Between (33 page)

“You need to learn your role here,” Clara snaps.

“She’s not wrong,” Seth states. Every head in the room turns toward the door. “Adele’s dying words were a warning. Whalen wants to eradicate magic,”

he says, “and you’re all sitting here discussing how to punish a couple of adventurous Apprentices.”

It’s the first time I’ve heard his voice since he found me in the Between. He meets my gaze and holds it for a couple beats before looking away.

It’s the first time he’s done that, too.

I know he thinks going against his orders is a slap in the face to him and a sign that I don’t take my own safety or the Fellowship’s mission seriously. But he should know me well enough to remember that I can’t ignore the pull to do what I feel is best. The Between needed me. The first time we snuck in was foolish. The second time was a mission.

“The state of the Between is a problem,” Lulu adds. “Whatever Whalen’s doing to it is working. It explains the disruptions we’ve seen in magic. It’s only a matter of time before the decay spreads to the Source.”

Heads bow together, murmuring about Lulu’s words.

“What did he mean, Alexander?” I ask, raising my voice over the discussion. “When Joe said to tell you that Whalen knows. What was he talking about? What does Whalen know?”

Alexander unfolds his hands and presses his fingertips together. For a moment, I think he either didn’t hear me or doesn’t want to answer, but he finally speaks. “Everything we are comes from the Between. Magic itself is rooted in its design. The Between,” he says, “is life.”

“What does Whalen know?” This time it’s Keiran talking, clearly as tired of this game as I am.
Get to the point, Alexander. Tell us what’s happening
.

“When Whalen was stripped of his powers,” the founder continues, “it left him in an in-between state. He’s not mortal, but he’s no longer mystical. He became something of a blank slate. When he crossed paths with the bogmen and began to use his body as a vessel for necrolate, he became an entirely new type of being.”

The entire room is silent. I glance at Seth from the corner of my eye, but he’s focused on Alexander.

“Whalen’s sole purpose is to destroy,” Alexander says. “He is death, and his extended presence in the Between is choking out the life there. The longer he stays in the Between, the worse his effect on the Between and the Source will be. I imagine he discovered this by accident. He’s probably been making a home there for a long time. But now that he knows what he can do…” He raises his eyes to make contact with mine. “He’s not going to stop until the Between, and magic itself, is dead.”

I lay back in my chair. The Between is dying because Whalen is inside it. The only way to stop the process is to remove him.

I look at Keiran. His shoulders are slumped, his eyes on the floor. What would Whalen’s presence do inside Ellauria?

“Destroying magic makes no sense.” Clara’s voice is sharp. “Without magic, we all lose our powers. He’d have to have one hell of a bargaining chip to convince other creatures to help him.”

A satyr behind Lulu clears his throat. “I agree with Clara. He’d never be able to convince so many creatures to abandon their own magical gifts. If he wants to live as a mortal, he can.”

“Besides,” an elf adds, “why bother staging attacks within the realm at all? He can poison the Between and end magic without that.”

I rotate Sam’s bracelet on my wrist. It’s true. If destroying magic is his goal, why bother with the attacks? Why take Adele and Sam? Why target me at all?

“I think it’s more about bringing down all of magic than living as a mortal,” Keiran says. His eyes stay on the floor. “He hates magic. He doesn’t want it to exist.”

Well, that would explain why he’s targeting me. He hates magic, and I am magic.

Wait.

I raise my head to find Alexander’s yellow-green eyes bearing down on me. Fear slices through my shield, assuring me that my emotions are not, in fact, dead.

I
am
magic.

On the far side of the room, a stooped leprechaun with threads of gray in his copper beard speaks up, his voice brittle with age. “Perhaps he is offering something to the creatures in return for their assistance in attacking the realm.”

The room goes silent. My heartbeat picks up, gradually gaining in speed and pressure. If the Between dies and the Source is demolished, the creatures who wish to survive will need a new source of magic.

“I believe we are missing a piece of the puzzle,” the leprechaun continues. “There must be something in the realm he wants, which may be the bargaining chip Clara spoke of earlier.”

Something in the realm that he wants.

I swallow. Me. He wants me.

My hands tremble, and I slip them beneath my legs to hide them.

