Page 24

The night sky to the north was lit in a riot of pulsating color. Blue, yellow, green, and even a hint of red.

“The Northern Lights,” I murmured, my throat feeling oddly thick. Every once in a while, the beauty of earth did that to me. It was almost as if the shock of our violent, selfish, often ugly planet co-existing with something as amazing as this reminded me that there was good in everything.

And everyone.

“I’ve never seen them before. It’s ...” I trailed off, embarrassed at the crack in my voice.

“Beautiful, I know.”

For a few minutes, we just stood there watching the show, the lights undulating like lazy fat serpents swimming through thick black water.

But soon enough, I became aware of the heat of Liam’s body next to mine.

And of his smell. Vanilla, but not like a cookie.

More like a warm, masculine scent that made me want to lean in –

“I appreciate the light show, but how about you tell me what we’re doing out here,” I said, scooting subtly to the side, giving myself a little room.

I looked up and met his gaze, trying not to be taken by his boyish good looks.

“Initially, I wanted to talk to you about the other day outside the pub. But then after class this morning, it turned into more than that ...”

My throat worked as I tried not to let my thoughts run wild. He didn’t look mad. In fact, he looked ... concerned more than anything.

Time to bite the bullet. “Let’s start with the first bit.”

“The raccoon.”

“Bandit?” I shrugged. “What about him?”

“Did you bring him to the school with you?”

“No. He was there, behind the pub when all that stuff happened.”

“And could he talk the whole time?”

“Nope.”

His eyes narrowed in concentration. “At what point, exactly, did he first speak to you?”

I thought back. “After I did a ... um, my mom taught me this rune when I was a kid. She went here, Neverthorn. She was in Felinita, and –” I broke off when I realized I was rambling.

Nothing like too much information to mark a lie.

I swallowed hard and started again. “Anyway, yeah. I just did a little rune in the air.”

“Show it to me.”

I closed my eyes, and pictured Nocta’s motions, and repeated them. Before it was complete, Liam’s big, warm hand closed over mine.

He let out a low hiss. “That’s a pretty strong bit of magic for a woman to teach her child.”

“What is it? What does it do?”

“It can rob another of their senses to disarm them for an attack. Harlow ... I think you may have stolen the voice of someone outside the pub and given it to Bandit.”

I blinked up at him as my vision blurred.

Stay calm. Count backwards from ten.

I thought about the man who’d passed out drunk not ten feet from where I’d cast the rune, and where Bandit had gained his voice.

“I-I – that can’t be. I would never do something like that.”

“Of course not. Not on purpose. Maybe you misremembered the rune? Maybe you missed a motion in the sequence or something?”

I nodded. “Yes. Yes, I must’ve. My mother was such a good person. She’d never have taught me something as dark as that.” I stared up at him, guilt stabbing at my insides. “What do I do? Liam, I can’t have that on my conscience. I’ve got to fix it.”

“There’s no reversing a rune like this. I’ll take care of it. I’ll go down tomorrow and see if I can find him – whoever it is that Bandit’s voice first belonged to. See if I can give him a new voice. It might not be his, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Most of that area was pretty empty because the shops were closed for lunch and the rest were inside eating. But I did see a man,” I said, forcing the words out through numb lips. “He was drunk and had stumbled out the side door and sort of passed out ...”

“Did you get a good look at him?”

“No.”

I was too caught up in my own sheet.

“There can’t have been more than one person to lose their voice at the pub so I’m sure I’ll track him down. It’s going to be alright, Harlow. You have my word on that.”

I nodded, acid still roiling in my gut.

“And directly after that, the fog rolled in?” he continued.

“I wouldn’t say directly,” I hedged.

“Pretty soon after?”

“I guess.”

“So, is it possible something about the spell lured Nocta here to Neverthorn?”

Nope, I couldn’t have him going down that path. I tried to play it casual as I shook my head.

“I don’t see how. Seems more likely he was lurking around and maybe had spent time weakening the wards.”

Liam frowned. “I suppose.”

“What was the other thing you wanted to talk about?”

I was desperate to move away from this line of questioning, even though I had a feeling the second part was going to be even worse than the first. Now I just wanted to get it over with so I could go to my dorm room and have a nervous breakdown in private.

“Latent Quirks.”

I blinked at him.

“Why me?” I asked, thoroughly confused. “Why not invite all of us out here, then?”

“You’re special.”

I let out a low laugh. “Funny, I don’t feel special. And we’ve known each other for two days. How could you possibly –”

“Because I sensed it. Inside you. Something I’ve never felt before, Harlow.

