Once everyone was assembled, Mr. Goodwin and his assistant, Henry, ascended the podium.
“Dear citizens of Arcadia,” the competition host boomed. “We have come today to announce the twelve contestants moving on to the next round. Contestants, please join us.”
As one, all twenty-five of us broke into motion, more akin to a funeral procession than a group of performers.
“If your name is called, please take a step forward.” Mr. Goodman nodded at us encouragingly while the singers looked confused, and a few discreetly wiped their hands on their clothing, probably to get rid of sweat. I, too, was nervous. I hated unclear instructions. Were those who were called progressing or on the chopping block? I guessed Mr. Goodwin was keeping us in the dark on purpose. It made for a much better show when we looked nervous and distraught.
Even though my chances were fifty-fifty, my stomach dropped each time a name was called that wasn’t mine.
I was so focused on my own name, it was impossible to remember the names of my fellow contestants even though I had promised to do just that to help me establish rapport with them later on when I warned them about the fae.
“Erik Jen, please step forward. And finally, Michele Wetherspoon,” Mr. Goodwin announced with a wide smile, uncaring about our distress.
Had he called twelve or thirteen names? I couldn’t remember.
“Front row, you are dismissed.” There was a pregnant pause both from the contestants and the audience before Mr. Goodwin added, “Thank you for your participation, but unfortunately,, you haven’t progressed to the next level.”
The thirteen candidates left the stage, and roaring applause greeted us, the remaining twelve. I glanced to both sides and found, at the end of the left side, the Fontaine sisters. It wasn’t fair. They should’ve been eliminated long ago. Instead, they were taking up a precious spot. I turned my attention back to the audience and forced a smile, which froze into place as I recognized a familiar face in the crowd. The icy blonde held my stare, and I knew this was my chance to talk some sense into her.
As soon as the competition host dismissed us, I rushed toward the lefthand stairs.
“Hey, watch where you are going! You nearly killed me,” Georgette whined as my dress brushed against her wide gown.
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you so aggressive?” Bernadette chimed in.
I only shook my head in response and hurried past them, refusing to add to the drama they were trying to orchestrate. My name would not be associated with theirs in Arcadia’s tabloids.
Acacia moved from her spot in the crowd, not fast enough to lose me but quick enough to lure me away from the others. Clearly, she wanted to talk to me as well, which both excited and terrified me.
When I caught up to her, out of breath, she said calmly, “Halia, you’re becoming too big for your breeches, aren’t you? Just because you’re still in the royal competition doesn’t mean you run Arcadia. It would be wise of you to remember that.”
I bristled. “I’m not the one playing god.”
She clicked her tongue in disapproval. “Don’t get involved in things you don’t understand, child.”
I clenched my fists. “Why don’t you use your power for something good for once instead of filling your pockets?”
Her lips pressed into a thin, hard line. “I don’t take orders from you. I’ve warned you before, but clearly, you don’t respond to the nice way. Mark my words: You will pay for what you’ve done.”
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my face blank. She knew. Darn it, she knew that I had tipped off the patrolwoman. I had to make her doubt herself, redirect the conversation. “Why are you helping the sisters? How much did they pay you?”
She shook her head. “You’d be wise to stay out of this, or I’ll bring my wrath down on not just you, but the rest of your misfits.” Before I could reply, she disappeared inside a house.
I tried to go after her, but the door was locked. Darn fae magic.
“Halia!” I turned around to find Lorenzo had teleported in bright daylight behind me. “What were you thinking, going after Acacia?”
“What are you thinking, teleporting in front of everyone?” I hissed in response.
He grabbed my hand. “Let’s go.” Since I couldn’t open the door anyway, I followed him to Daydream where we sat in tense silence.
Hours passed, and night fell, yet there was still no sign of Abigail.
“Maybe you spooked her talking to Acacia,” Lorenzo said. “Why did you have to go and tip off that patrolwoman?”
“I did what needed to be done to protect the contestants. It was an anonymous tip, and no trail leads back to me. There are tons of other reasons for why Acacia gave me a warning.”
He shook his head. “I can’t trust you if you’re not honest. We need transparency to work together.”
“Is that so? Like how you were transparent by downplaying the astral projection?”
He didn’t reply, and that only fueled my anger.
“I could’ve lost you! Your mind could’ve been lost in hell! Do you have any idea what that would’ve done to me?”
“No,” he replied quietly. “I’m sorry.”
My next retort died on my lips died as the door to Daydream flung open right as the clock above the bar struck midnight.
6
3rd August
Blood rushed through my veins as Abigail stalked toward Lorenzo and me, her heels clicking angrily against the stone floor. We had closed early that day and sent Mikka and Tia upstairs. Once Abigail made sure that it was just the three of us, she threw back the cape of her dusty blue cloak. “What were you thinking, going after Acacia? Are you trying to place a target on my back?”
Lorenzo shot me an “I told you so” look, then said, “All Acacia knows is that someone tipped off the police. She has no reason to monitor the comings and goings of Daydream.”
