Between (11 page)

Please go away
.

I sit until my breathing is made of quiet, shaky breaths rather than scream-tinged gasps. Beside me, I hear Clara’s breathing slow to a more manageable rate, too.

Please
.

Clara’s hands relax and she rocks back on her feet. The tightly corded muscles across my neck and shoulders unwind enough for me to lift my head. The thumping sound dies away, and then there’s nothing.

What in the name of all that is good and sparkly was that thing?

Clara slowly rises. I follow her out from under the willow, and we stop to examine the sky.

All clear.

I shift my original opinion of the fairy from Horrid Witch to Heroic Savior. “Clara, I’m so—”

She cuts me off with a jerk of her head. “You have got to be the stupidest creature I’ve ever met. Summoning a harpy? Are you out of your mind?”

Nope. I was right the first time. Horrid Witch. “Huh?”

Clara places her hands on her hips. The willow trees around us make her eyes look even more lavender, and they flash when she speaks. “You Apprentices are all the same. You think this is one big game, that your powers are playthings,” she fumes.

I step farther away from the trees onto the open space that runs between them. “I didn’t summon anything!”

“Sure you didn’t.” Clara rolls her eyes. “Harpies were banished from Ellauria. How did it get in?” It’s more accusation than question. Her tone makes it clear she doesn’t believe me.

“It wasn’t me! I can’t even use powers. I’m a—” I inhale sharply, catching myself, “siren.”

She blinks as though I’ve slapped her. The anger on Clara’s face is momentarily replaced by surprise, but she recovers quickly by curling her upper lip. Her eyes travel up and down my body, sizing me up. “A siren? Really? You’re not
that
pretty.”

What a beach. I’ve been meangirled once or twice, but never by a charm-impaired fairy who just saved my life. I swallow all the things I want to say and level my gaze at her. “Thank you for saving me.”

Clara’s fingers glide over her skin, dusting her shoulders and arms and smoothing her hair. “If you’d been killed by a harpy so close to my territory, I never would’ve heard the end of it. Not to mention the mess she would’ve left in the Meadow of Music. Harpies are notoriously untidy eaters.”

I bite my tongue and look at the clouds. Between the harpy and this fairy, my wonderstruck impression of Ellauria is fading fast. This place may be magical, but it’s not without ugliness.

“You really didn’t summon the harpy?” Clara asks, studying my face.

I level my gaze on her and enunciate my words as clearly as possible. “No. I didn’t.”

She releases a loud, annoyed breath. “I guess I need to let PC know about this. Who’s your Aegis?”

PC has to know? Oh, God. Seth is going to kill me. “Seth Hewitt,” I mumble, shaking my head. I shouldn’t have left my room.

I bet he’s looking for me right now. From the not staying in my room, to the trying to find a way to get into the Between, to the being chased by a scary ladybird—nothing about this story is going to go over well.

“Seth, eh?” She raises her perfectly shaped brow. “You must be one important siren.”

I don’t know what to say to that. Am I supposed to be an important siren? I try to maintain a blank expression while I comb through last night’s conversation.

No. I’m sure he didn’t say anything about being important. I’m supposed to blend in. Clara purses her lips, waiting for me to respond. Why hadn’t I stayed in my room like Seth said? “I, uh—”

“Clara! Hey!” a male voice calls.

She lifts a few inches off the ground, looking over my shoulder, and smiles. Like, a real, actual, full-faced smile. “Keiran!”

I turn. There’s a group of creatures passing through the trees, some winged, a few hoofed, and one who looks as human as I do. His eyes are on us, and he says something to the others as he changes direction and heads our way.

I could use this time to exit. Maybe she wouldn’t notice if I slipped away. I glance around, not sure which direction to go in.

Clara lights up when the guy reaches us, floating around me to be closer to him. “Hi there,” she coos, shattering my assumption that she’s a hateful hater who hates everyone.

“Hey, you,” he replies with a grin, then looks at me. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Keiran.”

He’s taller than me, with broad shoulders and the kind of bronzed tan I’ll never have. His eyes are the most unusual shade of gray, with a shadow of pale blue flames around his pupils.

The thing is, he’s gorgeous. Ridiculously gorgeous. From his dimples to his flawless skin to the hint of muscle definition beneath his shirt, he’s the kind of pretty that doesn’t actually exist in real life. Airbrushed pretty.

