I wanted to catch a glimpse of the princes before I left, but they weren’t in their rooms. A male darmar servant greeted me when I was done packing.

“Is this all?” he asked.

I did have a healthy amount of personal belongings. A whole cupboard of robes, with many different colors for varying moods. Some cosmetics, encyclopedias, my favorite brands of soap. But I decided to leave many of them behind. I wasn’t sure if I’d need the robes, and if I should keep up appearances anymore.

All I wanted to bring along could fit inside one small suitcase. Well… two, actually. I’d packed my folders and papers into another. I likely didn’t require them anymore, but I couldn’t bear to leave them behind. I’d always been so attached to my work.

“Yeah, that’s all,” I said, passing the suitcases to the servant.

“Uh, don’t come any closer,” the servant said. “Just leave them on the ground.”

“I’m wearing my gloves.”

“Just to be safe.”

I sighed and did as he asked. He waved, gesturing for me to back off. I rolled my eyes and stepped back. Only then did he dare pick up my suitcases.

We strolled out of the princes’ quarters.

I turned back to look at it one last time. The waterfall that cut between it now looked towering, and the waters made a loud sound that had never bothered me before, but did now.

I followed the darmar to my new lodgings, not having a clue where it’d be. We were walking for more than fifteen minutes in cold silence when I finally asked, “Are we reaching it soon?”

“It’s in the eastern bloc,” he said.

That was all the way on the other side of the palace. Rylan really didn’t want to have anything to do with me.

I took in the sights of the palace as I walked through. Would I ever get to see these walls, the ones I’d grown so familiar with, again? Even the grandeur of it all couldn’t stop the turmoil in my chest.

Down a corridor, I spotted Vancel talking to Tindyll. Anger surged in me as I strode past them. It was all his fault. He was the person that started all this, even though I didn’t want anything to do with him.

“Sera,” he called.

My steps halted. I didn’t want to face him. The boiling inside was too hard to control. I wanted to thrust myself at him, claw at his face. I’d left the sword Kael had given me behind. I should have brought it along so that I could plunge it through his cold, evil heart.

With all my strength, I pulled my face into a placid look and spun toward him. I raised a brow, questioning his intentions.

“How nice to see you around,” he continued.

“Shove it, Vancel. We know that you’re more than happy to watch me leave.” I could have tried to be politically correct, fake a smile, pretend that he wasn’t ruining my life. I could have. But I decided it was too difficult.

He cocked his head. “I suppose you’re right. I hope you understand. You had to be revealed eventually. Poor Tindyll here has been hurt by your ruse.”

Really? She wanted to play the victim?

“And you’ve been mixing with the princes,” Tindyll added. “The royal line should not be sullied. What are they thinking?”

“What have you been telling her?” I asked Vancel.

His eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Nothing but the truth. Tindyll has a daughter she cares dearly for. What if your condition affected her family?”

“And how, exactly?”

“We don’t know how it works, but better to stay far away when we can.”

Tindyll shook her head. “Sera, I know you don’t have ill intentions. But can’t you see that you might be a manifestation of black magic? Magic itself is dangerous, but such power… it can only come from the dark art. You shouldn’t be anywhere the Everborne family.”

“The princes might already be tainted,” Vancel said.

These rumors were getting increasingly far-fetched. I didn’t want to face them anymore. “If you would excuse me,” I said, with venom in my tone, “I’ll have to take my leave.”

Vancel tipped his chin. “Don’t let us bother you. Perhaps it’s better you leave anyway. We don’t want the curse to affect us.”

“It doesn’t—” I stopped mid-sentence, saving my breath. Vancel knew exactly how the curse worked. I could see fear in Tindyll’s eyes. That was all he was trying to achieve, and he’d succeeded.

I turned back to face the servant and then strode onward, resisting the urge to flip the finger in Vancel’s face.

Vancel, the conniving bastard, was nothing but a two-faced fox.

We’d traveled for another twenty minutes before we settled in a lonely building. Crickets were chirping by the time we arrived, and a half-moon hovered in the sky.

The outbuilding stood out as being too plain in the grandeur of the palace. It had no decorations, just a simple door. Not even a window graced its walls. It was nothing but a boxy structure of grayish wood.

