Page 46 of Love at Full Tilt

Hero’s Quest, Fableland

Orlando, FL

At the top of Sun’s Peak, overlooking the entirety of Hero’s Quest, is a small snatch of grass teeming with sunspark blossoms. Each morning they’re replenished so a new crop of visitors can follow Elorra Tanglewood’s trek up the mountain to find the spray of flowers that will save her kingdom.

Most days all the sprigs are picked by noon, so, my advice? Get there early if you want your own.

—MyCatIsOliverCray, Fabler Fanatics’ Forum

“It’s too hot for this.”

Tess stops to lean over the railing that guards the steep turn of steps. Panting, she lifts her shirt to swipe the sweat from her forehead.

“You ran track for four years,” I point out.

She narrows her eyes at me. “I did not run track up stairs. ”

I meet Issy’s gaze, and we both shake our heads, grinning. Nothing can tame Tess’s melodrama. Not even a hike to the top of Sun’s Peak.

Mason was right about the first clue of the day taking place at the Alistair’s Labyrinth attraction.

Instead of a riddle, instructions arrived at midnight, explaining that for the first event of the day, contestants would have to find three items hidden in Alistair’s workshop.

We were also warned that some of us would be eliminated.

Thank God I was in the top ten yesterday, which means I’ll get some extra hints to give me an advantage. The instructions said they’d be revealed when the hunt at Alistair’s Labyrinth begins.

In the meantime, Tess, Issy, and I have a good two hours to pick some sunspark before we head to Vale of Villainy.

This was one of our biggest dreams as kids, and I’m so excited that we get to make it come true. On some other plane of the space-time continuum, the twelve-year-old versions of us are screaming like fans at a boy-band concert right now as we get closer to the top of the peak.

“We’re almost there,” Issy says, offering Tess her water bottle.

Tess takes it, dumping the water over her head instead of sipping it.

I grab my phone to take a picture of her, but I can’t resist the urge to check my texts. Mason still hasn’t responded.

Issy frowns at me. “If he can’t be bothered to answer, he doesn’t deserve you. Don’t waste the rest of the trip pining forhim.”

I know she’s right, at least about not wasting our trip. But I’m not ready to give up. Not quite yet. Mason’s worth it. I still believe that. And though it may be all we get, I want the time we have left. I want the chance for one of us to win this contest. To get more than we’re used to for once.

A family of four skirts us on the stairs. The older son looks about our age, tall with a boyish face, chin-length bronze hair, and big brown eyes. They catch on Issy as he passes by and he smiles shyly at her.

She returns his grin, but then quickly feigns interest in her unpainted nails.

Tess groans as he moves out of earshot. “Is, he was adorable.”

“And with his parents,” Issy points out. I can see the tension in her jaw, and the way her shoulders rise toward her ears.

I press my arm against hers to remind her that I’m here. Maybe with me for support, she can finally tell Tess the truth.

Tess sighs. “Everyone here is with their parents. Even Lia for a while yesterday.”

I squawk, wishing I had something to toss at her head. “Toosoon.”

Tess and I laugh, but Issy’s frown remains. Her eyes flit around our surroundings, the stairs, the top of the peak a few feet away, the clusters of people trailing up the path behind us.

She waits until the next group goes by, then clears her throat.

“Tess.” She says her name so softly Tess has to get closer to hear her.

“Is?”

Issy presses her spine against the metal railing as she blows out a long breath. “I need to talk to you about something.” She swallows, then rubs at her eyes with the heel of her hand. “Or…I guess…tell you something.” Her voices catches.

She doesn’t need an audience for this, so I wander a little farther up the stairs and take in the view.

After a few long moments, I see Tess pull Issy into a hug. The moment Issy accepts it, I rush toward them and join in, wrapping my arms around my friends.

They hug me right back.

“Can you be done playing matchmaker now?” Issy asks gently.

“You got it.” Tess tightens her embrace. “I just wanted you both to be okay. Everything’s about to change, and, honestly, it’s kind of terrifying.”

I gape at her. “Wait. This is about next year?”

Tess nods. “It helps having someone else in your corner. Like I have Grace. I want you both to have that.” She cuts her eyes to Issy. “But not if you don’t want it. I just want you to be good. I want us all to be good.”

“We are. We will be.” I blink against the emotions stinging my eyes. “If this week has taught us anything, I think it’s that the three of us don’t break so easily.”

