Page 7

SEVEN

Lee

The spoon clinks against the edges of my father’s mug as he stirs his coffee and thumbs through pages of numbers with Titan’s logo embossed on the top. No matter where I go, I can’t escape him. He’s around every turn, behind every door, lurking in every corner. A grim reminder that this summer at Moon Isle isn’t what it’s supposed to be. The worst part isn’t that I can’t get away from him. The worst part is that I can’t be myself.

I saw Wren last night as the dome now shielding the Academia closed. She flew through the night in the arms of the Air Elemental she’s had an odd bond with since we arrived at the Academia. Against the dark of the sky, she looked like magick, like a piece of the moon Herself. It’s hard to believe Wren’s dangerous, but I keep being told she is. And I’ve underestimated her before.

The toaster dings, and my bagel pops up, cinnamon brown and crispy around the edges. I impatiently take a scalding bite before dropping it onto a paper towel.

Celeste wants me, expects me, to be like Rottingham—to follow her instructions and hold every word she utters like scripture. A few days ago, I would have. But that was before I found out that Maya’s death wasn’t an accident, and before Wren and Lily and Ruby were gone and Elementals and Scorpios patrolled the campus like this is Alcatraz and not an academy.

And, this time, I won’t sit here while life unravels around me.

“I’m going to talk to Rottingham,” I say, purposefully not looking at my father as I fold the paper towel over my bagel and shove it into my pocket.

“Great idea.” He moves to get up, and I stand still as a picture in the doorway that leads out of the Aquarius Hall kitchen.

“I’m going alone.”

He takes a deep breath and rubs his hand over his bald head. “Now, Leland, these things—”

“I know what I’m doing.”

My father sits back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. “You know, son, I won’t always be there to catch you when you fall.”

A swallow tugs at my throat. “I understand.”

I don’t give him another chance to cut me down or tag along. I leave the kitchen and my father and pace my steps, calm and purposeful, as I head to the doors of Aquarius Hall. I don’t have to turn around to know he’s watching me. My father will pounce on any sign of weakness. So I keep my hands loose at my sides and ignore the rush of adrenaline that makes me want to run from this place—from him.

I push open the door and my shoulders relax a bit when it closes behind me. Outside, the sun hasn’t been up long. The scent of fresh dew lingers in the air, and pearls of water soak into my jeans as I cut through the ferns for a more direct path to Moon Hall and Dean Rottingham’s office.

The change that’s happened at the Academia in one day is incredible. Before Sam’s death—before what happened between Wren and Celeste—campus felt familiar. Without the magick, it could’ve been any private school where students are serious about learning, but also still students interested in hanging out and hooking up between tests and lectures.

Now the Academia de la Luna is more like a military school. All around me are groups of students clustered together, pale-faced and somber, as they drill over and over with the Scorpio moons. Some practice protective spell work while others train in hand-to-hand combat, focusing on defense.

I want to shout, This isn’t right! We’re not supposed to be learning about protective warfare. We’re supposed to be flexing our Moonstruck abilities and focusing on our future.

The crackle of fire followed by several shrieks has me altering my trajectory to Moon Hall and jogging to the left, toward the edge of the clear dome that encases campus. Hovering about twenty feet in the air on the forest side of the dome is a Fire Elemental. It swoops around like a phoenix, its feathers the deep orangey-red flames. It lets out another shriek and chases its cry with a breath of fire that explodes against the dome. A group of Taurus moons scatter from the edge of the protective barrier, their Scorpio moon instructor trying to calm them as the Elemental swoops close to the dome, flaming talons outstretched.

There are more noises coming from the forest side of the dome—more screams and shouts from students—more groups that need to be calmed and reassured before they continue training for a conflict none of us expected or wanted.

How is Wren okay?

The Elementals keep attacking, keep battering the magick that surrounds the Academia, but at least we’re inside and safe. Wren is out there, so vulnerable it makes my stomach hurt and my palms sweat.

