surrender. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t there, but I do know what it’s like for your magic to feel uncontrollable. I just can’t imagine you being in harm’s way around me,” he admits, and I sigh.

“I don't think it helped that there was so much happening all at once. We were all just reacting. It’s literally what we had been complaining about, and exactly how we don't want to operate anymore, but it feels like that's all we've got left to do,” I admit.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he starts, wagging a finger at me. “We are not discussing this right now, not while those meds are still in motion. I shouldn't have asked. I'll keep my mouth shut,” he insists, fake zipping his mouth up and tossing away the key before he takes a big breath. “So, how about you tell me something cute about⁠—”

A squawk echoes in the air as the wind picks up, and confusion vibrates inside of me until a familiar flash of red darts toward us.

A phoenix.

Instinct has me reaching for Teddy's wrist, yanking him behind me as the flamed-feathered bird comes to a halt right in front of me, transforming in one swoop to reveal my mother in its place.

My chest heaves with every breath, my mind and body unprepared for her presence.

“What are you doing here?” I blurt, and she hisses at me, wiping her hands down her t-shirt as her eyes narrow.

I'm too calm.

I regret the meds, but it at least allows me to be present enough to acknowledge the fact that she shifted from creature to human and kept her clothes intact, unlike when Sax does it.

“Where did you put it?” she snarls, and I frown at her in confusion.

Inhaling sharply, I roll my shoulders back as I narrow my eyes at her. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

She inches closer, her head twitching as her nose crinkles. “Don't lie to me, girl. Where did you put it?” she repeats as I gape at her, trying to piece together what on earth she’s referring to, when Teddy’s voice cuts through the air.

“I’m going to need you to back the fuck up, lady,” Teddy grumbles, trying to sidestep and put me behind him, but it's impossible with my mother before us, the rich scent of fire lingering in the air.

“Call your dog off before I put it down,” she warns, glowering at Teddy before she blinks at me. “The relic. I know he brought you one. Where is it?”

I rear back, blinking at her. “You know he brought me one?”

I repeat her words back to her and she huffs, waving me off as she shakes her head. “Don't try and distract me. I want to know where the hell it is,” she growls, her throat raspy with rage as I slowly shake my head.

She’s deranged.

Even more insane than usual if she’s freely accosting me on campus instead of trying to catch me off guard in my dorm. She’s already done that, but still, this is a new level of madness, even for her.

Part of me wants to push back, but it’s impossible to pretend I have the strength, so I swallow my pride and take option b.

“I asked Archer to get rid of it,” I state, but my lips won’t stop moving. “I didn't want to fall into Leonardo Corrigan's games, just like I don't want to do yours either.”

Her lips pinch. “You foolish girl,” she snarls. "Do you have any idea what you've done?” she rages, and I instinctively shake my head, but I get the feeling it’s a rhetorical question.

She presses her fingertips into her temples, her nostrils flaring as her fury continues to rise.

"Back the fuck up,” Teddy grunts, his words drenched in song as he speaks, and as I peer at him from the corner of my eye, I find familiar orange rings around his blue pools.

Damn it!