by Tom Early
For a moment, the Arena was silent. The entire fight hadn’t been more than thirty seconds. The Verdant students looked completely caught off guard, and from what I could see of Nick’s face where he was sitting in the front row, they weren’t the only ones. Then someone started clapping, and the noise quickly spread throughout the crowd until it seemed like everyone was cheering, even Verdant, however reluctantly. Sam helped Merody to her feet, and they shook hands. Then Sam said something quietly to Merody that had the other girl looking slightly less murderous and maybe even a little friendly before they separated and left the field.
The bundled-up person next to me stood up with the rest of the crowd, brushing my side slightly as they made their way out of the Arena, along with a few of the other nonstudents, while the rest of them headed down to meet Sam by the base. Tyler and I went to be the recipients of sweaty hugs from Sam, who was grinning like a loon.
“What did you think?” she asked me.
“I think I’m glad I don’t have to spar with you anymore. That was amazing.”
“I got it from our fight during the Trials,” Sam said. “The way you kept the forest down made me wonder if I could do the same.” She glanced over to the other side, where Merody was being comforted by the other Verdant students and entertaining her own smaller crowd of suitors. “I made sure she knew that was the only reason it ended so fast, and offered to spar with her until she found a way to beat it.”
“Wow,” Tyler said, looking at Sam. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as the kind of person to do that.”
“While I suspect that’s mostly because you’re too busy mashing faces with Fay to notice anything else, you’re not wrong.” She glanced at Aiden and Nick, then at me. “I’ve been harassed into learning that sometimes it’s better not to choose punching people into submission as my primary strategy all the time. Besides, I can never say no to more fighting.”
“Sam, we’re literally in a crowd of people waiting to offer you a job,” I hissed, my face red. “Was that really necessary?”
Sam looked at me and nodded. “Yep. Embarrassing my best friend is always top priority. But now that you mention it,” she said, finally looking out at the number of impressively dressed adults waiting patiently a few paces back, “I’ll see you back in the common room.”
I pulled her into another hug. “Congratulations, Sam,” I said. “I knew you could do it.”
“Thanks, Polar Bear,” Sam said, smiling. “You helped with that. A lot.”
“It was all you,” I said firmly. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
Tyler and I headed back to my room as the adults pressed forward. When I was about halfway across the green, I stuck my hands in my pockets, only to frown as I found that there was something already there. I pulled it out to reveal a folded-up piece of paper. I unfolded it and saw a careful scrawl in handwriting I didn’t recognize.
Thank you for being a good friend to my daughter. I’m glad she has people like you in her life. I know you’ve been helping her search for me. Please, tell her to stop looking. I want Samantha to be safe, and the less she knows about me, the better.
And please, tell her I am so very sorry for leaving her.
There was a strange symbol beneath it, like a sun rising up behind a closed fist. I stopped walking, and Tyler looked at me.
“Is something wrong?”
I passed him the paper, and Tyler scanned it, his face going pale.
“This is from Sam’s mom?” he asked, handing the slip back to me. I nodded, folding it back up, pushing it out of sight quickly, and picking up the pace. “When did she give this to you?”
“It must have been during the match,” I said, thinking of the figure next to me. “That was a hell of a risk for her to take.” Not that I didn’t know why she took it. From what Sam had told me about her mom, back before everything became so much more complicated, Leanora had never missed any of Sam’s matches. So at the potential cost of her freedom, she’d come to see this one too, and to give me this message. “We have to give this to her,” I said. “As soon as she’s done talking with those people.”
“Do you think this will actually make Sam stop looking for her?” Tyler asked as we went into Obsidian and up the stairs.
I shook my head, pushing open the door to my room. “Not a chance in hell. And I’m pretty sure her mom knows that. But I’m also positive that she felt she had to try anyway.”