Abigail sniffed. “She suspects. All fae have well-developed intuition. For your carelessness alone, I shouldn’t have come.”
“And yet, you did because you know it’s worth it.” Lorenzo dropped his voice. “Tell us everything you know about the leader and how the fae plan to support him, and I’ll personally owe you the favor of an astral projection.”
Abigail’s pale blue eyes lit up like that of a child who was standing in front of a mountain of presents, but she shook her head. “I have no use for that, demon.” She glanced at me. “But, I’ll take a favor from the mind singer.”
Relief coursed through me. “Deal,” I agreed.
“Halia can only use her magic for light,” Lorenzo protested.
Abigail licked her lips. “Don’t worry. She won’t harm anyone. Let’s shake on it. I want to make sure that you don’t go back on your promise just because I might not have all the information you seek.”
I pulled Lorenzo aside. “Please, let me do this.”
He nodded slowly. “All right. But we have to be careful about how she words this.” He turned to Abigail. “Swear in return to tell us everything you heard and saw at the council meeting.”
Abigail motioned with a finger between Lorenzo and me. “Why do you care so much about the fae council meeting? First, you wanted to know the time and the place of it, and now, you want to know what was going on in there.”
I cringed as she reminded us of our failure. If only we had gotten more information during the astral projection, we wouldn’t have to strike this bargain.
Abigail tilted her head, watching us expectantly, making it clear she wanted an answer.
I glanced at Lorenzo, and he nodded, indicating that he was all right with me taking the lead on this. “We want Arcadia to go back to normal,” I said. “Awful things have been happening in the city for weeks.”
“Indeed,” Abigail said noncommittally, her gaze swiping across the bar.
“We won’t breathe a word to anyone about who was our informant.” Lorenzo stepped forward. “Let’s shake on our deal.”
Abigail
stared at us for a long time before finally nodding and holding out her hand. “I, Abigail Asher, make this binding agreement with you, Halia Bright.”
As we shook hands, electricity darted through my palm and up my arm.
“I swear to tell the whole truth about everything I know, heard, or saw at the last fae council meeting in the forest,” Abigail continued. “In exchange for this, you, Halia Bright, will owe me a favor of my time and place of choosing. The favor will never expire, and you will never breathe to anyone who your informant was. You will bear the consequence of my wrath and fae magic if you or your friend betray my confidence.”
“I swear,” I said solemnly.
We shook hands, sparks shooting between our palms for several seconds. When the sparks died, Abigail released my hand.
I knew it probably looked weak, yet I couldn’t help but grab Lorenzo’s hand, needing the physical contact. He squeezed my palm, making me immediately feel better. His violet-green eyes were filled with emotion before he blinked them away and nodded at Abigail. “Tell us everything, from the beginning.”
She started by explaining that the fae had been approached by the leader, a man she hadn’t met. Acacia was supposed to see him after the meeting to communicate the fae’s decision but hadn’t revealed when and where. Abigail stated that she was free to not participate in the fae-leader deal as long as she didn’t interfere. None of this was news to us, and yet I was glad that that’s where she had started since it allowed us the opportunity to verify that she was telling the truth and didn’t leave anything out.
Abigail’s eyes slid sideways and narrowed as if she tried to remember. “Next, something strange happened. Acacia brought up the subject of the missing queen out of nowhere.”
I exchanged a glance with Lorenzo’s, grateful that my singing hadn’t been in vain.
Abigail pursued her lips. “It’s so strange that Acacia felt compelled to tell us that she didn’t know where the queen was. She never admits to any weaknesses.”
I chewed on my lip, wondering if Acacia had put two and two together and realized that I had been nearby and influencing her. After all, if anyone knew or guessed about my power without me telling them, it would’ve been Acacia, given all the time she had spent masking the golden rings in my blue eyes, which now were concealed with magic contact lenses Lorenzo had procured.
“Then she added that if anyone knows where Queen Ella is, it would be her fairy godmother. If one finds the fairy godmother, one finds Queen Ella.” Abigail shook her head, looking perplexed by Acacia spitting out this information. Clearly, Abigail had no idea how valuable this knowledge was to us, and I tried my best to keep my face as neutral as possible and not to betray my excitement.
Fairy godmother. Of course. Why hadn’t I thought about that earlier? The only question was, how on earth would we find her?
“Then, the conversation turned back to the leader.” Abigail examined her nails. “Acacia said that to do their part efficiently, they needed to throw a party in honor of all the royal competition contestants.” Abigail’s gaze flew toward me, sharp as a wasp’s stinger. “I suppose by now you’ve figured out what the fae are supposed to do for the leader.”
Was this a test? Should we pretend we didn’t know, or was it better to tell the truth as a sign of our trust?
Lorenzo must’ve decided on the latter because he said. “The fae will siphon off magic from the singers’ blood. They will rob them of their talent.”
Abigail nodded. “It’s really not that bad. It’s not going to hurt them or make them die.”
