CADDIE's POV:

We were able to slip back into the school unnoticed. Alix ran up the stairs to our dorm. I stopped to catch my breath- not believing something as could happen in the safety of Nox Haven. I should have known better. Just when I think things are looking up they immediately get worse.

"Why do you look like you just ran a marathon?" Aleksander asked from the other side of the staircase.

"Because I did," I wheezed.

This is how you know that you're out of shape, and that you're a bad liar. He slowly walked down the stairs, giving me a skeptical look.

"You went running in a sweater?" He asked, pausing in front of me.

"It's cold outside," I lied lamely, crossing my arms over my chest and averting my eyes from his scrutinizing stare.

His lips curved into a knowing smile. He gabbed my arm and I looked down in surprise. There was a small scarlet cut in my flesh.

"So how'd you get that cut? Oh, wait, never mind, you're going to say that you fell, right?"

His eyes narrowed. Okay, so, he was pissed. He knew I was lying; but as long as he didn't know why, I was safe.

"It's none of your business," I scowled.

"It isn't?" His eyes practically bulged out of his head, "You've been sneaking around looking for answers that you shouldn't know. You dragged me out to the gardens and now I have no recollection of what happened. And you have blood on your sleeve after looking like the devil was chasing after you. Now tell me this isn't my business."

I kept my stare level with his. It was like a Great Dane having a staring contest with a Chihuahua. It was hard to keep my composure when he was looking at me as if I did something wrong.

"It's none of your business," I said with a straight face and ran up the stairs.

I once found him attractive, but now he was force fighting against me. It still rattled my mind how fast my feelings had changed. I guess that's what happens once you look behind the pretty face. My thoughts wondered. If looks no longer mattered, than why am I still stuck on Dmitri?

That night I was surprised to find myself standing alone in the meadow. Aleksander was gone, the dark gray clouds completely covered the shining sun. The wind whispered cruel messages in my ear. It reminded me that my childhood friend was gone.

Aleksander was fine, I told myself, this is just a dream. We met him and he's a jerk, but besides that he is completely fine.

I woke up as the sun was barely above the treetops. The sky was still a light pink.

I could feel the cogs in my head turn as I tried to wrap my mind around my strange dream. When I had seen Aleksander that first day, I thought he was beautiful but not familiar. He bore a resemblance to the boy from my dreams but it was obvious they weren't the same person.

I kept thinking about that throughout the rest of the day. Alix shot me worried glances, but she believed I was acting weird because of what happened the day before. I was more than content to let her believe that.

"Earth to Caddie," Ryder said, waving his hand in front of my face.

I snapped out of my thoughtful. Maddox and Ryder were staring at me with a mixture of concerned but amused expressions.

"Were you daydreaming about me again, baby?" Ryder said making kissing faces.

I rolled my eyes and continued stretching out on the mat. We were in Defense class. Aleksander and Mira walked into class laughing together in perfect harmony. I let my stare linger on them. They looked like Barbie and Ken and it made me sick.

Mira turned to Aleksander and cupped her hand to his ear. She may have looked like she was going to tell him a secret, but she said it loud enough for all of us to hear.

"I don't know why they haven't locked her away yet. The dark one obviously did some damage," Mira cooed, her voice was soft and innocent but her words burned my ears like poison.

Aleksander paused briefly to look at my unemotional face. He took a step back from Mira. "That was uncalled for."

He walked over to me. I tried to look like I was busy.

"I'm sorry," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper.

Normally, he would ask how I felt, but apparently my stony features seemed a little to forced. I looked at the others, who looked back with unabashed stares. They felt bad for me, but I didn't need their sympathy.

"Ok, kids, pair up," Ivan and Fredrick announced, closing the double doors.

Anger drove me to walk over to Mira, all rational thinking going out the window.

"Let's spar." I said simply.

The room stilled. You could hear a pin drop. Even Mira looked shocked, her mouth slightly agape. She quickly recovered and walked over to the mat with a skip in her step and a cocky glint in her eye.

"Caddie, you don't want to do this," Aleksander grabbed my arm, his blue eye crashed into mine.

I searched for the familiarity of the boy from the dream, but there wasn't any. I pulled my arm free. This was a stupid idea, but my mind had yet to process that.

"I just want to shut this witch up," I said with false sweetness and bounded onto the mat.

"I couldn't agree more," Mira seethed and charged towards me.

She knocked me down before I lowered myself into a fighting stance. What else did I expect? She was the Beta Warrior. She continued to attack me while I was on the ground. My anger boiled inside of me, I reached out and grabbed one of her arms. I could hear the bones snapping. Not just the ones in her arm, but every bone inside of her body.

I gradually stood up and she fell onto her knees with an agonized scream.

"Caddie!" Ivan bellowed as he removed my hand from her arm.

Mira collapsed onto the mat. She had transformed into shuttering heap of hysterics.

"You are never allowed to use your powers on another witch or warlock!" Ivan's face was red with anger. For a moment he looked like he was going to hit me, before he turned back to Mira.

Fredrick helped him enchant her body with a levitation spell and guided her out of the room. Once my angry haze lifted, I realized what had occurred. I sunk to the ground, fresh tears sputtered from my eyes. Kimone and the others rushed to my side.

"It's going to be fine," She soothed, rubbing my back in circular motions.

"I killed her," I sobbed repeatedly.

