“Yeah.” She let out a sigh. “But you don’t trust me either, do you?”
For a moment, I hesitated. The truth was, of course I didn’t trust her. Even though I understood why she’d told the Autumn fae about Bree, it didn’t change the fact that she’d betrayed the unspoken clause between roommates. Between friends.
“You could have come to me first, you know,” I finally said. “I could have explained what was going on with Bree.”
“As much as I hate to admit it, that wouldn’t have helped.” She bit her bottom lip. “I was convinced that Bree was a murderous monster. If you’d told me that she wasn’t, I wouldn’t have believed you, especially not after the Redcaps attacked the Academy. I’m so sorry. I’m stubborn like that.”
Stubborn, like Liam. Stubborn, like a Summer fae. Was she his mate?
“Well, I’m stubborn, too, so I understand,” I said, swallowing down the edge in my voice. I didn’t want to think about Liam with another girl. “And you don’t have to keep making me breakfast to get me to trust you. Just...promise me that you’ll never do something like that again. If there’s a problem, a question, any kind of concern, just...come to me before you do anything drastic.”
Drastic. Like a Summer fae.
After she nodded, I lifted the fork from my plate and began to pick at my eggs, my mind zeroed in on a thought I couldn’t shake. The image of Sophia cuddled up to Liam.
I finally had to admit he was right. The Barmbrack Ringwasn’tsome herald of good fortune. Not for me. It meant I would soon lose three of the people I cared about the most in all the realms.
“What are the chances the ring picked the wrong girl?” I finally asked, stabbing at an egg. “It just seems so unlikely I’ll even know who my mate is within a year, much less be ready to wed him.”
Sophia lifted a brow. Her green eyes sparkled. “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts about Kael.”
Kael. Of course her first thought would be of him. As far as she and the rest of the changelings at the Academy were concerned, Kael and I were a certain match. My greatest strength so far was shifting, a specialty of the Winter fae. Not to mention we’d kissed in front of the entire school during the Royals Ball. No one else knew how conflicted I was. No one knew I’d shared a bed with Liam, other than Head Instructor Alwyn, and she wouldn’t tell anyone about that. And no one else knew I felt drawn to them all, as if my very soul was torn in four directions.
“Well, you saw my powers in the forest that day,” I merely said. “I’m just not sure it’s a done deal, that’s all.”
She frowned. “Head Instructor Alwyn said that was normal, that you were able to tap into different powers because you’re raw and untrained and you were an emotional wreck. She said any of the rest of us are capable of doing the same.”
That wasn’texactlywhat she’d said. I could remember the way she’d phrased her explanation to the other changelings as clearly as if it had happened yesterday, partially because it was the first time I'd truly understood just how well the fae could twist their words.
“Now,” Alwyn had said, raising her hands when we’d gathered in the Great Hall after everyone had a chance to bathe and change into fresh clothes. We’d only just returned from the fight in the forest, but she wanted to have an assembly to make sure everyone was fine. “I’m sure you all have some questions about what you saw tonight.”
A hand had shot up in the front. Griff, who had been giving me strange looks the entire trek back from the forest. “Yeah. What the hell is up with Norah’s powers? How come she was able to do all that stuff? I thought we could only have the power of one type of fae, but she clearly did more than that. Is she like Marin?”
Head Instructor Alwyn’s lips had pressed together into a white line just as every gaze in the room had turned my way. I had swallowed hard, flicking my eyes from one face to the next, reading a range of expressions. Curiosity. Fear. Even anger.
“I understand why you all might be confused,” she’d said, raising her voice to be heard over a chorus of whispered questions. “But yes, Griff. You are correct. Typically, as a fae, you can only harness the powers individual to your natural-born Court. However, you’re all still so new to the faerie realm. Your powers are yet untrained. They’re raw. Norah was put into a terrifying, impossible situation, and the power of the realm answered her call of need. I daresay that could happen for any of you, if you were Norah. That said, it was a unique and unlikely situation. And as your powers become more focused and refined, you should not depend on receiving that kind of help from the realm. You need to focus on yourowngifts. Understood?”
Her eyes had laser-focused on me with those final words. A warning. She didn’t want me to explore the full truth of my gifts. But why? I’d tried to ask her—again and again—but I could never get any other explanation than what she’d said to the crowd.
And all these months later, I still didn’t understand.
One thing I did know was the truth in Alwyn’s words.I daresay that could happen for any of you, if you were Norah.The truth was hidden in that sentence.If you were Norah. But none of the other changelings were Norah, except for me.
“Maybe,” I said. “But...”
Could I share the truth with Sophia after what she'd done to Bree? Could I tell her that—in secret—I’d been practicing every gift I could? With the help of my instructors, I’d begun to master not only shifting, but animal communication as well. I curled my fingers tighter around my fork as memories flicked through my mind. Bree’s anguished face. The look in Redmond’s eyes when he’d told me exactly where he’d heard the truth about my best friend. The way Sophia had turned away from me when Redmond had taken me into the dungeons. Yes, I forgave her, but could I ever forget? Could Itrusther?
Sophia raised her eyebrows. “But what?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I guess I’m just surprised I got that ring.”
* * *
And it seemed as though everyone else was just as surprised as I was. Including Finn, who darted out of his open classroom door when I passed by it on the way to my first class of the new Autumn Semester. He looked just as he always did. Tall, lithe, sparkling green eyes. A green cloak fluttered around his muscular shoulders, a match to the colors of the Spring Court.
His eyes twinkled as he stepped in front of me, his familiar grin spreading across his shimmering face. “Norah. Just the changeling I’ve been looking for. Tell me. Is it true the Barmbrack Ring has found you?”
“Maybe.” I said, raising my eyebrows. A sly little smile played at my lips. For some reason, Finn always had a strange effect on me. He brought out a side to me I’d never known was there. More lighthearted. Jokes came more naturally. The weight of the world didn’t squat on my back. “Guess you’ll have to wait and find out.”