I am magic
. The words that had once seemed so incredible now sound like a death sentence. Uncertainty drapes itself over me.

Alexander rises from his seat and stares at the table for a moment. He lifts his head, and his eyes flicker to me before sweeping across the faces of Principal Command. From the corner of my eye, I see Seth’s posture straighten. He pushes away from the wall by the door and eyes the founder.

I grip the edge of my seat, curling my fingers around it. I know what Alexander is about to say, and at the same time, I’m certain that he can’t say it.

Can he?

“The missing piece,” Alexander says quietly, “is Charlotte. She is the bargaining chip.”

I shudder, stunned.

The room is silent for a breath, and then Clara says, “What does he want with a siren?”

Alexander stares at the table and then lifts his head, making eye contact with Clara first before glancing around the room. “Charlotte isn’t a siren. She is a full-blooded muralet, the daughter of Max and Marian. If Whalen destroys the Between, she will be the only source of magic left. Every creature is going to want control of her blood in order to survive.”

“Alexander!” Seth flickers to the middle of the room, appearing in front of me.

Keiran’s head snaps up, looking from the founder to me. I’m glued to my chair, held in place by the stares of every single member of Principal Command. Their faces are filled with varied expressions of shock, awe, and, in Clara’s case, a bit of disgust.

I gape at Alexander, my heart pounding. All I’ve been told since the moment I got here is how important it is to keep my bloodline under wraps. I cannot believe he just spilled what’s supposed to be the Fellowship’s biggest secret. I’m completely exposed in front of forty-eight creatures who may or may not want to rip me apart for my blood right now.

Seth steps backward, closing the space between our bodies. It’s the closest he’s been to me since he found us in the Between. I want to reach for him, but I don’t.

Suddenly everyone’s talking at once, louder and louder, fighting for control of the room.

“Marian had a child?”

“—doesn’t make sense—”

“So what?”

“I knew she wasn’t pretty enough to be a siren.”

“—thought she vanished—”

Alexander raises his hands, and silence blankets the room. “Do you recall the first time I took you to the Source?” he asks me. “You said you saw a million balls of light making up everything around you.”

I nod, and the knots grow tighter.

“The building blocks of our worlds are at your call. Your blood provides the magic, and your power controls the elements.” Alexander leans forward. “Your unique bloodline provides the key to creation, Charlotte. Whalen can’t destroy magic without destroying you. As long as muralets exist, magic will never be extinct.”

The key to creation. I feel like something between the missing link and a god. Neither is anything I desire to be.

I lean forward until I can breathe. I don’t want this kind of responsibility. Keeping myself alive has proven hard enough. Carrying the future of magic on my shoulders is unimaginable.

“As a founder, Whalen knows this,” Alexander says. “When my binding spell slipped and you were revealed, he must have been horrified to realize the muralet bloodline lives on.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Seth asks.

“Why would he?” the satyr asks. “Why should you know information that PC doesn’t?”

Alexander ignores Seth and addresses the satyr. “Seth has been acting as Charlotte’s Aegis since before she was brought to the mystical realm. As the last muralet, she was hidden for her own safety in the hopes that there would never be need to bring her here at all.”

The last muralet.

So he’s still keeping Marian a secret.

“As magic weakened and the attacks on Ellauria became more frequent,” he continues, “I deemed it necessary for Charlotte to master her particular set of skills as quickly as possible. For this reason,” he gives Clara a pointed look, “I directed Seth and Keiran to work closely with Charlotte in individual training sessions separate from the general Apprentice population.”

Clara points a finger at Keiran as if she’s just made a vital discovery. “I knew there was a reason you were spending so much time with her!”

Keiran’s face wrinkles with disgust. “Clearly, Clara. That’s the most important thing right now.”

She leans back in her chair, completely ignoring his sarcasm.

“Why is an elf training a muralet?” the centaur asks.

Keiran’s expression fades to fear. His posture goes rigid. If Alexander gave me up, there’s no reason to think he’ll keep Keiran’s confidence either.

“Alexander,” Seth says, the word wrapped in warning. He can’t give up Keiran’s identity. He simply can’t. Being the daughter of a beloved founder is one thing; being the son of a murderous traitor is another.

