"Permission to splash water on Mother dearest? I will not be late today."

  "Only as a last resort," my father responded calmly and without looking up from the omelet he was making. "Though you may want to hurry, whatever you do."

  I glanced at the time displayed on the microwave, the green numbers taunting me with how little time I had left until the most important moment of my life. "Okay."

  My parent's bedroom was at the end of a small, hallway-like section of the house. It was more like an alcove that ended in a door that Mother had painted sunflower yellow. I knocked on the door loudly three times.

  "Mom!" I called. "Today is the day for the entrance exams!"

  Silence.

  Fine then. I was going in.

  I opened the door to find my mother still under the blankets and for all purposes lost to the land of the living. She snored loudly, her black hair a matted mess that hid most of her head.

  I sighed.

  "Mom!" I called again.

  No movement.

  I stood next to her and shook her shoulder twice.

  Nothing.

  All right then.

  Their sink was just a few feet away in their master bathroom.

  Mom sputtered awake as soon as the cold water touched her skin. "I'm up! I'm up!" She rubbed her face and blinked a few times. She looked at me, my hands were wet and I was already dressed for the day and she frowned. "The entrance exams!"

  "Dad is making breakfast. I suggest you hurry," I told her then turned around and left.

  There was a flurry of noise from the room as I closed the door behind me and sighed.

  "How much time do we have?" I sat down at the counter and checked the time on the microwave.

  "Eat something. She's going to be at least twenty minutes," Dad set a plate with a ham and spinach omelet in front of me.

  "Thank you."

  "I know how much today means to you. I want to see you succeed." He offered me a small smile, well it was a grin for him. His eyes were a proud light green.

  I gave him a near identical expression. "According to Mom it's a five-stage test and I'm getting graded in nine categories. I just have to score an average of seventy-five across them all."

  "Six hundred and seventy-five total or higher," he confirmed.

  "Out of a possible nine hundred. I should be fine…unless…"

  "Unless Spellcraft requires casting."

  And there it was. The four words that would decide my fate and the trajectory of my future. If today didn't go well… if my entrance hinged on being able to cast a spell…I was doomed. I would have no choice but to re-enter the human school system and live my life as if my mother's side of the family didn't exist.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  The thought terrified me.

  "Whatever happens today and every day after…I'm proud of you, Serafina."

  "But do you think I can do it?"

  My father gave a thoughtful hum. "I believe that if your mother is correct on how they intend on testing you, then you will do just fine."

  I let out a sigh of relief. I trusted my father's honesty. It was a trait I had often been called 'too brutal' for. But it was reassuring. If he thought I couldn't do it, he would tell me. It was why he brought up Spellcraft. It was the greatest hurtle and the largest obstacle between me and what I wanted.

  "Of course she will!" My mother, her eyes a sparkling golden yellow and her hair still slightly damp from her rushed shower, walked into the room and threw her arms around my father. Accustomed to it, he just let her hang off of him like they were still in their twenties, rather than well into their forties.

  I was unamused. "We've spent the past year getting ready for this."

  "And so have the other kids. You won't be behind them, I made sure of that. Those old-timers haven't changed the way the entrance exam is held in over a thousand years. I know my baby can do this!"

  "I'm fifteen," I reminded her dryly.

  Dad didn't even have the decency to look sympathetic. He just looked charmed by it.

  I am so glad I will never be like that.

  "Oh Hecate! We need to go!" Mother gasped, pecked Dad on the cheek and grabbed my hand with enough force to pull me out of the chair. Lucky me, I was already done eating.

  "Love you both!" my father called after us as Mom cast a transport spell with smooth wide circular hand motions.

  I waved once before the spell was finished.

  It was a little disorientating, being one place and then in seconds being somewhere entirely different. The architecture around me was stonework, old Gothic style with dark grey gargoyle statues and stained glass.

  "It still looks the same as when I took the entrance exam," Mom said quietly. I'm not sure I was meant to hear that. "Come on, stay with me and follow the crowd."

  We were surrounded by dozens of people all heading in the same direction. Mom barely looked at me as she grabbed my wrist, making sure I didn't get lost like some child, but her eyes kept darting around. Was she looking for something? An old acquaintance? Former coworkers and classmates maybe? She looked nervous.

  "I can do this, Mom," I told her over the dull rumble of the crowd.

  "I know. I just…would rather not be recognized until you at least get inside the exam chamber. I'd rather not cause a scene."

