Maya's POV
I dropped the glass jar I was holding because the crash outside our herb shop was so loud.
"Maya!" From the back room, Grandmother Willow called. "What was that noise?"
I ran over to the window and looked through the drapes. In our herb garden, a boy lay face-down, moaning in pain. He looked to be around my age, if not older. Blood was on his shirt, and his clothes were ripped and dirty.
"Someone is injured in the garden!" I ran outside and shouted to Grandmother.
The boy kept falling back down even though he was trying to sit up. When he turned to face me, I noticed that his left eye was swollen shut and that he had a cut on his forehead that was bleeding heavily.
"Please," he grumbled. "I need help. They are chasing me."
I checked around, but there was no one following him. "Who's coming for you?"
"Guards," he said, flinching as he tried to move his arm. "I must hide myself. They are unable to find me here."
My heart began to race. Guards? What was this boy up to?
I said, "Can you stand?"
He made an effort, but his legs were shaking too much. "I believe I have a twisted ankle."
Without thinking, I helped him stand up by putting his arm around my shoulders. I nearly toppled over because he was heavier than I expected.
I said, "We need to get you inside."
"Before someone notices you."
Grandmother Willow had her medicine bag waiting at the door. After giving the boy a quick glance, she started giving him commands.
"Maya, help me get him to the back room. And close all the windows. Now."
We half-carried, half-dragged the boy through the shop and into the small room where Grandmother kept her strongest healing plants. As I hurried around drawing the curtains, she helped him in sitting on the ancient wooden chair.
"What's your name?" Grandmother looked at his cuts and asked.
"Ethan," he uttered softly. "Ethan Blackwood."
I froze. That name sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd heard it before.
"Well, Ethan Blackwood," Grandmother said, "you're lucky you found us. These wounds are important, but they're not life-threatening. Bring me the healing paste from the top shelf, Maya. As well as the bandages."
I continued to stare at Ethan as I grabbed the supplies. He seemed different from the country boys I knew in some way. Despite his pain and fear, he carried himself as though he was accustomed to being important.
"How did you get these injuries?" As I gave Grandmother the paste, I asked.
Ethan looked uncomfortable. "I got into a fight."
Grandmother cleaned the cut on his forehead and commented, "There must have been some fight."
"These appear to have been the result of magical attacks."
Ethan became lifeless. "What makes you say that?"
"Child, I've been helping people for sixty years. I know the difference between a normal cut and a magical burn." Grandmother looked at him seriously. "The question is, are you a magic user yourself, or were you fighting against one?"
I waited for his answer while holding my breath.
"I..." Ethan began, then stopped. "I'm not allowed to tell you that. It's not safe."
"Not safe for whom?" I inquired. "Us or you?"
"Both," he uttered softly.
I looked at Grandmother. This was becoming increasingly mysterious.
"Well," Grandmother said, "you need medical care whether it's safe or not. Please help me in applying this paste to his burns, Maya."
Something odd happened as I applied the healing paste to Ethan's arm with caution. Warmth began to spread through my fingers as the paste began to glow slightly.
"Grandmother," I said, "the paste is—"
"I see it," she blurted out. "Continue."
However, I was looking at my hands in amazement. The warmth was getting more intense, and it seemed to be emanating from within me rather than the paste. Ethan's cuts were also healing more quickly than they ought to.
"What's going on with me?" I muttered.
Ethan was also looking at my hands. "You're healing me," he said, his voice full of wonder. "You're using magic, Maya."
I said, "That's not possible," and removed my hands. "I'm not magical. Because I lacked magic, I was expelled from Phoenix Academy."
"Phoenix Academy?" Ignoring the pain, Ethan straightened his stance. "You attended Phoenix Academy?"
"For three years," I answered. "Until they kicked me out for failing."
Ethan gave me a look as though he had never seen me before. "Maya Chen," he uttered slowly. "You're Maya Chen."
My blood froze. "How are you aware of my entire name?"
"Because I've been looking for you," Ethan explained.
"What?" I took a step back. "What would make you want to find me?"
"Because everything you've been told about yourself is false."
There was total silence in the room. Grandmother had even stopped to move.