“And how do you feel about all this?” Tyler asked, leaning into me once we were alone.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “This…. Leanora loves Sam, I’m sure of that. But I never met her. The only things I know about her are from Sam, and the case files that paint her as the worst kind of criminal. No matter what the ercinee said, I’m inclined to agree with Leanora—it’d be better if Sam stopped looking.”
“But…,” Tyler said, wrapping his arms around me.
“But that’s not my decision to make,” I said, laying the paper down next to me. “If Sam wants to go after her mom despite the risk, the only thing I’m doing is giving her all the support I can. I won’t act in what I think is her best interest, not without telling her.” I’d learned my lesson about that already.
“And that’s why I love you,” Tyler said matter-of-factly, only turning a little red when I glanced at him. “You want to protect people, but you don’t smother them or make their decisions for them to do so. You’re a good person, Fay.”
“Yeah, well,” I said, snuggling in closer. “I’ve got nothing on you.” Tyler looked like he was going to protest, so I covered his mouth with a kiss instead.
When Sam got back from her little tour of fame an hour later, I met her in the hall and brought her straight to my room.
Sam glanced at mine and Tyler’s serious looks. “Well, something clearly happened. What’s going on?”
I handed her the letter wordlessly. She took it from me and read it over, and I watched the color drain from her face. She let out a strange little gasp at the end, and her eyes looked suspiciously damp. She looked over at me. “When did you get this?”
“I found it in my pocket after the match. She was sitting next to me in disguise, and I didn’t even notice.”
Tyler gave Sam a sad little smile. “I think she wanted to see you compete.” I remembered the disinterest his parents had shown him at the end of last year, and now my heart ached for both of them.
“She could’ve been caught,” Sam murmured, half sitting, half falling onto my bed. “That was an insanely stupid risk for her to take.”
“I think she had to take it,” I said, sitting next to her. “After all, this was your big moment.”
Sam stared at the letter silently for another minute, eyes skipping across the words over and over, until finally she let her hand drop. “I’m not stopping. Not even if Mom wants me to. I know the risks, but I’m not doing this for her. I’m doing this for me. The fact that she gave you this means we’re getting close, close enough for her to worry. And if that means danger, then I can’t ask you to keep helping me.”
“Sam,” I said, grinning, “I’m already possessed by an evil Season spirit thing, Didas wants to use me as a pawn, weird shadow creatures are apparently stalking me everywhere, and I don’t even know what the other three Seasons are planning. I promise, I can add another risk to all of that, and it won’t make much difference.” I shrugged. “Besides, someone has to help you hide the bodies at the end of it.”
“And I’m in too,” Tyler said. “Your mom hid on Earth before. Maybe she did it again. If any of your leads end up pointing to Earth, send me after them.”
Sam gave both of us a brilliant smile. “Thanks, you guys. Now I just have to figure out what I did right with all of this. I’m close—I can feel it.”
“And we’ll be with you every step of the way. But, uh, can you actually just shower now? You smell.”
Sam rolled her eyes and got off my bed. “Everyone’s a critic.” She sniffed her armpit and wrinkled her no
se. “Okay, yeah, point.” She left the room.
“Anyway, I have to get back,” Tyler said. “Psych is kicking my ass, even with Anna’s help studying. I’d prefer to pass the intro course so my parents don’t kill me.”
“Good plan.” I nodded. “Education is important, and all that.” I kissed him and stood up. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you study.” I suddenly realized what that phrasing made it sound like. “Um.” Eh, I made my peace with being corny ages ago.
Tyler’s eyes glazed over, and he turned pink to the tips of his ears. “I have a few ideas.”
I ignored the heat of my own face and leaned in for a final kiss. “I think I can help with them. Good luck studying, Tyler,” I said, grinning as he had to visibly shake himself out of it.
“I hate you,” he muttered, then opened the door and stopped just before he passed through. “But I love you too.” And then he shut the door, effectively getting the last word. I fell back onto my bed and settled for smiling into my pillow.
