Page 3

THREE

Wren

We approach campus and Viento slows, lowering from a height that would terrify me without his strong arm around my waist holding me steady. The moving dots below us become people, students and professors, clustered around the pools of brightness cast by the full moon–shaped lights. I cringe against Viento, hiding within his voluminous robe.

“They’ll see us,” I whisper.

I will not allow that. He pauses our descent and I feel him draw in a deep breath. Conceal us! The words thunder through my mind as he blows mist into the night sky around us. The mist roils and billows and suddenly puffy cumulus clouds surround us, concealing us.

We drift through campus with the clouds. I catch glimpses of people below. No one is looking up. The wind lifts pieces of conversations. I hear Sam’s name spoken over and over, accompanied by sobs. I press my lips into a line and blink quickly to keep from joining them—to keep from sobbing her name.

I’m concentrating so hard on handling my emotions that I’m surprised when Viento stops our descent again. This time we’re hovering just outside the window to my dorm room. I frown at him. “I know for sure the one place the book isn’t is in there.”

He makes a gesture with his hand and my big beveled window blows open. Little Bird, you are covered in blood.

I glance down at myself. He’s right. My sweatpants are crunchy with dried blood. Sam’s dried blood. The back of my T-shirt is still damp. My hands… I gulp back a sob. In the wan moonlight my hands look like I’ve been painting without wearing gloves—rust paint that leaked from my best friend. I shiver and nod. “I need to change, to take a shower. I have to.”

Gently, Viento helps me through the window. I look back as fog swirls around him. I will wait.

“Thank you. For everything.” I turn away from the window and hurry to my armoire, pulling out my favorite pair of jeans. I reach for my pink Barbie tee and then change my mind. There’s no way I can stay on campus, which means I’m going to be in the forest, probably hiding from Celeste and Rottingham until I can get the book read (after I get it back!) and figure out my next move. I riffle through the tees until I find the fern-green shirt with the outline of the state of Oregon on it. I also grab a couple more tees, plain black ones, a pair of shorts, a handful of panties and socks—anything I think I might need—and shove them into my backpack along with a box of protein bars and some bottles of water.

Then I finally go into my bathroom, turning my back to the mirror as I strip and step into the shower and close my eyes. The warm water feels so good that I want to melt, to drip down the drain and leave my grief and pain behind, but as my eyes blink open pink water swirls around my feet. I lift my head and square my shoulders. That’s Sam’s blood and Sam wouldn’t give up.

Neither will I.

I blast the warm water to hot and pour so much shampoo on my hair that it slicks down my body leaving a trail of pink bubbles. Then I scrub and scrub and scrub until there are no more bubbles, no more blood, no more remnants of Sam.

No, that’s not true. I’ll always remember Sam. Always. But I can’t focus on her loss right now or I’ll be so filled with grief that I can’t think.

It’s as I’m towel drying my hair that I finally look into the mirror. A jolt of shock skitters through me. My hair! I forgot. Celeste and I had been changed in the Conduit Chamber. Now she looks older. Her dark hair is more silver—her face delicately lined so that she appears middle-aged, like a mom.

And me—my change at first seems less dramatic. Well, except for the fact that my light blond hair is now a deep, earthy brown, though it’s still tipped in fuchsia, which comforts me. At least there’s a little of the old me left. The change in my face is more subtle. Yesterday I looked like a girl. Today my face is leaner, my cheekbones more dominant, my blue eyes glacial.

“Doncella,” I whisper at my unfamiliar reflection. I’ve become the maiden, a true part of the triad of maiden, mother, and elder. I lift my chin and dress quickly, pulling on my high school hoodie as I zip up my backpack and go to the window.

At first, I don’t see Viento, and my stomach fills with nervous dread as I imagine trying to sneak from Aquarius Hall with its glittering chandelier, wide staircase, and no shadows to slip into. What if Lee’s down there? And then wind whooshes around me and from the fog outside my window Viento’s cloaked form materializes. He holds out his hand and I take it as I climb up onto the window ledge and then basically fall into his arms.

Now where, Little Bird? The question drifts through my mind as we ride an air current up into what has become a fog soup night.

I sigh. “Well, the last time I saw the book Rottingham had given it to Lee in exchange for Celeste as they headed to Moon Hall and the infirmary.” I look around for the moon. Through the fog it’s just the outline of a brightish blob sinking into the horizon. Hours must have passed, but at least it’s a starting place. “So, let’s try there first.”

We lift higher and fly over the top of Aquarius Hall. We’re surrounded by gray. Fog shrouds the campus, though I’m able to get glimpses of the school grounds below us when the breeze we ride parts the mist. It has to be just before dawn, but the campus is wide awake. Students and professors gather in small groups. Muffled sobs and whispered conversations swirl with the fog. I can feel the sadness and the fear. Sam’s death is the second in two months. I don’t know how many more students have either been injured or left, gone home rather than remain, but it has to be more than what’s considered normal. “Why isn’t it more obvious to all of them?” I speak quietly to my Elemental. “Why can’t they see that there’s rot here?”