“The king used this as a storage for practice weapons,” the darmar said. “But he refurbished it. Just for you. It’s away from most of the other buildings, so you won’t accidentally touch anyone.”

I opened the door. “How thoughtful.” The scent of dust hit my face. I stepped into my new lodgings.

“It’s not small,” the servant continued. “There’s a bed and all that. And we even managed to get the pipes running for the tap. No flushing system, but you can use the bucket and clean it out once you’re done. People used to do that not too long ago.”

I didn’t think I’d fall this far this quickly. I scanned around the interior, inspecting it. The bed was smaller than the one in the prince’s quarters, but it still looked comfortable enough. There was even a small kitchen, and a reasonable helping of different kinds of food in crates.

“Thank you,” I said, wanting to grab the suitcases from him.

“You’re welcome.” He set them down before I could and moved toward the exit. “King Gisiroth said you’d stay here for a week at most. I’m not sure if I’ll be the one to fetch you again once you’re leaving, but… uh… I’ll see you around? Hopefully not too often, because…” His gaze dropped to my gloves.

“Hopefully not.” I slammed the door in his face.

And then I was alone.

I could hear myself breathing in the quiet. Kael’s laughter rang in the back of my mind, and I missed the four of them so much it hurt. I padded into the room and slipped my gloves off. I lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Fear gripped me. I thought about being sent back home, or being used as a test subject. I was supposed to have left that terrible life behind. I wasn’t supposed to be the shunned girl anymore, but someone that people looked up to and respected. Trust was such a fickle thing.

Mother wouldn’t want to talk to me again, now that I couldn’t be of use. What if my family lost everything too?

I dragged myself into the bed, kicking the blanket off. My lower lip quivered as I held back the tears. I tried to lull myself to sleep. I didn’t want to think about this all, but my eyes kept wide open, and they wouldn’t close.

* * *

All of me had given up.

I sat at the edge of the window, staring at nothing in particular. I hadn’t even bothered lighting a lantern, despite the lodgings being so dim. The sunlight streaming in the windows was enough for me to make out the edges of the furniture.

I’d tried reading one of those books Kael had given me, but the heroine was having such a good time with her love interest that it made me jealous, so I put it aside. It was a romantic comedy, about a darmar woman who disguised herself as a male to serve a draerin duke. They fell in love instantly, and life seemed too smooth for them.

I was hoping I’d get a knock on the door and find Rylan, Gaius, Kael, or Micah greeting me at my entrance. But the entire morning was silence.

And then it came.

A knock.

I jolted to my feet and rushed to the door. I swung it open and was half disappointed. Only half, because Frederick was standing there in place of one of the princes, and he was the next best thing.

He waved. “Hi.” He was carrying a huge bag of pastries and a few rolls of paper. He looked exhausted, and his breathing was so loud that he made a sound I wasn’t sure was healthy.

“Come in,” I said, making way for him.

“You liar. You said you’d visit me at the council, and I was waiting all day yesterday, and no word. It took so much digging around to find out where you were. I had to walk all the way over to the princes’ quarters today, and I stumbled upon Gaius—”

“You saw Gaius? How was he?”

“As princely and gorgeous as ever.”

“Not that. I mean… his condition. Did he seem upset?”

“Doesn’t he always look a little cranky?”

I took a piece of cake from Frederick’s bag and bit into it. Cake was the best solution for most woes. “Never mind.”

“Well, Gaius told me you were here, and my jaw fell to the ground, because it’s so ridiculously far away, but I came anyway because I love you. How are you, by the way? Judging by the looks of it, terrible. You look like a dragon just vomited all over you.”

“Thanks.”

“Like the greenish kind, ’cause you look sickly. And your hair’s a mess. You’re not doing grape, are you?”

“Nope, not grape at all.” I wasn’t sure how I’d recover after all this. I didn’t have an endless well of resolve in me. “And grape isn’t a vegetable.” I finished my cake and reached for another, because at this point, why should I care about my waistline?

Frederick sniffed. “I’m running out of vegetables to make puns with.”

“Thought you said you live and breathe them?”

“There’s only so much life has to offer.”

