Page 20

TWENTY

Wren

A ta-ta-ta-ta-ta sound like a jackhammer radiates down from above and pulls our attention from the collapsed entrance of the cave to the ceiling. Almost directly over the tree the crystals shake and clods of dirt and rock fall to the floor of the cave. Viento flies to my side and covers me with his cloak as Ruby hugs Lily close and they duck under a huge fern frond.

The luna moth dives from a hole drilled in the ceiling, landing by the tree, and two people tumble from her back. When one of them stands and turns to face me I react with instinct. My heart speeds up and my stomach feels like it’s filled with luna moths as I rush to him.

“Ohmygod! Lee!” I’m in his arms, surrounded by his strength and warmth. I hold on tight, not wanting this moment to end—not wanting to step out of this one instant when I let myself hold him and be held by him—not wanting to admit that his reasons for being here may not be what I hope they are.

“Luke!” Beside Lee, Lily is suddenly hugging Luke, who’s laughing and saying something about how he knew they’d find us in time.

“How did you two get here so fast? You haven’t been following us this whole time, have you?” Lily asks her twin.

“Nah, just a couple days. Those Scorpio moons are fast .” Luke wipes sweat from his brow.

“And they didn’t have to pass four Elemental tests,” I say as I step out of Lee’s warm arms. “Which took one day each.”

“Wait. Luke just said he knew he’d find us in time. In time for what?” Ruby’s voice slices the air.

They need to answer our fierce one’s question. Viento hovers beside me protectively. Luke takes a step back, but Lee holds his ground.

“Lee, what does Luke mean? In time for what?” I ask stonily.

Lee’s gaze catches mine and holds. “I was wrong. I’m sorry. You were right about everything. I came to warn you; I came to help you.”

“ We, ” Luke corrects Lee. “We believe you’re not a wannabe killer, but there’s a whole group of Scorpio moons not far behind us who don’t believe it. Rottingham and the school’s Water Elemental are with them. They want to grab you and bring all of you back to the Academia. That’s why our group has been following you for the past couple days.”

My stomach lurches and my gaze goes to the tree. “That’s why she sealed the cave. She knew we’re being followed.”

“She?” Lee asks, taking a step toward me.

I take a step back. “The tree is home for an Earth Elemental. She did that.” I point my thumb at the rubble behind us.

“How long until the Scorpios get here?” Ruby shoots the question at Lee.

Lee shakes his head. “It’s hard to tell. Luke and I got away from them around sunset when we were attacked by a wild Water Elemental. It injured Luke, which slowed us down. I did my best to heal him, but…”

“But I slowed him down,” Luke adds.

“Which wasn’t your fault,” Lee says. “So, I’d guess we are maybe an hour or two ahead of them.”

“How badly are you hurt?” Lily asks her brother.

He shrugs and points to his right thigh. His jeans are stained with dried blood and there’s a wide strip of cloth that looks like it’s a torn-up shirt wrapped around his thigh. “It messed up my leg. Lee helped, though. So it’s not terrible, but it’s hard for me to put much weight on it.”

“Okay, well, we can help you, but we have to get moving,” says Lily. She has her arm hooked through Luke’s and they look more like twins in that moment than I’ve ever seen them look.

“How?” I’m trying not to stare at Lee—trying not to run back into his arms. Instead, I turn to Ruby. “If I boost you can you maybe clear a hole through all of that?” I jerk my chin in the direction of the newly sealed cave.

Ruby shakes their head. “Not fast enough.” Then they face Lee. “The Scorpios have been tracking us?”

Lee nods. “Yeah.”

“But it’s not like your trail’s hard to follow,” adds Luke. “Lee and I are no expert trackers like the Scorpios, but we found you pretty easily.”

“Which means the Scorpio trackers won’t have any trouble, either,” says Ruby.

Lily stares up at the giant moth-sized hole in the ceiling of the cave. “Can’t we just fly out there?”

Luke snorts. “You fly now?”

Lily levels her gaze on him. “Are you that dense?”

Lee barks a laugh and when we all turn to him he puts his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, it’s just that I’ve asked him a similar question pretty recently.” From where she’s been preening herself not far from Lee, the Luna moth trills musical laughter.

