I didn’t sleep. At least a day passed where all I could do was sit glumly in my gorgeous gown, glaring at the flickering torches in the hallway of the dungeons. I tried shifting, but it was no use. Whatever magic I’d used when I shifted before was gone from me now.

My mind tripped over Redmond’s words as I desperately tried to figure out what he’d meant by them. The time of the changelings was over? Surely he didn’t mean what it sounded like. Did he truly want to get rid of us all? And, if so, why?

Footsteps echoed down the corridor. I stood from the hard mattress and backed up against the wall furthest from the iron bars. I didn’t want to be a coward, but I also didn’t know what the hell was coming for me. And I wasn’t about to make anything easy on whoever it was. If they wanted to get to me, they’d have to open that gate and come inside the cell themselves.

And maybe, just maybe...I could get out into the hallway before they could.

Firelight flickered on the walls, and a male in a deep golden cloak strode into view. For a moment, I could barely breathe as he strolled up to the iron bars, his face hidden in the shadows of his hood. But then he lifted his chin, and his bright golden eyes met mine. It was Rourke. All the tension in my body whooshed out of me, and I rushed up to the bars, hope and relief pouring through me.

He held up a set of keys and jangled them in the air. “Time to get you out of here, Norah. Apologies it took so long.”

A grin split my face. “Are you kidding me? I’m just happy to see you. How did you get down here? Does Redmond know you’re doing this? I thought he locked me in here to ask me questions about Bree, but he hasn’t been back. Do you know what’s going on?”

He let out a light laugh and shook his head. “One question at a time. I’ll explain everything as soon as I get you out of here.”

He slid the key into the lock and twisted, using a gloved hand to pull open the gates. I rushed into the hallway and threw my arms around him. He let out an oof of surprise, and his entire body went tense. After a moment, he softened and rubbed his hand across the small of my back. Rourke might be an Autumn fae like the ones who were making our lives so miserable, and the ones who might very well be trying to end us all, but he was nothing like them.

“I’m sorry about what my brethren did to you,” he muttered against my hair. “But I’m afraid it’s even worse than you think.”

I pulled back and looked up at him with a frown. “What do you mean?”

He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. “I’m afraid it’s a long story. Let’s get you upstairs so you can have some food and a bath. Then, we’ll explain everything.”

* * *

As glad as I was to have a chance to take a bath, I hated to change out of my gorgeous ballgown that Kael had given me. The soft, sleek material felt so nice on my skin, and the sparkling sleeves made true darkness feel like an impossibility. But Rourke insisted I change into some training clothes, so I donned a pair of black pants, a back t-shirt, and my trusty boots for good measure.

Afterwards, he led me into the basement gymnasium where the recruits were busy practicing hand-to-hand combat with the instructors. I slowed to a stop and raised my eyebrows. The first-years were here, too. Sophia was pounding away at a punching bag, her fists wrapped tight in splotchy gauze. It was the first time our instructors had taken us from theory to practice, and I had a horrible sinking feeling in my gut because of it.

I wanted to learn how to fight. Desperately so. But the timing could only mean one thing. Trouble was brewing.

Liam, Finn, and Kael all abandoned their posts, striding over to wrap their arms tight around me in turn. My heart swelled as Liam crushed me tight against him, as Kael whispered soft words into my ears, and even as Finn threw me over his shoulder for good measure. Even though Redmond had told them he hadn’t harmed a hair on my head, they’d still been worried for my safety. They’d even argued over who would release me from my cage.

After our reunion, the three of them dispersed, taking up their posts with the other changeling recruits.

“Usually,” Rourke began as he led me to an empty punching bag near the rear of the gymnasium, “we hold off on this kind of training with first-years, and for good reason. Otherworld is new and confusing for you, you don’t yet know the true power of your gifts, and you have no idea what you’re capable of. If we let you loose with swords, you could end up doing far more damage than you realize. One time, a first-year Summer changeling ended up burning down an entire wing of the Academy when he got into a fistfight with one of the third-year Summers.”

“And yet they’re all in here training now.” I arched an eyebrow. “Why? And where are all the Royals?”

He pursed his lips. “After Redmond stole you away, the other Autumn Royals staged an assassination attempt on Alwyn. We were able to stop them, but one of them escaped, along with Redmond. We’re guessing they’ve gone straight home to report what happened. The Summer and Spring Royals have returned to their own Courts, too afraid for their lives to stick around here. The Autumn fae will undoubtedly send others to finish the job. So, the only thing we can do now is prepare.”

My mouth dropped open as I stared at him. “They tried to kill our Head Instructor? But why would they want to do that?”

“The answer to that question is what none of us knows. It seems they intend to take down the Academy,” he said with a frown. “Anyway, that is why it took so long for us to get to you. Redmond locked the door that led into the cells below, and he hid the keys. It took me some time to determine where he hid them. It turned out they were in your room, something I should have known as soon as I realized what he’d done. He has always been a fan of irony.”

“Why couldn’t Kael just shift into the cell to get me out?”

“What good are dungeons if Winter fae can escape them?” he asked.

“Good point,” I said with a nod. So maybe my inability to shift out of the cell didn’t mean I’d lost my grasp on the Winter fae magic after all.

“So what now?” I asked as I glanced around the room at all my fellow changelings throwing their hands and legs against the punching bags. They were trying, I’d give them that, but they looked about as skilled as I was. Which was to say, not very skilled at all. Their punches were wild. Their kicks awkward and messy. But they were trying. They were learning. Our instructors were finally teaching us how to fight.

