Chapter 2

After I finish prepping dinner and taking a quick nap, I get dressed and head to the dinner table. It's clean, so that means because I cooked dinner, Olya has cleaning duty. I laugh quietly at her as I think about how much she hates getting dirty.

As I'm finishing getting dinner set up, Olya walks in and throws me a dirty glare.

"I had to clean," she says, annoyed.

"Okay," I reply, feigning obliviousness. She lets out a half-growl half-sigh of frustration and storms off to her room. After that, mom and dad enter, looking scared and nervous.

"Sweetie," mom whispers, glancing at me. "Is your sister home yet?"

I nod and she nods back. I giggle, thinking it looks ridiculous and mom manages to crack a smile, but just as quickly, it disappeares.

"Tell Olya to come to dinner. Now." With that, they both turn in unison and leave. I shake my head, bewildered by they're mysterious behavior, and leave to fetch Olya.

At the dinner table, mom and dad, me, Olya, and our little sister, Willow, sits around a table of chicken and vegetables, mainly carrots, to willows horror.

I turn to mom, still curious of the cause of my parents odd behavior.

"Mom, you said that you had something to tell us, right?"

Mom almost chokes on a small bite of chicken. "Yes," she manages to whisper after swallowing several times. It sounds like it's still stuck in her throat though, and while mom coughs and hacks like a sick cat, dad turns to us, looking sad, but strong and determined. It's an expression that I'm used to seeing.

"Girls, you know that your mother and I would never send you away without any real cause."

I shift uncomfortably and glance at Olya. I can tell that she doesn't like where this conversation if headed either.

"Dad, are we going somewhere?" Olya whispers , already afraid of the answer.

He stares down at his untouched plate, silent.

Mom, who has finally managed to swallow, looks at Olya and me slowly.

"Do you remember the witch academy I told you about, Pythonissam Domunculas Luci?"

I vaguely remember mom telling us that it's a academy for Witches, Deamons, Fairies, Fearies (there's a massive difference between the two), Shapeshifters, and every other kind of mystic creatures. It sounded wonderful, but is too expensive and far away for us to ever even step one foot into there.

At a lost, Olya only raised her hand and asked, "isn't that Latin?"

Mom looked a bit frustrated, but nodded. "It means Witch Grove. Now, Pythonissam Domunculas Luci is a academy for witches. The family that takes care of us, the Bronts, agreed to pay for you to go there."

I understand immediately. "You're not coming with us, are you?"