by Sadie Moss
She’s become the person I trust most in this world besides my three guys, and that’s something I never thought I’d say.
“Of course, silly.” Bianca nudges me playfully, chuckling.
But she doesn’t pull away from the hug.
Chapter 17
The weekend arrives, and I cram as much damn homework in as I possibly can on Friday night and Saturday morning, the guys and Bianca doing the same. Then we’re rushing through packing and planning, marking out the schedule for the trip and planning it around sneaking away, when and how, finding maps, drawing out cash from our bank accounts—trying not to draw out too much—so that nobody can trace where we paid for things, where we were.
I feel like I’m in a spy novel or something, planning for this. But we’re trying to be so very careful. If what Hawksmith said is true, the cult has been watching us the entire time, keeping an eye on us, and that means they’ve been ahead of our every move.
They even had a spy in our midst, a spy who tried to kill us and took advantage of Bianca, and that fucking hurts.
She doesn’t talk too much about Gunner. I’ve tried not to push, but that shit has to hurt. Someone you were intimate with, someone you cared about, lying to you and betraying you like that? Trying to kill you?
I honestly don’t know how I’d handle it if one of my guys betrayed me like that. Just the very idea feels like a stab to the gut.
Bianca is tough as fucking nails though. She’s taught me a lot about judging someone based on their outward appearance or their addiction to online shopping. She’s got layers and layers beneath all that.
I’m glad she’s on our side, but I’m a little worried about her plan to stay behind at the camp with the other students while we sneak away.
“What if the cult realizes we’re off doing something, and they come after you?” I ask.
“Then I’ll protect myself,” Bianca replies lightly, zipping up her overnight bag for the trip. She packed way more clothes than I did, because she never misses a chance to be fashionable. Theo packed quite a fair amount of clothes too. Kasian, Cross, and I are just bringing small bags. The trip will only last a couple days, and as far as I’m concerned, there’s no point in looking particularly cute when we’re out studying wild animals in the field… or creeping away to speak to a prophecy interpreter.
I’ve seen Bianca’s self-defense in action, and it’s pretty damn intense. But in our fight against Gunner, she had backup. If it’s just her against a group, that changes things. And the cultists sure do seem to know what they’re doing in the magic department.
“Just be careful,” I tell her. “Roxie will kill me if I let something happen to her best friend. And, you know, I like having you around too.”
Bianca grins at me, winking.
The painful irony isn’t lost on me—I finally find a life that I really care about, a life that gives me passion, and it’s not even really mine. I have to go away and leave it. I suppose I can hope that when I go back to my own world, I’ll try to live out the lessons I’ve learned in this one. I’ll reach out to people, I’ll find ways to be vulnerable and rely on them. I’ll form deeper friendships. And I’ll find something to study that I’m passionate about.
But I’m not so sure it’ll ever feel the same.
On Monday morning, at an ungodly hour, we meet Professor Harris and the TAs assigned to come with us so that we can be transported to our destination.
I learned about the existence of transportation circles shortly after arriving here, when one of my professors mentioned them in a lecture. But this is my first time actually traveling this way, and I’m admittedly queasy about stepping into one. Sure, it saves us all a day of travel since we won’t have to fly down in an airplane to Florida, but just how safe is this kind of thing? What if we get spliced together or arrive inside out?
This, I have been assured by Kasian, is how most people travel when they want to cover a medium distance. “You can’t usually use it for, say, crossing the ocean,” he explained, “but for getting to the Aeriglades from Valencia? Or from Muriana to Geldriel? Works great.”
I can’t quite remember where the last two cities he mentioned are, but I get his point.
There’s a security checkpoint that we all have to go through just like when I go to the airport back home, and then we all step into the circle.
“Oh, I forgot to mention something,” Kasian says, sounding guilty. “It—”
We’re transported in a rush and I stumble, nearly dry heaving.
“—feels just like when we enter the fae realm,” he finishes as we materialize hundreds of miles away from our starting point.
Nnngh. I really, really hate this sort of thing.
“I’m good,” I manage, bending over and breathing deeply, bracing my hands on my knees. “Just need a second.”
A few other students seem to have a similar reaction to mine as they appear beside us, which makes me feel a little better. At least it’s not just because I’m some weakling from the Dull World.
Everyone piles out of the transportation circle, and once I get my bearings, I let the guys help me out and into a bus. The bus carries us from the main circle out further into the Aeriglades, where we then have to get out and walk for a bit to reach our campsite.
Bianca looks far from pleased about this whole affair, gazing around distastefully at the moss-covered trees and creeping vines.
“Hey, you asked for this,” I murmur, teasing her. “You literally chose to sign up.”
“Trust me, I’m regretting every choice I’ve ever made that’s led me to this point,” she replies, her nose wrinkling up as she tries to find the driest patches of ground to step on.
Our campsite is located on one of the small, dry areas of land that rise up from the marsh like temporary but fickle havens. All around us is water that’s dark and choked with all kinds of plants, making it difficult to tell what might be lurking beneath the surface, or even how deep the water itself is.