"That's ridiculous," I noted. "I was present when I was put to the test. I was unable to perform even the most simple spells."
"Maya," Ethan said hurriedly, "I need you to pay close attention to what I have to say. Phoenix Academy did not expel you for missing magic. You were kicked out because they were afraid of your powerful magic."
Even I thought it sounded fake when I laughed. "You're crazy. I don't possess any magic."
"How do you explain what happened to my wounds just now?" Ethan inquired. "Observe my arm."
I glanced down at my paste-spreading spot. The swollen and bleeding cuts had shrunk to thin pink lines. They were nearly fully healed in less than five minutes.
"That's from the paste," I uttered feebly. "Grandmother's healing paste is excellent."
Grandmother mumbled, "Maya, my paste is good, but not that good."
I gazed at her. "What are you saying?"
Grandmother stated, "I'm saying that Ethan is being honest."
"Yes, you possess magic. Incredibly powerful magic."
"But why didn't you tell me if that's true?" Feeling deceived, I asked.
"Because," Grandmother continued, "I was keeping you safe."
"If they knew what you were capable of, some people would harm you."
I said, "What people?"
We heard horses galloping toward our shop before Grandmother could reply. Many horses.
Ignoring his bent ankle, Ethan leaped to his feet. "They found me," he stated. "We must leave, Maya."
"Now."
I said, "Who found you?"
"Phoenix Academy guards," Ethan stated. "Additionally, they are no longer only looking for me. They're also looking for you."
"That's impossible," I answered. "Why would they want me?"
"Because ever since you left the Academy, Principal Hawthorne has been looking for you," Ethan said, taking hold of my hand. "He wants to steal your power because he is aware of it."
Horses were coming. I heard men shouting orders.
Grandmother urged, "Maya, fetch the emergency bag from beneath my bed. As well as the blue bottle from the secret cupboard."
"I won't abandon you!" I said.
Grandmother said, "You have to."
"They'll take you back to the Academy if they find you here. And they won't let you leave this time."
"But what about you?" Tears began to well up in my eyes as I asked.
Grandmother said, "I'll be fine."
"I've dealt with bullies for a longer period of time than you have."
The horses came to a stop right in front of our store. On the porch, I heard heavy footsteps.
A chilly voice called through the door, "Maya Chen!"
"We are aware that you are inside! We'll come in and get you if you don't leave now."
I glanced at Grandmother, then at Ethan. "What do I do?"
"You run," Ethan said. "And you don't turn around."
The door began to be pounded. "Come on!"
"Per Phoenix Academy's directive!"
Grandmother whispered, "There's a back way out through the herb garden."
"Leave now, before they encircle the structure."
My hands shaking, I reached for the blue bottle and the emergency bag. "Grandmother, you are loved."
She said, "I love you too, child."
"Go now. And never forget that you have power. You weren't."
We ran toward the back door after Ethan took my hand. I heard the front door slam open as we got there.
The icy voice ordered, "Search every room!"
"Seek out the girl!"
We ran into the garden through the back door. However, I heard something that stopped my heart as we got to the edge of the woods. The voice of Principal Hawthorne, addressing a person behind us.
"Excellent work, Ethan Blackwood," he said. "As planned, you guided us directly to her."
I felt as though everything was falling around me as I turned to face Ethan. He said, "Maya," and I could see tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry," he said. "This is not what I intended to occur."
"You work for them?" I muttered.
"I can explain—"
Principal Hawthorne called out from the yard, "Maya Chen."
"Running is useless. This friend of yours has always been hired by me."
I turned to face Ethan, the boy I had trusted and recently healed. The boy who had fooled me.
I questioned, "Is it true?"
Pain filled Ethan's face. "It's complicated."
"Is it true?" I let out a scream.
"Yes," he muttered. "But allow me to explain, Maya. It's not what you believe."
With a broken heart, I withdrew from him. "Avoid me."
"Please, Maya—"
"Stay away!"
Then an amazing thing happened. Golden light began to shimmer in the air around me. The brightness of the light grew until it resembled the sun.
"Impossible," exhaled Principal Hawthorne. "Her power is awakening."
Like a river of fire, I could feel the power coursing through me. And I wasn't scared of it for the first time in my life. I was upset.