Hunted Sorcery (Jon Oklar Book 2) by B.T. Narro (chapter books to read to 5 year olds .txt) 📕

to become physical soon. I didn’t understand it, especially when Kataleya seemed to want nothing to do with the argument.

I stepped in front of Aliana to block her. “Is that really necessary?”

“Jon, she’s twenty years old. Twenty!”

“So?” I asked, not surprised she was older as I had figured.

“Most of us are only eighteen,” Eden explained to me, as if that was supposed to change anything. “Charlie and Remi are only seventeen. How old are you?”

“Eighteen. But what does this matter? So Kataleya is a little older.”

“It’s not a little,” Charlie said. “She is three years older than me and the oldest one here. She’s lived seventeen percent longer than I have. That is not little,” he repeated.

“She kept it from all of us,” Aliana said.

“Because it didn’t matter,” Kataleya chimed in from behind me, her back to the wall.

“Eden and I have asked about you and your family many times,” Aliana said. “You never gave us many details.”

“Because I am older and I’ve had a privileged life. I didn’t want to throw it in your face in case you might be jealous.” She was soft-spoken, clearly hurt.

“Michael’s nineteen,” I said. “And so is Reuben. That’s not much different than twenty.”

“Jon, why are you defending her?” Aliana asked with rage in her eyes.

“Because I don’t see what her age has to do with anything.”

Eden spoke more calmly than Aliana did, though there was still an edge to her tone. “It does when Kataleya has told us that she never had time to learn dteria, only water. That’s clearly a lie.”

“Now you’re just twisting my words!” Kataleya stepped forward aggressively, pushing me into Aliana in the process. “I’m so angry I could hit you!” Kataleya told Eden as she balled her fist. “But I think that’s exactly what you want. You are trying to anger me by twisting my words so you can make me look guilty. Is it the both of you? Is it?” She gestured at Aliana. “Are you both working with Cason and you’ve decided to make me take the fall?”

“That’s preposterous,” Aliana said as Eden scoffed.

“Then why else would you both attack me?” she asked. “My friends! It’s Jon who has been in the most danger because of a traitor, and he defends me while you accuse me.”

“Because he is stupid!” Aliana shouted, to my absolute shock. “He probably just wants you in his bed!”

Aliana’s breathing was ragged as we all stared at her. I’d had a feeling she might’ve reverted to her old opinion about me, but to hear it in such an offensive way was still a shock.

“What are all of you gaping at?” Eden asked with the same aggression as Aliana. “She’s right about Jon, and all of you are just as stupid as he is for not realizing the truth.” Eden stormed into her room and slammed the door.

Aliana had a look in her eyes I hadn’t seen before, one of absolute rage. She didn’t seem like the same person, her entire face contorted.

“Aliana,” I began.

But she just stomped into her room and slammed the door as well.

“Uh,” Michael said in the tense silence that followed.

No one had a reply for some time.

“Something’s not right,” Kataleya finally muttered.

Remi spoke up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that didn’t make a lot of sense. Jon is not stupid and has not given any signs he’s only interested in sleeping with me. They know that. They know the rest of us aren’t stupid, either.”

Something slammed against the wall in one of the girls’ rooms, as if either Aliana or Eden had thrown something. There was a womanly grunt after, then another slam, this against the floor.

“I’m going to bed,” Charlie said, and practically ran off to his room.

“You’re all stupid!” Aliana yelled from her room.

“I’m going also,” Remi said quietly and hurried off.

The rest of us walked farther down the hall to get away from the racket. It sounded as if Aliana was tearing apart her room.

“I could understand one of them getting angry, but both?” Kataleya said. “I really believe something happened.”

“What do you mean by something?” I asked.

“Like a curse.”

“What?” Reuben exclaimed. “Oh come on Kataleya, you can’t expect us to believe that.”

She rolled her eyes. “God above, Reuben, would it really make more sense to you that they’ve suddenly become different people before our eyes? That is not Aliana or Eden’s usual behavior. The things they were saying about me didn’t even make a lot of sense. Yes, I didn’t mention my age or much about my life because imagine how it feels to be the oldest, the richest, and know the most about mana. I don’t like it. Of course I’m not going to bring it up if I can help it. But that’s no reason to react like that.”

“I agree,” Michael said.

“So do I,” I said.

Reuben rolled his lips together as he eyed Michael, and then me. “There must be other explanations for their behavior besides a curse. Don’t you know how rare it is to be cursed, Kataleya?”

“I healed someone who was cursed not long ago,” I said. “So I don’t think it’s very unlikely at all.”

“You did?” Reuben asked. “You’re always off doing things without telling us! How do you expect us to help you if we don’t know what you are up to?”

“First of all, Leon mentioned it in the courtyard when Kataleya was accused. Second of all, I have to figure out who among us is trying to get me killed before I can divulge everything.” I tried to tone down the aggression in my voice. “If Kataleya’s right, and they are cursed, then I should be able to feel it and put an end to it.”

Michael clenched his teeth. “That means going in one of their rooms.”

“And you’re coming with me.”

“Why me?”

“Because the sight of Kataleya might make this curse worse, and Reuben…well, you know.”

“Yeah, all right,” Michael said.

“Reuben what?” he challenged.

“You’re not good at pacifying such situations,” Kataleya explained. “Just let them go. Come with me