“Today, my dear students, as you traverse the river between adolescence and adulthood, worry not about what the future brings. As long as you are here, your future is bright, as it is for all fae. Now I am pleased to honor you, the next generation of fae who have demonstrated through your studies your commitment to upholding the values Devashire holds dear. Today you commit yourselves to keeping the magic alive for all. It’s important work. We alone have the power. Without further ado…”
She starts calling names, and one by one the students move across the stage, receiving the scroll that memorializes the day. I mop my face when they call Arden’s name. Seven’s luck coils around me and then threads between my fingers. It’s as close to holding my hand as he can get. I glance back at him. His eyes glint, and he smiles proudly.
Once the last student, Blossom Zolder, is announced, Godmother brings the festivities to a fast close. We stand up as one, and the crowd lumbers toward the reception tent.
“Can you believe that nonsense,” Grandma says on the way. “As if we’re all living in some utopian paradise.”
“I think that was for the human audience’s benefit, don’t you?”
She shrugs. “I hope so. She can’t possibly be that cut off from reality.”
“Oh, there’s Arden!”
Arden plows into me, spinning me around with the force of her hug. “I did it! I’m a high school graduate!” My parents pat her back and she hugs each of them with equal gusto. When she turns back to me, she asks, “Where’s Seven? I saw him sitting with you.”
“He’s right—” I thought he was behind me but he’s not. I turn around and scan the crowd, finding him in close conversation with a gorgeous leprechaun with sleek black hair and oversized hazel eyes.
“Who is that?” Arden asks. I don’t say so, but I’m wondering the same thing.
Grandma’s head pops up between us. “Oh, that’s Alicia Faust of the Armon-Fausts. She was once engaged to Seven.”
“Huh?” Surprise and jealousy fight for control of my brain, and I turn toward Grandma, desperate for her to spill the tea.
She raises a finger. “It all started when—”
A loud pop interrupts her, and the crowd turns as one.
“Was that a firecracker?” Arden asks.
Seven appears beside me in a heartbeat. “No, that was a gunshot.”
A few seconds later, a scream cuts through the afternoon festivities. The crowd scatters, some moving toward the sound and others seeming to rush to the safety of the nearby buildings.
Godmother appears before us out of thin air and grabs Seven by the arm as if she owns him. “Come with me.”
I move fast to keep up, but with Arden, my parents, and my grandmother with me, we lose them in the crowd. By the time we reach the sidewalk in front of River’s Tavern, a crowd has already gathered. My stomach lurches at what I see at the center of that circle of onlookers.
River is on his knees, and he’s covered in blood. It’s with some relief that I realize it’s not his. He’s pressing on the chest of a stranger, whose blood spurts between his fingers. On the ground beside him lies a gun.
ChapterFive
Breathless, as if someone has punched me in the gut, I turn back to Arden and look between her and my family standing behind her. Around us, things have turned to complete pandemonium. Someone shoves my mother, and she huddles into my father’s side.
“It’s not safe, Sophia,” my dad says.
I lock eyes with him. “Take Arden home. I’ll meet you there.”
“Mom?” Arden clings to my arm.
“It’s all right. I’ll meet you there. I just need to—” I gesture toward Seven. What do I need to do? I’m not beholden to Godmother anymore. This isn’t my job.
Arden studies me for a moment, then says, “Okay. I’ll meet you at home.”
My father wraps his hands around her shoulders and, together with my mother and grandmother, moves through the crowd in the direction of the house.
Once they’re gone, it takes me a second to process what’s happened. Although I’m too far from the scene to distinguish every detail, I can tell by his build and manner of dress that it’s a human man who’s been shot. River is covered in blood, his hands still pressed to the wound. A gun rests next to River’s knee—a black handgun. Guns aren’t allowed in Dragonfly but from my time in the States, I’d guess it was a Glock or maybe a SIG based on size and shape.
The scene is total chaos. Humans are screaming and gathering up their children. Fairies are rushing in every direction. Godmother looks livid.
