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On the other side of the lawn, I spot a massive crowd around the courtyard. Tall torches line the gravel path, illuminating the night.
My breath hitches when we begin to pass through the mass of people. I found out a few days ago parents and close family of both the Evermore and the shadows are allowed to attend the gauntlet celebrations. But I didn’t dare ask Aunt Zinnia or Vi for fear they’d say no. “Dad!” Mack screams as Nick and Sebastian shove to the front. They’re waving Seelie flags and blowing kisses at Mack. Sebastian holds a sign he had printed with her full name on it.
I go to wave at them and then freeze.
Is that . . . I take in the short plump woman with the mess of wild curls sticking out from beneath a cowboy hat in the middle of Mack’s dads.
How is that possible?
“Zinnia?” I cry. My words are lost to the cheers of the audience, but just seeing her here fills me with unexpected hope.
Her eyes shimmer with pride as she mouths, You can do this.
Mack leans into my ear. “Nick invited your aunts. Sorry, I would have told you but my dads wanted it to be a surprise. Everything has to be dramatic with them.”
Both aunts? Which means . . .
I exhale. Vi didn’t come.
Pushing aside my disappointment, I focus on Zinnia as a sudden calm descends. Win or lose, she’ll be here to comfort me. I feel like I’m nine again, kidnapped and about to be trafficked to the Fae, looking into her kind face through my cage bars as she promises me everything will work out.
Back then, I was too broken to trust what she said was true.
This time, I allow myself to believe her.
I can do this.
The cheers of the crowd grow softer as we near the fiery ring of portals. The flames stoke something inside me, not quite true fear—more like a bizarre mixture of adrenaline, dread, and excitement.
“Get ready for whatever dark, twisted games the Spring Prince concocted,” Mack warns as I approach the nearest portal, waiting for the girl in front of me to jump through. “Our Keepers will be on the other side.”
They’ve already explained the rules, which didn’t take long because there’s only three.
One, Keepers can’t use magic.
Two, protect our Keeper at all cost.
Three, make it to the safe zone unscathed by sunrise.
“Oh, God,” Kyler whispers behind her. “This is really happening.”
Damn right it is. And I’m going to make sure I don’t just survive, but win.
Whatever it takes.
21
As soon as we land on the other side, the portals flame out, trapping us here—wherever that is. A quick glance around shows we’re on some sort of small island surrounded by a huge urban city.
Professor Crenshaw is here, and she and Mr. Willis go around checking our equipment and GPS devices while Mrs. Richter gives us a speech. “As a shadow, one of the scenarios you might find yourself in is an extraction situation where your Keeper is injured inside an area taken by darklings. Your Keepers are positioned around the city. You have until sunrise to find yours and escort them to the safety zone on the map.”
Kyler raises her hand. “What are the glowing red dots on our GPS devices?”
I glance down at mine, startled to discover clusters of bright red specks moving around the city.
Mrs. Richter’s eyes narrow. “Those are darklings.” She waits until the crowd quiets and adds, “Each of you will see a white circle to indicate the location of your Keeper. The faint green dots are special weapons imbued with magic.”
Disappointment hits when I see there are only ten or so magical weapons available—not nearly enough for even half of us—and they’re all stashed in the most heavily infested darkling clusters.