Alexander shakes his head at Seth before announcing, “Keiran isn’t an elf. He is a flamethrower, and he’s Whalen’s son. I’ve been training him in the ways of the Fellowship for the last two years.”

No one hears that last part, because as soon as he mentions Whalen’s name, the room erupts. Several creatures leave their seats. Some shout at Alexander, some make accusations at Keiran, but everyone stares. Even Clara looks at Keiran differently—her expression more animosity, less adoration.

Keiran closes his eyes and rests his head in his hands.

Alexander absorbs the commotion in silence until someone suggests Keiran is leaving gates open for banished creatures to pass through, and then he explodes. “Enough! Whalen’s presence in the Between is weakening magic everywhere, causing the gates to malfunction. Keiran is an asset, not an enemy.”

“Founder or not, you cannot keep this kind of information from Principal Command!” Clara exclaims. “Your inability to give up your secrets will be our downfall.”

Alexander slams his palm against the table. “The Fellowship is what it is because of my leadership. If you take issue with any part of my performance, I am happy to discuss it with you after we have secured the safety of the realm.”

Clara’s eyes are murderous. “I look forward to our discussion.”

A cold sweat covers my skin. Keiran won’t look up. We are two overwhelming secrets. What other secrets does Alexander have?

The centaur pounds the top of the table in front of him. “The safety of the realm is the highest priority. What can be done to restore the Between?”

Holy sheet, he’s looking at me like I have any idea how to restore anything. No one’s talked to me about creation. Throwing water. Tossing wind. Breaking trees. Shooting fire. I can almost do those. Creation? Restoring? I shake my head slowly. “I have no idea.”

“Can the fairies heal it?” Lulu asks.

“I’m reluctant to send fairies into the Between when we’re unsure of the source of the decay,” Clara responds.

I find myself torn between thinking that Clara’s an idiot on a personal level, and that she’s something of a force in her role as Empress. Not that I’d ever say so out loud.

“I agree,” Alexander says, then slaps his hand against the table twice. “Effective immediately, all passage through the Between is forbidden. The mystical realm will be on complete lockdown while we develop a plan to stop Whalen.”

Complete lockdown? I leap from my chair before he finishes his sentence. “No! You can’t do that! What about Sam?”

“Sam?” The centaur’s eyebrows come together. “Oh, the jourling boy?”

Seth places his hand at the small of my back. “Yes,” he tells the centaur. “Adele’s son. Adele filled the role of Charlie’s mother in the mortal realm. Sam and Charlie lived as brother and sister.”

I hold up my wrist, and the guitar pick glints in the light of the nearest table. “This was out there,” I sputter, taking deep breaths between each sentence. “This was his. He is out there. He’s waiting.”

The satyr massages his temples with the tips of his fingers. “I think he’s the least of our concerns at the moment.”

I feel the tears welling in the outer corners of my eyes, and my breaths come faster and faster. They can’t leave him out there alone with that madman. How will we ever find him?

“No,” I announce. Sam needs me. He knows I’ll never stop looking for him. Without Mom, he is completely alone. He may be unimpressive to the Fellowship, but he’s my brother. I’m on the table, leaning across it into Alexander’s face so quickly I’m not sure I didn’t flicker myself.

“I don’t give a flying duck about your priorities,” I continue. “He’s my brother. I will not leave him. At this moment, I don’t care about any of your rules. My only concern right now is bringing my brother home, and if you expect me to help you save your realm, you better get on board.” I push away from the table and stare down my nose at the founder. “I will not abandon him.”

The room is completely devoid of air. Every single eye is glued on Alexander, waiting for his response to my outburst.

The founder inhales through his nose, never breaking eye contact. He speaks slowly but firmly. “We have to consider the possibility that saving Sam could put the entire realm at risk. We cannot send Aegises into the Between until we know what we’re dealing with.”

“Then don’t!” I tell him. “I’ll go myself.”

“You cannot put yourself in harm’s way.” Alexander’s words are soft. “If Whalen succeeds in destroying magic, you are the only creature capable of rebuilding it. Your blood is our key to survival. It’s the only way the mystical realm gets through this.”