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“Oh, no.” I check my messages to see several missed texts from Mack. “We were supposed to study tonight with some of the other shadows.”
How did I forget? I text where I am with a quick apology, my stomach in knots as I wait to see if she’s pissed. I know keeping Mack out of this whole business is for her own good, but I feel terrible not telling her the entire truth.
Relief pours through me as I read her reply. You lucky bitch. I’d totally ditch studying to chill poolside at the Instant Lady Boner’s exclusive pad.
Another text pops up almost immediately. Jace doesn’t believe me. He said no one gets invited to the Ice Prince’s Evernell pad. Send a picture stat or you’re dead to me. I might have just bet on Fred’s life.
Grinning, I say, You’re cruel. Fred deserves better. What do you get if you’re right?
Ten boxes of tampons.
Whoa. The best we can buy at the commons are pads, and they’re so cheap that toilet paper works better.
I type, I get half.
Two boxes, she amends.
Done.
Lifting my phone, I snap a selfie of myself with the pool in the background.
A few seconds later, she responds. Holy orc balls, you’re hawt. Is Instant Lady Boner a walking hard on right now?
“What does Instant Lady Boner mean?” Eclipsa drawls over my shoulder, knowing exactly what it means.
Against my wishes, my chest turns blotchy red, and I slam my phone facedown on the marble counter so hard it nearly cracks. “Nothing. So, I have to meet Mack back at the academy. Can we get back to the earlier conversation?”
The levity in the air disappears, any traces of humor gone from their faces, and I mentally prepare myself for whatever comes next.
Valerian tips the last of his drink back and then turns to face me. “The extent of most Evermore’s powers don’t show up for thousands of years, which is why we wait to enter the academy until typically around the middle of our third millennium of life. But we’re tested every five hundred years.”
“Okay.” I twirl my straw nervously inside my empty glass.
“You were a mystery to all of us,” Eclipsa says. “The only true power you ever consistently showed was an affinity for creatures.”
“That explains the griffin,” I mutter.
“Most Fae claim two or three major powers not reliant on spells or outside magic, and perhaps one shifter form. But you . . . every new testing you showed something different.”
“What does that mean?” I’ve given up pretending I’m not nervous and am chewing the crap out of my poor straw.
“The final time you were tested, I was there. You performed the most remarkable soulmancer spell I’ve ever witnessed—and I hated you for it. Afterward, your father pulled strings to keep you from testing publicly ever again.”
“So my powers are soulmancy and talking to animals?” My mind is spinning, sweat from my palms coating my smoothie glass.
Valerian shakes his head. “No. We don’t think your major power is soulmancy. We think it’s something else, something so rare that it’s either never been recorded or been lost to time. An ability to somehow . . . borrow magical abilities from other Evermore. That would explain how you continuously showed different powers. We think you accidentally took Eclipsa’s soulmancy powers during your last test, but amplified it somehow.”
I’m nodding. Just nodding and nodding like I’m not freaking the eff out. “Makes sense . . . uh, huh. Totally. And now the big D wants me because I can channel a soulmancer’s powers, but stronger somehow?”
Eclipsa shifts on her stool. “Soulmancers have been going missing recently. A lot of them. We think whoever took the soulstone is responsible. If someone could act as a conduit for all those powers, could merge them somehow—they could break through the wards on the Darken’s soulstone and . . .”
“Bring him back to life,” I whisper. My heart is racing, clammy sweat wetting my palms.
“They would need all the pieces of the axe, first,” Eclipsa adds.
Valerian frowns. “Summer, do you need a break?”
Realizing that they’re all staring at me, and that I’ve nearly chewed my straw in half, I stop attacking the poor disposable utensil and force out a shaky breath. “I’m fine. I need to know the truth. So the public SOS call I sent out somehow during the Wild Hunt? What power is that?”
