Practice Makes Perturbed

*Hezzlie*

An annoying beeping sound assaults my ears. I ignore it, even swat at it, but it doesn’t stop for a few moments. When it finally does, I let out a sigh and snuggle back into my soft, warm bed.

“Hezzlie?” 

I feel a slight jolt, but that’s not my mom’s voice. I don’t want to get up yet. I ignore it. 

“Hezzlie? That was your alarm, babe. You’ve gotta get up.”

I crack open an eye and find myself staring into Rowan’s amused face. All I can manage to eke out is, “Huh?”

He chuckles and kisses my forehead. “You’re supposed to be outside to meet with Veronica for your first lesson in a few minutes, remember? She wants you out there at five. You told me to set the alarm for four forty-five because you thought you could just throw some clothes on and go.”

Our conversation after dinner last night comes flooding back to me, and I groan. It’s pitch black in our room, and I can only imagine it’s just as dark outside. I don’t want to go. I want to stay here, snuggled up in Rowan’s arms, and go back to sleep. I was having a great dream. I have no idea what it was, but I know it was wonderful, and it didn’t involve getting up, getting dressed, and trudging outside to meet with some strange woman who just showed up on our doorstep.

“Hezzlie,” Rowan begins, trying again, “you need to strengthen your powers so we can defeat your father, remember? And you still haven’t asked Veronica about the moonstones. She might know how they can make you stronger.”

“I know.” I grumble again but manage to sit up. I’m completely naked, and I can smell my mate’s scent all over my body, so I drag myself into the bathroom to rinse off and get dressed in the outfit I laid out for myself the night before–right before he devoured me. Damn, I’m a bit sore and probably more tired than I would’ve been if he hadn’t fucked my brains out before we fell asleep, but it was totally worth it.

A few minutes later, I go back into the bedroom. Rowan is sitting up, naked, but all I can see is the outline of his chiseled chest. More than ever, I just want to fall back into bed with him. Instead, I sit and put my boots on in a chair near his window.

“Are you sure you think I should mention the moonstones?” I ask. We’d talked about this briefly the day before. We couldn’t decide whether or not it was a good idea for her to know about them. There was a possibility she might be here just to take them or something nefarious.

“I think you should mention you have access to one,” he says. “But no, don’t talk about the mine beneath the mansion.”

I nod and finish tying my boots. I run my fingers through my hair and gather it into a ponytail using the elastic I’d slipped around my wrist while in the bathroom. This isn’t going to be pretty, but at this point, I don’t care. I hope my mother is having better luck at hauling herself outside than I am.

Before I go, I bend over and kiss Rowan, letting my tongue glide over his for so long I almost forget what I was supposed to be doing. Once again, he has to be the adult and push me gently away. “Go, Hezzlie.”

I growl again and make my way to the door.

The hallways and stairwells are quiet as I make my way down. Even the servants seem to be still sleeping. I wonder if Veronica is doing this just to be a bitch. What’s wrong with starting at a normal time? Like noon?

In the back yard, I find her wearing an equally bright purple dress, though it’s not the same one. She’s standing near the oak tree with her arms folded. “You’re late,” she tells me.

I glance around. “Where’s Mom?” I ask her.

“Also late.” Veronica’s eyes narrow to slits. “It seems the two of you have problems with punctuality. This is a problem. Witches have to be responsible.”

“Sorry.” I am half expecting her to tell me to drop and give her fifty. 

Instead, she says, “If you are late tomorrow, I will make our meeting time even earlier. If you want me to stay here and teach you how to use your powers, you have to respect my time.”

I almost laugh because her tone reminds me of a cartoon where a character is always barking at everyone to respect his “author-i-tay” but I keep my mouth shut. Mom stumbles out the door behind me looking like she barely managed to drag herself out of bed, too. I don’t laugh, but it is a shock to me. My mom has always had to work several jobs to keep us afloat, so I guess she is getting too used to the cushy life of being a millionaire.

“All right. Firstly, I’d like to see what you can do on your own,” Veronica says, still eyeing us like we are vermin. “Ann, make the largest, brightest fireball you are capable of and hold it in your hand.”

