My heart nearly bursts as I take the seat between Zinnia and Jane. After I let Zinnia bombard me with affection, and sit still for Nick and Sebastian’s pictures, I turn my attention to my younger sister. Her reddish-copper hair is pulled into a braid, the freckles on her nose just starting to darken under the summer sun.

Somehow my aunts managed to get her into a blue and green cotton dress.

She looks deceptively sweet and innocent.

“Hey,” I say. “I heard you were worried about me.”

“You didn’t answer. I thought . . .” Her eyes narrow as a sprite flits over carrying a basket of bread. “Doesn’t matter. I guess you’re fine.”

The bitterness in her voice surprises me, and I add her lost youth to the long list of reasons to despise the Fae. “What do you think? About the academy?”

She frowns. “I hate it. The tulips, the chirping birds and perfect weather. It’s all fake. To hide how horrible it is here.”

I cringe, but she’s not wrong.

Her cutting stare drops to my dress, the accusation in her face hard to ignore. “How do you stand being around them?”

“I don’t know. I guess you get used to it.”

“I wouldn’t.” She glares down at the linen tablecloth. “I would rather die than live with them—but not before taking a few of the pointy-eared assholes with me.”

“Jane!” Vi snaps, leveling her with a fiery look. “Language.”

Jane rolls her eyes where only I can see. “I can’t believe you left me with them, Summer. They’re the worst.”

I sigh. I’d forgotten how hormonal and annoying I was at fifteen too. “Don’t say that.” I squeeze her thin arm. “You don’t exactly make it easy on them. You’re lucky Vi hasn’t locked you away in the cellar like she did me.”

“She would if she could catch me.”

After promising Jane the food isn’t spelled or designed to enslave her, she turns her attention to a spring pie drizzled with honey and figs. The tension in her bony shoulders eases, but I make sure to watch her anytime she gets up for drinks or food.

The food offered to us might be perfectly safe, but I’m just beginning to grasp the complexity of Faerie law. She could steal a roll off an Evermore’s plate or thank someone the wrong way and owe them her firstborn.

The banquet drags on well past sunset. Because of where I’m seated, I can’t get a good view of the Unseelie royal tables. But I know Valerian is there, his father probably with him. Is he seated next to Inara?

A shock of jealous and rage fills me at the thought. Murder. I want to murder the ice bitch with my bare hands.

She would never ask him to love her. She would never require anything but his loyalty, which is what he offered me. She won’t risk his kingdom and his status.

I try to brush off my sudden pang of jealousy as shadows and Evermore are paraded to a podium by Magus to receive awards. There’s no way Mack’s name won’t be called, and after seeing how hard she studied this year, she deserves a standing ovation.

When it comes time to honor the valedictorian of the second year class, Nick and Sebastian lean forward, each dad grabbing one of her hands. For some reason, Mack looks mortified, but then again, so would I if I had to make a speech in front of hundreds.

“Reina Vanderhill,” Cronus announces. The Unseelie side of the courtyard erupts in applause. Mack frowns, avoiding her dads’ shocked gasps.

But unlike them, she doesn’t seem surprised. Only . . . embarrassed.

Sebastian goes immediately into lawyer mode. “There’s no way Mackenzie lost to a daughter of the Vanderhill’s. They bought her grades, I guarantee. Our girl deserves this award. I’ve already written it into her application letters to the big five firms. Wait until I file a motion with the school—”

Nick takes Sebastian’s hand. “Shh, honey. Don’t embarrass Mackenzie. We’ll discuss this later.”

Mack, for her part, seems to shrink, caught in the middle of them. I try to catch her eye for support but her eyes stay glued to her clasped hands.

Thankfully, that was the last award. As we stand to say our goodbyes to our families, Nick pulls me aside.

“Summer, you would tell me, wouldn’t you honey? If Mack wasn’t okay?”

Okay? “Why wouldn’t she be?”

But even as the words leave my mouth, I’m taking in her gaunt cheeks and sharp collarbones, the untouched food on her plate.

He sneaks a look her way. “Sebastian means well, but he puts so much pressure on her. And this year . . . well she won’t say as much, but I can tell it’s been a struggle. She won’t let us help her. The school contacted us about her grades—”

My head snaps back to him. “What about her grades?”

“She didn’t tell you?” His auburn eyebrows gather. “Then I shouldn’t have said anything.” He wipes at the corner of his eye. “Did we do the right thing, bargaining for her life and sending her here?”