“Tell me about it.”

Frederick rolled out his first document. “Anyway, I came over here because I really needed help with something. There’s this problem about the mineral composition of the water in the irrigation system I’m confused about.”

I took the paper from him, chewing. “I don’t know. I’m tired.”

“What? But I walked all the way over here.”

“Not because you were worried about your friend?”

“That too, but you’re awesome because you always know these things. And you actually respond to my puns. Sometimes.”

I sighed and had another look. “What about this is confusing?”

“Well, the tests on how leafy vegetables react to nitrogen are inconclusive… and I wanted to know what you thought about these results.”

“What’s so inconclusive about it?” I looked up. “They react well to it to a certain degree, but when you add too much of it, it causes the roots to be unable to absorb water, and the plants shrivel up and die. Just look at the trends.”

“So that’s what it was?” Frederick took the sheet from me.

“Is that all you need from me?”

“Those two—Davar and Sien—are bickering over work again. I can’t manage them. You always calm down their arguments. I tried to break them apart today, but I ended up getting a scroll thrown in my face.”

“You’ll have to, Frederick. I’m not going to be there anymore. I can’t help you with that.” I got up and slumped back down on the bed. “If that’s all, then you can leave now.”

“And leave you alone in this sad-looking place? I’m staying.”

“Thought you just needed me for work?”

“No. What are friends for? Aereala save me, I’m not just here to use you.”

Frederick’s words caused my heart to skip a beat. I covered my eyes with the back of my forearm, not wanting to let emotions take over.

“Gah,” Frederick said. “I hate seeing you like this. Where’s the old Sera? Old Sera would never let these things get her down.”

“I’m still me. When the whole country hates you, it’s kind of hard to stand on your feet.”

Frederick trod over and pulled me up. He grabbed both of my shoulders and looked at me squarely in the face. “Nobody hates you. They’re afraid of your curse because people can be shallow sometimes. You’re every bit as capable and genuine as before, so you just have to show them that. Stop wallowing and get a grip on yourself.”

“Genuine?”

“I know you do favors to get a better reputation, but so does Mei, and everybody can see that she’s only doing it for the secretarial position. You want to help, Sera, and people can tell.”

“I don’t know, Frederick…”

He looked like he was about to slap me by raising his hand, but was reconsidering, because that would likely hurt him more than me. So he settled both his hands on my shoulders and shook me instead. “You can’t just give up like this. There has to be a way. I don’t want to see you getting thrown out.” He looked down at my lap, then back up again. “I’ll miss you.”

And that was when I cried. Because Frederick cared. I hugged him close and buried my face in his big tummy.

“Careful now,” he said. “Don’t go accidentally grazing me or anything. I mean, I’d like to lose a few more pounds, but the last time you did that, it didn’t quite work.”

“You’re a silly oaf.”

“That’ll stick by your side.”

“Yeah. You’re an amazing silly oaf.”

I pulled back and rubbed my tears away. Frederick passed me a packet of tissues. “You owe me a new robe. These things are costly. Get back that council position so you can pay me.”

“Yeah.” I sniffled and blew my nose, calming myself down.

Frederick sat down, and the chair creaked beneath his weight. “So, any ideas?”

“I made a deal with Gisiroth.”

“You did?”

“If I can help solve the famine problem by the end of this week, he’ll reinstate me into my previous position on the council, and I might even get back my chance at that vote.”

“Just great, then, because the vote is the end of this week too.”

“It is?” I’d been so caught up in the rumors that I’d lost track of the dates.

“You’re going to come up with something brilliant and surprise the rest of them. Then you’ll win that secretarial position. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces.”

“Tough luck, because I was counting on using soul magic to help me out, and that isn’t my specialty. I needed the help of the princes, but they’ve upped and left.”

“Mustards,” Frederick said.

“Indeed.”

“We’ll figure out something. What do you have?”

I walked over to my second suitcase—the one filled with work. I hadn’t touched it since I’d arrived in this room. I opened it and set it on an empty table, next to the kitchen. “Some list of spells Micah and Gaius went through with me. We only spent a night and one morning going through these, so it’s not much. I’ll need more information.”

“I can get some from the library for you.”

