Hopeless Magic Read Free

since we returned home from Romania.
    His distance had peaked my interest in an irritating way. He stood, leaning against a wall, wearing blue jeans and a gray hooded sweatshirt with a baseball cap sitting low on his forehead. His hair had been long in Romania, but sometime 21/711
    after we returned home, he had cut it very short.
    He was attractive, like every other Immortal, but something about his quiet demeanor was more mysterious and maybe a little dangerous.
    Titus, Xander and Xavier will be meeting the Morocco, South Africa and India teams in London to run point there,” Amory answered Jericho.
    “Other teams will be joining us here as well, the Brazil team, the Swiss team, and most likely the Czech Republic, team if I can convince Ryder he is needed. We are going to up security and surveillance here enormously, while still doing our best to remain discreet.”
    “Fantastic,” Jericho mumbled sarcastically. I realized I was not the only one confused by his frustration. He looked up suddenly, apparently not meaning to have said anything out loud. He glanced in my direction, and although his face was marked by embarrassment I noticed a hardness in his expression when our eyes met and I was only more confused.

    22/711
    “Alright, if that is everything, then I suppose we are finished,” Avalon clapped his hands together, before stretching his arms wide. Tonight had been very long, I was not the only one exhausted by the amount of information we covered in the last five hours.
    “Wait, I have a something to say,” Lilly, who had been sitting perfectly still beside me for the entire meeting stood up suddenly, speaking confidently.
    The room of Immortals paused all activity to hear what this shy, timid girl had to say. “I would like to join you. I mean, become one of you.” Lilly continued bravely. My mouth dropped open in surprise.
    “Lilly, do you understand what the Resistance asks of you? Do you understand the commitment you are making?” Amory asked Lilly seriously.
    She nodded animatedly, her vibrant red curls bouncing frantically. “And do you understand the process in which the magic is applied? It is not an easy undertaking.”

    23/711
    “Avalon explained everything to me. I still want to join. I have to. He’s holding my parents. You don’t understand,” Lilly’s words fell out in a rush of nervous excitement and her voice cracked from emotion.
    I found myself holding back tears at the mention of her parents who still sat in a Romanian prison waiting for the day Lilly would graduate from high school. Although Kiran was able to argue Lilly’s release from prison, Lucan wouldn’t grant any of Kiran’s other terms without compromise.
    Lilly was only allowed to attend Kingsley while Kiran was also there, and if her parents were held as collateral. She would have gladly dropped out of school to save her parents the pain, but the bargain had already been made. She was also a prisoner in Omaha.
    “Lilly, I understand,” Amory replied with equaled sorrow. “We won’t wait; you may join tonight as I suspect was your hope. Angelica, please prepare the magic.” Amory addressed an elderly woman, with kind, violet eyes. The 24/711
    woman who would appear in her seventies or eighties, although I knew was hundreds of years older than that, quickly stood and left the barn.
    I looked at my friend wringing her pale hands in her lap. I could see that she was nervous, but I also saw the fierce determination set in her eyes.
    Lilly was infinitely braver than me to be so sure this was the step she wanted to take. I envied her for a second, hating my indecision and middle-ground position. As I felt her magic flare with unwavering resolve, I realized that I could not stand in the middle for long. Someday soon I would have to make a final decision, and without a doubt, that decision would set me on a journey of fate shaping, not only mine, but the destiny of the entire Immortal race.

    2.
    “You’ll come with