I think it’s kind of terrifying. Cross thinks it’s delightful. All the people around us, our classmates, think it’s fascinating, because of course they’re all actually here to study the magic and science stuff—not because they plan on slipping away at the first opportunity to go on a mission to save the world.
“All right!” Professor Harris claps his hands. His ruddy, deeply wrinkled face is already gleaming with a sheen of sweat as he and the TAs begin distributing gear. “Time to set up. We’ll start gathering samples bright and early tomorrow morning.”
I gotta admit, the tents we’re staying in are kind of cool. They’re like those big domed tents you can get for camping, except they have this reflector-type spell going on that reflects light or something, I’m not sure how it works, but it makes the tents invisible so that the local wildlife won’t be disturbed by our presence. They’re also enchanted so that they float above the water if they get knocked in, and they’re insulated for warmth and waterproof—so, no leaks.
The guys and I snag our own tent. I’m waiting for someone to protest or point out what’s going on, to make a comment, but nobody seems to care so long as everyone’s happy with the sleeping arrangements. I can see other people doing rock paper scissors, casting little battle spells, or bargaining in order to get the tent and sleeping arrangement they want. Friends and lovers pairing up, that kind of thing.
Bianca, of course, has brought her own single tent, which is nearly as large as the shared one, because Bianca is used to living in style and will accept nothing less than comfort and as much room to herself as she pleases.
“You really thought I’d be shacking up with any of these people?” she asks when she sees me eyeing her temporary dwelling. “While I’m trying to protect your asses? No way. They might find something out.”
“I was about to give you shit for being snobby, but you’ve got a point,” Cross admits reluctantly.
She arches a perfectly penciled brow. “I always have a point, you just ch
oose to ignore it.”
“Please don’t drown each other in the marshes.” Kasian shakes his head wearily, but he’s smiling.
All-in-all, it’s a nice set up, as far as roughing it goes. The guys and I manage to get our tent set up properly, but that’s thanks, I think, to Kasian actually reading the instruction manual that comes with the tent and Theo distracting Cross so that I can follow Kasian’s instructions and get it set up the right way the first time.
When I crawl inside, I can see that it’s going to be a bit of a tight fit, but nothing we can’t handle. It’s bigger than our dorm beds, actually, which will be really nice. We can stretch out a little. Maybe have a bit of fun, if we can find a way to cast a noise-cancelling spell so nobody will overhear us. I might have three boyfriends and an active sex life, but I’m not an exhibitionist for anyone except them, thanks. I don’t need everyone around us to know exactly when and how we’re fucking even if I know they’re all assuming we’re going to be doing some of that on this trip.
“How’s it look?” Kasian asks, peering inside.
“I feel kind of like I’m on a water bed,” I admit, moving around and bouncing slightly. “But it’s comfy. I think we’ll all fit.”
“Oh, good.” He grins, his white teeth brilliant against his dark skin. “I’d hate to make Cross share with Bianca.”
At that I hear a muffled, indignant exclamation from Cross, and then something teasing from Theo. We both chuckle, then I cast my gaze around the tent. “Is there anything else we need to do?”
Kasian purses his lips, thinking for a moment before he shakes his head. “No, I think we’re good. We don’t have to start working on our projects until tomorrow.”
Ah, yes, our projects. The guys and I have done as much advance work as we can, and we’ve passed it all onto Bianca, who’s then going to try to cover for us with Professor Harris while doing the work of, well, five people instead of one.
We prepared some illusion spells so that it’ll hopefully look, if you squint from far-off, like the guys and I are just a little ways away from the others doing work. When we get back to camp after visiting the interpreter, we’ll do extra work to make up for however much we fell behind.
That’s the plan, anyway.
Here’s hoping it all actually works. Bianca’s got about five different kinds of illusion spells planned, and I trust her to be able to think fast in the moment—she did at the club, after all. But you really don’t know, especially with a professor who’s determined to get the most out of his students. If we’re caught missing, our asses will be grass.
“Tonight, though, we can just hang out,” Kasian goes on. He gives me a smile. “I think there’s going to be some introductory talks about our work and maybe a little hike, and then just… everyone hanging out and spending time together? The professors want us to get along, after all.”
“They do?” I crawl back out of the tent. “Here I thought they were just setting us up for a competition, Hunger Games style.”
“I have no idea what that is,” Kasian replies.
I shrug. “It’s a book series. A bunch of kids are put in an arena and forced to try to kill each other until only one person is left standing.”
The broad-shouldered warlock squints at me. “You know, sometimes I worry about the psychological state of the people in your world.”
“Har har. Very funny.”
I look around and see that everyone is in fact finishing setting up and congregating in the middle. We’ve all set our tents up in a circle, and not just for camaraderie purposes—even though Professor Harris has assured us that he doesn’t expect anything dangerous to come our way, he wants to play it safe and having the tents in a circle as a sort of… protective ring in case something goes wrong and a fifty-foot alligator tries to chomp on us.
God, I hope that doesn’t happen. It would be so… anticlimactic.
An evil cult spends months trying to kill and/or capture me and my parallel world twin, only for me to get chomped in half and eaten by a random monster alligator.