Rourke’s lips twisted into a strange smile, and he patted the punching bag that dangled from the gymnasium ceiling. “You’re finally going to get what you’ve been asking for, Norah. If the Autumn fae come back, I want you all to be ready for them. We’re not going to allow them to pick you off one by one. Ready to learn how to fight like a fae?”

A grin lit up my face. “Oh, hell yes.”

“Good.” His golden eyes dropped to my chest. “Now, take off your necklace.”

Frowning, I reached up to curl my fingers around the pendant I’d worn every single minute of every single day. It was the only thing keeping me anchored to who I’d been before. “My mom gave me this.”

“It’s very pretty. However, it can be a serious liability when you fight.”

I hesitated. My mother had given me this necklace in a moment of desperation. She’d been afraid for me, and I’d been afraid for her. She’d asked me to wear it always, so wear it I had. Taking it off felt like a betrayal, even though I was certain she’d understand if she were here now, as difficult as it might be for her to wrap her head around the whole changeling fae thing. How would she feel if she knew I wasn’t truly her daughter? My heart hurt just thinking about it and remembering how stuck she was with that horrible man.

“I don’t think you understand what this necklace means to me,” I finally said. “My mother...it’s all she could give me when I ran from that horrible monster she married.”

His golden eyes flickered. “I do understand. We watched you from afar for months. You can wear the necklace at any other time, but when you’re training and fighting? It needs to come off, and I think your mother would agree. The enemy could use it to choke you.”

To choke me. So, maybe he had a good point.

“Right, okay.” With a heavy sigh, I reached up and undid the clasp on the necklace for the first time since I’d arrived at the Academy. Immediately, it felt as if a massive load had been taken off my shoulders. I felt lighter, which was strange. The necklace wasn’t particularly heavy.

“Good.” He nodded. “Now, show me your best punch.”

I bent my knees and narrowed my eyes, zeroing all my focus in on the punching bag before me. I imagined that it was the face off all my enemies. My step-father who had emotionally abused me for years. The Redcap who had turned Bree into the tortured beast. Redmond, who had attacked my new home. They all formed one massive target on the bag, the sole focus of the anger and sadness that had been growing within me.

I pulled back my fist and punched.

The blow landed with a loud crack, and the bag jerked against its chains as the force of my fist lurched it sideways. I’d hit it so hard that it managed to swing up and hit the ceiling. The whole room went deathly silent as every single recruit turned my way.

Liam met my eyes from across the room, and his eyes sparkled with pride and approval. Kael rubbed his jaw, and Finn let out a low chuckle.

“Well, that was certainly interesting,” Rourke murmured from beside me.

“I guess I’m a little bit pissed off?” I said, hiking the end of my statement into a question. How the hell had I been able to do that? I’d been the worst first-year recruit of the bunch. I’d expected my punch to land me flat on my ass, not to almost take the punching bag off its chains.

“Good going, darling,” Liam said with a wink. “Keep it up.”

The recruits slowly returned to their own training while Rourke steadied the whirling punching bag. His expression had become strange and intense as he kept flicking his golden eyes my way. It took him a long, long while to steady the punching bag, and I had a sneaking suspicion he was trying to bide his time.

Finally, I propped my hands on my fists and gave him a look. “You’re stalling. What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy I’m actually able to do something?”

“I’m more pleased than you can imagine,” he simply said.

“Then, what’s the problem?”

“How would you feel about attempting to shoot the bow and arrow again?”

I blinked. “Are you kidding me? I’m more likely to end up shooting you than hitting the actual target.”

“We’ll see,” he said, his face a blank slate. “You clearly have your punch down pat. Why don’t we attempt to ramp your training up another notch?”

“I mean, if you really think it’s a good idea...”

“I do,” he said, before I could finish the thought.

We didn’t go outside for this one. No one said why, though I had a sneaking suspicion everyone thought we would be attacked the second we stepped outside the walls of the Academy. Instead, Rourke rustled up a target to set up inside the library, while the others continued their training in the gymnasium.

He handed me the bow and arrow without comment, but I couldn’t help but note that he did take ten large steps away from me. This whole thing had been his idea, but he was clearly still worried I might take out his eye.

With a deep breath, I lifted the bow and stared hard at the target at the other end of the library. Again, every enemy’s face was plastered on the target in my mind’s eye. They had stalked me. They had hurt my friends. They had tried to destroy this Academy. I took a deep breath in through my nose and loosed the arrow.

It soared across the library in a perfect arc, the sharp end hurtling straight into the center of the target. With wide eyes, I dropped the bow to the floor and stumbled back.

“Wait a minute,” I mumbled. “That can’t be possible.”

Rourke moved up behind me and handed me another arrow. His eyes were flickering as he searched my face, and my stomach flipped over a thousand times. Leaning forward, he dropped his gaze to my chest again and breathed deeply through his nose.

“Do you know what you smell like, Norah?” he asked in a voice that was almost a growl.

Shivers coursed along my skin as I stood there frozen in place, every single part of me sparking with a delicious need that made it difficult to think about anything else. All I could do was whisper in response, “No.”

“You smell like fire and rain, but also like frost and starlight.” He leaned in closer, pressing his nose to my hair. “Like wildflowers and crackling leaves and the damp earth after rain. I didn’t notice it until now, but you smell like every season in this realm.”

“I don’t understand,” I whispered, still frozen to the spot. “What does that mean?”

“It means you’re different. And it means that something has been hiding the truth from all of us.” He held up the necklace and closed his fingers around the pendant. “You won’t be wearing this ever again.”