A/N - My dad's eye surgery went well (Yay!), so I'm back on schedule. Here's Saturday's chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

Previously on "The Otherworlders" - Patrick and Jake recruit Aidan to help them break into Headmaster Pierce's office so Patrick can "borrow" the Prius and go back to his tribe's compound to let Stephen's mother know that Patrick had seen him and wants to see if she knows where Stephen is living.

Patrick makes it into Headmaster Pierce's office and finds the keys, but Headmaster Pierce returnsearly. Aidan and Jake engage him in a discussion about levitation and telekinesis to buy Patrick time to sneak out of the window and onto a ledge where, despite his fear of heights, he's able to inch over to the room next door and sneak through its window to make his escape.

Meanwhile, Inez and Fiona discuss Cameron, Fiona trying her best to subtly learn more about him as a person and what he was like at the Enchanted Academy. She's not terribly pleased by what she learns.

Unfortunately, Ava and Fiona's relationship remains tense.

**********

Ava, Fiona, and Inez are sitting in a bank of four seats facing each other on the train. Ava and Inez sit next to each other, chatting, while Fiona sits opposite them with her backpack occupying the empty seat next to her.

She's got her phone out with the earbuds plugged into her ears and is quietly staring out of the train window, watching the landscape whiz by.

Ava, not wanting Fiona to feel left out, intentionally raises her voice to try and get her attention. "So, Fiona, Inez and I had a question for you."

Fiona grimaces, then plucks the earbuds out. "Excuse me?"

"We had a question for you." Ava hooks a thumb towards Inez. "So, Inez, here was under the impression that you've known Farid and Sebastian for most of your life. But I'd gotten the impression that you'd only known them for a few years, back at school."

Fiona looks at Ava suspiciously. She knows Ava has a crush on Farid. Anyone with eyes can see that. And he clearly seems infatuated with her. So, why is Ava putting her in the middle of all of this? Finally, Fiona replies, "I've known both of them since I was six. We all grew up together."

"See!" Inez flips her hands up as she looks over at Ava. "I told you so!"

"Hmm... Interesting." Ava purses her lips. "I'm not sure where I got that impression from." She shrugs. "Oh well, you all seem like great friends, and they seem like really good guys."

"They are." Fiona says, her eyes still narrow.

Inez chuckles. "You know it's odd. Sebastian is so different from Farid. He's a bit of an odd duck, really, and I can't quite figure out what makes him tick."

"No one can... Well, except for Farid," Fiona murmurs as she tucks her earbuds into her jacket pocket. "Sebastian is..." She hesitates and looks out the train window, weighing how much to share about the complex bond between the brothers. After a moment, she settles on being vague. "Sebastian is complicated," Fiona says. Then her lips quirk up as she adds, "But if you give him enough room to be an idiot..." She chuckles softly. "...you'll find he's really a good guy."

"I get that sense," Ava says also smiling. "I can see how he might be underestimated. Now, Farid, on the other hand," she adds, "seems very smart, and kind and, oh... I don't know ...soulful?" She blushes and both Inez and Fiona take notice.

"Oooh..." Inez raises her brows. "Does Farid peak your interest?" She giggles.

Ava playfully bumps Inez with her shoulder. "Oh, please! Don't be silly! I'm just trying to get to know our peers better."

She doesn't notice Fiona rolling her eyes.

"Plus," Ava adds. " I find them both intriguing, in their own way." She turns back to face Fiona. "So, Fiona, who would you say you're closer to? Farid or Sebastian?"

Fiona glowers at Ava. "What's with all the questions?"

Ava blinks. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry," she says, genuinely surprised by Fiona's response.

"Look," Fiona says, growing increasingly uncomfortable with the conversation. "If you want to get to know Farid - or Sebastian, for that matter - you should really be asking them these questions, not me."

Fiona pulls out her earbuds, slinks down in her seat, and pops them back into her ears. Done with the awkward small talk, she resumes staring out the train window.

***

The black town car Headmaster Pierce had hired for them glides along the circular driveway and pulls up in front of an enormous Mediterranean-style mansion. Neither Ava nor Fiona can hide their astonishment at the sheer size and grandeur of the Hidalgo estate.

