I moved to follow them, but Mason grabbed me by the wrist. “Not yet, Adept,” he said.
“Let her go, Mason.” Momoko stalked closer, her wizard mark surfacing as she funneled magic.
Mason glanced at her, and something felt off. When his wizard mark—which stretched all the way to his jaw—surfaced, I stiffened. He made a flicking motion, blasting Momoko with blue magic. She crashed into the wall with a groan.
I lashed out, kicking Mason in the gut. “What are you doing?”
He coughed, but yanked me closer. His mistake—years of being bullied made me anticipate his reaction. As soon as I smacked into his chest, I stood on my tiptoes and summoned what little magic I could channel to my fingers, which I then jabbed into his eyes. I might not have a lot, but apply it to just the right spot on a person and it will still work!
The magic crackled, and Mason swore as he released me, clawing at his face.
I scurried around him, sprinting to Momoko’s side. “Everyone, wake up!” I tried to keep an eye on Mason as I inspected Momoko, trying to judge how badly she was hurt. Thankfully, more House Medeis wizards emerged from their rooms.
“I’m fine.” Momoko leaped to her feet and shook out her hands. Her wizard mark was darker than ever as she made a pulling gesture, producing more magic before she advanced on Mason with a snarl.
A few of the senior wizards popped out of their rooms, half dressed.
I spotted Mr. Baree among them, quickly calling magic to his hands when he noticed the way Momoko placed herself between Mason and me. “Mr. Baree, wake the others in the other wing. Something’s going on!”
I had to shout to be heard above the rattling, but the House wasn’t reacting much besides creaking floorboards, so I couldn’t tell what was happening.
What had Mason done?
Yells echoed from downstairs, but Mason stood between the stairway and the rest of us. When I cautiously started to approach, Great Aunt Marraine and two other wizards stepped in front of me.
“We have to see what’s downstairs.” I watched Momoko and Mrs. Clark—Felix’s mom—stalk closer to Mason.
“We can’t risk you, Adept,” Great Aunt Marraine grimly said.
“But—”
“We’re under attack!” Felix bounded up the stairs, turning around to cast whirling balls of magic behind him. “House Tellier busted through the front gate! They’re swarming—” A bolt of orange magic struck Felix, and he fell with an ominous thud.
House Tellier wizards—led by Gideon the Idiot—stormed the stairway. They weren’t hiding their House—they all wore black sweaters or blazers with the orange and yellow House Tellier crest on the front.
My brain struggled to understand. There hadn’t been serious physical fighting between wizard Houses since World War II. That Tellier would attack us was unthinkable—and why would they even do it? What could they possibly gain from this?
“I asked you nicely, Hazel.” Mason briefly looked back and exchanged nods with Gideon as the House Tellier wizards trotted down the hallway. “Now I’m ordering you: marry me.”
I had been trying to count the House Tellier wizards—it looked like they outnumbered those of us in this hallway, though who knew if they’d already subdued the rest of the family in the other wing? I felt my empty pocket again and cursed my nonchalance in leaving my cellphone in my bedroom, but Mason’s words yanked me out of my thoughts.
“Do you seriously not know what year it is?” I snapped. “Because this isn’t the medieval ages. You can’t buy me for a cow because you want my House!”
He didn’t even blink at the accusation that he was after House Medeis.
Instead, he smiled politely. “This isn’t an economical exchange but a political move. I deserve to be Adept and lead House Medeis. You—made out of the same overly optimistic and pacifist stock as your parents but lacking their admirable power—do not.”
His words made my knees shake.
This wasn’t just an attack; it was a coup. Mason wanted to lead, but without my blood to legitimize him the House would rebel and chaos would rule. His attempt to belittle me and use my low powers was just a shield to cover how power hungry he was. He had to be, no one would have called my parents pacifists. Being part of House Medeis meant you took a vow to honor life!
I tried to swallow, but almost choked as Mr. Baree and the other House Medeis wizards crowded around me in a protective huddle.
“But it seems you’ve misunderstood,” Mason continued. “If you don’t marry me, I’ll start killing off the House Medeis wizards one by one and take it by force instead. We’ll begin with…your friend.”
He glanced back over his shoulder, and two House Tellier wizards dragged Felix, still unconscious, up to him.
“Felix!” I lunged, but Mr. Baree caught me and held me back.
“You can’t, Adept.” Mr. Baree had to tip his head back to avoid my fists as I tried to thrash free. “If he gets you, it’s over.”
“He’s attacked the House—do you really think he’ll let Felix go?” I snapped.
“It doesn’t matter,” Mr. Baree firmly said. “The House comes before everything.”
The House!
I whipped my gaze back to Mason. He was holding a ball of magic that crackled like electricity as he curiously watched me, his hand hovering just over Felix’s heart.
“House Medeis,” I shouted. “Can’t you do something?”
The building rattled and groaned, but nothing happened.
“It can’t, in fact.” Mason still wore his usual smile, looking as kind and calm as he had at my parents’ funeral. “I waited just until you stretched its power to its weakest. You never Ascended and bonded with it, so there is very little it can do to protect you.”
I could hear my heartbeat in my eardrums.
How. How could this happen? It was unfathomable.
“Roy, did you get a hold of the others?” Mrs. Clark asked.
Mr. Baree shook his head.
“Felix!” Momoko shouted.
“Decide, Adept,” Mason said pleasantly. “Marry me, or Felix dies.”
I tried to wriggle in Mr. Baree’s grasp, but being part hulk and part bear he didn’t flinch, even when I elbowed him in the stomach.
Great Aunt Marraine leaned closer on the pretense of soothing me, but she spoke in a lowered voice. “What are the chances after he makes Hazel marry him he’ll force her to Ascend, and then have her killed?”
“If I agree it will buy us time,” I snapped. “He can’t make me Ascend tomorrow—we don’t have all my parents’ papers or the House signet ring!”
Mr. Baree barely moved his lips as he spoke, his eyes hooked on Mason. “You’re the last in your line, Adept. Your life isn’t something we can gamble with.”
“Adept, I’m waiting,” Mason warned, his voice losing its pleasant edge.
Momoko had turned around to watch us, but she exchanged a look with Mrs. Clark, lifted her chin, and moved to stand in front of the small huddle of House Medeis wizards. “You won’t get away with this, Mason.”
Mason raised an eyebrow. “What a cliché thing to say.”
“When the Regional Committee of Magic hears about this, they’ll arrest you!”