I felt as though I’d been run over by a bullet train. Soon after Bree came to me in the forest, I’d passed out. When I woke up, I was in the infirmary again, back at the Academy. The early morning light streamed in through the open window, and my four fae instructors were dotted around the room, each and every one of them fast asleep.

I cleared my throat.

Immediately, Liam was on his feet, glaring at every shadow in the room as if he were in search of an enemy to fight. I let out a laugh and coughed, rubbing at my throat. Even my vocal chords felt as if they’d been tossed through a blender.

“Take it easy.” Kael pulled his chair closer to my bed and took my hand in his. “You’re going to have some pain for a little while.”

“Where’s Bree?” I asked. “Is she okay? Did you get her away from the Autumn woods?”

“Bree is fine,” he said gently. “We brought her back to the Academy and administered the Winter Starlight. She’s recovering well. We think she’ll pull through this thing.”

Relief whooshed out of me, so intense that it felt as though my entire body was spent.

“I don’t even understand what happened.” I glanced up at Rourke, who hovered behind Kael. “I’m sorry I shifted away from you like that.”

His jaw clenched. “You scared the shit out of me. Try not to do it again.”

“But what exactly was it, anyway?” I turned my gaze toward Finn. He was perching on the edge of the bed, perfectly balanced. “Where did you disappear to? I didn’t know you could shift.”

“I can’t shift,” he said with a light laugh. “You did that, Norah. First, you shifted Bree out of there, and then you did it for me. We ended up right next to Rourke.”

My mouth dropped open. “But...”

“And then,” Rourke added, “you turned the horses on their masters. They, ah...well, no need to go into the gory details. Let’s just say that Redmond will no longer be a problem for us.”

My face blanched. “Honestly, I don’t think that was me. I didn’t want to make them stampede him to death. Besides, I barely even know how to ride a horse properly, let alone control them.”

“And that’s why you have the hangover from hell, darling,” Liam said with a grin. “You used some seriously powerful gifts that you’ve never practiced before. It’s going to leave you feeling like shit until you master them. Just...how about you not volunteer yourself to get killed next time you want to try them out?”

My head still felt muddled, like I was missing an important piece of the puzzle. “So, shifting belongs to Autumn fae and Winter fae. And the whole horse control thing is also Autumn. Does that mean I’ve been Autumn all this time?”

Kael and Rourke exchanged that weighted glance again, the one that said far more than words.

“Come on, guys. You clearly have a theory. I think it’s only fair to tell me after I saved all your asses.”

Liam barked out a laugh. “That’s my girl.”

“Don’t encourage her,” Rourke said before nodding at my Winter fae. “Want to take this one, Kael?”

Kael sighed and rubbed his chin. “We have reason to believe that you have not one but four seasonal gifts. You seem to possess traits and abilities of the Summer fae, but the same can be said for Winter, Spring, and Autumn now as well.”

I blinked. “Is that a thing?”

“Not usually,” Finn said in a singsong voice. “It’s very rare. In fact, Marin was the last fae to possess the power of all four, which is why I believe someone snuck that necklace to you. It was meant to protect you from harm. Hide the powers, save the girl.”

“Some fae would find it imperative to take you out of the equation,” Kael said in a growl. “In fact, it seems as though Redmond had a pretty good idea of what you are somehow. I’m not sure what he intended to do with you, but it wouldn’t have been good.”

Chills swept down my spine. “So, you’re saying that I, the girl who couldn’t shoot a bow and arrow on her first day, can actually wield powers of all four seasons? You guys are playing a trick on me, aren’t you? You thought it would be funny to mess with me after I completely ignored everything you told me to do during the battle.”

Finn chuckled. “Only a Spring would think we were playing a joke on you.”

“And only a Summer would get so boiling mad that she made a tornado out of thin air,” Liam added.

“Only an Autumn would be devious enough to trick Redmond into thinking you were going to go along with him.” When I opened my mouth to argue, Rourke smiled. “Don’t try to play it otherwise. You were never going to go down without a fight.”

“And only a Winter,” Kael said, chiming in last, “would find enough strength in the darkness to shift two others out of that forest clearing without even touching them with her hands.”

“You’re not just one type of fae, Norah,” Liam said. “You’re all of them. And the four of us pledge to stand by your side no matter what.”

“Because the storms have only begun to come,” Rourke said. “We may have won this fight with the Autumn Court, but there will be many more to come.”

* * *

Thank you for reading A Dance with Darkness, the first book in the Otherworld Academy trilogy! A Song of Shadows will release in May 2018. Want to be notified on release day? You can join my reader newsletter by .