  I frowned. I knew Mom's decision to marry Dad had been problematic for her. There was a reason I’d never met my grandmother. Or anyone else on that side of the family.

  "Don't fret. Your mother is just being paranoid. Today is a big day for you and you just need to focus on doing your best. And whatever happens in there I want you to know that I am, and will always be, proud of you."

  "Thank you for your vote of confidence Mom."

  She gave me a flat, narrow-eyed look. I gave her a grin. She rolled her eyes and then we stepped into the room. It was filled with lines of parents with their children, all filling out forms. The kids were all the same age as me. I noticed Mom glance around nervously, but then settle down. Was she looking for someone?

  Mom led the way. In moments she was hastily scribbling down our information on parchment with a quill pen.

  "Can't believe I'm actually doing this. You know I was once part of the committee that ran these things? It's so strange being on this side of everything," she mumbled to herself not looking at me. Once she was done, she rolled up the parchment and tossed it into the air, then snapped her fingers twice and it was gone.

  "Now what?"

  She looked at a large wooden pair of doors. "Through there and just follow their instructions." Her voice wobbled a little.

  I sighed as the tears in her eyes got bigger. "Mom, it's okay."

  "I know…" She sounded seconds from crying.

  Taking pity on my poor mother, I gave her what was meant to be a quick hug. She was having none of it. "Mom…I'm not going anywhere yet."

  "Don't care."

  I gave a weak attempt to shove her away. "Mom…" I whined. "I have to go."

  She had mercy on me eventually, I left quickly before she changed her mind. I could hear her mumbling about me still being a baby, and rolled my eyes.

  (*********)

  It would be four hours before I saw her again. Four hours of exam testing. By the time we finished I was exhausted and my head was pounding. I wasn't the type prone to migraines. This was highly unusual. And vaguely concerning.

  Mother was sitting outside on a stone bench under a shaded tree. Her eyes were focused on the crowd leaving the testing chamber with me. I saw her go from nervous to excited in an instant.

  "How did it go?" she asked.

  "Fine," I told her as I winced.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Headache."

  She blinked in confusion, then instantly switched to worried mother hen mode. "Where does it hurt?" she asked touching my forehead with the back of her hand. "No fever," she muttered.

  "Everywhere?" I attempted to explain.

  "Maybe you just need to relax. Come on, we'll go have some lunch."

  I closed my eyes to shield myself from the now-overpowering sunlight, and let my mother pull me by the hand.

  The next thing I knew I was sitting under an umbrella, at a café table outside. Some water sat in front of me.

  "You nearly fainted on me," Mom was explaining. "What happened in there?"

  "I took a few written tests," I shrugged. "It started as I was leaving."

  Her frown grew deeper.

  I took a sip of water slowly. It didn't help the pain at all.

  Mom twitched nervously in front of me. We couldn't leave to just go home quite yet. Not until they sent my results back. Which could take another hour.

  "If it starts to get worse, you will tell me."

  "I will."

  I closed my eyes again. Blurry images of questions melted together with blinding light behind my eyelids. I pinched the bridge of my nose and took several deep breaths. I opened my eyes and gave my mother a reassuring smile. Or at least an attempt at one.

  I don't think she was convinced.

  I picked at lunch quietly, a simple toasted turkey sandwich with cheddar and apple spread. It wasn't helping.

  There was a slight poof sound, like a soft pop just over our heads. A scroll landed in the center of the table a black wax seal with a gold symbol of the Towers of Nine stamped in the center.

  Mom covered her face with her hands. "Open it! Ah…I can't look!"

  I rolled my eyes because I knew she couldn't see it.

  I picked up the scroll. When the seal came off my headache vanished. Gone as if it was never there to begin with.

  Okay.

  I read the contents out loud. "Miss Serafina Stewart's Results for the Entrance Exam for The Towers of Nine School of Magic Study and Practice. Alchemy; one hundred. Brewing; eighty-three. Monster Husbandry; seventy-two. Geography; eighty-five. History; seventy-seven. Spellcraft; fifty. English; seventy-four. Elements; eighty-one. Runework; sixty-four."

  I looked over at Mom's expression. Her mouth moving silently. Doing the math. Was it enough? I needed a total of at least six hundred and seventy-five. I bit my lip and ran the numbers quietly as well.

  "I did it," I breathed. "I did it!"