“I don’t get why you’re not upset about this.” I throw my hands up. “You’re just as competitive as I am. Doesn’t it bother you that we’re about to lose so many points?”
“Violet. You and I are so far ahead of everyone else in the rankings that even if we get a big fat zero for this assignment, which won’t happen, it’s still going to be either you or me graduating at the top of the class.”
I push wet hair out of my face and lean back against a tree with a sigh. I suppose Ryn’s right. The two of us have been fighting for the top position since we began training; no one else ever really stood a chance. The thought doesn’t make me feel much better, though. I don’t want to know that it will be one of the two of us. I want to know that it will be me.
“Why do you want it so badly?” Ryn asks, watching me closely.
I shake my head. I’ve never told anyone my reason, and I’m not about to now.
“If I guess correctly, will you tell me?”
I shift my head so I can see him. “You’ll never guess.”
With a grin, he says, “Challenge accepted. Okay, let’s see. It can’t be something as simple as the money. I know your parents left you with enough of that.” He watches me closely; I keep my expression neutral. “Right. So is it because the only thing you’ve ever wanted in life is to see your name written in the Hall of Honor?” He hesitates. If he’s waiting for a hint from me, it’s not happening. “No, I didn’t think so,” he continues. “And it can’t be the visit to the Seelie Court because I doubt you’ve ever wanted to meet the …” He trails off and tilts his head to the side. “No, wait, that’s it. You want to go to the Seelie Court.”
I feel a certain disquiet stirring within me, but I keep my voice even as I say, “And how do you figure that? Did I blink the wrong way?”
“That’s interesting,” he says, ignoring my question. “I always assumed it would have more to do with your mother than any—Aha!” He points at me. “It is! It’s something to do with your mother and the Seelie Court.”
Unless he can hear the unsteady beating of my heart from where he’s sitting, which I know he can’t, he should never have been able to figure that out. My expression remains neutral as I stare at him for several moments, trying to think up another story. But he looks so sure of himself that I know he’ll never believe a lie. “How did you guess?” I ask eventually.
“I’m pretty good at reading people. That’s something you might not know about me, V.”
I press my lips together and look down at the ground. I hope he can’t tell how much it unsettles me that he’s figured out my secret. Who would have thought he was so good at guessing?
“So, are you going to tell me the rest of the details, or just leave me hanging?”
For the first time, I consider why I’ve never told anyone. It’s no one else’s business, of course, but I suppose I’m afraid other people will think it’s silly. And several weeks ago Ryn would have been the very last person on earth I’d have shared this secret with, but I know the other side of him now. I’ve seen his fears, witnessed his heartbreak. Something tells me that if anyone’s going to understand why this is so important to me, Ryn will.
“Fine,” I say. “But if you laugh at me, I swear I’ll make you feel so much pain you’ll never want to laugh again.”
“Okaaay,” he says slowly. “You’re a little scary sometimes, V. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to keep all laughter under wraps.”
“Okay.” I fold my arms. “So it isn’t a lie that I very much enjoy being the best trainee in our year and would like to be rewarded for it, but, as you guessed, there is another reason that makes it even more important to me.” I take a deep breath. “Apparently, back when our parents were training at the Guild, everyone wanted to visit the Seelie Court. That was, like, the coolest thing about being the top graduate. And my mother … well, I guess she was a really fun kind of person, and when she graduated at the top of her class, she wanted to take advantage of her one visit to the Seelie Court. So, according to my father, she took a whole lot of her own things with her and hid them somewhere. She thought it would be cool if someone from a future graduating year found her things. And even if no one ever found them, it would still be cool because she’d left her mark there, kind of like humans carving their initials into trees.” I stop to take a breath.
“How would she have known if anyone ever found her stuff?” Ryn asks.