“Hey! Give me a break. I’m wounded, remember?”

I turn my back on all of them to face Viento. “Can you fly us out of here through that hole?”

Of course, I believe the luna moth will help. But, Little Bird, are you sure you want to fly all of them out of here?

I can’t put it off any longer. I face Lee. I want to take his hand and guide him away from everyone so we can talk in private, but I can’t do that. It’s not just my trust he has to earn. Ruby and Lily are in danger, too—being tracked by Scorpio soldiers, too. They need to hear his answers and decide with me if he and Luke leave the cave with us, or if they stay here and wait for our trackers to break them out.

I meet Lee’s kind brown eyes again. “You said that you believe me—that you know I’m right. About what, exactly?”

Lee draws in a deep breath and in a rush says, “About everything. You didn’t stab Celeste. You couldn’t have stabbed her. That’s not who you are.”

Ruby raises their hand, cutting him off. “Wren’s changed during our quest. Don’t assume you still know her.”

Lily nods. “Yeah. Wren would definitely stab someone, but only for a really good reason.”

“Ruby and Lily are right,” I say. “I’ve changed.”

“You look different; that’s for sure,” says Luke, and Lily jabs him in his side.

“You need to understand some things, too,” Lily tells her brother. “ Lots of things. Wren’s not the only one who’s changed. I do not care what Mom and Dad say; I’m never propping you up again. Nor will I ever stand by and let you bully my friends into not being my friends. I’ll call you out and show you up if you keep acting like an ass, so get ready to answer for yourself. We’re eighteen. It’s time you start adulting.”

Before Luke can say anything, Lee asks me, “Has how you feel about me changed?”

My gaze returns to him—to my Lee. My friend. My best friend. My love. I answer him with complete honesty. “How I feel hasn’t changed, but whether I’m willing to be with you again or not has changed. I have to be able to trust you, depend on you, know that you’ll believe me and stand by me no matter what Celeste or Dean Rottingham or your dad or the whole damn world has to say about me.”

Lee takes my hands in his. “I believe you about everything. I’m sorry I ever doubted you. That’s my fault, not yours.” He sighs and shakes his head. “I thought if I followed the rules, if I did everything perfectly, that I’d somehow make up for Maya’s death. But there’s no making up for the loss of my sister. I can’t live my life for her, and she wouldn’t want me to. I have to live my truth and my truth says there’s something wrong with the Academia de la Luna, and that wrongness begins with Celeste. Sam’s death wasn’t an accident.” Lee’s holding my hands, but his gaze moves to Viento, who is still hovering close beside me. “I don’t believe you had anything to do with what happened to Sam.” His gaze returns to mine. “I believe Celeste will kill you if we don’t stop her. She killed Maya.”

“Wait, what ?” Luke blurts. “You didn’t tell me you thought Celeste killed your sister! Why would she do that?”

“Because of liquid moonlight,” Lee says without looking away from me. “You have the map, right? That’s what you’ve been following, and it’s going to lead you to the elder.”

“We’ve been following the map, but we don’t know exactly what it’s leading us to. I asked the book to show us where we need to go so we can complete the ritual, and we’ve been following what it revealed to us ever since.” And then I realize what else he said. “What’s liquid moonlight?”

Lee lets go of my hands. They’re cold without his touch. He slides his backpack off his shoulders and then opens it. Reaching in, he carefully unwraps something that looks like an icicle from one of his shirts and holds it up. In the light from the crystal stalactites it sparkles with all the colors of the inside of an oyster shell. “This is liquid moonlight. Wren, I got access to Maya’s room. Look!” Lee digs in his pocket and produces a crumpled paper covered by writing I easily recognize as his sister’s. “Maya figured all of this out. The book told her liquid moonlight was needed to complete the ritual. She put together this list and even had almost everything she needed to conjure it.” He pauses to clear the emotions from his throat. “The only spell-work ingredient she lacked was ocean water. She was collecting it when she drowned—when Celeste made sure she drowned.”

“I still don’t think you can say Celeste actually drowned your sister,” Luke says.

