Chapter 23

23

Mike must have worked his magic, because when I returned to school the next day, shaken, I was promptly informed by Miss Wicks that I was still eligible to compete in the Trials due to extenuating circumstances.

If one could call a murderer on the loose and finding the latest body an extenuating circumstance.

The woman stared down at me with her long neck craned and her thin fingers twitching. “You do know this is outside of the ordinary, Miss Alderidge.”

“Is it?” I asked. Every part of me drooped. My school uniform hung limp and wrinkled on my shoulders and I hadn’t showered. I was exhausted and numb and my chest felt heavy as if carrying a boulder inside of it.

Miss Wicks shook her head. Her body hunched and I was every second more reminded of a spider when I looked at her.

“It was a lucky roll of the dice for you,” she continued.

Lucky.Right. I kept my face void of all expression. It didn’t take a genius to know what she was thinking. She thought I was somehow cheating, or I had outside help. She wasn’t exactly wrong.

I didn’t want to ask for more details. I didn’t want to stir the pot of crap any more than it was already swirling.

With a small nod, I thanked Miss Wicks and hurried on to my first class, knowing we’d have an assembly later to announce the results of the first Trial and the preparation for round two. My mind constantly circled back to the conversation with the bureau agents last night.

Your parents’ names, Miss Alderidge. Now. Rooker wasn’t going to tolerate any more bullshit answers from me. His expression was fierce. I must have spent enough time with him by now to be able to discern the slight changes in his rock-like appearance. The look he wore now I called his shakedown scowl.

What would they say if I told them I didn’t know my mother’s last name? Only her first name.

My parents are both dead. I’d tried to make him understand, even knowing the pleading had no effect.

Then giving us their names won’t matter, will it?

I’d hesitantly given over my mother’s first name. Dey. Claiming truthfully how I didn’t know the last name because I’d been so young when she died. Afterward, my uncle did everything in his power to keep her part of my ancestry a secret; we didn’t discuss her at all. There were no pictures of her anywhere in the house, let alone any of the three of us together.

Neither of the agents was happy with only her first name. Apparently “Dey” was a common enough Faerie name. They’d demanded to know my “human” father’s name as well. I didn’t know what difference it would make, so I told them. Baronne.

Now they knew as much as I did and that didn’t sit well with me. Names held a certain power anywhere you went, but especially in Faerie. Knowing someone’s or something’s true name gave you knowledge, which also gave you some power and control.

I replayed the interrogation over and over in my head until it became blurred. Everything blurred after a while, a tension headache taking up residence between my eyes and staying there, making it hard to think. Hard to focus.

Fingers snapped in front of my eyes and I blinked, struggling to focus.

“I asked what you think about our plan for the second Trial,” Mike said, studying me with clear concern.

Did I look bad enough to warrant his expression? Yeah, probably so.

I blew out a breath, pushing the hair out of my eyes, blinking again until the fuzz cleared. “Um…I think it’s a good plan,” I told him.

What had we been talking about?

“It’s getting late and we need to make sure we know exactly what we’ll be doing to beat this one. Cleverness.” Mike shook his head and the lines deepened between his eyebrows. “Who thinks up these things?”

“Who thought growing a tree from a seed would somehow exemplify and validate Justice? The same kind of sadists who have planned these Trials in the past. Trust me, I’ve seen some doozies.”

“Oh, yeah. You’ve been working through some of these with your tutor, haven’t you?”

“Yup.”

I didn’t feel clever at all. And I wasn’t sure how we’d handle this problem. The task this time? We had to find a way to cross from the castle to the mountain peaks on the other side of the valley without ever touching the ground, without the use of modern technology—so no ATVs or off-road vehicles—and without using the four elements in any of our spell work. And speed was a huge factor.

Mike and I were trying to find alternative ways to animate an inanimate object to carry us. So far we’d found a few things but even with the two of us combined, we couldn’t channel enough power to get the suits of armor in the castle to move ten feet, let alone cross an entire forest.

“So what do you think?” he tried again.

“I’m sorry. Can you go over it one more time? I’m still a little fuzzy on the details.”

Mike sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Well, we were talking about breaking out the old Totalis to boost our powers to get the spell to work, but you said you didn’t want to take any chances of getting caught cheating. I understand where you’re coming from, after what happened with the last one.”