"She had it coming," Ryder mumbled, which earned a dark look from Kimone.

"She isn't dead Caddie," Maddox assured, "she's just in excruciating pain."

Yes, because that made me feel so much better.

"I'll go talk to my grandfather. He'll understand," she said it to make me feel better, but I didn't want anyone to know.

I couldn't afford messing up. And I did. I felt Dmitri slip from my finger tips. Kimone, Ryder, and Maddox went to find the HeadMinister.

Aleksander sat in front of me, my left hand in his. Unlike the others, he didn't reassure me or try to make me laugh.

"Why did you do that?"

I gave him a corrosive filled look, "You know why I did that."

He shrugged, "I used to know why you guys bickered, but now I don't. You don't have a crush on me anymore."

I winced and chanced a look, "You knew about that?"

"Caddie, I'm the Heart Curator's son. If anyone knows about emotions more than you, it's me."

I had already thought about that before. It had flashed through my mind briefly but I never cared.

"You liked me, too," I pointed out, keeping my eyes shut.

It was easier not to look at him. He was Dmitri's twin, and I couldn't look at him without feeling like I failed. Dread filled my stomach, Heidi told me not to attract any attention or cause any problems. This had to be the biggest problem I had ever caused. Would she still try to help me? I had no idea.

"Who said I ever stopped?"

My eyes opened, and I searched through his emotions. My cheeks flushed violently, and he smirked.

"I guess you were to busy trying to get yourself killed." His face darkened.

Jealousy, anger, and sorrow filled his soul.

"It wasn't that."

Aleksander furrowed his brows. His expression smoothed as he spoke sullenly, "I forgot about Cam."

Before I could answer, Kimone came running back into the room.

"They want to see you."

"The Head Minister?" I asked.

Shook her head and tried to catch her breath.

"All of them wish to see you."

Oh no, this wouldn't end well. A meeting with all of the Council Members, including Mira's father. I knew for a fact that one of us was going to die today. So far, I didn't like my chances.

Aleksander and Kimone walked me down to the Head Minister's office. It was bad enough that I had to deal with my own anxiety but they were also a basket of nerves.

We walked into the neatly kept office. I expected the Head Minister to faintly look like Dumbledore. Instead he looked like he belonged on Wall Street. They all looked like America's wealthiest and finest. I met their disapproving stares.

We stood in the middle of the room, and waited for one of the adults to talk. The Head Minister kept analyzing my every move. Eventually, Mira's dad became fed up with the silence.

"Stop staring at her and say something!" He said through clenched teeth.

The other members tensed at the way he talked to their superior. I guess the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree. The Head Minister looked over at Mira's dad with mild interest.

"What do want me to say, Bronson?" The man's voice rumbled like thunder.

Bronson's fists were balled so tightly the skin on his knuckles had turned white. His veins were popping out of his forehead and for a moment I thought I saw smoke coming from his ears.

"I propose a suspension," he declared.

"What?" I gasped. "Please, don't suspend me."

Bronson glanced over at me. "You're an heir. We can't suspend you from the school. But we can suspend your powers."

My breath drained from my lungs. Take my powers away? I'd be a mortal in a witch's school. My stomach felt queasy at the thought of being defenseless. I wanted to close my eyes and wake up from this nightmare. Maybe if I clicked my shoes three times I would wake up in my dorm room, life would be so much easier if that was real. Before I went spiraling into a panic attack Heidi started to speak.

"Cynric," She addressed the Head Minister, "This is her first year learning how to use her powers. It is still very hard to control them. She didn't mean to hurt Mira."

The HeadMinister thought over what she said. He furrowed his white brows and analyzed my every movement. If I moved my hand behind my back his eyes would follow. When I scratched my nose his eyes zeroed in on my suspiciously. Was this how people on trial felt? As if they had the weight of the entire world's guilt resting on their shoulders.

"We'll be able to find out if that is true," He said and motioned for Maddox's mom to come forward.

She was elegant, with her almond shaped eyes, angular face and dark hair. The sad look in her eyes, however, showed that this life was not an easy one.

"Will it hurt?" I whispered as the others left my side and I sank to my knees.

Just like her son, she was quiet. It made her presence even more eerie. She lined her fingers onto my temples. I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the driving force that was trying to enter my mind. She entered my mind, slicing it apart piece by piece, looking for the truth. Once she was satisfied she let go and I fell. My breathing was unsteady and sweat trickled down my back. There was my answer.

"The child is innocent," she said in a soft seraphic voice.

The Head Minister nodded. His thin lips twisted into a merry smile. With the friendly expression on his face he looked more like a caring grandfather than an intimidating King.

"Then there will be no suspension," his words echoed in my ears. My legs started to wobble as relief washed upon me.

Bronson gave me a menacing look filled with violent promises. My relief abruptly ended. In the movies, angering a powerful person never ended well. My chances of graduating in one piece were rapidly shrinking.

He turned to Heidi, "I suggest you teach her how to control her powers."

Heidi agreed and lugged me out of the office. She lowered her voice, so only I could hear her chilling words.

"If we are going to find Dmitri you cannot mess up again. They could put you on dorm arrest and then you'd never leave your dorm room. If we are going to do this without any suspicion you have to do as I."

I swallowed a lump in my throat and nodded reluctantly. I still had no idea why my instincts were pushing me to make sacrifices for a boy I hardly knew, nor did I understand why most people refused to save him.