I’m not sure I could stand the indignity.
“All right everybody!” One of the TAs gestures the stragglers closer. “If you’re all set up, let’s gather around to start making dinner, and we’ll go over what you can expect out of the next couple days.”
Cross and Theo appear from wherever they’ve been, both looking a bit mussed, and Kasian immediately begins demanding to know if they were trying to catch some glow-in-the-dark frogs or something while Cross and Theo point out that they’re stupid but they’re not that stupid, they’re not just going to go and try to catch possibly poisonous frogs in the middle of a swamp full of magical creatures.
Grinning at their banter, I follow while the three lead the way into the circle. Bianca appears by my side, somehow looking perfectly done up with her hair and makeup un-mussed despite the humidity, and it all feels… safe. Comfortable. Familiar.
I get seated in our little group, and everyone around us looks attentively up at our professor and TAs. There’s no reason for me to talk or do anything during this, and I’m not nervous—it’s only once the socializing and proper dinner begins that I worry a little.
What if I slip up?
I’ve been living as Roxie for months now, and I’ve gone out socially once or twice during that time, but not often. I do pretty well blending in at school, but anything outside of my normal routine makes me anxious all over again. It’s a fear that never really leaves my mind.
The guys and Bianca must be thinking along the same lines, because they’re there for me the whole night, never leaving me alone as I interact with everyone. This isn’t a huge group, and everyone’s curious why Cross, Theo, Bianca, and I signed up when none of us have shown any previous interest in magical creatures. Kasian’s a TA, so I guess they’re all assuming he was roped into helping babysit people as a part of his job.
Seeing how he babysits Cross, Theo, and me on a daily basis, they’re not too far off.
As the night wears on, people chat with me and ask questions, and there’s always someone I trust ready to jump in, but it’s actually not as hard as I’d thought it would be. Honestly. I felt all paranoid at first, but maybe I’ve been masquerading as Roxie for so long that it feels… it feels easy.
I’ve tried my best to act like Roxie all this time, but of course I’m not perfect at it, just like she’s not perfect at being me. But this feels relaxed and comfortable, and I don’t think it’s just because I’m good at pretending. I crack jokes that I think are funny, jokes that get laughs, and I don’t say the things that I think Roxie would say—things that are cutting and sarcastic. That’s Roxie’s style, but it’s not mine. I’m softer and quieter than she is. I don’t dominate conversations. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing for her, or that I’m better than she is. But we’re different people with different styles.
And yet, people are accepting it. Accepting me. I feel like this weird Gabbi-Roxie hybrid. Not totally being myself—I’m not called by my own name, for one thing—but still, more myself than I was when I first started out here. And people still like me. They still want to talk to me. I feel almost… welcomed.
Crazy, I know.
And it’s more fun than I thought it would be. I had thought I’d be sticking it out in misery until we slipped away to go and find this interpreter, but I like the people we’re with. I didn’t really know them well outside of class before this, but they seem like good, fun people.
A few times I catch the guys, and even Bianca once or twice, looking at me with this amused, fond expression on their faces. It’s like they’re a bit puzzled by how outgoing I’m being, but they don’t want to say anything in case that jinxes it.
At the end of the night, the men and I pile into our tent, curling up together. “That was a fun night,” I admit softly.
Their warmth and comfort is all around me, and I get answering murmurs of agreement.
Even if I don’t get anything els
e—even if I do have to say goodbye soon—at least I have this.
Chapter 18
The next morning, Professor Harris and his TAs lead us into the Aeriglades with a crap-ton of equipment in hand to study the creatures who flourish here.
Honestly, while magical creatures aren’t my forte, this is still pretty freaking interesting. Some things never change, and one of those things is the fact that no matter which version of the world we’re in, people are fucking up the planet, and the Aeriglades are in danger of disappearing thanks to human development—same as the Everglades in my world.
Yippee.
As we split up into groups to venture deeper into the marshes, it strikes me that it would actually be kind of nice to be a part of this expedition legitimately. Okay, so camping out in the middle of a swamp isn’t really my thing. Roxie and I do share that in common. Neither of us are huge outdoor people. But it would be fun as hell to study magical creatures for a couple of days.
Maybe if we get back from the interpreter in time, we can do some of this actual school project that everyone else is here for.
As people begin to branch off, the guys and I fall behind. We let the others move on ahead, including Bianca, who acts perfectly normal. We don’t say goodbye, and she doesn’t tell us good luck. We can’t, since that might draw attention. But I know it’s felt.
Kasian sets a timer on his watch. Our cell phone service out here is shit at best and nonexistent at worst, and none of us want to be the idiot who accidentally drops their hundreds-of-dollars phone into the swampy water, magic or no magic, so we left those behind. Which means we’re now reduced to such primitive things as using our watches to set alarms.
“Okay,” Kasian says once everything’s set. “We should be able to go find the interpreter and get back to the group in time for dinner meet-up. And hopefully come up with some fake data along the way.”
Yeah, we can’t exactly tell Professor Harris that we came up with jack shit while we were out all day.