“Well, my father said she left a recorded mirror message there asking for her favorite book to be returned to the Guild with a message for her. I haven’t heard of that happening, so I assume her belongings are still hidden. Just think of it, Ryn. I could see her in a mirror, talking to me! And I could finally have something of hers! Her first piece of jewelry, a story she wrote at junior school, the candle she burned on her eighteenth birthday—whatever else she left there. If I could just find all those things, then I’d finally know something about her. I mean, at home there are clothes and books, but what does that tell me? Other than the fact that she loved reading poetry, I barely know anything. And I want to know her. I want to know what she was like when she was my age. I want to feel some kind of connection to this person I have no memories of.”
When I finally stop talking, Ryn just looks at me. What is he thinking? Is he thinking anything? For all I know, he got bored and dozed off while I was talking. Or maybe he’s biting his tongue to hold his laughter in.
Suddenly, I regret telling him. “You think it’s silly. I know, it’s just stuff, right? How is that supposed to make me feel—”
He leans forward and catches my hand. “It’s not silly at all, V.”
I wait for him to say something else, but he doesn’t. Neither does he look away. Or let go of my hand. My skin is still rather sensitive from the vine burn, so his grip kind of hurts. It’s also kind of amazing in a skin-tingling, heart-thudding, head-rushing sort of way.
Insane. That’s what I am. Definitely insane.
I gently pull my hand away and reach for Ryn’s jacket. I’m starting to get cold. “Well, anyway, that’s my sad little story. Now it’s your turn.” I cross my arms, being careful not to bump the really painful wound hidden beneath the bandage. “You have to tell me something personal, something previously off-limits.”
Ryn taps his fingers together and looks thoughtful. “Okay, remember when we had one of our major confrontations recently about Reed, and you shouted at me to ‘get over it’?”
“Uh, yes.” I feel guilty about that now; I was rather mean.
“Well, I’m trying.” He looks down at the ground. “It isn’t easy with my mom around. She’s sad a lot of the time, and I know it’s because she misses him. And there are reminders of him all around our home. Like all the things in his bedroom, and the target he set up at the end of the passage.”
“Your mom was so mad when he did that,” I say, remembering it clearly. “She said it was too dangerous to throw knives inside the house.”
“But Reed begged her to let him keep it there. He promised to be careful.”
“And no one could ever say no to Reed.”
“No.” Ryn’s smile is sad. “And then there’s the fact that my father isn’t around. He left us because he and my mother just couldn’t handle Reed’s death. They should have been grieving together, you know, but somehow they always ended up fighting instead. So he left. And now his very absence is a constant reminder that Reed isn’t around anymore either.”
A shiver courses through my body, and I pull the jacket tighter around me. “But your mom doesn’t mind having Calla over?”
Ryn shakes his head. “It’s weird, I know. I thought she’d have a problem with it, and the first time I brought Calla over, my mom did keep her distance. But ever since then she seems to love it.”
“Maybe it’s because Calla’s such an adorable child that your mom is able to look past her parentage.”
“Probably,” Ryn says. He takes a deep breath and looks around. “Uh, shou
ld we check out the weather situation in Creepy Hollow?”
“Yes!” I jump up, horrified that I’ve managed to forget the urgency of our situation. My head spins, and the world around me seems to shift. When it manages to right itself, I find myself leaning against a tree with Ryn holding onto my injury-free arm.
“Standing up so fast clearly isn’t a good idea for you,” he says.
“I’m … just …” I shake my head. “A little dizzy.”
“Is it your arm?” He moves to push the jacket off my shoulder.
“Don’t.” I stop his hand. “We both know it’s probably worse than the last time we checked, so let’s just get back to the Guild as quickly as we can. I’ll be fine once the metal band is removed.”
Ryn looks down at where my hand is touching his. “Your skin is really warm, V.” He places his hand on my forehead. I try to act like it doesn’t bother me to have him standing so close and touching me. Because it doesn’t. Not at all. “You’re definitely burning up.”
“Well, that’s something I’ve never experienced before.”