“And crops to test them on. Animals, even.”

“I have access to the nursery and some of the animal pens. I can bring them over.”

“Thank you, Frederick.”

“I just want to get you back on the council so I don’t have to deal with all your duties.”

“You’re so altruis—”

A rapping on the door interrupted us. Who was it this time? I opened the door.

Micah was there, leaning next to the doorframe. His red bang blocked his left eye, so he brushed it away.

“Hey,” he said.

I proceeded to slam the door in his face.

His hand darted out, catching the door. I used all my strength to push it closed, but he was too strong and overpowered my feeble attempt at trying to keep him out. He swung the entrance wide open and stepped in.

“You’re not invited here,” I said. I’d just recovered from their rejections. I didn’t want another round of that.

Micah peered at me with his blue eyes. That made me dizzier than the crying had. “We need to talk.”

“About what? You guys don’t want me around anymore. It was pretty clear yesterday.”

“Sera…”

“What am I? Some kind of brothel you can visit as you please? There for the fun, but when the going gets tough, you guys walk out.”

“I’m here to apologize.” He cornered me against a wall and propped himself up with a hand. “Let me. Please.”

“No. It’s not going to be that easy. You can’t just do this to me. It’s too much.”

“I was being stupid yesterday. I should’ve stuck by you after what Rylan did. I’m—”

Frederick cleared his throat. “Uh, still here. In case you guys decide to get a bit too raunchy with your make-up… just thought I’d give a reminder.”

“I’m not about to do anything of the sort.” I ducked away from Micah and attempted to walk back to Frederick, but Micah caught my hand.

He tugged me to the door. “Come with me.”

“What?”

Frederick gave a little wave. “If you’re going to take her somewhere, can I get a lift? The walk here made me unable to feel my feet.”

“No. Too heavy,” Micah said. “And I don’t swing that way.”

We exited into the clearing in front of the building. The military barracks were off in the distance, and I could see some drerkyn practicing in the air.

We walked along a cobblestone pavement, lined at the sides with shrubs and grass. It was hardly as magnificent at the gardens and courtyards in the inner palace, and reminded me of nothing but emptiness.

“What do you have to say?” I asked Micah. “I’m an inconvenience to you guys now. That was all I got from yesterday.”

“I couldn’t sleep a wink last night.” He brushed his hair back. “Please, listen—”

“Why? Because you could hear Gaius’s snoring from the end of the corridor? Or because your conscience kept you awake?”

“I had a thought about—”

“I was at my lowest point. I thought it’d be okay, as long as I had you guys, but you don’t want me when I’m down like that. Without anything and all the baggage, I’m no longer a shiny object to place with, just grime—”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it? Why were the rest of you so quick to walk away once Rylan gave the order?”

“Sera, please. You’re being difficult.”

“I’m being difficult? I relied on you guys for support, but I felt like I’d been tossed aside—”

Micah spun around and kissed me. His soft lips pressed against mine, hard. I fought back, trying to push him away, because I’d already closed my heart to the princes and he was ripping my shields away once more. I struggled against his grip, which was tight and warm against my robes.

And then I sank into him, because his touch provided more comfort than I dared allow myself to enjoy. Slowly, I reached my hands around his back and hugged him back.

I could hear his breathing as he tugged his head away. “Took me about a day, but I’m ready. You’re too important to me, Sera.”

I hit his chest, venting my frustration. “You’re an idiot,” I said.

“I know.” He brought my fingers up and trailed his lips over them. “Forgive me?”

I should have put up a better fight, but I was quivering too much beneath his touch, and just one look from him could turn me into jelly. “Asshole.”

He smiled and lifted me up, before giving me another light peck on the lips.

“Ready for that ride!” Frederick shouted from the entrance.

Micah cradled me. “I’ll take you somewhere.”

“Where?” I asked.

“You’ll know when you see it.”

He lifted into the air, soaring through the warm winds of Raynea.

“Are you sure about giving me that lift?” Frederick yelled.

“Certain!” Micah yelled back, and took me through the skies.

I had to convince the princes to give Frederick a lift somehow. One day. I hated seeing my friend lingering there, rejected. Then again, I hated sharing.