They get out of the car and before they can grab their stuff, Inez - halfway up the travertine marble stairs in the front of the house - waves them towards her home.

Fiona and Ava follow her in through the heavy oak door and step into a grand foyer with tall limestone walls, covered in lush frescoes depicting scenes from small villages nestled along the Mediterranean coast.

Heavy wooden beams soar above their heads and lush plants and flowers are tucked into corners everywhere.

On the left side of the foyer, there's a grand two-story staircase, designed for a movie star entrance.

An elderly man - clearly a servant - dressed in a crinkled, white suit jacket and black slacks hanging far too loosely off his hips shuffles in from a side hall. A slow smile spreads across his tanned, wrinkled face. "¡Ay! Miss Inez! You're early!" he says warmly.

Inez runs up to him, lifts herself up onto her toes, and throws her arms around his neck. "It's so good to see you, Hector!" She hugs him tightly, then leans in to whisper in his ear, "And thank you for the magazines and the chocolate chip cookies."

When she leans back, Hector laughs softly and gives her a conspiratorial wink. "It was my pleasure, Miss Inez," he replies.

"Where's papa?" Inez asks.

"He's upstairs, in his office," Hector says. "Wait just a minute. I'll go get him." He smiles again before he slowly, and almost painfully, makes his way up the stairs to fetch Sr. Hidalgo.

While the girls wait, Inez turns to them and claps her hands in excitement. "I think this assignment is going to be so much fun! I mean we always have to keep the mission in mind, of course, but the Chancellor's Ball is one of the most anticipated events of the season. It's going to be amazing!"

Ava tilts her head back and can't stop herself from gawking at the beauty and splendor of Inez's home. It's so huge, you could probably fit her entire Shifter compound inside of it. "Inez your home is gorgeous. Did you grow up here?" Ava asks.

"I did!" Inez replies. "Brought home straight from the hospital!" She beams. "Actually, I've never lived anywhere else." She claps again. "Oh, I can't wait for you guys to see my room!"

But before Inez can continue, an elegant man in his early fifties descends the staircase.

El señor Arturo Hidalgo is the epitome of the ultra-successful businessman: dignified, confident, and immaculately dressed in a charcoal gray, custom-tailored suit.

The minute he steps off the very last step, Inez is in his arms. "¡Papi!" she shrieks.

"¡Ay! ¡Mi princesita!"

Inez's father lifts her up and twirls her around, kissing her on the top of her head before returning her to the ground and enveloping her in a great, big hug. "Ay, mija, how I've missed you!" He gently cups her face in his hands. "And how is it going, hmmm? At the Academy?" A brief look of concern, and sadness, flits across Sr. Hidalgo's face before he hides it behind his usual warm and charming smile.

"Oh, good! Very good!" Inez replies. "But Papi, I want to introduce you to my friends." She turns and gestures to Ava and Fiona, in turn. "This is Ava Liwanag and Fiona Campbell."

Sr. Hidalgo reaches out and shakes each of the girls' hands. "It is a wonderful pleasure to meet you. Inez has said such wonderful things about both of you."

Ava and Fiona exchange surprised glances as they shyly mumble words of thanks. What on earth had Inez been telling her father about them?

"Now!" Sr. Hidalgo booms with happiness. "You all must be quite tired. Inez, why don't you show your friends to their rooms, and I'll have Hector bring up your bags."

"Thank you, Papi!"

Fiona watches Hector shuffle out the front door and, calculating that the man must be in his early seventies, and has probably been kept in service as a butler more out of loyalty than utility, turns to Inez's father and says, "Mr. Hidalgo, we don't want to trouble your staff. We can bring in our own bags. It's fine."

Ava catches on. "Yeah, we'll just run out to the car and-"

Ava sees the shocked look on Fiona's face and follows her gaze only to see Hector walking in through the front door, his hands trailing behind him and all of their bags rolling, on their own, in a single file through the hall.

