Spring

When the sun disappears behind the glittering wall of steel high-rises, Mack finally leaves. I’m watching her hurry down the sidewalk from the balcony when the sound of wings rustling the air draws my attention to the sky above.

Phalanx! He lands on the stone railing, flares out his massive ivory wings, and puffs out his soft chest. A tan scroll is clutched inside his dull orange beak.

I use a piece of my leftover turkey sandwich to coax the note from his mouth—carefully, considering how he got his name. Once Valerian’s familiar takes to the sky with his deli offering, I flatten out the thin parchment.

My throat tightens as Valerian’s elegant handwriting comes into view, scrawled neatly across the paper.

And when I read his words . . .

I’ll fight for you, always.

Love,

The ILB

An ache yawns open inside my chest. For a moment, I see his deft fingers writing this note, despite the danger it puts him in. See one side of his lips curl up as he adds the ILB, probably hoping to make me smile. Or perhaps hoping to make me remember our last night together.

When he learned what that acronym stood for . . . and I learned that he loved me.

Fighting back the jagged pain in my heart, I read those seven words over and over until they’re indelibly engraved in my mind, a touchstone for when the tether between us begins to fray—and a reminder of what I’m fighting for.

Then I roll up the scroll, close my hand around it, and use my magic to set the paper afire inside my palm.

My magic.

As I dump the note over the guardrail and watch the bits of ash spiral into the night air, a slow grin finds my face.

Something happened after the final gauntlet. I don’t know if it’s being inside my mother’s house, or the trauma from what I endured.

Or if it’s something else entirely.

But my powers have been unlocked. My Fae side unleashed.

And the one thing I’m certain of is Hellebore is going to regret the day he decided to use me as a pawn against my mate.

The next time I step foot on the academy grounds, I’m coming armed with secrets, lies, and powerful magic. Now that I know the lengths they’ll go to hurt me, to manipulate, humiliate, and destroy everyone I love, I’m going to fight back.

And I won’t stop until I’ve beaten the Evermore at their own twisted game.

The End