I turn to Luke. “You’re either completely for us, or you’re against us. I’m done with this in-between crap. Celeste made sure Maya died. Celeste made sure Sam died. Celeste will kill me if she gets the chance; she’s already tried once. Unlike you, Luke, I was there . I know the truth. I haven’t been manipulated by Celeste into doubting the obvious. Have you?”

“N-no!” Luke stammers. “No. I believe Lee. I believe you. It’s just a lot to take in; that’s all.”

“Can you tell if he’s lying?” I ask Lily.

Lily stares at her brother. “Most of the time I can. Right now I can tell you that he’s conflicted and probably, knowing him, isn’t telling us everything he knows.”

“Then he shouldn’t leave this cave with us,” Ruby says firmly.

I agree, Viento adds.

“I’ll go with whatever you decide,” Lily says. “And if that means Luke stays here—then he stays here.”

“Lily! What the hell!” Luke pulls his arm from hers and almost falls.

“This is bigger than you being my brother,” Lily tells him. “This is about freeing the Elementals, about freeing magick for the whole world, and about completing something Celeste stopped centuries ago because of her obsession with power.”

“Centuries?” Luke smirks. “That’s not even possible.”

“Wait, are Celeste and Selene the same person?” Lee asks.

“Yes. She stopped the ritual by killing the mother. The elder escaped. By doing that she’s been able to control the Elementals and Moonstruck powers ever since then.” I look at Luke. “She’s either killed or run off every single maiden—except for me. She’s not going to beat me.”

“Are you saying you think Celeste is centuries old?” Luke asks.

“I don’t think it. I know it. Ask any of the Elementals who were there,” I say. “Oh, but they won’t be able to tell you that piece of truth unless they’re willing to go through excruciating pain caused by a gag spell Celeste cast on them.” I looked from Ruby to Viento. “Should Luke come with us?”

“Yes!” Luke shouts. “You can’t seriously leave me here. I’m with Lee. Ask him! He’s not under a spell. He can vouch for me.” He turns to Lee. “Right, dude?”

Lee studies him for a moment before he responds. “He’s been with me through this. And I do get how difficult it is to believe that the people we’ve been raised to trust are liars, manipulators, and killers. I trust Luke, but I can’t tell you whether you should or not.”

I’m relieved by Lee’s answer. It’s one more way he’s showing me that he does truly believe me. I smile my gratitude to him before I turn to my other friends. “Well, what do you think?”

Luke should remain in the cave, Viento says stubbornly.

“That’s one vote for not bringing him with us,” I say.

“Huh? Who voted against me?” Luke’s glaring at Ruby, who only raises one brow at him before rolling her eyes and turning away.

“Viento.” I nod to my Air Elemental. “That’s his name. He shared air with me so he and I can communicate here.” I touch my temple. “Ruby? What do you think?”

“I think between what Lee’s told him, and what he’s heard from us, that it’s probably wiser to bring him with us, but to watch him. Carefully. And no, I do not trust him.” They turn their sharp gaze back to Luke and skewer him with it. “I can assure you I will watch him if you allow him to join us.”

“Me?” I don’t want to be responsible for the decision!

Lily nods. “Yes, you, Wren. It’s your quest, so it’s your decision. We’ll back you up.”

“Completely,” adds Lee.

I sigh. “Okay, he can come, but if Ruby thinks you even might be up to something shady, we leave you in the forest. And I promise you, we know some Earth Elementals who will be very happy to hold you in place until the Scorpio moons find you.” I walk over to where I dropped my backpack and sling it onto my shoulder, but not before wrapping the shard of liquid moonlight in the same blanket that once held the magick book and tucking it carefully away next to the solid rectangle of the book that has shown us so much and taken us so far. Lee shrugs on his backpack, too, as I go to the beautiful luna moth, who had been attentively listening to our discussion. “Will you fly Lee and Luke back through that hole?” I point up at the star-filled night sky I can see above us.

The luna moth chatters at me and Viento translates, She says yes.

I pet her soft head. “Thank you. I appreciate you so much.” Then I march back to Lee, grab his hand, and as I pull him away from the others I tell them, “This will just take a second.”