For months, the space between us has been shifting and taking on new shapes.

But since we’ve been at Fableland, it’s become more pronounced, as if all those changes are solidifying.

Becoming real. This is the first time I’ve been honest with my parents.

It’s the first time I’ve seen Issy truly speak up for herself.

It’s the first time either of us have pushed back against Tess’s need to make everything just so.

Stepping back, I run my hand along my pocket, feeling for my notes about Alistair’s Labyrinth.

Tess and Issy found the research I’d torn up after my fight with Mason and taped the papers back together.

Then Tess threw out her precious schedule.

Literally. Tossed it right over the balcony.

Most of the pages landed in the pool. From all the way on the ninth floor, I could see her perfectly symmetrical handwriting bleed across the paper.

It’s like we’ve come full circle. Back to the start of the week, when it was the three of us exploring the parks. But we’re all a little different now. A little clearer. Maybe a little brighter, too.

Quietly, we climb the last few flights of stairs and reach the top of Sun’s Peak.

Between the mountain’s peaks is a plateau smothered in grass so green it looks like it recently soaked up a good spring rain.

Small rocks poke out among its thick tufts, their flecks of silver and bronze winking in the morning sunshine.

Circling them like wreaths are sprays of golden flowers identical to the one we saw in Elorra’s lab.

Sunspark. So much sunspark.

An attendant wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a khaki button-down over shorts the same color greets us.

With a flourish of his hands, he says, “Welcome to Sun’s Peak.

Feel free to wander as long as you like.

But no climbing on the fence and only one flower per guest.” When we nod in understanding, he disappears back into his kiosk, which boasts empty mason jars and small hollow terrarium necklaces, all cowering from the direct sunlight under a giant umbrella.

I walk to the edge of the plateau and lean against the metal fence to stare down at the park. Its bold primary colors look muted from so far up, and even the tallest roller coasters seem a little less daunting, like they’re nothing but big toy train tracks.

I close my eyes as a warm breeze kisses my cheeks. “Thanks for doing this,” I say to my friends.

Tess nudges me. “Like we’d miss this.”

“After yesterday—”

“I can’t believe your parents were here,” she interrupts. “And that they left. Sort of, at least.”

Issy nods. “I was afraid they were going to make you go home.”

I sniff. “Me too. I honestly can’t believe everything I said to them.” I frown. “Or to you guys.” We still haven’t talked about what happened before my parents showed up. All the things I said. Every time I try, they wave me off, but I’m determined to get the words out. They need to know I’m sorry.

“Yesterday sucked,” Issy says. “We get it.”

“I was upset about Mason, and I took it out on you two. I shouldn’t have.” I tap my toe against one of the steel posts. “You’re allowed to go to college. You’re not abandoning me. I’m sorry I said all that.”

Tess clears her throat. “I’m sorry, too,” she says, glancing between Issy and me. “I swear I’m going to listen more. Sometimes I forget there are other opinions in the world besides mine.”

Her words remind me of what Issy and I talked about earlier in the week. That Tess has become so much more… well…Tess-like these past few months. She’s always so confident and organized and in control that we don’t check in with her like we should. It’s too easy to assume she’s fine.

But if the past few days have taught me anything, it’s how damaging assumptions can be. I set my hand on her arm. “What’s going on with that?”

Her eyebrows press together. “What do you mean?”

“Lately, you’ve seemed more…”

“Intense,” Issy offers.

I nod.

“How?” Tess’s voice is a little sharp.

“Think about it,” Issy says softly. “The decor for our dorm room, the schedule for this trip, the endless finals study sessions, the way we had to coordinate our dresses for prom and the after-party and our courses for next year and our morning schedule every day this past semester—out by seven, coffee at exactly seven-fifteen, in the parking lot by seven-twenty-five. You cried the day the barista screwed up Lia’s order and we were off by three minutes. ”

“I did not.”

“I saw you wiping your eyes,” I say.

“So what? You know I’ve always been a planner.”

“But this is more than planning.” Issy’s voice hasn’t lost its gentleness, but it’s firmer.

Tess crosses her arms and walks backward a few paces. “What are you trying to say? That you don’t want to be roommates or like my plans?”

Issy mirrors her stance but holds her ground. “I want to know what changed this year.”

Tess’s eyes shoot to me.

I shake my head, eyes widening slightly.

“Tess, come on,” Issy urges. “What happened?”