“I’m…” I have a name. I can’t think of it at this exact moment, but I’m certain I have one.

Keiran laughs. “No pressure. I’ll just call you Freckles.”

My hand immediately flies to my nose, the only place on my body with a scattering of freckles on it.

Clara rolls her eyes. “It’s George, or something.”

Her voice makes my teeth clench. I close my eyes and give myself a shake. “My name is Charlie Page. I got here yesterday.”

“Nice to meet you, Charlie Page.” Keiran’s messy hair matches his outfit—carefully wrinkled khaki shorts and a red T-shirt that looks like he picked it up off the floor. There’s a blue ribbon pinned in a loop to the front of his shirt. He grins, and a few strands of blond hair fall across his forehead.

Of course his teeth are perfect. Of course they are.

“She’s a first-year,” Clara says, like she’s announcing my leprosy. She places a dainty hand on Keiran’s shoulder. “We’re about to head over to the library to let PC know there’s a harpy in the area.”

We are? I didn’t realize I actually had to go with her.

Fantastic. My first morning in Ellauria and I’m about to go in front of PC without Seth. He is going to kill me.

Keiran’s brow lowers. “A harpy? Those were banished ages ago. How’d it get in?”

It’s the same question Clara asked earlier, and without the sharp tone, I realize the significance of what he’s saying. Seth had said Bigfoot couldn’t return after she was banished. I’d assumed that this was basically a suggestion or a rule put in place, but now I’m guessing banishment is supposed to be much more permanent.

Is another spell slipping?

“Well, she says she didn’t summon it, but you know how stupid first-years can be.” Clara looks down her nose at me. “If I find out you’re lying, PC will strip your powers for a month.”

I huff and speak slowly so she can understand. “I didn’t summon anything. I don’t even know how.”

“We’ll see. Regardless, it flew off toward the mountains, so at least it was heading out of Ellauria. PC will need to alert the rest of the territories in the mystical realm.” She flips her hair and runs her finger down Keiran’s arm. “Want to come with us? You and I could go to the lake after.”

“Sure.” Keiran shrugs. “I’ll walk with you.”

Clara plants herself beside him, linking her arm through his. I take a spot on his other side, doing my best to ignore her and focus on how I’m going to explain any of this to Seth. I guess there’s no choice other than to tell him I was trying to get back to the Between. Besides, maybe I can distract him by bringing up the banishment thing. Surely spell failure is more important than my aversion to rules that make no sense to me.

Then again, maybe not. Seth loves his rules, almost as much as he loves reminding me of them.

“So, a harpy,” Keiran says to me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I—”

“Oh, she’s fine,” Clara cuts me off. “I grabbed her, and we hid until it flew away. There’s no telling what might have happened if I hadn’t heard the harpy scream.”

I grind my teeth and keep my eyes forward. I can’t exactly argue with anything she said, but I’d still like to punch her in her perfect, tiny nose.

“Wow. That’s intense. I’ve never seen a harpy up close,” he replies. We cut through the trees, walking around all the homes I’d passed earlier. More and more creatures are out and about now, some familiar, some not. Aside from a few nods, they pay little attention to us.

“So, Charlie Page,” Keiran says. “It’s barely eight o’clock, and you’ve already been to the Meadow, played with a harpy, and found a reason to visit PC. Do you always get up so early, or were you on a mission to get into trouble today?”

“What? Oh. No, but I wanted to…” I rack my brain for something besides the truth. “I was looking for someone. Something. I was looking for, um, donuts?

I like donuts.”

Do donuts exist in Ellauria? Lying is hard.

Keiran’s eyes twinkle, which doesn’t help my momentary lapse of intelligence. “It’s okay. I did a lot of sneaking around when I first got here, too. The Fellowship keeps a pretty tight leash on first-years.” He lowers his voice. “FYI, food is probably the worst excuse you could come up with. You’ll find literally any food you want at Mesmer, the patio at the very top of Artedion.”

Oh. Well, at least they have donuts. I’m going to have to work on my game if I’m going to pull off this whole “living a lie” thing. Which is hilarious, considering I’ve been living a lie for seventeen years. Maybe Seth can give me some tips.