Had I said that? I pinched the bridge of my nose, my nerves jittery. I hadn’t taken the brain boost powder since before the first Trial because I’d terrified myself over memory loss. Now I knew I’d been right to stop because I’d gone too far, and I was having withdrawals. My brain was foggier than usual, and I felt more tired today than I did before I’d started taking the stuff.

I’d needed to stop for a number of reasons, truth be told. Not only had I lost too much memory and time, but the bureau was watching me annoyingly closely, as were the palace guards. The king had not been joking when he said there were eyes on me at all times. I felt them now more than ever.

Glancing up, I noticed the two guards at the entrance of the palace library even now, standing just out of sight and watching Mike and me study like I was some kind of criminal. Even though I’d had nothing to do with the murders of any of the people who had died, outside of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“We’ve already been over it a few times. You need to pay attention,” Mike said, playfully tweaking my nose.

“I’m trying,” I snapped and swatted his hand away. And instantly felt bad about it. I softened my tone. “Believe me, I’m trying. And we aren’t going to use the Totalis for the Trials. There are too many people from the Elder Council around and they’ll recognize the signature of its magic.”

“Maybe you can use your cognitive manipulation to convince them otherwise.” This accompanied by a wink and a smile hotter than the desert.

Ha, if only he knew. My cognitive manipulation hadn’t been good enough to get a replica of the Imperium across the border into this world.

If the bureau agents knew about that…

“I’m still not sure why you needed to cheat to get through the mortal academy, anyway,” I said. Partly to take the focus off of me. Partly because I really wanted to know. “I mean, you’re a prince! You shouldn’t have needed an artifact to make it through the lottery.”

That was what they’d called it: a lottery. Like we were somehow supposed to feel lucky for working hard enough to make it to the next semester. Maybe Headmaster Leaves and the rest of the faculty should talk to the council here.

Nah, I didn’t want things to be harder for any future halflings.

Mike’s expression went stony. “Why I needed the Totalis isn’t the point. We’re trying to figure out a way to beat this Trial without killing ourselves, Tavi. And we have an ace in the hole with the artifact. It’s something no one else has.”

Ooh, a little sensitive. He didn’t want to answer me. My last comment must have gotten under his skin.

“But you’ve never said why you need it,” I said.

“Because I didn’t think it was important!”

“It was important enough that Roman decided he needed to kill for you.”

Good going, Tavi, I thought as Mike instantly shut down. I should not have mentioned his friend Roman. Or questioned why Mike had had such a hard time making it through the cullings.

“Low blow. It’s not fair of you to say that,” Mike said almost in a whisper. He slowly closed the book in front of him. “It makes me feel like you don’t trust me.”

How could I let him know? At the core, I didn’t trust myself, either. I was about to keel over, my brain was fried, and the rest of me on edge from my interviews with the bureau. Not to mention, oh yeah, the half-shifter killer on the loose and the canyonful of secrets I had to keep.

“Mike, it’s not about trust. I was just wondering why you had the need to use an artifact to boost your magic in the first place. And I notice you’ve still never given me a good answer.”

He wasn’t about to, either. Frowning, he pushed away from the table and took the book we’d been reading for research with him, pressing it to his chest. No longer willing to look at me. “I’m going to go take a walk.”

“You’re just walking out?” I matched his tone of voice. He didn’t like it.

“Get some sleep, okay? We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”

His footsteps echoed on his way out and the doors to the library swung closed behind him, leaving me alone in the suffocating silence. I let my head drop to the table with a loud thunk that did nothing to wake me up.

“Nice going,” I muttered to myself.

The guards were probably laughing at me.

Why did I always feel the need to start things? I hadn’t even wanted to, but I’d snapped at Mike anyway and on instinct went right for the subject I knew would hurt him the most.

I did need sleep. Maybe a few straight hours would help clear my head and I’d act like less of an idiot. We hadn’t really solidified our plan for mobilizing the suits of armor to carry us, but at least we had a solid direction for the Trial tomorrow. And they were allowing me to compete again. I should be happy for small blessings.

Except when I got to my room, the tiny kernel of a good mood shriveled up and disappeared. Bronwen waited for me there. She did not grin when she saw me. I hurried to close the door before any of the guards trailing me in the hallway saw her.

“We have patrol tonight,” she said the moment we were alone with a sound barrier spell keeping overeager ears from listening.

