“It’s a lot of work, though. A lot of new things,” the Red Queen said, setting her cup down on the table as she turned toward us with all her body. “I’m told the two of you, as well as the Diamond, the Heart and the Club boy will be attending the School of Magic in Neverwhen, yes?”
Blood on my cheeks. The pressure rose so fast inside my chest I thought I might choke on thin air.
Because,yes,that was correct. Russ had gone home, but he was coming back here once he ‘settled things with his parents,’he said. And March and I had decided to stay in Neverwhen together, at least for the first year of our magic studies. I knew it was the right call—I knew it with all my heart. I wasn’t going anywhere that wasn’there—just something I felt in my whole being.
The problem was, I hadn’t told my parents yet. I’d sent them letters, and they were going to arrive later today to meet with me. They thought they’d be coming to pick me up.
Instead, I would be telling them that I was staying behind.
And I hadnoidea how they’d react.
“Yes,” Silas said with a nod. He would be staying in Neverwhen, too—and so would Reggie, at least until he wasall healed and able to decide what to do next. Kohen and his team were taking care of him, and they were confident he’d be back on his feet in a month or so—fullyhimself. The game had really done a number on him, had pushed the real Reggie so far back he’d almost disappeared.
Hehadn’t,though. And that’s all that mattered.
Kohen had made all necessary arrangements for all five of us together with Master Talik, with the blessing of the Red Queen. He’d arranged quarters for all of us in the student residences near Neverwhen’s School of Magic. Silas would study Timekeeper and Spade magic both—the first student in the school’s history to be enrolled in two disciplines, apparently. The rest of us would stick to our own—to begin with, at least.
“I was thinking,” the Red Queen said. “By the time you finish your studies, the new trials will be in their final stages of development, if everything goes right. If you do decide to stay in Neverwhen permanently, perhaps you might consider working there yourselves. I’m sure your teacher would very much like that idea. Just to make sure things run as they should, that’s all.”
My mouth opened and closed and opened and closed.
Silas was no better when our eyes locked. Wide and a little bloodshot, our skin a little pale now, too.
Yes,I wanted to say. Wanted to shout it at the top of my lungs.
Wanted to jump to my feet and hug the Red Queen—becausethatwasit!
Since I’d decided to stay here with March, I’d missedsomething.I thought it was home and Jinx and my friends and my old life. I thought it was my house and my room and the lake and the woods.
But it wasn’t.
It waspurpose.A reason to look forward to the future—other than being with March, getting to know him in detail the way I had three different times. A purpose to get me going every single day, to give meaning to all the efforts I wanted to put into every moment of my life.
I had a craving for it—forliving.I had a hunger, but I also needed a purpose to guide me. I always had—a plan, a result, the sore muscles at the end of a sparring session with Father, the taste of the lake on my tongue after a swim, the feeling ofcompletionafter studying and completing exams at school…the Turning Trials.
And the Red Queen had just given me the biggest purpose of all.
Tears in my eyes. Happy tears, but I didn’t let them fall. Now wasnotthe time.
If only March were here. He’d gone to meet with his mother and sister two days ago, and he would be coming back later today. I missed him so much it felt like I had a hole in my gut—but the hole just became smaller. Because I knew March well enough to know that he wouldlovethe idea of working in the Labyrinth, in whichever way we could, as much as I did. If I could help in any way, make sure that the new Hands five years from now hadonlythe best experience of their lives in the Turning Trials, I would give it my bestest best. Every day, every moment.
Silas reached out his hand and grabbed mine over my lap, squeezed it. He was grinning ear to ear, too, which I’d missed. He was very different now from the person he used to be when we first met, which was only natural. But even so, I missed this. I missed his easy smile and the sparkle in his eyes.
“Maybe that’s not such a bad idea.” He winked at me. “What do you say, Brave Ora?”
“Maybe,” I breathed, smiling so big it hurt.
The queen was smiling, too. “Thank you for coming to see me, both of you.”
“Of course,” I said, squeezing Silas’s hand one last time before he let go.
“I had my doubts that you’d show up—and I would have understood,” the Red Queen said, taking her cup for one last sip of her tea. “I would like to see all the others as well. Hopefully soon. You were all so…” She paused, pressed her lips together as she took a moment to think.
I held on tightly to my cup when she looked at Silas. “You walked into the Turning Trials barely a boy, on your own, and risked everything for a mission nobody before you dared to even attempt.” A deep nod, and the queen brought her hand to her heart. “That curse you cast was one of the best magics I’ve ever witnessed. You have talent, boy. Don’t waste it. You have a big heart. Don’t ever allow the world to shrink it.”
Silas’s jaw tightened. He looked down at his tea but said nothing—and I thought it was because he feared his voice would crack if he tried.
“And you, Ora.” The gears in my stomach went wild. Her dark eyes found mine, and the warmth in them was so unexpected it nearly undid me. “You were actually the first Hand I was supposed to erase. Did you know that?”