I guide Lee a few yards away from the group where the ferns are almost as big as trees so we can have some privacy. And then I do what my heart has wanted to do since he tumbled off the moth. I wrap my arms around his neck. “I’ve missed you so much. I love you, Lee. Always and forever.” I tiptoe and pull him down to me. He comes willingly—more than willingly: eagerly. His lips meet mine and we melt into each other. My whole body is washed with relief and with pleasure. He’s my North Star, my home, my Lee.

When we reluctantly break the kiss, Lee’s thumb wipes the tears I hadn’t realized I’d cried from my cheeks. “I’m so sorry I put you through all of this, Wren. I’ll never doubt you again.”

I kiss him once more, softly this time, and then against his lips I whisper, “I’m glad you understand. I’m glad you see the truth now.”

Hand in hand we walk back to the group. Lily and Ruby smile at us, and even Viento looks pleased. The moth trots to us and holds one of her perfect legs up to help Lee climb on her back, and then Luke scrambles aboard. As the moth lifts off, Viento wraps his cloak around Ruby, Lily, and me. When we soar with him up past the twinkling crystal stalactites and out of the cave, I call down, “Thank you, Earth Elementals. We appreciate you!”

We hover above the mountainous cliff in which the cave formed. The moon is high and the stars are so many it looks like a giantess has thrown glitter across the black velvet sky.

I can only take you down there. The Air Elemental nods his head toward the back side of the cliff. But this time it is not a test, so even though I cannot actively carry you to the spot marked on the map, I can accompany you. I can be your protector as long as you are still a student.

I nod and think about how to form a question that won’t cause us pain. After a moment I ask, “So, that means you can protect us against anyone who attacks us, even if the attackers are from the Academia?”

Yes. I was tasked with being the protector of the students from the Academia de la Luna in general, and specifically Aquarius Hall. I could not help you through the Elemental tests because…

His words trail off as pain pierces us, and I hastily say, “I get it! You couldn’t help us before because that would be aiding us in getting closer to the conclusion of our quest.”

Exactly.

I’m relieved Viento isn’t going to disappear. It makes me feel better about our chances against the Scorpios if or, more likely, when they catch us.

The moth is close behind us as we fly through the night and then come gently back to earth near the stream we’ve been following for days. The forest is dense here on the backside of the cliff, and when I take out the map I’m glad for its magickal glow.

“That’s the map from the book?” Lee stands close to me, peering down at the piece of paper.

“That’s it,” I say as I smooth it open.

“Whoa,” Luke says as he peeks over my shoulder at the map. “Are those symbols for each of the elements?”

“Yeah,” Lily says. “To get past each we had to make allies of the Elementals.”

“That’s incredible.” Luke’s surprise makes him sound genuinely impressed. “You’re allied with the wild Elementals?”

“Yes,” Ruby answers, watching him with her sharp gaze. “Another reason not to mess with any of us.”

“Hey, I really am on your side,” Luke protests.

I ignore him and return to the map. “Here’s where we are now.” My finger finds the red thread that marks our path. Like us, it has appeared on the backside of the cliff. “And here’s where we need to go.” My finger follows the thread where it travels beside the stream, heading deeper into the forest until it comes to a clearing that’s marked by a drawing of a full moon.

“That doesn’t look very far,” says Lee.

“It’s not, but we should hurry,” Ruby says. “We need to get there well ahead of the Scorpios if you’re going to complete your ritual without them messing it up.” They walk over to Luke and then sigh as they step to his right side and wrap their arm around his waist, easily supporting half his weight.

“Whoa, you really are strong.” Luke grins at Ruby.

They frown up at him. “You knew that on day one at the Academia. I knocked you on your ass, remember?”

Luke’s grin slides from his face as his sister unsuccessfully covers a giggle with a cough.

As before, we find a path along the bank of the stream. Tonight the stream flows into a forest of tall pines that are packed closer together than even the forest we had to get through during the Air Elemental challenge.

“It’s really dark in there.” Lily’s voice sounds very small.

“Then it’s a good thing you can fix that,” Ruby says to her.

Lily’s face comes alive with a wide grin. “You are right, as usual!” She kisses Ruby quickly before she lifts her face to the sky and calls, “My beautiful firebird! Could you please help me again?”

Above us the air pops and hisses like someone just lit a sparkler, and the firebird blazes as she dives down at us.