Mom takes a deep breath, raises her hand, and nothing happens. Her eyebrows narrow, and she concentrates harder. We wait. Finally, after a few moments, a small ball of soft yellow appears in her hand. It’s not much brighter than a candle’s flame.

I expect Veronica to make fun of her, but she says only, “Not bad. Hezzlie?”

I’ve been practicing a lot more intently than my mother, so I expect to be better at this. Mom was afraid of her powers and didn’t know what they were, so she didn’t work to make them stronger. I practiced every day since I first realize they were a thing.

With a deep breath, I open my palm and instantly create a huge glowing ball of fire that’s bright enough to be mistaken for the sun. In the distance, we hear a rooster crow. I close my eyes and see my mother squinting.

Veronica doesn’t blink, and for a moment, I wonder if maybe I accidentally fried her eyeballs. Eventually, she says, “You can do that?”

“Yes. I can do a lot of things, “ I tell her. 

“What else can you do?” She folds her arms, and I wonder if she’s skeptical, bored, or just being rude.

I consider all of the tricks I’ve learned recently and decide levitation is the best example. While it seems quite amusing to make Veronica float into the air, I decide she won’t think that’s funny, so I decide to float myself instead. I shoot up into the air so that I’m about even with the third story windows and then slowly come back down.

Veronica considers my display for a moment and then turns to Mom. “Can you do that?”

“No,” she says with a shake of her head. “I didn’t know about any of this until very recently,” she reminds us.

“I know,” Veronica says. “But you’ve only known for a few weeks, haven’t you, Hezzlie?”

“I’ve been practicing,” I tell her. “And I had to learn in battle.”

“I suppose that would necessitate a quicker acquisition. All right, Hezzlie. I will put you through the ultimate test of your powers, and if you can demonstrate you have command of your abilities, I won’t need to meet with you any longer. I can report to the coven that you are properly trained.”

“The ultimate test?” I repeat, wondering what in the world that means. “All right. When do we do that?”

“Be here at five in the morning. You will demonstrate you are strong enough to hold off my powers when I am directly attacking you. If you can do that, then you don’t need to train any more, and I’ll work solely with your mother,” Veronica explains.

“And what if I can’t?” I ask, feeling a bit of hesitation.

A wicked smile forms on Veronica’s face. “Well, I suggest you have that doctor on standby.”

The urge to flip her off is overwhelming. Instead, I fold my arms. “May I go?”

“You’re dismissed,” she replies. 

I turn to my mother, who looks more nervous than I’ve ever seen her in my entire life except for when she was dropping me off at Peripheral. I grip her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” she assures me. “I’m worried about you.”

I’m not sure why I’m so strong. After all, I’m only half-witch, but I’m confident in my powers. “I’ll be fine,” I tell her. I bend down and kiss her cheek as Veronica clears her throat, annoyed. “If you need help, yell, and we’ll kick her ass out of the kingdom.”

Mom giggles, and I reluctantly walk away, hoping Veronica is kinder to her than she has been to me.

I manage to make my way back up to Rowan’s room. It’s still dark, despite my recreation of the sun. I don’t even bother to kick off my boots. I’m so tired, I just fall face first onto the bed.

“Hezzlie?” he asks, wrapping an arm around me. “Are you all right?”

“Just great,” I confirm. 

“Did she kick you out of training?” I hear amusement in his tone. “Did you tell her to go fuck herself?”

Somehow, I turn my head to look at him through long strands of black hair. “No. We’re going to duel to the death tomorrow.”

“What?” Rowan’s eyes bulge.

I flip over. “Not exactly. But she said she’d have to test me against her powers tomorrow, and I should bring James.”

“Fuck.” He shakes his head. “I don’t like that, Hezzlie.”

“It’ll be fine,” I assure him. Then, I reach down and take my boots off, dumping them on the floor. “Just make sure I’m up before five.”

“In the morning?” He snickers. “You must be tired.”

That giant orb of light took a lot out of me. I think I’m asleep before I can even answer him.