Something so powerful, it dwarfs even this.

” He lifted a hand to the sky, his gaze so sincere it was hard not to believe him .

.. or at least believe that he believed him.

“I need you to commit to the process. It’s buried deep, but I feel like if we can get through some of the debris, there is a real chance you could be The One. ”

For a second, I wondered if getting hurled off this turret wouldn’t be so bad after all ... he was saying I could be the one to stop Nocta. The one to kill my father.

I turned away from him to stare at the lights.

Anything to avoid looking him in the eyes.

“Look, I am willing to try. But I don’t have the same confidence you do.

There’s a chance that I don’t have a Quirk at all.

That it’s something else you’re feeling inside me.

” Latent, genetic evil, maybe? I thought with a shiver.

“Plus, I’m not sure if you realize this, but I’ve got a lot of baggage.

It might take all year just to get through it. ”

His lips went tight, and he shook his head. “That’s the thing of it. We don’t have all year, Harlow.”

I wrapped my arms around my waist as his words sank in.

“What do you mean?”

“The Northern Lights.” He gestured to the sky. “Beautiful and terrifying all at once, like so many of Mother Nature’s creations. Harlow ... they’re early. We shouldn’t be able to see them this time of year. And moreover, they certainly shouldn’t contain red.”

I stared at him, nonplussed.

He spoke slowly.

“ There is another prophecy, one that I brought with me from Heathermoor .

“When the sky spits yellow, blue and red

And all the colors but the last are dead

Only four more full moons remain

Before the Phoenix must rise again.”

“Holy sheet.” The blood rushed in my ears, and I gripped the edge of the turret once more for balance. “How long?”

“Three and a half months. Maybe a little less.” That must have been what the other prophecy had been referring to ...

In the darkest hour, in the darkest days.

The winter solstice.

Only a hundred days between now and then, give or take.

One hundred days to prepare one of us to save the Dwimmer world from Nocta, or all would be lost. He’d rip a hole between us and the Everdark and that ... that would be it for everyone.

“I’ve got to go. The others might come check on me.” I wheeled around and all but sprinted back to the stairwell. Liam had to take the stairs two at a time to catch up with me just as I reached my floor.

He grabbed my arm and tugged me around to face him.

“It’s going to be okay. Do you trust me?” he asked, his solemn brown eyes searching mine.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t trust anyone.”

He gave me a grim smile. “That’s alright. I’m going to change that. And when I do, we’re going to figure this out. Together.”

He released my arm, and I stepped through the door, directly into the rock-hard chest of Typhon Moreno.

“O’Connor. Ms. Daygon, might I ask why you’re roaming the school without your companion?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but Liam cut in before I could.

“I thought it was best to speak with her one on one about the methodology of triggering a latent Quirk. She’s a little more .

.. worldly and therefore less trusting than some of the other students.

I wanted to reassure her that she’s in the safest of hands so that she can move forward and dig deep for that Quirk without fear. ”

Not the whole truth, but close.

Typhon cocked his head and studied the other man intently. “And is she?”

Liam eyes narrowed, darkening. “Is she what?”

Typhon didn’t blink, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he replied. “Is she in the safest of hands alone with you?”

Liam’s hands flexed at his side for a split second. A moment later, though, the easy smile was firmly back in place.

“Absolutely. I would guard her with my life.”

Typhon nodded slowly as he backed away. “I’ll hold you to that.”

He headed back down the hall, and I let out a pent-up breath.

“Does he scare you?” Liam asked.

I pondered that for a hot second before answering. “I don’t think scare is the right word. More like he makes me feel unsettled. What about you?” I asked, eager to turn the conversation away from my feelings about Typhon. “Does he scare you?”

Liam chuckled and leaned against the wall to peer down at me. “He irritates me, but the feeling is more than mutual. And our ideas of what makes a good professor are very different. We’re like oil and water. We’re never going to mix, so it’s best if I keep my distance.”

Same. But somehow, I couldn’t seem to manage that, even if I tried.

“Thing is, though ... I don’t trust him,” Liam said.

“Is that right?”

“I just have the sense that he’s hiding something. Something important.”

I shifted from foot to foot and turned my head away so he couldn’t see the sudden color in my cheeks. I was hiding something important. Who was I to judge?

But I couldn’t deny that Liam’s words left me unsettled.

“I’ll let you go. But think about what I said, yeah?”

I nodded and made my way toward my room.

In fact, I’d probably spend my whole night thinking about it.

He thought I had a Quirk.

That I would be the one strong enough to face Nocta.