by Ava Corrigan
“What are you doing in here?” demanded Sky.
Specialist
Riven was making his way to Queen Lunatic’s assembly when he saw Beatrix slipping from one shadow to the next with the air of a woman on a mission.
Riven slid up alongside her with a devilish grin. “Where are we going?”
“Look at you, clinger. Mandatory assembly is a mandatory ditch.”
For a moment, Riven’s good mood faltered. There was a strangely hostile expression on his girlfriend’s face, as though she didn’t want him around, or was planning to do something nasty to him if he stayed.
She gave him a sexy smile. “So … you coming or what?”
She pivoted and made for the East Wing, walking fast. That was good thinking. They could have some privacy there.
What a woman! Riven quickly followed.
Mind
Stella sat in the front row, far apart from her Winx suitemates. Two Solarian guards were on either side of her. To look at her, anyone would think Stella was glorying in finally being in her rightful place as princess, but Musa was getting a faint hint of something else. She tried not to pursue it. An assembly was a crowded place. Let someone in, and she’d be overwhelmed.
Dowling, Silva, and Harvey were walking among the students, monitoring their behavior.
Just then, everybody hushed as from the side of the assembly hall, Queen Luna approached. Her eyes glowed, and the lighting shifted into a moody, underwater light tone. A hush immediately came over the room. Luna looked around.
“That’s a bit dramatic, isn’t it?” the queen asked, sounding amused.
Her eyes glowed again, and a warm, soft light illuminated her. She took a beat, commanding the stage with ease, grace, and a disarming I’m-just-like-you smile.
Politicians, Musa thought. Luna was clearly good at what she did, but Musa didn’t have to use her powers to know not to totally buy the act.
“There we are,” Queen Luna declared with satisfaction, and then her melodious voice slipped into storytelling mode. “I always had a love/hate relationship with assemblies when I was at Alfea. Loved getting out of class. Hated getting lectured …”
Her tone shifted, more serious.
“But I’m not here to lecture. I’m here to treat you like the adults you are. To talk about the Burned Ones.”
Musa was sitting with Aisha, Terra, and Sam. Terra and Sam seemed to be getting on pretty well today, which Musa found encouraging.
Less encouraging was the royal fever all around.
“Still can’t believe she’s Stella’s mom,” Aisha gushed.
“I know, right?” Terra gushed back. “Massively powerful fairy. Zero ego. Boss goals. I bet it drives Stella crazy.”
Next to them, Musa was only half paying attention to the fangirling. She was reading a text from Sam that said: I’m starting to think you’re actually into all this sneaking around stuff.
Queen Luna continued her lecture of doom and gloom. “It had been years since the last one was sighted, but recently, as you all know, two have been killed.”
Sam leaned his leg into Musa’s. She fought a smile, and let her arm brush against his. She caught him smiling, too.
“Musa,” said Terra.
Musa snapped out of her hormonal daze and realized that Terra was staring at her.
“What?” Musa’s heart raced. Had Terra seen what was happening? Then—
“What is Stella going through right now? She’s miserable, right?”
Musa breathed a sigh of relief. She’d do whatever Terra wanted as long as Terra didn’t suspect. She called on her power, chasing the hint of strangeness in Stella’s mood …
“Please wait,” she murmured to Terra.
“Every sovereign of this realm has carried the responsibility of defending our land from these creatures. That duty is now mine,” intoned Queen Luna.
But as Musa’s magic worked, Dowling passed near Stella’s seat and pulled Musa’s attention to her.
The words popped out of Musa’s mouth. “What the hell?”
She watched carefully as Dowling walked around the room. It looked like Dowling was making sure her students were paying attention. But there was an object cupped in her hand, a glass cylinder of some kind. Musa got a read on what Dowling was feeling. Suspicion? But of whom?
Suddenly tense, Musa murmured to the others, “This assembly isn’t just about the Burned Ones. Something else is up.”