“Shit!” Luke tries to lurch away, but Ruby’s grip on him keeps him in place.

Beside me I feel Lee tense and I whisper to him, “It’s okay. She’s our friend.”

The firebird hovers before Lily, low enough that she can stroke the orange and yellow feathers on her head.

“Thank you for coming, beautiful,” Lily croons to her. “You’re so, so pretty.”

The bird chirps happily.

“We have to follow this path into that really dark forest. Could you help us by lighting the way?”

The firebird chirps again and rubs her head against Lily’s palm before she whistles, long and loud, and soft, yellow light illuminates the path leading into the forest as if she flipped on a switch.

“How did you get her to do that?” Luke asks Lily.

Lily raises one brow. “I asked her. Nicely. She’s my friend.”

“What did the bird do?” Lee adds. “What’s lighting the forest?”

Ruby sighs loudly. “Fireflies. And I hope they behave.”

The firebird chirps at Ruby and Lily laughs. “Oh, they will!”

“You’re going to have to fill me in on all this stuff,” Lee says.

“Let’s move out.” Ruby claps. “I’ll lead the way with Luke. We’ll set the pace.” She looks at Luke and adds, “I’m going to push you, so lean on me. You really don’t want to know what could happen to you if we have to leave you behind and the Earth Elementals decide to keep you.”

“Keep me?” Luke almost squeaks.

“You heard me.” Ruby steps out, walking briskly as they support Luke. Lily is on the other side of her brother. Lee and I follow close behind them while Viento lingers above us.

We enter the forest and it’s like walking through magick. The dense forest looks like it’s strung with holiday lights. Fireflies are everywhere, hovering like tiny flaming helicopters. Their eyes are red, but more garnet than scarlet, and I get no sense of malevolence from them. They watch us raptly, extinguishing after we pass them, so it seems the forest closes behind us.

Lee takes my hand and we walk silently together, our arms brushing against each other. Now that he’s here and we’re together again I’m not sure what to say. Does he know how bruised I still feel from him doubting me?

“Are we okay?” he asks me softly.

I’m only going to tell him the truth. I’m not going to avoid the hard answers or the hard questions ever again. “I think we will be,” I say. “I hope we will be.”

“But it’ll take time for me to earn your trust back?”

I looked up into his warm, familiar brown eyes. “I want to trust you. If I didn’t you and Luke would be back in that cave.”

“Or out here, but tied up by some plants?” he asks with the hint of a smile lifting his full lips.

I smile back at him. “When I explain that plant stuff to you in detail you will be totally freaked out.”

“I can’t imagine plants being that scary.”

I snort. “Scary is an understatement.” We grin at each other and then I sigh and finish the answer to his original question. “You can regain my trust, but that’s not all that’s wrong. You broke my heart, Lee. I’m better now, but my heart is bruised, and it’s going to take time for it to heal.”

He lifts my hand and kisses it. “Milady, I will never let your heart be hurt again.”

“I’ve missed you so much, Lee.” I lean into him as we walk and his arm slides around my shoulders. “I hated not being able to talk to you—to tell you everything.”

“Me, too. It’s been awful without my best friend.” Lee squeezes my shoulders as I press against him.

“Has it been bad with your dad?” I ask hesitantly. I don’t want to press on anything too sensitive between us and cause either of us pain.

“Nightmare,” he finally says. “But I stood up to him, and that feels good.”

“I never doubted that you could. I know how strong you are.”

“Well, now I know how strong I am, too.” He looks down at me, his eyes shining with emotion. “Thanks to you. If all of this hadn’t happened—if you hadn’t been smart enough and strong enough to learn the truth and escape the Academia—I might never have realized I had to find my own way, too. And that means not letting my father run my life.” Lee kisses me on top of my head. “I love you, Wren Nightingale.”

My arm goes around his waist. “I love you, Lee Young.”

“Do you love me enough to tell me about how you made allies of the wild Elementals?” Lee whispers.

I grin. “Oh, definitely. But prepare yourself, Lord Young. It is not for the faint of heart.” I launch into the story of how we befriended the Elementals, which seems appropriate as we make our way through the magickal, firefly-strung forest.