"Welcome home, Elaina," said the beautiful blonde woman before me. I couldn't get over how ethereal she looked. Her complexion was flawless, almost as if her skin had been airbrushed like a magazine model’s.

  "Where am I, and how do you know my name?" I demanded. I knew for a fact I had never met her or stepped foot in her blindingly white office.

  "I've been watching you for some time now." She paused when she noticed the look of horror on my face and quickly brought her palm up to her mouth. "But please don't be alarmed. After all, if I hadn't been watching you and something tragic were to happen... I fear nobody would be able to reverse such a disaster."

  "What are you talking about?!" I shouted, panic taking over me at the idea of being stalked. I wanted to demand answers, but something told me these people weren’t normal. After all, one of them had teleported me away! I didn’t know what they wanted with me, and if I wanted to make it out of here alive, I needed to play nice. For now, at least. Which was very difficult when all I wanted to do was scream and cry and run out the door.

  "Did you not tell her anything?" The lady glanced at the boy who was still standing beside me.

  "No, why would I? That's your job." He crossed his arms. He sharply kept his gaze on me as if he thought I would run away and he'd have to kidnap me again.

  "Can somebody please explain what's going on?" I practically begged. I was terrified and in an unfamiliar place. Had I known this was going to happen, I never would've followed this guy out the door...

  "I'm sure you can piece it together yourself," the lady began again. "Your powers are awakening. The ice covering your hands proves as much."

  I glanced down to see little particles of ice decorating my hands as if they were some sort of weird magic tattoo. They didn't seem to be as icy as they were a few minutes ago, but that made it no less concerning. It was friggin’ ice after all! "What powers?" I asked.

  "You have magic within you. Magic from this world, Etheria."

  "Magic? World?" I blinked, taking a few hesitant steps backwards before slipping on the ice I had unintentionally made. The weird-eyed boy "caught" me with the back of his palms, pushing me forward and nearly sending me flying into the woman before me. Thank goodness I wasn't worried about first impressions.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." She reached out tentatively towards me before glancing at my hands and rethinking her movements. She cleared her throat. "Perhaps some introductions are in order. My name is Sylvis, and this is Maverick," she gestured to the boy behind me who just grunted. What an amazing and completely original greeting!

  "And you already know my name, it seems..." I mumbled.

  "Yes, allow me to explain. Many, many, years ago, a time that has long been lost to us, our world was created by the Goddess Alina. She created the many continents of Etheria, including the one you stand foot on now: Meridia. She created all life as we know it: human, plant, and animal. She created the very sea and skies—"

  "I think she gets the point." Maverick tapped his foot impatiently, earning a scowl from Sylvis.

  "You have no respect for the divine, Maverick," Sylvis tsked.

  "Please get to the point." I forced a smile, trying not to sound too blunt. As much as I hated to admit it, I didn't want to get on these people's bad side. Especially when they seemed powerful.

  Sylvis gave me a pointed look but continued. "There was one human in particular that Alina was absolutely smitten with." Sylvis paused to giggle, blushing in the process as if she were overly fond of this part of the story. "Some offspring were born with the power of magic, while others bore no such talent. As society evolved, this magic slowly began to dwindle until Alina and her descendants became naught but a fairytale. One still told by many families to this day. But magic hasn't been completely lost."

  Sylvis extended her palm towards me, where a beautiful glowing yellow flower bloomed from the center. I wanted to reach out to touch it, but had a strange fear that it would smite me where I stood. Which was stupid! It was just a flower! ...A magical flower... Pretty...

  I was broken out of my trance when the flower incinerated into flames. I followed Sylvis' stare to Maverick who was smirking at us, clearly holding back a chuckle.

  "Careful," he began. "If you stare too long, you'll fall under Sylvis' mind control spell."

  I squeaked as I quickly glanced away from her hands, which was pointless since the flower was gone.

  Sylvis scoffed in disbelief. "I don't have a mind-controlling spell! This was merely a demonstration of magic." She pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. "Elaina, do me a favor and try not to take everything Maverick says seriously. More often than not, he's pulling your leg."

  "I'll do you one better; I'd like to not listen to Maverick at all! Can you please take me back now?" I put on my best innocent smile; the same smile I always used to get an extra helping of dessert.

  "And now we can get to the point of this meeting." Sylvis smiled. "Elaina, can you demonstrate control over your magic?"

  "Uh..." I froze. Did she want me to put on a magic show for her? "Can I get some help?"

  Sylvis smiled warmly, reminding me of how my mother used to smile at me anytime I asked for help with homework or baking. Ugh... Why was this random woman making me so nostalgic? "Close your eyes and become aware of the present. Nothing exists except for you and my guiding voice."

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  A loud cough could be heard in the background.

  "Shut up, Maverick. Ahem, there is a brief disturbance in the atmosphere, but that doesn't faze you." I think it already has... "Become aware of the energy within you — feel how it moves within your body, from your stomach to your arms and legs. Picture the energy swelling within you, combining to fuel your magic. Now, hold out your hand and summon a flower just as I did earlier."

  I held out my hand, and after channeling my inner otherworld fantasy magic, I opened my eyes and found... absolutely nothing. I closed my eyes and tried again, but still, nothing. This was Maverick's fault.

  "It's okay, Elaina. This takes time." Sylvis curled my fingers into a ball, signaling she had no interest in watching me humiliate myself further.

  "How much time?" I asked, eager to get home.

