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“Mom…” I said, wrapping my arms around my nauseous stomach. “You remember those things, too? You always said they were just my imagination.”

“Because they had to be,” Mom insisted. “Things like that aren’t possible. They’re not…” She turned to Ms. Parker. “Who are you? Really?”

“As I said, I’m from Wickem Academy,” Ms. Parker said. “But more importantly, I’m part of the Shroud Guard. We protect people like your daughter from things like what just tried to attack her.”

“Things like…” I swallowed hard. I’d had a letter from Wickem Academy, and I’d shoved it to the back of a drawer. What if I’d responded? What if it had stopped… “What were they?”

“Vampires.”

I barked out a laugh, but it died in my throat at her serious expression. “Vampires? Like… Dracula vampires?”

“Much worse, actually.” Ms. Parker checked that strange compass again. “And they’re particularly drawn to untrained magical ability. Especially necromancy.”

Necromancy.The word made my stomach twist, like something inside me already knew it was true.

Mom went pale. “Like… death magic? My daughter isn’t… she doesn’t…”

“The mice,” I whispered, feeling numb. “They were all dead, weren’t they? And Mrs. Conrad’s ghost…” My legs trembled and I leaned against the back of the armchair.

“Your father’s gift,” Ms. Parker confirmed. “He was one of the most powerful necromancers of his generation. Until—”

“James?” Mom sank back onto the couch. “He was… Magic was real? All this time?”

Gesturing to the matching rings Mom and I wore, Parker said, “The protection charms you wear—”

Mom interrupted, “They were to be our wedding rings.”

I fingered the ring on my necklace. This was my father’s?

Parker nodded. “They’ve been helping hide your abilities, but after tonight’s display…” She gestured at the compass, which was pulsing with an ominous red light. “We need to get you somewhere safer. Somewhere with proper magical protection.”

“Wickem.” I said the name slowly. I’d ignored it when the acceptance letter had come in the mail. I’d figured it was a scam. Who invites someone to attend a college they didn’t even apply to?

But now I took a steadying breath and asked, “It’s not just a college, is it?”

“It’s a university for witches. But you, Marigold, are more than just a witch.”

Mom just gaped at her.

“Her father is one of a long line of Grimley witches to attend Wickem,” Parker confirmed, then turned back to me. “But he was also a Council member and a member of one of the four most powerful magical families. And you are his heir.”

The room spun. “I’m… what?”

“A royal heir,” Ms. Parker said quietly. Her eyes jumped from us to her compass while she looked increasingly agitated. “Which makes you an even bigger target.”

“James was… royalty?” Mom asked, scrubbing her hand over her face. Then she frowned at Ms. Parker. “If he was so powerful, why did he leave us with nothing?”

Ms. Parker’s face darkened. “No one knew about Marigold. The Council believed your bloodline ended with your father’s execution.”

“Execution?” Mom’s voice broke. “James wasexecuted?”

I felt like I might throw up. She’d never told me anything about my dad, not even his name. I’d imagined all sorts of things about my missing dad, but not this. “He was killed? For… for what?”

“That’s complicated.” Ms. Parker checked the compass again and frowned. “And not a conversation we have time for right now.”

She turned to Mom. “Ms. Brook, I know this is overwhelming. But your daughter needs to come with me. The vampires won’t stop coming now that they’ve sensed her power.”

I sank down next to Mom, my head spinning. “This morning I was just a maid. Now I’m… what? A witch? A necromancer? Magic royalty?”