Chapter Twenty-three
I WAS woken up by the sound of wood splintering and something impacting the side of my face, hard. I rolled out of bed, a Ward springing into place around me immediately, the spell second nature for me at this point. Then I blinked as my eyes were finally able to focus in on the moon-white eyes bare inches from my own, and the impossibly beautiful face and strangely mossy garb.
“Child of Winter,” the leanan sídhe said, reaching through my Ward with no noticeable effort at all to help me to my feet. “We must go immediately. It is not safe for either of us to remain here any longer.”
It was definitely her—the sídhe from our time at Samhain last year. Her words at the end echoed through my head once again. “When you need us most, we will come for you.” I got to my feet and shook myself fully awake. “What’s going on?” I asked, already following her out the door and into the hallway. The other doors were all intact and appeared to be covered in vines. “Wait—we need to get Sam.”
The sídhe shook her head, the silvery strands of her hair moving in eerily perfect arcs. “They do not come for her. Only for you. Now hurry,” she said and broke into a catlike sprint, moving at speed for the stairs. I hurried to keep up with her.
Aiden was just starting up the stairs as the sídhe practically flew down. His eyes widened as he caught sight of me. “Feayr, what—” The sídhe made a gesture at him, his eyes fluttered shut, and he slumped against the wall. I whispered an apology as we dashed past and out onto the green, making an immediate turn and heading straight for the Garden.
“Can you tell me what’s going on now?” I panted as the Garden drew closer. The sídhe wasn’t even breaking a sweat.
“The Green moves to keep you alive,” the sídhe said, her voice now a light hiss. “The others agreed, though it took them some time. Now the ruler of this place moves to control you. Tonight, while you are unsuspecting. Do not look back.”
There was a flash of brilliant light behind us, searing rays blasting out of the windows of Obsidian. I yelped as one of the rays connected with my back and made my skin feel like it was on fire. The sídhe whimpered and grabbed my hand, speeding up even further. We reached the tree line at last, and I was dragged into the desperate leap she made directly at one of the trees. I shut my eyes as everything grew agonizingly bright and hot, and then I was rolling through the leaves until my momentum had stopped. I opened my eyes and tried not to scream as my entire body informed me that it now definitely knew what lobsters felt like at dinnertime. Thankfully, the air around me now was blissfully cool, and birds were singing somewhere high above us.
The sídhe actually flipped herself off the ground and onto her feet, just in time to sink into a beautifully elegant bow as someone else approached us. I stumbled to my feet as well and turned around to see Professor Amara approaching me, clad only in intricately woven vines and flowers that painted her skin with all the colors of a garden in bloom. She smiled at me, her eyes filled with a shimmering green light that was like nothing I had ever seen. The ground beneath her feet absolutely trembled with power, and I could see small plants already forcing their way out of the cold soil just from her presence.
“Feayr,” Professor Amara said, and there was no mistaking the birdsong in her voice now. “It’s so good to see you again.” Her ruby-red lips parted in a smile, and I felt dizzy just looking at it.
I tried not to take a step back. “I know who you are,” I said warily. “You’re Spring.”
Her smile widened, and the air hummed with energy, with life, raw and unadulterated. I felt drunk just being near her. “I am,” she said, “and I am sorry for the deception. I am here to make sure that it is no longer necessary.”
“And I am too, of course” came a quiet, strangely familiar voice from directly behind me. I tried not to yelp and spun around in time to see Septimus slouching against a tree, his eyes flickering red like they always did. Except… I looked at him a little more closely and watched as the red shimmered orange for a moment, then golden yellow, then brown, and then that strange red again. He gave me a knowing smile. “Figured it out, then, have you?”
I took a step back, where the leanan used to be. She’d already vanished again. “Septimus? You’re Fall?”
Septimus grinned and shook his head. “Nope. Just Fall. Septimus was in constant pain, and out of his depth outside the Colonies. I offered to help him adapt and recover, but it takes a lot out of him to be conscious right now.”
