Thea

------

- For the first time I had a dream, a terrible dream. – one appearance of my stepmother would make any dream terrible. – And the second time... the second time I was betrayed by the man I thought I loved.

- I see. - She nodded her head and leaned a little closer, unraveling the spell she had cast on me.

But this time she didn’t use a magic wand. Instead, she was reciting some kind of spell.

The body was pierced by an incredible warmth and a slight tickling, as if crowds of small spiders were running over the skin. At the moment when she bound me with a spell, I was so absorbed in misunderstanding and a certain fear that I did not pay attention to such bodily sensations at all. It was so new to me, and at the same time it awakened in me a desire to learn this sorcery. I wonder if I can do the same as Eugene? Is she really right about me and will I be able to reveal my abilities?

This nagging question immediately made me think more deeply about the reasons why I couldn’t magically manifest myself for so long. After all, if everything had been different, maybe I wouldn’t have become a disgrace to the family, maybe my father wouldn’t have left my mom then, maybe... I wanted to believe that I was not somehow flawed, and perhaps there was a desire in me to prove that I was capable of something.

- You see, a witch can use several methods to conjure. But you’re more special and I’ve seen it. In your memories. No matter how much you want to hide something from me, I already know everything and I just want to push you to reveal your abilities. I believe that this requires a strong emotional outburst.

- Do you think I still have a chance? - I asked sadly, finally getting up from the floor and rubbing my stiff wrists.

- Of course, dear. You just need a trigger that’s more powerful than the one I used on you. I’m sorry I hurt you, it’s just that usually under the influence of anger, the force is able to break through boundaries. I really thought it would work. - Eugene said with a slight smile and a slightly guilty face. – And by the way, I don’t force you to stay at home all the time, you are free to leave here whenever and wherever you want.

I thanked her for this news, because it was what I wanted, but I was too shy to ask her. Although the house was very beautiful, but it felt empty and I was terribly longing for simple communication. It was necessary for me not to drive myself into a corner of my thoughts.

I got acquainted with the map of the city, found the location of Adeline’s house, because I did not know how to create portals and warned the housekeeper that I was going to leave.

The streets were full of people scurrying back and forth. But only now I began to realize that there are witches all around. It intrigued me and inspired me so much. I looked at them with a sinking heart, admiring, but in response I caught only puzzled glances, and someone looked hostile at all. So I tried to blend in with the crowd again.

It’s so strange, I feel like I want to be open to each of them, but it’s like they’re looking at me through an inverted prism. Will I ever be able to overcome this barrier?

I replayed that dream over and over in my head and could not find any parallels with myself. It was like a completely different time period. Even my voice felt different. And in my dream I was talking about my mom, but my mom has been dead for a long time...

A sharp gust of wind from a passing cart tousled my red curls. I hurriedly began to remove them from my face, glancing at my clothes. Even the clothes were completely different. And it’s not about neatness, but the fact that no one wore such a style of clothing now.

I frowned, trying to match my guesses with what was in the dream. Lately I’ve started to think that my inner voice can sometimes give me useful hints. After all, it was the same with Raphael, because for a brief moment I tried to draw parallels between Skars and him, between their bloody eyes and their vampire essences. Therefore, even now I tried to find at least some explanation for the fact that Lillian was in the dream and that she is actually the supreme witch.

By the way, does my father know about this? Still, even this thought crossed my mind, it must have bewitched him. Otherwise, how else can you explain his such a sharp change in attitude towards me and my mother.

When I approached Adeline’s house, I was confused for a second by the open front door, but even if a thief got into the house, I certainly should not cowardly hide my head in the sand. I shyly and as quietly as possible pushed the door and immediately jumped back from it when it closed in my face with a loud bang.

What is this?

I waited a couple of minutes, catching my breath and was about to open the door again, but Adeline did it before me. She looked terribly disheveled, her clothes were torn to shreds and exposed her skin in places, and her breathing was knocked down, as if she had run a couple of kilometers. Looking over her shoulder, I saw an even more confusing sight - the entire living room was turned upside down, the table was broken into several pieces, and one of the table legs was sticking out of the broken glass door of the sideboard. By the way, there are no dishes left alive either.

- What happened here? - I asked my friend in bewilderment and with a note of concern in my voice, and she just giggled, putting her hair in order.

