My Merlin Awakening by Priya Ardis Read Free Book Online

heading up the regulation?”
    Vane rose up from the sofa. He crossed to where I stood near the door that led to the hallway. He whispered, “ Zrnoti .”
    A faint wind slithered around us, sped down the hallway, and crashed into the office doorway. There it died with a loud bang.
    “Any idea why my brother would put a privacy spell on the office?” Vane looked at Blake.
    Blake shrugged. “I only volunteered to come here and see Ryan and convince her to come back.”
    “Nothing else has been going on?” I said.
    Grey and Gia walked into the living room. Both seemed composed, although they stood a safe distance apart from each other.
    “What’s going on?” Gia asked.
    “I was asking Blake what Matt has been up to while I’ve been gone,” I explained.
    “You mean other than moping around campus because Ryan isn’t there?” she said.
    I felt my cheeks heat. Vane made a sound of disgust. “Focus, Cornwall.”
    “Master Emrys and the Council had been having a non-stop session for awhile,” Blake said. “Then he left to travel—”
    “Where and when, Emerson?” Vane prompted impatiently.
    I elbowed him. “Be nice.”
    “It doesn’t work well for me,” he said.
    I rolled my eyes. The statement was unfortunately true. He would never be nice, but he’d never let me down either. “Where did Matt go, Blake?”
    “I don’t know. I only know it was out of the country.”
    Gia spoke up. “I wanted to switch into more advanced classes so I went to speak to Marilynn…” Gia made a face. I could understand why. Marilynn was a school administrator, actually the school administrator. While the Council ran the school, Marilynn handled all of its myriad details. She hated me because I’d dated Matt, and hated Gia by association.
    Gia continued, “Merlin had her arrange the travel and she said the flight from Heathrow was only twenty minutes. But now that I think about it, I don’t think she wanted to say much in front of me. She was pretty dodgy about the whole thing.”
    “Dodgy is apt.” Vane took hold of my shoulders and positioned me so I faced the doorway to the office. “We need to hear what is going on inside that office. I can’t break through the bubble. Merlin’s magic is too powerful, but you have ears I don’t.”
    “She does?” asked Blake.
    “The—” I started to explain.
    “They have a special connection,” Vane said.
    Blake said, “I thought they only went on a couple of dates—”
    Gia giggled. “Yes, dates.”
    Blake colored. “Oh.”
    Grey made an annoyed sound. “Watch what you’re saying about my sister, Vane.”
    Everyone already suspected the term “we went on a couple of dates” translated to “we spent the night not sleeping a couple of times.” I sputtered, “Matt and I did n-not—”
    “Right.” Gia winked and sent Vane a gleeful glance.
    I glared at Gia. She was not a Vane fan. I got that. Did she have to go out of her way to antagonize him?
    Vane’s hands tightened on my shoulders painfully. He didn’t like the idea of putting Matt and me in the same sentence, much less a bed. He pulled me into the hallway away from the others, saying loudly, “We can use your connection to do a spell.”
    I frowned at him in confusion. He shook his head in silent message and I finally got it. I hadn’t told my friends or Grey about Matt and the mind-reading abilities of the amulet. Not because I was trying to hide it; it had yet to come up. I didn’t know why Vane seemed to want to keep it secret. Before I could ask why, Vane mouthed, “ Trust me .”
    His voice dropped to a whisper, “Just try listening with the amulet, DuLac.”
    “He’s going to know.”
    “Don’t be loud.” Vane gave me a little push closer to the office door.
    I gave him an irritated look. How was I supposed to be “not loud” while trying to read someone’s mind? Pushing the irritation away, I closed my eyes.
    It was like turning a key. In my mind, the office came through with crystal