“Have you been Septimus all this time?” I asked warily. How long had Fall been watching me?
“You saw the real Septimus at the Trials,” Fall said. “He was ready to give up after that, and I was, well, looking for the right body. Don’t worry,” he said, holding out his hands. “I asked. I’m not Winter. I don’t take. I’ve enjoyed my time getting used to this new world, making friends, meeting you. I think Septimus would like you too.”
“And what about you?” I asked, spinning toward Spring. “Did Professor Amara ask to be possessed like this?”
Spring gave me a little smile, closed her eyes, and let out a slow, steady breath. When she opened her eyes again, they were a warm amber, and the steady thrum of power was gone. “It is the greatest honor to be of help to my goddess,” Professor Amara said, her voice now throaty again and free of birdsong. “It was both of us who gave your Form test, Fay, and Spring has my full permission to reside within me. It’s a partnership, not possession.”
“Okay…,” I said, still edging away from both of them. “But why do you even need bodies in the first place? From the impression Winter’s memories gave me, they were the only one that was completely destroyed the last time you were all together.”
Professor Amara tensed, and then Spring was back and stepping in front of me, Fall standing next to her. “Because” came a low growl from past them, along with a sudden flare of golden light, “we were too weak to face Winter and the new threats to our mother without bodies of our own.” I knew that voice.
Lailah pushed her way past Spring and Fall, neither of them putting up any resistance as she planted herself in front of me, her pose regal and full of power. Her braids were full of gleaming orbs of white-hot energy, the adornment resplendent with the radiance of stars now, and her earth-brown eyes were filled with sunlight. I could feel the power flowing out of her, and it was nothing like the hum of Spring’s energy or the barely there presence of Fall. Summer’s power was raw and burning, and it reminded me of the feeling Winter gave me more than anything else.
“When I first returned to this world, I was prepared to kill you again no matter the cost,” Summer said, stalking up to me. I did my best not to just turn away and flee. “I tried to,” she added. “Before my siblings could agree to this foolish risk. Kill the boy while Winter is trapped inside, and we never have to worry about our eldest again.” Summer’s eyes narrowed. “Spring was convinced that you are different. So I came to search you out as well, partnering with Lailah to
meet you on terms more even, more understandable to me. And I agree. You are different. You’re harmless. And if that man were allowed to complete your ritual, Winter would devour you in a heartbeat. The only reason Winter hasn’t done so already was because of our influence.”
“We always knew the ritual was doomed to failure without our help,” Spring explained, taking a position next to Summer. I had a hard time looking at either of them directly, the air filled with so much energy that a haze was forming. “But this is not our home anymore, and we needed time to find a way around Didas’s plans without alerting him to our presence.”
“And it was going so well, right until we suddenly didn’t have any time left at all,” Fall said from somewhere behind and above me. I turned around to see him pull an apple out of thin air and bite into it with relish from where he sat upon a branch ten feet up. “Hence the need for a diversion.”
Summer smiled and raised one hand. Above it, a little curl of golden flame slowly rotated, a smaller cousin to the sun hanging in the sky. “He thinks you dead, for now. That is the chance we have to work with. That you have to work with. Though I am not yet convinced that we should not simply kill you and be done with the danger entirely.”
I looked at Summer, at Lailah’s face and the different person behind her eyes. I took in a shaking breath. “Lailah, are you in there? Are you okay?”
Summer twisted Lailah’s face in surprise. “I require convincing to spare your life, and that is your response?”
“I know what it’s like to be forced to hurt others against your will,” I said, trying to sound brave, or strong, anything that wasn’t as utterly terrified as I actually was. “If you’re the sort of person to do that to my friend, then I don’t care what deal you’re offering. I won’t have anything to do with you.”
Summer was ominously silent, and after a few seconds I heard what sounded suspiciously like a not-so-muffled snicker behind me. “He’s got you there, sister,” Fall said, chuckling openly now. “What more proof do you need?”