There’s nothing I can do. The Scorpio moons have it handled, so I shift direction, heading back to Moon Hall. I need to get to Rottingham. I’m not sure what I’m going to say to him. I’m running on pure instinct and adrenaline and this voice in the back of my mind that sounds like both Maya’s and Wren’s.

Something’s not right.

I tear off a piece of bagel and shove it into my mouth. I don’t even taste it as my thoughts swirl and I carve a path through the trees on my way closer and closer to answers. I’m sick of being a pawn, of being a blank page for others to write on. I am my own man. If my father taught me anything it’s that a Young can get whatever he wants.

“I want the truth.”

The rear door to Moon Hall opens and I have to weave my way between groups of students clustered around professors who read from lists assigning them to different Scor pio moon professors who will drill them in spell work and defensive techniques. The common areas on the ground floor are packed but eerily quiet. There’s no joking. No laughter. No flirting. There are only strained expressions and somber acknowledgments of assignments.

I take the stairs two at a time up to the second floor where the dean’s office is situated in the front of Moon Hall.

Rottingham’s assistant’s desk is empty and the solid wood door that leads to his office is closed. I’m glad Poppy isn’t here, because I’m way past caring about what I have to do to get in.

I throw open the door and charge into the dean’s neat and tidy office. Rottingham simply nods at me as he rests against the edge of his desk, ankles crossed, thumb and forefinger smoothing his goatee. Luke leans forward in the wingback leather chair across from the dean, his red hair like a torch glowing in the early morning light that filters through the window.

“You got here quick,” he says, turning to look at me over his shoulder. “What, does this place have a Bat Signal?”

“Luke, what are you doing here?” I ask, more than a little surprised that he’s having a private meeting with the dean. When I thought this through, not that I did a great job with that, Rottingham was alone or in a meeting with the council or Celeste or—

“What do you mean what am I doing here ? Have you looked outside?” He gestures to the window.

“Of course I’ve looked outside. I just came from outside,” I say, trying to get my thoughts in order. I was ready to confront Rottingham, not my friend. “Something’s not right.”

“Obviously.” Luke’s brow furrows. “Lee, you feeling all right?”

“I’m fine,” I say, ignoring Luke and getting back on track.

“While we don’t have a Bat Signal, I did just send Poppy to find you,” Rottingham begins as he continues to stroke his beard. “I regret that both you and Luke, and all the students here, must deal with this confrontation, but it’s important my apprentices know what is expected of them.”

I clench my hands into fists. “That’s not why I’m here. I want to know what’s really going on. You and I both know it’s bigger than what happened with Celeste and Sam and Wren leaving campus.” I point at Rottingham, whose fingers go motionless on his goatee. “Something started all this. Without knowing what it is, none of what’s happened—what’s happening— makes sense.”

“Lee, please, sit.” Rottingham gestures to the seat next to Luke. The same place I sat after the wild Fire Elementals attacked Wren and me in the forest during our first Trial. Back when those five massive creatures, eyes blazing with fire, smoke billowing from their bodies, crashed together and exploded into an enormous dragon. Even now, I can smell Wren’s singed hair as it charged after us, shooting flames in our direction.

“It started back then, didn’t it? Right when we got here. Right when Wren was Moonstruck but didn’t fit into a moon sign.” I take a step closer to the dean, anger building in my bones, magick sparking against my fingertips. “It all starts with her, but it doesn’t answer the questions. Why would Wren want to kill Celeste? Why did an Elemental help her? Why are there wild Elementals outside the dome attacking us right now? Why did my sister have to die?”

“Leland! Sit. Down,” Rottingham snaps, but the only man who has a hold over me, who can shut my mouth and force me silent, is my father.

“I don’t want to sit, Rottingham. I want answers.”

The dean stares at me, while behind me Luke’s breathing is heavy and quick. No doubt he feels my magick crackling through the air, against his skin, ready to be woven into something real.