The turmoil and uncertainty in his voice pierces my heart. There could hardly be two parents who loved their daughter more.

I shrug. “All I know is you did the best you could.”

He nods, as if reassuring himself of this. “She’s lucky to have a friend like you.”

After that, a pit of unease lodges squarely in my sternum. And it doesn’t go away. Not even after we say goodbye to our families—Nick and Sebastian promising to escort my family straight to the mortal guest houses behind the quad—and then rush to the nearest bar, Richard, Layla, and Jace in tow.

Eclipsa joins us in line, oblivious how the other mortal students scatter. She took my advice to heart and wears a metallic silver mini-dress that could be painted on. Actually, I think it might be paint.

Annoyed at the line, the Lunar assassin cuts to the front, demanding shots. After a few select words with the deer shifter bartending, she waves us over.

“These are my friends. Make them happy. Got it?”

I watch her jaunt away with the tray of shots, not spilling a single drop.

“You okay?” I ask Mack as we wait for the deer shifter to make our lilac shandies.

“Of course.” She throws an indignant look over my shoulder at Reina and her friends. “Everyone knows Reina pays for her grades.”

“So everything’s good?” I persist.

“Yes, Mom.” She rolls her eyes. “It will be after you get stupid drunk and dance with me.”

The deer shifter hands us our cocktails. Desperate for alcohol, Mack goes to grab mine, but the shifter shakes his head, his large umber eyes darting to me. “This is for her.”

I take my fizzy drink, wondering if I should be flattered or weirded out by his creepy stare.

“Someone’s not getting a tip,” Mack mutters as we cross the lawn toward the center of the courtyard, where students are gathering. The tables have been moved, the soft glow of the pink and green lanterns strung high above illuminating the pockets of people already dancing.

Halfway across the lawn, I nearly run into the Winter Court entourage. Magus is escorting them to their quarters, which I’m willing to bet are more luxurious than where Zinnia, Vi, and Jane are staying.

Despite the pleasant spring air, the Winter King wears a fur-lined cloak of navy blue velvet. The grass where he’s walked is frozen, a trailing path of glittery white.

Before I can remember that he probably hates me—and that I should probably hide—his gaze shifts to our little group.

And fixes on me.

Something reaches through his cold demeanor, a curiosity, and then he nods to my drink as he holds his up.

“Is he . . . toasting you?” Mack whispers.

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

Crap, he’s definitely toasting me.

I thrust my drink into the air, sending the fizzy lavender liquid sloshing over the side.

When the king takes a sip of his, Mack pokes my ribs. “Drink. You’re supposed to drink.”

I rush the glass to my lips, the bubbly lilac cocktail tingling all the way down my throat.

Without a word, he dismisses me and continues toward his quarters, the ice crackling in his wake.

What the frick was that?

Before I can ask Mack if what just happened was normal, she drags me into the middle of a group of first and second year shadows. A band famous in the Everwilde called the Deranged Nymphs is on the center stage, the mixture of instruments and beats whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

Eclipsa appears with her tray of shots, somehow still not a drop spilled. She offers me one.

“What are those for?” I yell over the music.

“A few of these and your friends will adore me,” she promises.

I decline the shots, but the others down them. It isn’t long before Mack, Eclipsa, and Layla surround Jace, who’s only happy to be surrounded by three of the hottest girls on the dance floor.

Richard and I are the only ones not actively trying to embalm our livers. At some point, we’re paired off together, and we awkwardly shake our hips. Like most people who can’t dance, we end up yelling over the music, hoping to use small talk to divert from the fact that we suck at dancing.

“I can’t believe it’s been over a year,” Richard yells.

“What?”

“A year! Since Evelyn turned. The dance reminded me of her.”

Oh. That explains why he’s not really in a partying mood. That makes two of us.

Between Valerian’s recent coldness, Mack’s struggles, and waiting for Hellebore to call in his bargain, I just can’t muster the energy to celebrate.

I look around for Mack, but she and the others have drifted deeper into the crowd. She’s already on her third drink and Titania knows how many shots.

I don’t like her drinking with this many Fae around, but we’re surrounded by mortals, and she’s with Eclipsa. Most of the Evermore have taken up the other side of the dance floor and are ignoring us completely.

She’ll be fine. Stop worrying. She’s with humans, and she needs the break after finals.