The rest of the tutoring ended when Master Longwei called the eight of us to his office. He told us we were too emotional to study for the exams and that the board was going to let us pass.
It was Tabitha's idea, and I couldn't believe that Brian's death was the miracle I needed to pass first year. It wasn't right.
The last day of school came fast. I was going to spend half the summer with Becky and the other half with Sammy. Yeah, I didn't look forward to that other half.
Now that I knew Sammy’s father was theNight Villain, I got actually a little scared but found some relief that her mother was a Sparrow-Annex like Constance. I spent the night before with Lucian up in the tower we’d started our mission from.
"If my father finally comes to his senses, will you come and visit me at the palace?"
"Off course I will." I turned around to look at him. "I don't know how I'm going to spend this whole vacation without you."
He laughed. "Becky and Sammy live in Tith too, Elena. You will see me every day, I promise," he said.
His lips were warm on the tip of my nose. I lifted up my chin and we found each other’s lips in no time. It was a long, feverish kiss that left us both out of breath.
We stayed there until the sun came up. The morning flew by fast, and before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye to Lucian. It was so hard. His dad waited for him outside with Emmanuel and the royal carriage, so we had to say our “See you later” in the reception area.
He thrust a wrapped up package with a beautiful bow in my hands. It was clear that a girl had helped him with this.
"What is this?" I yelled, as he reached the main door.
"Becky will explain, I'll speak to you tonight," he shouted back. "I love you, Elena Watkins."
The other students in the reception made fun of his last line, but he waved it away. He didn't even wait for an“I love you” back.
As I went back to my room to pack my bag, I opened the wrapping and couldn't believe my eyes as I looked down at the Cam-phone nestled in my hand.
"You got your first Cammy," Sammy shrieked. "This is so awesome."
"May I?" Becky held out her hand, and I gave it to her with a new feeling of excitement deep inside my core.
"It is the new Raindrop 5. It must have cost a fortune."
"Please, Lucian doesn't know what that word means." Sammy rolled her eyes and took it from Becky. She slid it open and yanked hers from her backside pocket. She spoke her name into the device and repeated it a couple of times before lining up the two phones next to each other. When she had a satisfied grin on her face, she put hers away.
"Sammy Leaf," she spoke for the last time into the speaker of my Cammy, and her phone started to ring. It had a techno beat to it, and she jumped up and down on the same spot, very pleased with herself. "Whenever you want to call me, just say my name. I'm the second in your contact box."
I can guess who the first is.
"I promise I'll phone you at least once a day, Sammy Leaf."
"You guys?" she cried animatedly. "I'm going to miss sharing a room with you."
"I’m going to miss that too, Sammy," Becky said. "Don't forget, twelve o'clock my house tomorrow afternoon, and don't be late."
"What, no George?" Sammy joked.
"He's gone for three weeks in Acapulco, and I don't know what I'm going to do with myself."
"George is going to the other side?"
"Yeah, he's so excited about it. It was a big surprise. His mom and dad wanted him to keep it a secret. I wish I could go with him."
"Stupid wall," I said, sulking. There were so many places I wanted to visit myself. We helped Sammy with her luggage and loaded it on one of the carriages that Tabitha and Blake already occupied.
"These three weeks are really going to suck," she whispered.
We giggled, and I gave her a big hug before she climbed into the carriage and left.
Becky's mom picked us up at three. She waited near the forest, with a silver Audi. Becky ran to her and jumped into her arms. Her mom was really beautiful. She had big dark eyes and brown hair, just like Becky. The only problem was she seemed too young to be a mother. I also noticed that they shared the same eye for fashion, and she wore a nice top with jeans and knee-high boots.
She kissed Becky's face fiercely, and I giggled when Becky complained, wiping her face with her hand.
"I have missed you so much," her mother said in a sweet voice.
"Missed you more."
"You’ve got to tell me everything about this mission, Becky." Her eyes were full of excitement.
"Oh crap, Elena." Becky suddenly realized that I was there too. "Mom, this is Elena. Elena, the perfect mom."
"She's such a drama queen, but she's right about the perfect mom," she said.
I reached out my hand for her to shake.
"Oh please, come here." She pulled me in a long warm hug. A beautiful smile appeared on her face as she let go. She looked over at Becky. "Get in the car. Our plane leaves in an hour."
She started the car, and the stereo boomed the same stupid song about a miracle. I thought that I would never listen to it ever again, remembering what had happened the last time I’d heard it. Becky and her mom sang out loud with the lead vocalist, as she turned down the road. Their relationship reminded me so much of the one I’d had with Dad; when we didn’t have to flee for our lives and things actually felt normal. They were best friends.
I glared out the back window, and sighed as trees passed by. I thought about Brian and about Dad. Both died while protecting me. Buildings started to rush by. Somehow, I got my miracle, even if it wasn’t the way I truly wanted it. To my surprise, I started to smile.
Acknowledgements
First and the most important thanks is to our Father in heaven, for blessing me every day, without Your guidance, I wouldn’t have done or finished with this if You were not involved in this every day. You are my purpose of life and I will love You till the end of time.
Then I would like to thank my extraordinary beta readers, Cloey, Lasse Moller, Ken and Esmerelda Lourens, for your valuable input, patience and willingness to delve into another world head first.
To the lovely people of my writing group: Claire my GG, Lucy, Amanda, Kelly and Rodney. Your input and compliments pushed me through the tough and difficult times I wanted to give up.
For the endless support of my family; I would be lost without your loving support and your ability to keep me pursuing this project when I didn’t want to carry on.
To Vinique; for devouring an endless pile of query letters without a word of complaint. Love you to bits and thank you for being such a significant person in my life.
To Graeme, with your unique personality, and for the back flip of this novel. You are a jewel and a genius when it comes to words.
A special thanks to my wonderful editor, Hillery, you are a true Paegeian and your love for beautiful words has given Firebolt the wings it needed to soar.
To Grace and Rebecca, my proof readers, for polishing my work to perfection.
To my cover artist Mary Park. Your grace and elegance with lines, shadows and colors has made my novel cover truly spectacular. You were able to reach into my imagination, capture, and re-imagine a world I thought only I would ever see. Because of your passion and skill I truly hope my book will be judged by its cover.
And last but not least, Kitty and everyone at GMTA publishers. You saw my potential in my novel and your continued excitement and encouragement throughout this process has been truly infectious.
You are all unique, inspiring and gifted. I'm truly blessed to have each and every one of you in my life. Without each of your gifts and support, Firebolt, would still be a dream. Thank you for weaving my dream into reality.