“You’re sicker than you think you are, V. We really need to get moving.”
“Thanks, that’s really comforting, Ryn.” I push past him. “I’m not the one who wanted to sit down and wait for the weather, remember?” A boom of thunder greets my ears as we cross over the invisible divide between the realms. My hair, which had just begun to dry, is drenched in seconds. “Why did we decide to wait anyway? It’s not like the rain is going to kill us.”
“Yes, but trees that fall over can,” Ryn shouts to me. “That’s why we waited.”
“Well, we can’t wait any longer.” I set off through the storm, then remember that I’ve never actually traveled this route before, and I’m not entirely sure which way to go.
“Would you like me to show you the way?” Ryn asks as he passes me, a superior look on his face. He loves it way too much when he finds something I can’t do. I follow him without a word.
We trudge along the soggy forest floor, dodging the occasional falling branch. Lightning blinds us and thunder sets the entire forest shuddering. The bottom half of my dress clings to my legs. I blink rain out of my eyes and pull the dress higher up and out of the way. I won’t let a stupid piece of fabric slow me down.
It isn’t long before I’m exhausted. My heart is beating too fast, and I can’t seem to stop shivering. And even though it’s probably just the wind, I keep thinking I can hear someone calling my name. My foot hooks beneath a root, and before I can figure out how to save myself from falling, I’ve landed splat in the mud.
So. Freaking. Embarrassing. I am not the kind of person who trips over things. I’m supposed to be coordinated and agile and—who keeps calling my name? I twist around and stare into the shadowy forest. “Who’s there?”
I feel someone’s hand on my arm. I look up to see Ryn. Weird. I’d forgotten he was also out here. He pulls me to my feet and loops my arm around his neck. Great, now he thinks I need help walking.
Violet.
I struggle to look over my shoulder. There’s definitely someone calling for me. And is that the shape of a person I can see moving between the trees? “Wait, Ryn, someone keeps calling my name. Can’t you hear that?”
“Just keep walking, V. There’s no one there.”
I don’t know why, but I listen to him instead of the voice. Probably because his arm is so strong around me that I’d have no hope of struggling free.
We keep moving. Step after step after step. I’ve never been this tired. I’m so tired, in fact, that I’m dreaming while I’m walking. I know I’m awake and moving, but my mind is lost to a jumble of confusing images. I float, letting them carry me along like a river. People, memories, colors, mixed up bits of conversations.
The next time I become conscious of my surroundings, we’re standing in the entrance to the Guild, and Ryn is apologizing to the guard for something. “I’m sorry, it was the only way I could think of to get your attention. No magic, remember?” He thrusts his metal-encircled wrist forward as proof. “If you want to see my pendant, here it is.” He fumbles near his neck and pulls a chain from beneath his shirt. “But like I already told you, Basil, she isn’t wearing hers. And she can’t get it for you because she’d need magic to do that, and she currently doesn’t have any. Now please let us in.”
“I’ve been through this before with you, Ryn,” Basil says patiently. “You know the rules. She can’t come in here without first showing me her pendant. If that’s impossible then I’ll have to send a guard in with—”
“I don’t care if you have to send a hundred guards with me, this girl is dying and I need to get her to her mentor at once!”
Dying? What is he talking about?
Things get a bit jumbled. I think there’s some more shouting, and I’m vaguely aware of being dragged up some stairs. When Ryn pushes a door open and I see a woman with blonde and green hair sitting behind a desk, my head clears a little.
“There you are!” Tora exclaims. “I expected you back ages ago.” Her face falters, and she stands quickly. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
“We did it, Tora.” I say weakly. “We finished the assignment. Fought the Unseelie Queen. Stole the necklace. Got home before the cut-off.” Or did we? I’m not actually sure about that one. I wrap my fingers around my chunky necklace, trying—and failing—to pull it off so I can give it to Tora. Then, just like every silly girl in every damsel-in-distress story I’ve ever despised, I sag against Ryn and pass out.