I slumped down on the bed with a groan. The little chinks in the wall I’d been building since my interviews with Rooker and Claribel began to crack. “Not again.”

“I’m sorry. Selene feels we stopped our watch too early and someone else died. She wants you and me back out there and searching for clues, especially considering our past history with the half-shifter.” Bronwen sat next to me and sighed.

I wasn’t sure what she did all day to keep busy, and she’d never really told me outside of working. I didn’t know where she worked or what she did. Funny how I could trust someone so easily without knowing the details of her life.

Maybe that was why I kept getting into trouble.

“I can’t, Bronwen. I’m sorry, really, but I just can’t. Absolutely, one hundred percent cannot,” I told her firmly. “I’m barely making it through the day as it is.” I hadn’t told her about the newest hurdle or my issues with the bureau, although surely at this point she’d heard about me finding the latest body. It was all over the Faerie news network.

“Talk to me,” Bronwen said. She reached out to pat my knee. “I’m here to listen. If you’re having issues, then maybe I can help.”

I puffed out my cheeks, wondering if I should spill about everything or keep a few things to myself. I ended up going through the story from start to finish, with Bronwen listening wide-eyed without interruption. She knew about Madam Muerte and the magic tracker I’d been forced to wear for months on end. She didn’t know about the king pulling me aside to tell me he was reopening the case. I’d even told Bronwen about the brain boost powder and how I’d backslid into some pretty bad withdrawal symptoms. She hadn’t judged me.

When I finally finished, rubbing my eyes and close to tears, she put her hand on my arm. “Tavi, you need to run.” Her hand bit down into my skin as she squeezed. “It’s not safe for you here anymore. I shouldn’t even be here! Have you told Selene?”

I shook my head. “I can’t run. There are too many things I need to do here.”

“Look. The Claw & Fang has sister groups in other villages, other cities in Faerie. We could reach out through the network and find you a safe haven somewhere far away. Somewhere you can hide.”

Hiding sounded amazing right now. It also sounded like an easy out. Too easy.

I appreciated what she was trying to do. How she wanted to help and get me clear of this mess. Unfortunately, I knew better. “If I run, then I look guilty. I’m not guilty. And besides, the king would probably tear the kingdom apart to find me. I have to see this through and do my best to keep my chin up.”

“I know it’s hard for you to be open, Tavi. Especially when you aren’t sure who to trust. I appreciate your trust in me and I won’t betray it. But you need to rest, so why don’t you stay home tonight.”

“What?”

“I’ll find someone else to patrol with me. You rest tonight and I’ll be there to see you at the Trial tomorrow. It’ll be fine.”

“You really don’t have to—”

She patted me on the knee again before pushing off the bed. “I know I don’t have to. Consider it done, anyway. You don’t need to worry about anything else. Well, at least for tonight. There’s not much I can do about the rest of it.”

Those tears I’d tried so hard to keep to myself broke free and trailed down my cheeks. “Bron—”

“Oh, hey, no crying now!” Bronwen drew me forward in a hug, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “It’s going to be okay. Also, maybe we should find a new meeting place. I don’t want the king to see us together and get more suspicious of you than he already is. No more meeting in your room.”

Luckily, none of the questions the bureau had asked me regarding the attack on Juno had mentioned Bronwen or anyone fitting her description. As far as they knew, I had been alone when I stepped in to help Professor Ians. I needed to keep it that way because I didn’t want my friend involved.

“All right.” I sniffled as I returned the embrace. “We’ll think of something.”

“We always do.” She broke contact and leaned back to smile at me. “Sleep,” she insisted. “I’ll tell Selene we need someone to cover for you for a little while. You need to be prepared to face whatever happens tomorrow. And when this is all over, you and Melia and I are taking a girls trip.”

My face broke into a similar grin. “Where will we go? I can’t take time off work, much less school.”

“I don’t care. Get the time off and we will go to the coast. You haven’t had a chance to see anything outside of this town. It’s time for you to blow off a little steam. Girls only.”

She transformed into her usual crow form and darted out the window. I watched her fly off until she became a speck on the horizon, and I felt lighter than I had all day. Bronwen was a good friend.

Grateful for the reprieve, I wasted no time changing into pajamas and snuggling under the covers. But when I finally fell asleep, it was with the weight of the Faerie world on my shoulders, and I didn’t dream.