Clara leans forward, shooting me a wrathful look. Her eyes are narrowed, her nostrils flared. I don’t think she wants Keiran to pay any attention to me at all. I ignore her and smile at him. We reach the edge of the trees and make our way onto the crowded path. I spot Artedion’s canopy in the distance, but we turn left toward the library. I can’t help but steal a glance at the sky now and then, and I notice Keiran doing the same.

“Do you think it’ll come back?” I ask. Just the thought of it makes my knees quiver.

His eyes roam the sky. “I doubt it.”

“I’m sure it won’t,” Clara declares. “There are too many Ellaurians around now. Harpies don’t attack crowds.”

Her voice is making it really hard to pretend she’s not here.

I keep an eye out for Seth. Maybe he doesn’t know I’m not in my room. I’m torn between wanting him here to help me face PC, and wanting him to stay ignorant to this whole ordeal. There’s got to be a way out of this.

As though she’s reading my mind, Clara asks, “Does Seth know where you are?” Her face is the picture of innocence, but her tone says she already knows the answer.

“Seth?” Keiran asks, looking from Clara to me.

I nod. “My Aegis, and no, Clara, I don’t think he does.” Now there’s no way I’m getting out of this. She’s obviously looking forward to watching me squirm.

A group of dark-skinned elves runs directly toward us, and the three of us split apart to allow them to pass through. Keiran watches me as I step aside and then back to him.

“
Seth
is your Aegis?” He raises his eyebrows. “What
are
you?”

Clara’s words echo through my mind before I answer.
You’re not that pretty
. I brush a few loose strands of hair from my face. Why do I have to be a creature mostly known for being drop-dead gorgeous? Something like a banshee would be so much easier to live up to.

“I’m a siren.”

“Oooh,” he says, nodding. “I don’t think there’s been a siren in the Fellowship for years. That must be why you got Seth.”

Why are they making such a big deal about Seth being my Aegis? “What do you mean?”

“Seth’s never had an Apprentice,” Clara says, lifting up to look at me over Keiran’s head while she speaks. “He’s too busy being Alexander’s right hand in the mortal realm.”

“Oh,” I say, “right.” A smile tugs at my lips and I put my head down. She doesn’t know he’s been my Aegis for years. The fact that I know something Empress Evil doesn’t makes me happy.

“Speaking of Alexander,” Keiran mutters, tipping his head forward. I look up and the founder is standing in the middle of the path, his yellow-green eyes locked on me.

Oh, sheet.

Keiran slides his hands into his pockets. My first instinct is to stop walking, followed quickly by a will to hide, both of which would be completely pointless.

“Alexander!” Clara calls. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m on my way to Central Hall right now to call a meeting.”

Alexander’s stare is heavy enough to bury me in the ground. He keeps his eyes on me a moment longer before acknowledging Clara. “Hello, Clara. What reason do you have to call a meeting?”

“There was a harpy in the meadow,” Clara says.

Alexander folds his arms across his chest while she tells him the entire story, from hearing the harpy’s scream to rescuing me from the field to hiding with me in the willow. I bite the inside of my lip, remembering the details as she speaks. I’m going to see the harpy’s face every time I close my eyes, right after my personal replay of the Mothman attack.

Keiran shifts, moving behind me while Clara speaks.

The fairy’s broad gestures and loud retelling of the attack attract the attention of other creatures on the path, and before long a circle of onlookers surrounds her. Seth is going to be really happy about how good I am at staying under the radar.

Alexander’s fingers tighten around his bicep, and he shoots me a sideways look. The fury etched on his face is enough to make me wish muralets could control time. I’d take a do-over on this morning in a heartbeat.

Keiran nudges me. “Might’ve been better to have let the harpy have you this morning,” he whispers, nodding slightly toward Alexander.

So I’m not imagining it. I’m in serious sheet here.

Alexander waits for Clara to finish before saying, “There’s no need to go before Principal Command. I will handle this.”

“But—” She rises off the ground, bringing herself eye-to-eye with him.

He cuts her off with a wave of his hand. “You’ve told me everything I need to know. I’ll issue a warning about the harpy.”

“What about her?” she asks, pointing a carefully manicured finger at me. “She never should’ve been out there, and how do we know she didn’t—”

“I said,” he says sharply, leveling his eyes on her, “I will handle it.”

Clara clamps her mouth shut and slams her feet to the ground, glaring at him.