Inez sees the astonishment on her friends' faces and laughs. "Oh, my! You didn't think we'd make Hector carry all of your bags in, did you? No, no, no. Hector is a Telekinetic Mage. These are the sorts of tasks he handles all the time." Inez leans in and says in a low whisper, "Plus, it makes him feel useful. Now that my sister and I are out of the house and my father doesn't entertain at home much, Hector has a tendency to straighten things that don't need straightening and dust things that don't need dusting, if you get my drift."

The girls smile and straighten as Hector passes them by.

"I'll have your bags upstairs in no time Miss Ava and Miss Fiona. Lickety-split!" Hector says as he shuffles forward, his hand braced on his back.

They watch as Hector lifts his finger and points at Fiona's suitcase as it inches up onto the first step and then the second. He flicks his finger up and Ava's bag follows suit. Even with the power of telekinesis, it looks like their bags will take a lifetime to make it up to their rooms.

"C'mon follow me." Inez winks then waves at Fiona and Ava over her shoulder. "We'll take the backstairs up to my room."

***

Sr. Hidalgo and a young woman are standing at the sideboard in the opulent dining room of the Hidalgo household. They're waiting for the girls to join them.

The young woman is the spitting image of Inez except she's four years older, her features are more refined, and she exudes a more sophisticated air.

Letting loose a troubled sigh, Sr. Hidalgo lifts the top off a crystal carafe and pours himself a glass of Patrón Añejo over ice. He takes a long sip of his drink, and then looks over at his daughter. "Marisol," he says, "I'm so glad you could make it home to see your sister. I know you're quite busy at university."

"Oh, it's no trouble, Papa," Marisol says placing the cap back on her father's tequila bottle and returning it to its rightful place on the sideboard. "And how does she seem? Do you think she's doing well at the Academy?"

"Inez looks good... happy..." Sr. Hidalgo says as he takes a seat at the table. "But I'm still worried. I know she tells you things, Marisol, that she would never tell me." Marisol sits down next her father. "Please, make sure you spend some time with her while she's here," he continues. "Find out how she's really doing."

"Of course, papa." Marisol says. She reaches out and places a comforting hand on her father's arm. "Papa, look, I know you were shocked when the High Council called for Inez to serve. As was I." She laughs softly. "Honestly, I'd always thought it would be me who would be going to the Academy. Inez is so green in her powers. But," Marisol adds, shaking her head. "I also think you underestimate your daughter's strength and her abilities. I always knew that, with the right training and some time, she'd improve to the point that she would surprise you, well, surprise us all." Marisol smiles. "Even though Inez sigue siendo tu princesa, she's tougher and much more resilient than you think."

"Yes, perhaps." Sr. Hidalgo pushes his drink aside with a heavy sigh. "But, I don't know, mi cariño..." He shakes his head warily then rests his elbow on the table and rubs his forehead. "As a family, we've been living with this edict over our heads for centuries. And it's my bloodline that is directly descended from the warriors who served the wizard Zandar and initiated the spell, trapping The Fury in the Arctic. So, because of that, I feel directly responsible for anything that might happen to her. It's because of me that my youngest daughter must now risk her life."

"No, no, papa." Marisol does her best to allay her father's fears. "That's not true."

"Marisol..." Sr. Hidalgo frowns, "...you know that I could have paid the penalty. I could have forfeit my business. And I would have, you know, in a heartbeat. As I would have done for you, anything to keep my girls safe."

"But it wasn't about the money, papa, and you know it," Marisol tells him. "If you had refused the Council, you would have been condemning our entire bloodline to a lifetime of servitude and penance to them. We would have been stripped of our titles, our wealth, our freedom and we would have been bound to serve at the Council's whim for generations. Now, what kind of future is that?" she argues. "All of the families descended from the bloodlines of original warriors are bound by this oath, papa. You had no choice."

"Yes, that oath, that damn oath!" Sr. Hidalgo grumbles, bemoaning his family's fate. "It's a burden that I've struggled with my entire life. So often, our ties to the Council feel less like an obligation and more like a curse."

**********

A/N - As I mentioned, my dad's surgery went well (knock on wood) so, it looks like we're back on the Sat. / Weds. publishing schedule. I'll let you all know if any of that changes.

It's late and I've got to go to bed. I'll be responding to comments this weekend.😊

~ Paula ❤️