Rubbing his hands together, Rottingham pushes away from his desk. “Answers are never that simple.” He moves to get by me and back behind the barricade of his desk, but I don’t let him pass.

“Try,” I grind out through clenched teeth.

His sigh is heavy with the weight of untold secrets. “Lee, the truth is complex, tangled in layers of secrecy and necessity. What Celeste revealed to you while she was healing, and whatever snippets you believe you have pieced together about Wren and Maya—it’s all part of a much larger puzzle.”

He tries to bypass me again, but I stand firm, my resolve as unyielding as the ground beneath my feet. I’m not moving. I’m not done here. “Answers, Rottingham. Now.”

“Lily is gone, too.” Luke’s tone is urgent and clipped. “So is Ruby. As much as you might want this to only be about Wren and your sister, it’s not. We’re all involved. The Lunar Council, you, me—look outside, Lee. Pull your head out and look .”

Compelled by his words, I stride to the open window. Below, the meticulously landscaped front grounds of Moon Hall stretch to the wide wooden stairs that lead down to the beach and the school’s wharf. Beyond the wharf, the Pacific Ocean looks strange. At this distance, through the curved crystal side of the protective dome, its waves are darker, larger, ominous.

My vision blurs when I try to focus on the ocean, so I blink it clear and return my gaze to the front lawn. There are usually students sitting on benches or blankets on the well-landscaped grass. Today the only students visible are drilling with Scorpio moons with such intense concentration the vestiges of their magick waft in on the breeze.

A distant growl pulls my attention back to the dome and the ocean beyond. One enormous wave after another lifts from the ocean. With a rumble that rattles my bones, they crash against the dome.

On the lawn below, the panicked shouts of students mix with the roar of waves as the Water Elemental, one of only three Elementals who remain inside the dome, swoops over the students, soaring to the curved barrier with his arms spread wide. He doesn’t notice, doesn’t even glance down at, the students as he flies above. He’s too high to touch them, but that doesn’t stop every one of them from ducking down, flinching away from him. He hurtles toward the edge of the dome, growing in size, radiating raw elemental magick, until he’s huge and imposing. His skeletal hand reaches out from the depths of his cloak, and the battering waves recede.

It’s not the Elemental or even the power he wields that strikes me the most. It’s the fear he’s causing. They’re all afraid of the Elementals who went from magickally escorting us to our Trials to policing the grounds like nightmares come to life. What is happening is changing everything—altering all our futures.

“It’s chaos out there,” I say softly, more to myself than to Rottingham or Luke.

“This is about all of us… all the Moonstruck.” Luke’s voice is a quiet echo of my own thoughts.

“There are still things we don’t know. Things they’re hiding from us,” I say.

“Not everything is meant to be uncovered at once, Lee.” Rottingham places his hand on my shoulder. “But remember, there’s a broader picture. Right now, your peers are frightened, vulnerable. They need reassurance and a sense of normalcy amidst this turmoil. Both you and Luke have an important role to play in this. Your visibility, your interaction with the three Elementals still on campus—it could serve as a beacon of hope, a reminder that not all is lost and that this change should not be feared. All great things come through metamorphosis.”

My anger drains away, and now all I’m left with is exhaustion and an overwhelming sense of duty. I don’t put up a fight as he leads me and Luke to the door. Choosing now to wage my battle against the powers that be won’t help anyone, especially not Wren.

“Your peers need to know that they have agency—that they have control over what is happening and don’t feel as if this situation is being thrust upon them—which is why I need you to lead a training session with the Scorpios. It’ll boost morale and give them a constructive way to channel their energy. I’ve briefed Luke on what needs to be done in order to have the most impact,” Rottingham continues, guiding me gently toward the door. “He’ll fill you in on the specifics.”

“Will do, Dean.” Luke gives a mock salute and strides past Poppy’s desk and out into the hall.