Part Two
Thirteen
I battle my way through pain and tangled dreams for what feels like days before restful sleep finally takes me. When I eventually open my eyes and find a world that isn’t spinning dizzily, my first thought is that I’ve been here before, in this moment. Waking from a long, injury-healing sleep. Lying on Ryn’s couch with him kneeling beside me. The memory is so strong that when I turn my head to the side, I expect to see him.
It isn’t Ryn sitting in a chair beside my bed, though. It’s Tora. And this is the bedroom that used to be mine when I lived with her.
“Hey,” she says, looking up from a collection of papers in her hand. She places them on the bedside table and leans forward in her chair. “Ready to face the world again?”
I look down and see a narrow scar encircling my wrist where the metal band was. My gaze shifts to the top of my arm; the skin is perfectly healed. “I think so. Did Flint take the band off?”
“Yes. I couldn’t find anyone else who knows how to, although there must be others at the Guild who’ve come across this metal before.”
I sit up and attempt to run my hands through my hair, but the dried mud matting the strands together makes it difficult. At least I’m not longer wearing the torn, skimpy cocktail dress. The clothes I’m dressed in look like Tora’s.
“Sorry, I thought it would be a little difficult to wash your hair while you were unconscious,” Tora says. “You’ll have to take care of that yourself.”
“Sure. How long have I been asleep?”
“About a day.”
“Oh. It felt a lot longer than that.” I swallow as I prepare to ask the question that plagued most of my nightmares before I eventually fell into a dreamless sleep. “Did Ryn and I get back before the assignment cut-off time?”
Tora smiles and says, “Yes.”
I close my eyes and let out a relieved sigh.
“Ryn did the verbal report with Bran and me yesterday after Flint got the bands off both of you,” Tora continues. “Technically, you should have been there too, but you weren’t exactly in a state to be talking. Or standing.”
I groan, feeling heat rise in my cheeks as I remember just how pathetic my arrival at the Guild was. “Sorry about the passing out thing. So embarrassing. It won’t happen again.” I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stretch my arms.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Tora’s eyes are wide with concern.
“Yes, I�
��m more than okay. I feel completely fine. I knew Ryn was overreacting when we got to the Guild yesterday.”
“Overreacting?”
“Yeah, he said something to Basil about me dying.”
“Well, I hesitate to tell you this because I know how you feel about Ryn being right—” she gives me a knowing look, and I pretend to have no idea what she’s talking about “—but he wasn’t overreacting. There was an infection in your wound that was spreading quickly through your blood. If you’d been out there on your own, I don’t think you would have made it back to the Guild in time.”
“Oh.” Great, so I owe Ryn my life again?
“And I was expecting you to be back days ago—I mean, it wasn’t exactly a complicated assignment—so I was very worried when we got to Friday afternoon and you still hadn’t shown up. I know I wasn’t supposed to contact you, but I was getting ready to break that rule. And then to hear that you were battling the Unseelie Queen herself—”
“It really wasn’t such a big deal.”
“—who is enormously powerful. She could have done any number of unspeakable things to you.”
“But she didn’t.”
“And you were hallucinating and feverish, and I kept thinking what if she used some magic on you that meant you’d never heal—”
“But I did.”
“—I’d never forgive myself for simply sitting here waiting for you to come back.”
“But that’s what you were supposed to do.”
Tora shakes her head, sniffs, and dabs beneath her eyes. “You know I’ve never exactly been fond of Ryn, but I will forever be grateful that he got you back here alive.”
“Okay, don’t get all weepy, Tora. I’m fine, see?” I climb off the bed, do a few star jumps, then wrap my arms around her neck.
She laughs into my hair as she folds her arms around me and squeezes tight. “You’ll always be my favorite trainee. Even after I’ve mentored loads of other kick-ass trainees, you’ll still be my favorite.”
The Faerie Guardian & The Faerie Prince Page 34