No sooner than she threatened Daniel, than the boy went careening into the lake. Hell broke loose. For a moment, there was enough confusion that Themis believed she had hexed the boy, perhaps it was wandless magic she couldn’t feel or hadn’t learned. No, that didn’t make any sense, but neither did a dripping Daniel. It didn’t stop her from smirking. McMullen was screaming, blaming her for the spell she didn’t cast. Daniel, now fuming, was out of the water as quickly as he’d fallen in. Her amusement fizzled out when both older boys raised their wands. This isn’t what she was planning for her evening.
Themis squared her shoulders, taking up what space she could. There was no possible way she wasn’t going to spend the rest of the night in the hospital wing. She’d never thought of either boy as dangerous, had never had a reason to think of them as a danger to anyone but themselves. That opinion changed. Faced with a humiliated Daniel and an offended McMullen, danger seemed inevitable. For a moment she considered running, calculating the space between them and just how much of a chance she had to make it to the castle before they caught her. She was fast, but she was also in a bloody dress in the dark. There was no straight path to safety she could think of. She wouldn’t outrun them and the time to talk it out had passed. She was going to have to fight and she intended to make this miserable for them both.
Seeming to hear her thoughts, that would be a first, Daniel was grinning, or something closer to snarling. “Nowhere to run now, Miss Lyra,” he twisted her name in mockery of her demand to be addressed appropriately. She ground her teeth in annoyance, her wand at the ready. “What do you think you’ll do with that? Think I’ll let you hit twice?”
“I didn’t hit you the first time.” She retorted, her feet firmly planted. Her words were met with a look of confusion and then dismissal. She didn’t expect them to believe her, that would have made sense. She didn’t accuse either of them of having much of that. “Sheath your wands and get back to the castle. Another step and I will make sure you regret it.” Themis was bracing to act on her threat. She hoped she could at least make this less entertaining for them.
Themis squared her shoulders, taking up what space she could. There was no possible way she wasn’t going to spend the rest of the night in the hospital wing. She’d never thought of either boy as dangerous, had never had a reason to think of them as a danger to anyone but themselves. That opinion changed. Faced with a humiliated Daniel and an offended McMullen, danger seemed inevitable. For a moment she considered running, calculating the space between them and just how much of a chance she had to make it to the castle before they caught her. She was fast, but she was also in a bloody dress in the dark. There was no straight path to safety she could think of. She wouldn’t outrun them and the time to talk it out had passed. She was going to have to fight and she intended to make this miserable for them both.
Seeming to hear her thoughts, that would be a first, Daniel was grinning, or something closer to snarling. “Nowhere to run now, Miss Lyra,” he twisted her name in mockery of her demand to be addressed appropriately. She ground her teeth in annoyance, her wand at the ready. “What do you think you’ll do with that? Think I’ll let you hit twice?”
“I didn’t hit you the first time.” She retorted, her feet firmly planted. Her words were met with a look of confusion and then dismissal. She didn’t expect them to believe her, that would have made sense. She didn’t accuse either of them of having much of that. “Sheath your wands and get back to the castle. Another step and I will make sure you regret it.” Themis was bracing to act on her threat. She hoped she could at least make this less entertaining for them.
![[Image: Bka0H0x.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/Bka0H0x.jpeg)