  "In some cases, it can take a year or more—"

  "A year?!" I practically shrieked. "Can I come back in a year and prove myself to you then?! I promise I'll keep practicing!"

  Sylvis gave me an apologetic frown. "I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. Without control of your magic, someone could get hurt. What about earlier today when your hands froze over at that party? If something like that happened unexpectedly, you could cause hypothermia at best, or freeze someone over entirely at worst. And that's just the beginning. Eventually, your magic will get stronger and will manifest itself in unexpected ways. What happens if you set your home on fire in your sleep during a nightmare? What if you get so angry you cause a blizzard at school? You're far too dangerous in a magicless world."

  "Clearly it's not a magicless world if I exist in it and I have magic." I crossed my arms spitefully. I just wanted to make a point at this point. "And how do you know I don't belong in that world, huh? Who's to say I'm from your stupid tropical Caribbean world?!"

  "Meridia," Sylvis corrected, unfazed. Etherian magic is unique. It cannot exist without something called Ether, hence the name. Ether exists within Etheria and within its inhabitants who possess magic. That's how you were able to use magic on Earth. As someone with many years of experience in magic, I'm able to track Ether — in other worlds, if necessary."

  "But if I were from this world, then I'd be in... this world... Right?!" I desperately tried to reason with her and also make sense of it myself. After all, this doesn't make sense! How could I possibly come from another world? How would I even go to another world?

  "Sixteen years and twenty-six days ago, an infant, a baby girl, mysteriously disappeared without a trace." Sylvis leaned against the desk, tapping her fingers rhythmically against it to a tune I couldn't possibly know. "There were no suspects and no proof of a break-in either. If this child possessed magic, it wouldn't be impossible for them to say... summon a portal and transport herself to another world."

  "T-That doesn't prove anything!" I quickly but slowly did the math across my fingers. "I was born sixteen years and twenty-eight days ago!"

  Maverick planted his face into the wall to where I'm sure his entire face would be disfigured if it weren't a magical face.

  A sly grin crept across Sylvis' face. "I believe you only strengthened my argument."

  "But what about my parents..." I squeaked. Were they not my real parents?

  Sylvis frowned. "I'm sure I could locate them if you would like to meet with them—"

  "My real parents! The ones who, you know, actually parented me for sixteen years!"

  "I'm sorry, I don't believe I understand—"

  "Well, neither do I! You can't just claim I'm some... magical fantasy girl isekaied to another world because... because I have magic! The next thing you're going to say is that there's some prophecy I have to fulfill to save your world!"

  "If there were such a prophecy, we'd all be screwed," Maverick added, his face as perfectly pristine as it was before all the face slamming.

  "Thanks for the vote of confidence! I don't want to save your stupid world anyway!"

  "There will be no saving of any worlds." Sylvis facepalmed. "I brought you here to learn how to control your magic. As soon as you have it under control, you're free to go." Then why didn't I believe her? Why did I get the feeling that I was dragged into some sort of... magical cult? Would I be her prisoner? Would I have to do yoga to channel my inner self?! "And here I thought you'd be relieved you wouldn't have to fight a dragon." Sylvis sighed, glancing down at my hands. I didn't even have to check to know they were iced over. If she weren't so... nice, I'd punch her as a demonstration of my "control over magic."

  Realizing these two had the upper hand, my options were limited. If I wanted out of here, it would be on their terms. "Fine. What do I have to do?" I crossed my arms, wincing when I felt the ice against one of my biceps.

  "Learn magic," Sylvis said matter-of-factly, with a big smile on her face. "And Maverick will help you learn."

  "I'll do what now?" Maverick's eyes widened in shock... no, was that horror? Oh, come on!

  "He'll do what?" I echoed his shock.

  "Help Elaina learn magic." Sylvis scowled. "You are one of the most skilled among us when it comes to magic."

  "And you're the most skilled. Why don't you teach her?" Maverick scowled.

  "Yeah, why don't you teach me?" I pleaded. Please, anyone other than this asshole...

  "This institute doesn't run itself, you know." Sylvis gave a relaxed grin, but I could see years of stress hiding behind her eyes. Way to make me feel guilty.

  "Great. So, if Maverick's so skilled with magic, does that mean I could learn by let's say... next week?"

  Maverick snickered. "You'll be lucky if you learn in my lifetime."

  "What's that supposed to mean?" I narrowed my eyes at him. What was his problem?

  "Your magic is completely out of control. It happens spontaneously, and you can't even get it to manifest when you want it to, let alone when I want it to."

  "Be nice, Maverick. Even if you do have a point," Sylvis quickly mumbled that last part and tried to hide it behind a cough. Ha ha. Laugh all you want at me. I'll show you.

  "Well then, allow me to completely blow all of you away with my superb magic skills none of us are aware I have. I will be back in my world before the month is over. I assure you." I smirked, fully believing in my words.

  I needed to get back to Matt and my friends... What was Carol thinking? She watched me race out the door... At least there was a suspect. I doubt the police would be able to chase him down to another world, though...

  And what about Matt and Rose? I can't imagine how much they'll panic when they realize I'm gone... And my poor dad... At least I wasn't close to my mom, though deep down I knew she'd worry.

  The least I could do was get back in a reasonable amount of time. I'd just have to do everything in my power to get back home in a timely manner.

  Or maybe I could convince someone else with magic to teleport me back. The options seemed endless with magic.