“Lee”—Rottingham keeps his grip on my shoulder as I try to follow Luke—“this is a moment for leadership, for empathy. The fear and panic enveloping our community can be as dangerous as any threat from outside. You have the power to mitigate that, to help maintain a semblance of peace. Don’t get discouraged. You’re the lead student at the Academia. The other students need you. I need you. That being said, it is important you follow your instincts, trust yourself, and keep your eyes open. Do that, and the pieces will eventually fit together.”

Eventually.

A frantic laugh itches the back of my throat.

How many more people will die if I wait for answers?

Before I turn to ask him that very question, the door closes and the lock clicks into place.

I linger, staring at the door as the weight of Rottingham’s words settles over me. I want to find real answers, but I need to help prevent a full-blown campus panic. I have no idea how to do both at the same time.

Luke grabs the doorframe and leans into the waiting room right outside the dean’s office. “You waiting for an invitation? We have places to be, Lee.” He smirks, his brow arching. “Did you know your name rhymes with a lot of stuff?”

“Yeah, so does yours,” I say, brushing by him and out into the hallway. “Luke… puke…”

He claps me on the back. “Nice to see you’re back to normal. You were lit up in there. We could’ve powered the whole building with the amount of energy coming off you. Things going sideways with your old man?”

While walking toward the double doors that lead out of Moon Hall, I shoot him a glare that says I don’t want to talk about it.

Luke holds up his hands in surrender. “Look, I just know that, when things are off the rails with my mom, I get a little swing-first-ask-questions-later.”

“You know, that’s really self-aware for someone so dense.”

“Thanks.”

The double doors in front of us swing open, and Poppy walks in in a pastel-pink cloud of skirts. “Lee, I was looking all over for you, but I’m glad you found your way to the dean’s office. It’s a bit intense, the task he has set up for you two at Crossroads.” Her small, glossy pink lips slide into a frown. “Actually, it’s not something that’s ever happened in the past. I suppose nothing that’s going on now has.…” Her words float away as her chin tilts up, and her gaze rises above our heads.

“Anyway,” she says with a few rapid blinks that bring her out of her thoughts and back into the present, “I don’t want to keep you.” She gives us a small wave and heads down the hall to her office, her short heels clacking against the tile.

“Is she talking about the Scorpio training we’re doing?” I ask, following Luke out into the bright morning light.

“Well, you and your dad are training the Scorpios since no one has magick fingers quite like the Youngs. But I’ll be there. Benefit of being a co-apprentice,” he says, popping his nonexistent collar. “Rottingham wants to say it’s to boost morale and get them to channel all that Hulk, smash! energy into something productive, but if you ask me, it’s so you and your dad increase their learning curve. They need to be great today in case the wild Elementals break through. Not that that’s really possible. I mean, right?”

We both stare out at the huge, glistening barrier that encapsulates campus like a giant bubble. “Wren is on the other side with your sister and Ruby. If nothing can break through, great. But you better hope we can get out to save them.”

“Yeah…” Yellow Air Elementals zig and zag above us outside the dome, their reflections like sun flares caught in Luke’s gaze.

There’s a strange feeling in my stomach that stirs up my anger and pushes me to take action. Maybe this is the part of trusting myself Rottingham mentioned. Even though I didn’t get answers from him, maybe I can get them from someone else.

I take advantage of the fact that Luke is still lost in thought, and reopen the door to Moon Hall. “I’m going to go back and apologize to the dean. You head over to Crossroads. I’ll be right there.”

I head inside before he realizes my absence will mean he’ll have to face my father on his own. My new plan gives me another surge of adrenaline, and I practically jog down the hall, reaching Poppy’s desk in a few seconds.

“Poppy, I need your help.”

She flinches, clutching the fuzzy end of her sparkly pen to her chest as she jerks up from completing a stack of paperwork. “Lee, you scared me half to death.”

“Sorry, I just… I have a question.”

“Well.” She turns to her computer and clicks the mouse a few times. “With everything that’s going on, I’m afraid the dean’s schedule is booked for the rest of the day. I can give him a message, if you’d like.”

