Chapter 29

29

Watching Melia graduate broke my heart into pieces.

Something inside of me snapped as she walked across the stage erected off the rear patio of the castle. Chairs had been set up on the green lawn and parents, teachers, and students gathered to watch the procession. There were only ten. Ten members of the fourth-year graduating class made it into Faerie.

Ten students down from hundreds.

That’s what awaited the further I got into this game.

But before she walked, I was there to help Melia get ready in her room, watching her don her Fae Academy for Halflings blazer for the last time. Tears pricked my eyes and I wiped them away before she saw.

“What am I going to do without you?” I asked, hating how forlorn I sounded.

She paused in brushing her rich golden-brown curls. When she turned to me, her lip trembled. “I don’t want to think about it,” she said immediately. “Just know I’m going to be waiting for you with open arms. It’s a promise.”

“And if I don’t make it into Faerie?”

Her expression turned to steel. “You will. There’s no one like you in this whole school. It’s been an honor to be your mentor, and a privilege to call you friend.”

“You’re going to make me blush.” No, she was going to make me cry again, if my trembling chin gave me any indication of what was to come.

“Don’t you start,” Melia warned. She held up a finger like it had the power to stop me. “Don’t you dare start crying. I actually wore makeup today and if I start with the waterworks, girl…it’s not going to be pretty. I want to look my best for the ceremony.”

I’d gone the extra mile with makeup too, not something I had bothered with since coming to the academy.

“It’s too late,” I blubbered. “I’m starting already. There’s no stopping it. I can’t control myself and I’m going to turn into a weepy mess.” I wore my own academy blazer over a black dress and the new Converse shoes Mike had given me, and used the sleeve to dab around my cheeks.

I didn’t want to do this without her. But I had no choice.

There was nothing left of her in the room, on the bed where we’d done homework and laughed and talked about boys. There was nothing left of her in the school, and every time I walked down the hallways from here on out, I knew I would be looking for my friend. But we’d made a promise to each other. I would do my best and join her soon, leaving behind the human world for a new life we would build. And a promise was law.

Summer lay around the corner and spring had happily made way for the long, heated days. Graduation took place two weeks after the final exams. It felt like the time rushed by. My win during the practical exam placed me in the top five students for the second semester in a row. Not that our professors went any easier on us.

Finally, I sat with the rest of the school waiting for the procession to start and fanning myself with my hand. Sweat beaded along my hairline. Good thing I actually spent time on myself today. My hair was wrapped around the top of my head in an intricate braid I’d definitely required Nora’s help to finish. But it kept the weight of all the hair off of my neck.

Headmaster Leaves called us to attention and I flashed Nora and Mike a teary smile. The former reached over to pat my hand. “Chin up,” she whispered.

“Students, friends, family,” Leaves began. “We welcome you here today to celebrate this significant occasion. A graduation, where our top students now embark on their next adventure as brand-new residents of Faerie.”

A staggering cheer erupted form the crowd. I clapped my hands hard enough to redden my palms.

“This is a truly wonderful day, and one of my favorite times of the semester. It is such a joy to see the halflings who arrived four years ago, rough around the edges, transformed in a way which will not only be a benefit to Faerie but a benefit to the world. These half-fae are amazing creatures who have certainly earned their reward, and I know I speak for everyone at the Academy for Halflings when I say we are proud. We are proud!”

I clapped again, searching for Melia’s wild hair among the crowd, then spotted her on the front row with her attention focused on the stage. Ready to walk.

Ready to leave.

Headmaster Leaves continued his speech for the longest time until he finally came to the small list of names of students moving forward.

The lucky ones lined up on stage ready to go. Across from Leaves, the guest from the Council of Elders prepared the portal. The exchange students were ready as well. Probably happy to get out of here and finally be rid of us.

The portal, it turned out, consisted partly of machinery and partly of magic. A small gold cylinder anchored the entry point to this world, something I’d stepped over several times on the rear balcony outside the ballroom without even thinking.

The elders, I learned, would use the magic stored in the cylinder to open the gateway between this world and Faerie.

“One more thing,” Leaves said, interrupting. “I know we are all very excited to proceed—”

“Get on with it already,” Mike muttered under his breath.

I couldn’t agree more.

“But I have a very special announcement from the king. In addition to our own graduates and our guests from our sister school in Canada, the king is exceptionally proud of this year’s class and the swift progress they’ve made, and therefore he is inviting the top five students from the first-year class to continue the remainder of their schooling at our sister school to the Fae Academy for Halflings located in Faerie itself.”

An excited murmur rose from the assembled crowd.

“Those special five students are…” Leaves flourished an envelope and tore it open dramatically as if about to announce which movie won the Oscar for Best Picture.

My heart flipped and I didn’t even feel Nora shaking me. “Tavi, they called your name!”

Tavi, they called your name!

It couldn’t be. It was a joke. Must be a joke.

“Oh my God!” Mike exclaimed. “You’re going to Faerie, Tavi!”