Fire
Sky quietly went through the treasure trove of Rosalind-related pictures with me. He hadn’t said much since I’d explained what I was up to.
“If you’re gonna judge,” I told him, “kindly join the rest of the student body and do so behind my back.”
Sky spoke gently, “No one is judging you.”
I scoffed. “I didn’t know you were blind. And deaf. You should get that checked.”
Sky smiled, in what seemed to be a reflex. Like he was helplessly charmed by me. Charmed by the changeling. And that won him an admission. If there was anyone I could trust with the truth, it was Sky.
“I’ve tried really hard to play it cool. Let people whisper when I walk by and not constantly scream that they’re jerks.” I paused. “But the truth? It sucks. A lot.”
“People are jerks, Bloom. So maybe you should scream.”
His sincerity made my heart almost hurt, as though there was a magnet in my chest wanting to draw me to him. I took a step forward, getting closer. Until Sky stepped away. I felt the loss of his closeness in my chest, too.
“I didn’t know this existed,” said Sky.
I looked at the photo. Rosalind stood in the center, a majestic general in total command. She was flanked by a younger Dowling, Silva, Terra’s dad Professor Harvey, and a handsome man with eyes that reminded me of Sky’s.
“Is that your dad?” When Sky nodded, I asked eagerly, “He knew Rosalind?”
“I knew his commander was a woman, but I’m not honestly sure I ever heard her name.”
Because Dowling had suppressed any talk about Rosalind at all. I nodded and stared at the image a beat longer. Rosalind and Sky’s dad had the most intense gazes of anyone in that picture. They seemed like a powerful team all by themselves.
“You look like him.”
Sky imitated Silva’s voice, “ ‘And act like him and maybe one day if I work hard enough I can be half as good a warrior as he was.’ ” He dropped the act. “Sorry. Reflex.”
“Is it weird feeling like everyone knows your dad more than you do?”
“Probably not as weird as not knowing who he is at all.” Sky’s voice was soft. “This place. Alfea has been my home my entire life. I can’t imagine what you’re going through, Bloom. How impossible it must all feel.”
I could sense his understanding, and I needed it. So much. More than I should.
Once again I felt that pull in my chest, wanting to be close to him. Not to do anything wrong, but to lean against him. Share strength, share understanding. Share warmth.
“Looks like we aren’t the only ones up to no good,” murmured Beatrix.
Sky and I both looked up hastily. Beatrix and Riven were standing there, smug as cats who’d just found a whole coal mine full of canaries.
Water
“Dowling is anxious,” Musa murmured to the group.
“I mean,” said Aisha. “Her assistant did die.”
Aisha was worried, too. This was no time to be irresponsible, yet she’d let Bloom run off again. Dowling was trusting Aisha, by letting her act as her secretary. And Aisha wasn’t worthy of that trust.
“But Silva’s on high alert, too. Like there could be a threat anywhere. And …”
Musa trailed off. And Terra glanced at her, picking up why.
“And my dad?”
“He’s scared. Like, über-scared.”
Terra looked at her dad measuredly. Then her eyes flicked to Dowling, and the glass cylinder in Dowling’s hand. Terra was no fool. She was clearly put
ting some clues together.
“He was making something earlier,” she said slowly. “With the stones they use for the Vessel. It tracks magic. And now Ms. Dowling has …”
Queen Luna’s voice cut across all other voices, the announcement ringing through the room like a bell.
“We’re tracking at least five Burned Ones throughout Solaria. The threat is serious. And growing.”
A rumble moved through the crowd. The students were suddenly dealing with the gravity of this situation. Aisha wondered if any of them felt like she did. Some part of her had been thinking of Alfea as a game she could excel at, but this wasn’t a game at all.
Queen Luna continued, “There is conflict on the horizon. In the past, Alfea was the primary training ground for the fairies and Specialists who fought the Burned Ones. It appears as though it will be again. It’s time for all of you to pay attention.”