They do not want to see. They never have. In my mind his voice is heavy with sadness.

“But Maya did,” I insist. “She read the book. She knew something is very wrong here.”

She died. Like Sam.

I swallowed down tears. “I’m going to make them all see who Rottingham and Celeste really are. No one else should lose their best friend, their sister, or their brother at this place.” I speak the words like an oath as I glare down—and my breath hitches. It doesn’t matter that I’m looking through fog. I recognize the tall, athletic grace with which Lee walks. My grip tightens on Viento’s arm.

“There!” I whisper. “That’s Lee.” Viento slows and drifts downward. He swirls his hand through the air and the mist surrounding Lee parts enough for me to see that he’s walking between Dean Rottingham and his father. His father! It shocks me to see Tyrell Young at the Academia, and by the stiff way Lee’s holding his shoulders, I’m not the only one who’s shocked.

I’ve never liked Lee’s dad. I tried to. I mean, Lee’s been my best friend since I was thirteen. But the closer Lee and I got, the colder his dad was to me, until just before our junior year the Youngs announced that they were moving to the East Coast, Washington, DC. They said they needed a change after Maya’s death and decided to be closer to the political heart of the country, especially as Lee’s parents had aspirations for him that being in DC would help.

That’s what they said. But somewhere deep inside I’ve always known the truth, even though Lee denies it. I’m not good enough for the son of the owner of Titan Biomedical; they froze me out.

I don’t hate many people, but at that moment white-hot hatred for Tyrell Young and Dean Rottingham fills me. Mr. Young and Dean Rottingham are the same. They’ll never really care about what Lee wants or needs. They’ll only care about how they can use him, change him, mold him into what they need him to be.

My gaze goes from Lee’s dad to Rottingham and a shaft of the setting moon touches what the dean is holding. Silver writing glistens. I suck in a breath.

“The book!” I tell Viento. “Rottingham has it!!”

I speak earnestly but softly. There’s no way Lee could have heard me, but his steps falter and his head begins to lift. Viento cups fog in his hand and with a flick of his wrist directs it beneath us, filling in the gap in the grayness and swallowing Lee, Rottingham, and Mr. Young from our sight—and us from theirs.

“We have to follow them,” I whisper.

Viento nods and we soar up again until we’re high enough that the Elemental’s cloak and the foggy night make us almost impossible to see from the ground. We get brief peeks of the group of three as we follow them. Lee doesn’t glance up again.

They head to Moon Hall—the rear entrance that is closest to the infirmary. But first they have to pass Crossroads Courtyard. Lee pauses as they reach the round cobblestoned area. Rottingham and Mr. Young walk on for a step or two, but when they notice Lee isn’t with them they stop. I can hear his father’s long sigh as he turns back to his son. And then warm yellow light flickers up from the courtyard, pulling my attention from Lee. Through the fog I see the center of the circle. It’s still stained with Sam’s blood, but all around it are candles. My breath hitches as two students I recognize as Sam’s neighbors in Taurus Hall add more candles to the growing circle of light and then bow their heads along with several other students. A group of three joins them, adding more candles.

They honor your friend. Viento’s voice is gentle in my mind.

Grief chokes my words and I can only nod.

“Best not to keep Celeste waiting.” Mr. Young’s sharp voice intrudes on the bittersweetness of the moment. He takes his son’s elbow and pulls him away from the courtyard as Lee wipes his face on his shirt.

Above them, cloaked by fog and night, we follow to the rear of Moon Hall and watch as the three men disappear within the brightly lit building.

“Can we see into the infirmary from out here?” I ask Viento.

Instead of answering, he drifts around the rear of the hall until we come to a long row of leaded-glass windows. Only two of them are lit. The first window’s drapes are only open a few inches. Viento takes us closer and I recognize the room as the one Eliza and I were taken to after we almost drowned during our second Trial. There are two hospital beds in the center of the room, a wall of metal cabinets, and an industrial sink. I go cold as I realize on one of the beds is a body covered by a bloody sheet. The only part exposed is a long strand of brown hair that curls a little even though it’s matted with blood.

Sam. It’s Sam.

Viento’s arm tightens around me. I force my gaze from Sam. The only other light that glows from the infirmary is coming from the last windows at the end of the hallway. “There. That has to be where they took Celeste.”

Viento nods and we drift with the fog, following the building to the crystal square of light. The curtains are open wider in this room and Viento is careful to keep us from getting too close. The room is a private one and super fancy. The walls are gleaming wood. There’s an ornate dresser and armoire and a huge fireplace burning in the corner, which looks like the open mouth of a dragon.