- Let’s just say I found a reason to spend more time with Klaus. - Adeline bit her lip, exposing her snow-white teeth, and breaking into a malicious grin. – Come in, don’t stand on the threshold.

- And what kind of reason is this? And where is he? – I looked around every corner of the room, which was still in perfect condition in the morning, and now screamed that the house would be demolished at this rate. – It doesn’t look very good.

- Don’t worry, now this shaggy poodle will dress up and come down. – the girl reported, taking a magic wand out of her hands and starting to put the house in order, as if this devastation had never happened.

What a wonderful skill! I want it that way too!

- You see, witches and werewolves aren’t the best of friends, far from the best. So I came up with a brilliant idea so that we could evaluate each other’s abilities without resorting to murder. This is a kind of training at home. We do not harm each other, but at the same time, each of us gives our best. I had to impose a sound barrier, otherwise the neighbors would have been seriously alarmed. - Adeline chuckled.

- What would you say to the neighbors if the house collapsed? I asked sarcastically.

- Perhaps, oops? - a friend giggled, which earned my disapproving narrowed gaze.

She seems to be older than me, but by recklessness she can be given all ten points out of ten.

Klaus came down a good ten minutes later, smelling of shampoo and sporting ironed clothes. The new clothes looked better on him than what the Duke of Parmont had given him, and yet it would take a long time before he could fatten his skinny skeleton. I can imagine how hard it was for him in that laboratory. But it’s all over now, Adeline will definitely fatten him up.

- Did you come back quickly, decided to run back? - Klaus asked sarcastically. – By the way, cool ability, baby. You don’t have to clean up at all.

Adeline flustered and hissed, throwing threatening glances in the direction of the man. I guess she didn’t like the nickname "baby" too much.

- I really can’t disagree. How to learn this? - I asked.

- Actually, this is one of the simplest spells, but the stronger the destruction, the more power it draws. Otherwise, there are no difficulties. Get out your wand.

As an obedient student, I did what my friend asked, and after a minute she showed me how to hold the wand correctly and make swings, while not forgetting to read a simple spell, which even I remembered from the second time.

I trained on a broken cup, but either my hands are crooked, or the wand is defective, because the cup completely refused to stick back together and it was so frustrating. I repeated the spell many times, completely not understanding why Adeline is doing everything, and I’m not.

- Don’t worry, you just need more time to practice. – Klaus tried to cheer me up, who was carefully watching what was happening.

- I can’t help but get upset. Even you, who just recently became a werewolf, already have full control over your body.

- This is completely different. I didn’t choose to become a werewolf, and all the credit is only in my genome, which successfully took over the genome of a werewolf. A successful merger that gave me all these advantages. But remember for yourself how many other people there were who were not spared by the experiment. And even if they were alive now, they would have to make a lot of effort to overcome their animal nature.

I nodded in agreement, knowing him, because everything he said was exclusively true. On the other hand, we will never know now whether these people could have returned to their human form again or not, because Raphael killed everyone for fear of releasing them into the human world. You can understand his concerns, but I would like to believe that these people could be helped.

- Can you show me how you do it?

- How do I transform? - Klaus asked, and I nodded. – Perhaps you’re a little late, you should have come a little earlier. Although I don’t have so many clothes to tear them thoughtlessly, and you probably don’t want to see me naked.

- I’d like to see it again. - Adeline giggled. - He’s got a great ass.

- I’ll take your word for it. - I replied, rolling my eyes.

Surprisingly, Klaus did not show a drop of embarrassment, a stern impenetrable man. Conceited.

- By the way, don’t worry about the mug. Like I told you, you’ll learn everything when you get into the coven. You’ll see, you’re not the only one who’s trying to tame the magic wand, and the teachers there are good.

- I hope so. Eugene has already tried to test me, but the experience was not the most successful. - at the memory of my crazy mentor, goosebumps ran through my body.

I briefly told my morning impressions and immediately received in response rounded eyes on the shocked face of Adeline. Apparently, she did not expect that a seemingly pleasant and friendly witch would subject her student to torture on the first day. Well, either I was lucky. I’ll consider myself her favorite.

We spent the rest of the evening in each other’s pleasant company, eating dried fruits that a friend bought at the fair. You can get used to such a life, it was too pleasant to be true.