Specialist
This was pretty great, Riven thought. Him and his best girl, his best friend and his best friend’s … it’s-complicated changeling pal. They were prowling around the East Wing in search of adventure. They were doing crime, though Riven hadn’t actually worked out which crime they were doing yet. It was nice to see Sky skipping assembly and getting a little wild. Riven and Beatrix were teasing Bloom and Sky about their illicit-yet-pure relationship. Riven was happy.
“Oh. An emotional affair,” Beatrix mocked the definitely not-yet lovers about their relationship. “That’s actually much worse.”
Sky’s face darkened. That clearly touched a nerve. Riven didn’t want their good time ruined, so before Sky could react, Riven pulled at a door across the room. A heavy padlock rattled. The sound caught Beatrix’s attention.
“Ooh, love a locked door.”
Riven lived to entertain.
“What’s back here?” Riven inquired. Since they were trespassing, they should make a proper job of it.
“I don’t know,” Sky said stiffly. “Silva’s the only one who has the key.”
Bloom slowly walked over to the door, looking intrigued. See, no hard feelings about the changeling gossip. Riven was helping her with her crime.
“So how do we get in?” asked Bloom.
“We don’t,” said Sky. Buzzkill.
Bloom thought so, too. “What if there is more stuff in there? That’s kinda the whole reason I came down here, and—”
“I’ll ask Silva next time I see him.”
Sky was trying to end the conversation, but Bloom stubbornly eyed the door. It was becoming a battle of wills. Sky, Riven reflected, really didn’t know about redheads.
“Sky!” said Bloom.
“The more you say no, the more she wants it. Give in,” purred Riven.
“Do we need to have a talk about consent?” Beatrix teased.
Did they need to have a talk about double entendres? Because Riven refused to give them up.
Bloom spun to face Beatrix and Riven.
“What are you two doing here again?” she demanded.
Wow. They were helping! Sky was the one getting in the way.
“Being on your side,” responded Beatrix. Which was true: Riven’s girlfriend was entirely correct!
“I don’t need help from people who post videos mocking my friend!”
Riven winced internally, but refused to do so externally.
“Look, I know the video was extra, but I didn’t say anything about Terra. I was a bystander.” Beatrix paused, a long, considering pause. “If you’re gonna be mad at one of us, think about the douche bag who’s been telling everyone you’re a changeling.”
Sky and Bloom both froze in their tracks. They both looked to Riven.
And suddenly, Riven didn’t feel warm, or included, or happy at all.
“Not exactly the way I thought you’d screw me today, Bea,” he said, his voice icy. He stormed off, declining to hear what Saint Sky had to say about the situation.
He couldn’t bear to hear another word out of Beatrix. He couldn’t bear the disappointment on Sky’s face. He hadn’t known Sky had any expectations of him at all. He strode out onto the grounds, racing under the open sky, wanting nothing but to get away.
“Seriously, you’re running from me?” Sky demanded.
Riven responded to the goad. He wheeled around. “Fine. I stand ready to hear what a jerk I am.”
“You are,” Sky said bluntly, and Riven restrained his instinctive flinch. “I mean, you have always been one. But ever since …”
Sky hesitated. Clearly, Saint Sky was worried about hurting Riven’s little fee-fees, even though Riven was awful and Sky had apparently always thought so.
“Ever since, what?” Riven encouraged. “Exactly. I can’t wait to hear.”
“Okay, fine. You have upped your game to new levels since you started shagging Beatrix!”
Riven teased, “You have no idea.”
Sky didn’t look amused by the joke. And what did they have, if Riven wasn’t making Sky laugh? Riven knew that was the only reason Sky kept him around.
“Take something seriously,” said Sky.
Riven met his eyes.
“I am,” he said furiously. “I like Beatrix. And she’s the first person at this damn school who likes me as is.”