Celeste is in the center of the room in a wide bed. She’s awake and sitting up with a pile of pillows propped behind her. Her shoulder is bandaged. She’s paler than usual, but except for that she seems fine, though I’m struck again by how much she’s aged. The first time I saw her—hard to imagine that was just two months ago—she could have easily been mistaken for a student. Today she looks like a middle-aged mom. She’s still beautiful, but her hair is streaked with white. Her forehead and eyes are lined, though there are no lines around her mouth. Because she never actually smiles , I tell myself.

There’s a healer in the room with her who looks up from checking Celeste’s vitals as the door opens and Rottingham, Mr. Young, and Lee enter. The healer says something as she shakes her head, but Celeste lifts her hand and beckons the three farther inside. The healer frowns and with obvious reluctance leaves the room.

As soon as she’s gone Celeste makes a gesture that seems to draw Lee to her. My stomach hollows as he moves to her bedside and she takes his hand, smiling radiantly at him. His father comes with him, but Celeste only nods politely to him before returning her attention to Lee.

Watch Rottingham. Viento’s words recenter me.

I can’t be obsessed with what’s going on with Lee and Celeste. He’s made his choice. I’ve made mine. The book is what’s important right now. I turn my attention to the dean. He’s staying to the side of the room to allow Lee and Celeste some privacy, which is probably what Mr. Young should have done, but Lee’s dad has never been one to step out of any spotlight. There’s a comfortable chair not far from the fireplace and Rottingham sits in it. He rests the book on his lap while Celeste and Lee talk. I can’t hear more than the muffled sound of their voices. Lee’s is low and earnest; Celeste’s is firm. Her expression is somber, but her eyes are sharp, like the dagger she sliced my back with and then plunged into her own shoulder.

“Can you get us a little closer?” I whisper to Viento. “I want to know what lies she’s brainwashing Lee with.”

Only a little. First we drift up and then to the window. If anyone inside looks out they will see the bottom of the Elemental’s cloak, almost indistinguishable from the fog soup.

Rottingham makes a movement that draws my attention back to him. He’s opening the book. Frowning, he flips through pages that are now familiar to me. I can see the glint of silver that slithers across the pages and know it’s spelling out gibberish. There’s no moonlight to reach it—to make it legible.

Celeste’s voice pierces through the window. “Dean Rottingham, close that book!”

I startle at the sharpness of her voice.

“What is that book?” Lee’s question is muffled, but I can hear him.

“Lies,” Celeste says icily. “I thought it had been destroyed two years ago.” Her gaze skewers Rottingham. “Apparently I was wrong.” Rottingham opens his mouth and Celeste’s raised hand stops his words. “No. Do it now.” She jerks her chin at the fireplace. “Burn it! I will not allow that book to poison even one more precious student.”

Rottingham doesn’t hesitate. He stands, moves to the fireplace, and then so quickly that I’m not completely sure that I don’t imagine it, he bows his head over the book, his lips moving silently before he throws the book into the flames.

“No!” The word bursts from me before I can stop it and Lee’s gaze snaps to the window as Viento catches a gust of wind that pulls us away from the window and out of sight.

“Take me back! I want to hear what other crap she’s going to tell Lee.” I stare over my shoulder as we drift away from the rear of Moon Hall.

She will alert the other Elementals if she so much as thinks we might be here. It is not safe. He turns his face to me. Within the cowl his amber eyes soften, and his words come to me with more ease as he and I continue to communicate. I am sorry, but the book is as lost to you as is your Lee, Little Bird.

I want to scream, NO, HE IS NOT! But Viento is only saying what my gut already knows. I nod tightly. “Okay. Well, at least I know where the book is.”

Rottingham has destroyed it.

“No, he threw it into the fire. It’s a big, old, weirdly magickal book. There’s some kind of spell on it. I’m not going to believe it’s gone until I dig its ashes out of that fireplace.” I say the words firmly, hoping they’ll be true. “All I need to do is wait for Celeste to leave the room. She didn’t look like she was hurt all that bad, which makes sense since the healers have been working on her and because she stabbed her own shoulder—not likely she’d give herself a serious injury.” A new thought came to me and my words speed up. “Hey, Celeste’s like me, right? She can boost the powers of others.”

Yes, but she has had centuries to hone her skills.

“Even better. I’ll bet she boosted her healer’s powers.”

He tilted his head as if to agree.

“And she wants to find me, right?”

Correct.

“Which means she’s not going to lie in that bed any longer than she has to. She’s going to come looking for me. Probably as soon as Lee, his dad, and Rottingham leave the room.”

She wants to kill you, Little Bird.