“Did…did you know about this?” I asked him. Blinking as if afraid he would disappear in front of my eyes.

He shook his head. “No, I had no idea. But we’re out of here.”

It took another long minute for the revelation to sink in. A heavy weight lifted off of my shoulders. This was it. This was the moment I’d been waiting for, why I’d worked so hard. I had made it into the top five students for my class. I’d made it into Faerie.

Kendrick Grimaldi would never find me there.

And Mike was coming with me.

“Go on, they want you on the stage,” Mike said, beaming. “Take my hand. Come on.”

I walked on a cloud, my fingers laced with Mike’s. Living in a dream. Saying goodbye to Nora and the rest of my classmates, I followed the other four students—Persephone included, how I hated her—and Mike onto the stage. He dropped his hold on my hand before turning to wave at the still cheering crowd.

Melia immediately wrapped me up in her arms and I saw tears running down her face.

“Together,” she told me. Linking our hands together.

“How is this possible?”

“Who cares? You’re coming with me, Tavi. This isn’t goodbye. This is the beginning.”

My gaze cast around the crowd and I found Mike’s eyes again. This wasn’t goodbye for us, either. I had to remind myself again and again. He nodded his head, a brilliant smile lighting up his features.

The portal waited for us, a swirling entity harnessing more magic than I’d ever felt in my life. Red and orange sparks flowed up from the small cylinder of gold on the floor of the patio until the circle cast toward the second level of the school. And through the colors I saw outlines of trees.

Several professors and the councilmember continued to chant until the reds and golds became clear and I saw my first real glimpse of Faerie. The forest into which we would step teemed with life and power. Tiny red squirrels bolted up and down trees with trunks thicker than any I’d seen in my life.

My mother’s home.

Through the portal I could almost sense the quiet, the peace, and the pulse of energy seeping into the land itself.

Chills scampered down my sides and arms and across my scalp.

Eyes watched us from those trees. Welcoming committee? Pixies like Elfwaite?

I couldn’t wait to find out.

The exchange students went through the portal first but I was too distracted to see if they carried the fake Augundae Imperium with them. Melia kept hold of my hand and we stepped up to the portal when our turn came.

This was it.

We did it together. We crossed the threshold and the weight of magic pressed against us, drawing the air from our lungs until we passed over to the other side.

Instantly my glamour failed. My veins turned to ice and my senses returned in a rush. I could smell everything. Sensory overload had me stumbling and Melia drew me against her with a word of encouragement.

Then I was looking back toward the portal at the graduation ceremony. And realized the ice in my veins had nothing to do with the glamour dropping away. My senses flared, the scent of wolf unmistakable.

The two boys who had cornered me, the brother of the one who tried to kill me—I saw them in the student body section with their gazes trained on the stage. Along with another shifter of distinct origin.

A man from the Grimaldi pack.

Melia tried to tug me forward when I remained rooted to the spot. I heard none of what she said to me. Not when the third wolf, the Grimaldi wolf, met my eyes. And smiled.

There was more going on than just my betrothed searching for me. I knew it immediately the way some mothers could sense when something happened to their baby. A shiver like a spider walked along my spine. This was not the sight I’d expected to see.

The academy was in trouble.

It meant—

“Mike? Mike! Wait!” I yelled, trying to go back. “Wait!”

He jogged forward and reached for me even as I called on my fae magic to try and disguise my nature from him. He saw nothing. “No worries, Tavi. I’m here. I’m the Crown Prince, remember?” He flashed me a smile. “I can come and go at my leisure. And today I’m coming with you.”

I fumbled for his hand. Wait, what? Coming with me, why? “But the—”

The man from the Elder Council stepped toward the portal, holding the false Imperium. The moment he cleared the circle of magic, the illusion exploded in a shower of sparks. He yelped and jumped, his eyes round, his face pale.

Oh, no. No!

My magic hadn’t held in Faerie.

Now they knew something was definitely up. Pandemonium ensued. Headmaster Leaves screamed for calm as the rest of the school council and those from our sister school began to shout, began to accuse everyone else of stealing.

The wolves in the crowd whooped wildly at the commotion. So, they’d figured it out too. Figured out that if this was a fake Augundae Imperium, then the real one must be around somewhere.

Most likely still at the academy, hidden away.

“No.” My breath escaped in a low moan.

Even if I escaped into Faerie, the Imperium would grant the possessor enough magic power to make the jump, and with no need of a portal. Would they reduce the school to rubble in their search for it? Would Barbara attract attention to the fact that she had the artifact, since I was pretty darn sure she wouldn’t be able to resist using it right away?

Was I going to be safe anywhere?

I drew on my magic to keep my wolf hidden completely, even when she rose to the surface in the commotion, teeth snapping. With the Elder Council going mad and the wolves moving closer, I didn’t know how to proceed. Seconds later I watched the portal close for good, an instant before my outstretched hand reached it. Nothing now but thin air.

And nothing I could do.

The End.

Continue the Fae Academy for Halflings novels with Faerie Prophecy.

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