“It will steal their passion, their meaning!” I couldn’t hold back. How could she be so nonchalant about something as important as this?
Abigail flinched, then pressed her lips together, as if I had offended her.
“If it’s not that bad, then why didn’t you join them?” Lorenzo asked coolly.
Abigail smirked. “Because I don’t think the leader will come through on his promise.” At our raised eyebrows, she added, “I don’t think he’ll betray them, just that his focus will be on his own success, which will lead him to neglect his part of the deal.”
“Spit it out.” Lorenzo’s jaw tensed.
“The leader wants to rule Arcadia.”
I swallowed hard. I had suspected it for a long time, but hearing it confirmed still made me shudder.
“In return for our help, he promised to recreate our home.”
I looked at Lorenzo for an explanation.
“Many of the fae who are here have been banished from their courts, exiled for transgressions,” he said.
I still didn’t understand. “If this leader can recreate the faeland, he must have a lot of his own magic. Why does he need the fae?”
Lorenzo shrugged. “It seems that he doesn’t know how to siphon off magic. My guess is he can weave it into something, making a vision become a reality. He’s…a weaver.”
I rubbed at the goosebumps on my arms as an image of a huge spider trapping insects in its web swum in front of my vision. I turned to Abigail. “Do you agree?”
She nodded. “That would be the logical conclusion, but like I said, I doubt he’ll come through. I’m sure he’ll make a half-hearted attempt, but he sounds like he only cares about himself. I’m not interested in bargaining with him.”
Her gaze devoured Lorenzo, and I had the feeling that she was very willing to bargain and play with him. I had to fight hard not to lunge at her.
Abigail smoothed her cloak. “Either way, the fae decided that they’ll ambush the contestants tonight.”
And just like that, my possessiveness instantly turned into an icy panic. “Where? When?”
Abigail glanced leisurely at the clock. “I believe the party has started a while back at Dover’s Tavern and will continue until two or three in the morning.”
Just the mention of the run-down pub made me smell the reek of warm beer, grease, and sweat. Dover’s Tavern was a seedy establishment Victor had taken me to on more than one occasion. It was the perfect place to meet for illegal activities since most patrons were wasted out of their minds and so self-focused, they wouldn’t notice anything, no matter how strange it was, let alone report it to the police.
“Is there anything else you have to tell us?” I asked, eager to get to Dover’s. Every second we waited allowed the fae to zoom in on their prey. My fellow competition contestants hadn’t exactly shown me a warm welcome, but that didn’t mean that they deserved to have their passion ripped from them.
Abigail looked me straight in the eye. “No, this is all I have to tell you.”
“But?” Lorenzo crossed his arms, and I, too, felt that Abigail was holding back.
“But I think it’s a trap.”
I licked my lips, remembering the warning Acacia had given me earlier. “If Acacia wanted to get me out of the way, certainly she wouldn’t do it in a public place.” The fae didn’t like to create a mess, which would be unavoidable at a bar.
Abigail clucked her tongue disapprovingly. “There are other ways to get you without killing you.”
I straightened. “I’m not going to let those people down just because Acacia might retaliate.”
“Very well.” Abigail handed Lorenzo a piece of paper and an intricate quill that seemed to be worth a month’s salary. “Write to me when you want to know the location of the godmother. I’ll call on her for you in exchange for a favor.”
Another favor. And somehow, I had a feeling that Abigail had cooperated with us because of it. Whatever it was that she wanted, she really needed it.
Lorenzo didn’t ask any questions, simply stashed away the writing utensils in his pants pocket.
Not bothering to say goodbye, Abigail stalked out of the bar. As soon as the door fell shut behind her, I asked, “Can she really find Ella’s godmother?”
Lorenzo gave a grim nod. “Yes, it’s a fae ability to call on godmothers.”
And Abigail had anticipated that we would want her to. “Do
you know what she’ll ask for in return?”
He gave a curt shake of his head.
Something wasn’t adding up. “If she wants it so badly, why not make the bargain now?”
“Because it’s probably something we won’t give her unless we’re in a dire position, which she thinks we’ll be in soon.” After a pause, Lorenzo said, “Speaking of which, Abigail is right. Dover’s is most likely a trap. You should remain here.” He took my hand. “I’m asking you as a friend and somebody who cares a lot about you to stay back. Let me handle this by myself.”
“No! You need backup.”
“I’ll take Mikka with me if it makes you feel better.”
“I can’t let you do that while I sit at home like a damsel in distress. This is my mission! I get that this is dangerous, but it’s also a test I need to pass. If I don’t do this now, I won’t stand a chance at successfully facing whatever awaits us from the leader. Something tells me that he’ll strike even if the fae fail.”
Lorenzo sighed. “If I lock you up, you’ll climb through the window, won’t you?”
I grinned. “Yes. You better let me come with you so that you know where I am.”
He stepped closer and cupped my face in his hands. “Promise me that you’ll stay by my side. Promise that you’ll be careful and won’t do anything rash.”
Halia: Daughter of Cinderella Page 24