I feel cold and nod tightly. “Yeah. I know. But she’ll have to catch me first. So, we just wait until she’s alone. Once she’s gone I’ll slip in.…” My words trail off as I realize how ridiculous my plan is. Like the entire campus doesn’t think I just stabbed Queen Celeste? “Wait, I can’t slip in there, but can’t you make like air and sneak in there super easily, blow out the fire, and grab whatever is left of the book?”

Viento’s body shudders and I suck in a sharp breath as I feel the stab of pain that skitters through him. She commanded the book be burned. The book has knowledge of— Together we wince as pain stabs him again.

“Okay, I get it. The spell won’t let you save it because Celeste ordered it destroyed.”

Yes.

I chew my lip trying to think of a way to get into that hospital room as we ride the currents of wind and fog.

“Wren!”

My gaze darts down as Viento holds me firmly and we begin to lift up into the sky. I can just glimpse a red hoodie below us.

“Wait, that’s Ruby. Go back down.”

It is not safe.

“Ruby is my friend, and I definitely need a friend right now.”

If she is not alone we rise again.

“Ruby’s pronouns are they/them ,” I say automatically. “We’ll go up again unless they’re with—” I pause as we drop closer and the fog parts enough for me to see that it is Ruby, though they aren’t alone. “No, don’t take us back up,” I say quickly. “That’s Lily. She’s my friend, too.”

It is not safe , Viento repeats.

“The campus isn’t, but Ruby and Lily are safe,” I insist. We hover just above their heads. My two friends look up at Viento and me with big, shocked eyes. Lily’s are red from crying and Ruby’s are narrowed. Their fists are clenched and they look like they’re ready to battle the world.

I quickly glance around. They’re on the cobblestone path that leads to Leo Hall, which is where Lily’s room is. There’s a rustling of movement and the hum of conversation, but the fog has thickened again and I can’t see anyone else. “Let’s go over there between the two giant sequoia trees.” I keep my voice low and motion for the two of them to follow as Viento and I float to the sheltering trees. He and I drop gently to the ground as Ruby and Lily rush up.

“I was so worried about you!” Lily hugs me tightly and I squeeze her back, grateful that she cares.

When I release her, I turn to Ruby. They look from Viento to me. “What really happened to Sam?” they ask with their usual directness.

I make the decision instantly. The two of them are my only allies. I need them. And I do not want to lie to them or anyone else ever again. “Celeste had her killed because Sam found out what a monster she is.”

“She figured out how to read that book you two have been carrying around, didn’t she?” Lily asks.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Lily is a Leo moon, which means she can manipulate the emotions of others. It also means she’s highly intuitive. “Yes.”

“Did you try to kill Celeste?” Ruby asks.

I meet their intense brown eyes. “I wanted to. I wanted revenge for Sam. That’s why I went after Celeste, but the truth is she almost killed me .”

“But you stabbed her,” Ruby says.

“No. Viento helped me escape her. She stabbed herself so Lee would believe I’ve lost my mind.”

“Viento?” Lily asks.

“Oh, sorry. Lily, Ruby, this is Viento.” I turn and smile at the Elemental. “Tonight makes three times he’s saved my life.”

Lily takes a step closer to Ruby, who positions themself between us. “Rottingham is telling everyone that the Aquarius Hall Elemental killed Sam.” Ruby’s voice is steely.

“Rottingham is a liar,” I say. “Please believe me.”

Ruby and Lily share a long look before Ruby continues, “We believe you.”

My shoulders bow in relief. “Thank you. I don’t have time to explain everything to you right now, but—”

“No, you don’t,” Ruby interrupts. “They’re looking for you.”

“They?” I ask as my stomach flip-flops.

“All the Scorpio moons have been tasked with finding you and bringing you to Rottingham,” Ruby says. Then her lips tilt up into a little smile. “Good thing I’m the one who found you.” Ruby is a Scorpio moon—actually, Ruby is the leading Scorpio moon on campus, which means they are basically like a superhero, super strong, super fast, and super able to handle themself in any situation that calls for physical action.

“Crap!”

It is not safe here! Viento’s voice is urgent in my mind.

“I know,” I tell him. “But I have to get that book!”

“Who are you talking to?” Ruby asks, though their gaze rests on the Elemental.

“Viento shared air with me so now he can talk to me in here.” I tap my forehead.

“Huh,” Ruby grunts.

Lily steps up beside Ruby and takes their hand. “How can we help?”

“If you help me, you’ll also be in danger. They killed Sam. They could kill you, too.” I need them, but they have to understand the risk they’re taking.

“We’re not helpless,” Ruby says.

“Absolutely not,” adds Lily. Her green eyes meet mine. “We want to help. For Sam.”

“For Sam,” Ruby repeats.

I draw in a deep breath and blink hard to keep from bursting into tears. “Okay. This is what we have to do.”