“Actually, Poppy, I think you’re the perfect person to help me.”

“It’s not every day I’m told I’m the perfect person.” Her cheeks turn pink as she tucks her hair behind her ears and adjusts her hand-decorated headband. “What can I do for you, Lee?”

“Two people have died this summer, and I can’t help but think about Maya.”

Poppy takes a deep breath and rubs her palms against the fluffy folds of her skirts. “Your sister was a lovely young woman. I saw her almost daily while she apprenticed with the dean. I was so upset when I heard about Maya’s accident. Drowning…” Her hands pause as her gaze drifts down to her desk. “I understand what it’s like for someone you love to be here and then… gone.”

I open my mouth to say, I’m sorry , but I know better than most how hollow that apology is. “It sucks,” I say instead.

She nods, a smile lifting her cheeks as she looks up at me. “It does.”

I take a moment before speaking again. I want to make sure I get this just right. “Dean Rottingham told me that, during times like this, times when we look around and see only chaos, it’s important to feel like we’re in control of at least one aspect of our lives.” She nods again, so I continue, “I feel like the one thing I can control is how I deal with my sister’s death. I never really had closure, and with everything going on, I think the time to resolve that is now so I can be the best version of myself. The leader the other students need.”

She cocks her chin, and her forehead furrows with an unspoken question.

“Poppy, I need to see Maya’s room. And I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important.” In my head, I go over and over what I just said, holding my breath while I wait for her response.

“These rooms are not museums for lines to parade in and out of, Lee. They’re lives left unfinished. Do you understand?”

The Academia holds on to the rooms of any student who dies before they complete their training and leave Moon Isle. The magick that made each of our names appear on our door can’t be manually reset. It ebbs and flows like the tide—coming in as we arrive and going out when we leave. But when a student dies on campus, their energy is never really gone, and neither is their magick. The Academia can’t let go of what never left, so it holds on to the rooms of the dead. I don’t know what will happen when the rest of us are gone and time as we know it ends—if these will become catacombs of unreleased magick carved into the belly of the universe—but I do know that my sister left her room behind. Within it, there are bound to be answers.

“Yeah, of course.” If my nod gets any more emphatic, my head will bounce off my shoulders.

Poppy glances at the closed door to Rottingham’s office before opening her desk drawer and taking out a pocket-sized spiral-bound notebook. She picks up her pen and starts writing, the fluffy tip pawing the air like a kitten’s paw. As she writes, the moss she stitched into her hand-decorated headband seems to grow, weaving into her hair a bit more with each word. “I’ve lost someone, too, Lee. That’s the only reason I’m giving you this. I understand what grief is.”

My skin tingles and the scent of fresh-cut grass tickles my nose while the room outside Dean Rottingham’s office fills with Poppy’s Taurus magick.

There’s one sentence written on the page she holds out to me. One sentence that I can’t read through the sudden heat of unshed tears that prick my eyes. I reach for the note, but she pulls it back before I grab it.

“There’s a door beneath the stairs of Aquarius Hall. It’s in the back, tucked out of sight, completely boring and easy to ignore. That’s where you’ll find your way in. With the right magick, the office is whatever you need it to be.” She stares up at me, moss braiding through her hair as her magick thrums around us like a pulse. “Simply picture who you want to see and the motions will come to you.”

Once again, she holds the note out to me. This time, I take it.

The remnants of her earth magick vibrate against my palm as I cling to it, afraid she’ll think it’s a mistake and want it back. “This means more to me than I can even explain,” I say, looking down at the piece of paper that will allow me a peek into my sister’s life before it ended.

“Don’t stay too long, Lee. These memories have a way of making you forget yourself.” She blinks a gloss of tears from her eyes and clears her throat. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to work.”

I leave Poppy and make my way out of Moon Hall, thoughts buzzing and hands shaking. Maybe, in finding the answers I’m searching for, I’ll find the piece of myself I’ve already forgotten.