Once in the quiet hallway, I led Calla down the halls, humming beneath my breath. I let the melody of the low song’s notes pull my feet where I felt Imustgo.
Only to arrive at a large wooden door. In my heart, I knew whose rooms these were. I knocked as Calla settled behind me.
“Who is it?” a familiar voice called.
“Your favorite person.”
The door pulled open to reveal Edith standing there with a warm smile spread across her lips. I inspected her as she invited us in over the threshold. She looked tired but relaxed. Not like she’d worked herself to the bone, or worse. There was an entire spread of food behind her.
Something in me settled then, a weight I didn’t realize I’d been carrying.
“Rubi,” she breathed. “And a friend?”
“Calla,” we both said at the same time.
“Come. Sit, eat. Tell me all about your training.”
It was an apology in its own way. Or maybe more of an acceptance. I sank further into the comfort of being with her again. My body finally relaxed, my muscles nearly giving out as I lay across one of the velvet, plush lounges.
We began eating. Edith made us both tea, while Calla told her of the Azures. I sat quietly, listening and drifting off.
A pounding at the door made us jump. Edith opened it to Quinn, making Calla groan and toss her head back where she sat on a mound of pillows on the floor.
“You come here often?” I asked.
“Figured out where you guys had gone,” he answered. “And I was hoping for some free food, ribbon girl.”
“You are like a barnacle on my side,” Calla snipped as Quinn sheepishly scooted into the room, dropping a kiss on Edith’s cheek as she tapped his face lovingly.
“How lucky for you,” he said, patting the top of Calla’s head as he made his way over to sit on my chair. “Scoot.” I made room for him easily, smiling at the little group.
It was much better than the anxiety-inducing divided dining hall. The smarmy jokes about Azures whispered beneath Silvers’ breath. The snippy remarks aboutmefrom both sides that made my skin heat and Flame’s threats rumble to life in my head.
“It’s almost your second zodiac year, Rubi,” Edith said, her eyes soft.
I’d be turning twenty-four soon. They said each zodiac animal shaped our nature and magic—tiger for ferocity, ox for steadiness, snake for cunning. Our magic first awakened when the cycle completed at twelve years, our first Zodiac, and matured when it came full circle again with our second Zodiac. It was now the Year of the Dragon, my birth year.
“Ooooooh, I didn’t know you were a Dragon,” Calla said, wriggling her fingers at me. “Your magic’s going to fully awaken.”
I snorted. “I wish. Obviously, nothing much happened at my first zodiac year, so I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
“You never know,” Edith told me gently. “Your past may be your starting point, but your choices now define who you are.”
There was more quiet conversation, small laughs and jovial little anecdotes. Calla told stories of her meddling sisters. Quinn regaled us with tales of his father. Edith shared old folktales like bedtime stories, treating us like children and not warriors preparing for battle.
It was enough peace to allow my eyelids to slip shut.
—
“Rubi?”
I woke to the gentle rocking of my shoulder, of Quinn’s hand on my arm as he pulled me from my dreamy liquid sleep state. I smiled, blinking up at him.
“Hey,” he whispered. It felt warm and familiar, like we were at home and he’d stayed over all night to keep refilling our fireplace when the winds were bad enough. “Edith’s asleep. So is Calla—I’ll let her stay. Do you want to sleep here or go to your room?”
“I should go,” I mumbled, still half asleep, before stumbling to stand.
Quinn kept an arm around my shoulders, chuckling as we staggered into the hallway and toward my room.
