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Hell. Yes. I haven’t had coffee in years, and the chance of a fresh cup fills me with motivation. After making her show me how it works—to make sure it indeed can make coffee—I blow through the photos, carefully repeating details in my head until I’m pretty sure I know them by heart.
When I set the stack down, Mack flicks up her eyebrows. “You still have a minute.”
“I don’t need a minute. I need some of that bean juice you’re hoarding. So test me and then let’s get over-caffeinated in this beotch.”
“Okay, hot shot. Give me Rhaegar Moorland’s story.”
“Pointy ears, super gorgeous, enjoys strutting around being ogled and saving damsels in distress?” Her eyes narrow and I laugh, adding, “Member of the Summer Court, his father is hand of the Summer King, who has no heirs, by the way, making Rhaegar presumptive heir to the Summer Throne.”
Her nose crinkles. “Anything else?”
“His elemental powers include fire and earth magic, his shifter form is a hawk, his best friend is your keeper, Basil, his mortal enemy is the Winter Prince . . . and you can bounce a coin off his ass.”
Mack laughs, a deep, beautiful belly laugh that solidifies my adoration for her. Then she takes a pink sharpie from a ziplock baggie of pens and actually writes that on the back of Rhaegar’s photo.
How in the world I landed one of the coolest humans in Everwilde as a roommate and friend is beyond me. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. For her to yell surprise and then dump sheep’s blood or something on me.
Girls like Mack don’t befriend people like me. It just doesn’t happen. Except, apparently, in Everwilde.
I slay the rest of the quiz, impressing even myself. When we get to the Winter Prince, I hesitate. My anger messes with my memory as I try to recall the details listed on the back of his picture.
Then something occurs to me. “Wait. His last name is listed—Sylverfrost. But there’s no first name.”
“In Everwilde, names have immense power. No one knows the prince’s true first name. And he’s never told anyone.” She’s whispering as if he can hear us. “Now—” She snaps her fingers. “Stop stalling and give me his deets.”
“Heir to the Winter Throne, and leader of the Elite Unseelie Six,” I begin, wracking my brain for the rest. His list of magical skills was longer than most. “Powers include turning me into a popsicle and shifting into winter animals, elemental powers include ice, storms, and wind. Best friend is Asher Grayscale, a dragon shifter, and his familiar is a snowy owl. It’s rumored the prince can fly, has healing powers, and he’s mated to the daughter of the Winter Court’s general, Inara Winterspell. What am I missing?”
I pretend to think for a moment. “Oh, right. Total douche canoe.”
Mack picks up his photo and shivers, making a face. “I am not going to write that on the back, in case he’s watching. I’ve heard his powers are so strong and volatile that even his father is scared of him.”
Rolling my eyes, I snatch his picture away. must read my upset expression because she frowns. Then her face brightens. “When I visit my parents in a few months I can ask them if there’s a way to hide the prince’s brand. You won’t be able to erase it, but you shouldn’t have to see it all the time.”
“Wait? We can go home?” Hope makes my voice squeaky.
She bites her lip. “Some of us can leave Everwilde. But most . . .” Her gaze darts to my marked arm. “I have a pass because my parents are legacies, and they’re still in touch with their Evermore benefactors. But a pass home is rare.”
I pretend to rearrange my burrito blanket to hide my disappointment. “That’s okay. I’m not sure what I would say to my family if I could go back.”
She squeezes my hand. “I’ll have my parents talk to their benefactors and see if they might be able to secure you a pass home.”
For some reason, her kindness tightens my throat until I realize I’m one more hand squeeze away from crying.
Before I can embarrass myself, she marches across the floor, hands on her hips.
“On to the important stuff.” She drags a Louis Vuitton suitcase across the hardwood floor and flops it open. “We need to educate you on everything Evermore over the weekend.”
I’d nearly forgotten it was Friday. Usually I spent the weekends hunting, watching the kids, or occasionally working at the feed store with Vi. “Educate me?”
“Yep. Our sole purpose, aside from learning to protect the Evermore, is to shadow the students and make sure all their wants are taken care of. And since you somehow landed the two most sought after Evermore in school, your life here depends on being helpful. Next Friday is the first academic test.”
Test? I release a long, ragged sigh. Friday is supposed to be a happy day. “You said the first. Does that mean there are more?”
“Yep. The first one is basically like an entrance exam to make sure we know the fundamental stuff. But we attend classes like regular school in the morning, and then shadow our keepers in the afternoon classes. And we’re tested just like regular school.”
Splendid.
As if Mack can sense my panic, she adds, “Not to put the fear of Oberon in you, but you need to take this first test seriously. The rest are for a grade, but this one is pass or fail. Meaning you’re one slip-up away from being sent to the scourge. And kids that go there . . . they never return.”