To Beatrix, he wasn’t a project, like he was for Saint Sky. Not … whatever he’d been to Terra. Not just a crush on a hottie, like he was for Dane. Beatrix had chosen Riven. She went too far sometimes. So did he. It was okay. She hadn’t meant it. Riven understood. They got each other.
“And what does that make me?” Sky said quietly.
“The guy who always thinks he’s better than me!” Riven waited for Sky to deny it, and knew he wouldn’t. “And why are you all up in my face about this? You have a girlfriend. Maybe stop creeping on the first year while you’ve got the princess dangling.”
“That is not what’s going on!” Sky snapped.
Riven didn’t want to hurt Sky. But he would, because he was awful. Because he was tired of everything being awful when he did it, and perfect when it was Sky.
“Are you sure?” Riven asked. “Because maybe that’s what everyone else sees. Stella included. Which, honestly, is probably why she told me Bloom was a changeling in the first place.”
Mind
Musa knew Terra was worried about her dad, and Dowling, and whatever was going on with them. She was worried, too, but it all faded away when Sam was kissing her.
“I wanna do this in public,” Sam said softly, kissing her again. She loved it, but she pushed him away.
“And I like that we have a thing that’s just ours. It’s not just Terra. If the school knows we’re a thing, I have to feel everyone’s reaction to that. Good or bad, positive or negative.”
Sam sighed. “I know you have to feel them, but do you have to care?”
“I wish it were that simple.”
Musa wished she could explain how it was for her, how every thought about her was like a wave that could carry her away or drag her under. She didn’t know how.
From the way Sam was looking at her, it seemed as though he understood how difficult it was for her to get the words out.
“No offense, but it seems like being an empath … kinda sucks.”
“Dating an empath doesn’t seem like a walk in the park, either.”
Musa meant it to be a joke, but it came out sounding too real.
Sam said softly, “Worth it.”
He said that now, but Musa knew someday he’d be mad at her. Terra would be mad at her. When people believed you were the girl who knew everything, they expected you to give them everything. But right now, she wanted this for herself.
Fire
I tried the locked door again while Beatrix idly perused the pictures of Rosalind I’d pulled out.
“So,” Beatrix said. “Rosalind. Let me guess. You think she was the one who swapped you out in the First World.”
I didn’t answer. Beatrix continued to study the pictures.
“S
he was fierce,” commented Beatrix.
That gave me pause.
I said warily, “At the party you told me you didn’t know who that was.”
Beatrix gave a shrug. “You were cagey about the why, so I was cagey about the who.”
“It doesn’t matter, anyway. All I’ve found are dead ends. Except this.”
I stopped, frustrated, in front of the locked door.
“So let’s go in,” suggested Beatrix.
“It’s locked,” I pointed out.
“And you’re a Fire Fairy. I’ve seen you in class, Bloom. I know you’re powerful. I guess my question is, how powerful?”
As powerful as I needed to be. I met Beatrix’s dark eyes.
“If I wanted to, I could get through this door. Might light the whole school on fire in the process, but power isn’t my problem.”
Beatrix purred, “Good to know.”
My phone buzzed with a text from Sky reading: You still down there? I considered the door, and then considered the text.
“I just don’t want to put Sky in a bad spot.”
“But you do want answers …”
What Beatrix’s tone insinuated was, Which do you want more, Sky or answers? But of course, I wanted answers. And I couldn’t want Sky.
I made a decision. I texted back: Nah. Suite drama. Chat later. When I was done, I looked up.
“I guess I can just fry the hinges?”
Beatrix’s face said she was a little impressed by the suggestion. But then, she held up the lock. It was no longer on the door. “Or I could just pick the lock.”
That hadn’t occurred to me. I guessed I didn’t operate on the same bad girl plane as Beatrix, but I thought I could bad girl hang.
“That’s much cleaner,” I admitted.
We headed through the door together.
Light
A beam of white light was streaming from Stella’s hands as she stood in the headmistress’s office. She’d practiced this with Dowling a hundred times, but now she had her mother watching. Queen Luna’s face was inscrutable.