Quinn frowned. “I think about half the students believe the act, while the other half see it for what it is but don’t want to be her next target.” She turned back to Darby. “Think about it. She’s poisoned one of your household, tried to strangle you with your own vines, and gotten you docked on your first day of assessments.”
“And now no one will come near me because Mei Li has blackballed me,” she said. “Wonderful. I was supposed to be making connections with the other royals this week, but I guess I can give up that notion.”
Quinn shrugged. “We have years to make connections at the school. I met a really lovely fire faerie today, a devas. She was in my Lady Duties assessment. She’s also a lady-in-waiting to one of the princesses, though her princess is fifth or sixth in the line of succession. Still, she’s very nice. I think you’ll like her, Darby.”
“Where is she now?” Darby asked, jealously eyeing Mei Li’s populated table. “We could use a devas in our entourage.”
“I’m not—” Quinn paused. “Oh, nevermind.”
“She’s sitting at Mei Li’s table, isn’t she?”
Quinn pressed her lips together and looked away. “It doesn’t mean she won’t be friends with us eventually. This is all going to blow over. Trust me.”
Brielle popped up and, instead of taking the empty seat next to Quinn, grabbed a chair from another table and squeezed in between Darby and Griffin, much to his irritation. “Sorry I’m late.” She swept her hair back in a dramatic movement and grinned at Darby and Quinn. “You’ll never guess who I met. Guess.” She paused for barely half a second before she continued. “I’ll just tell you. Faraj Arian, future hand of the heir apparent Prince Safar. He hails from Dubai. Very, very sexy.”
Griffin rolled his eyes, though Brielle had her back to him and didn’t notice.
A young woman moved toward them, approaching Darby.
“Hi,” Darby called out to her. “I don’t think we’ve met?”
“We haven’t,” she said, not offering her name. She had a pixie-ish look to her—probably a sylph, one of the air faeries. “I’m supposed to give you this with the message to open it in private.”
Darby raised an eyebrow, taking the envelope. She glanced around the room, noting that several other students had received these envelopes, including Mei Li, Teagan, and Flynn.
A few seconds later, another student approached them, handing an envelope to Brielle.
“What are these?” Brielle asked, though she seemed pleased to be included. Her envelope seemed much louder and more decorated, in blues and greens and purples, while Darby’s was a nondescript brown envelope.
“Do you know?” she asked Griffin curiously.
He nodded. “I do, but I’m unable to tell you. All of us are. It’s something each new class has to discover for themselves.”
She looked at Quinn, who hadn’t received an envelope, though didn’t seem particularly bothered by it.
They finished supper, regaled with many, many stories about all the attractive guys Brielle had seen that day, and started walking back to their household.
Darby hung back, letting the other three go ahead so she could find a quiet place to open her envelope, but she found Quinn holding back as well.
“Can I have a word?” she asked.
“Sure.” Darby stopped, pulling Quinn aside. Griffin hesitated, but Darby nodded that it was okay.
“Is he afraid to leave you alone with me?” Quinn asked, when the other two had walked off.
“He’s afraid to leave me alone, I think,” Darby said. “Either that, or he’s afraid to be left alone with Brielle.”
Quinn didn’t laugh, to Darby’s surprise.
“What did you want to talk about?” she asked.
Quinn took a deep breath. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay. I know you’ve been through a lot the last several days, and it hasn’t been an easy orientation for you so far. But you seem distant—”
“I’m not—”
“Before you protest,” Quinn said firmly, “You’ve distanced yourself from Brielle and me. We’ve both noticed. You met with Griffin about security and didn’t even invite us to participate, even though we’re at just as much risk as you. You put round-the-clock guards on us and our rooms without even telling us.” Quinn paused, taking another deep breath. “And you haven’t once asked me, your best friend of thirteen years, your loyal lady-in-waiting, and your long-time advisor what I think we should do about any of this—security, the Cormacs, Ming Mei Li, what happened to poor Fiona... any of it.”
Darby sighed. “All of this is my responsibility, not yours. I handled it as I saw fit. I’m responsible for protecting my household, and I’m doing that.”
“You’ve never done this before,” Quinn insisted. “You never make unilateral decisions.”
“I didn’t. I spoke to my expert in security, Griffin, and he advised me. We put the plan together as a team.”
Quinn looked at her pleadingly, but Darby looked away. “I need to handle this envelope. We can discuss this more later.”
She didn’t respond. She held Darby’s gaze, her bottom lip slightly quivering. She could tell she was hurting her friend, but she didn’t know what more to do. She had a duty to her family and she needed to be sure of those around her.
“You should catch up to the others,” Darby said, dismissing her. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Quinn stared at her a few seconds longer before she dropped her gaze. Darby knew she had given her no choice, but Darby felt she had no choice in doing it.
With shoulders slumped, Quinn walked off quickly, stepping lightly toward their household.
Darby waited several seconds, then tore into the envelope, pulling out a single sheet of paper.
The Corcavado Cabinet Room
Tonight, 9pm
She flipped the sheet of paper over, looking for more—an explanation, further instructions. She turned the envelope upside down, looking for missing paper, but found nothing.
She had no choice but to attend the meeting to find out more.
6
At 9pm, she headed up the stairs to the Corcavado suite, then made her way to the Cabinet room. Inside, she found a handful of other faeries, including Flynn Cormac.
She took a deep breath, chose a seat as far away from him as possible, and sat down to observe the other students. She didn’t recognize either of them by name, but noticed one who looked familiar—an elf, most likely, who had attended the spirit faerie class earlier that day. She also saw a girl who looked like she could be a salamander or devas—Darby had a hard time telling them apart at times.
The four of them sat in complete silence until they were joined by two air faeries who seemed to know each other, followed by Ming Mei Li and Teagan Cormac.
All four of them sat on the other side of the room, leaving a gap of chairs between her and the nearest person. Darby tried not to feel self-conscious about this, but it was the dining hall all over again.
Mei Li tilted her head to the left in an exaggerated fashion, pursing her lips into a pout in Darby’s direction. “All alone again? I guess your ladies didn’t make the cut then?”
Darby didn’t respond. She folded her arms across her chest, determined not to rise to Mei Li’s taunts.
“I mean,” Mei Li continued, “I suppose you could always conjure up some vines to keep you company. I know you’re quite fond of them.”
“Give it a rest, Mei,” Flynn mumbled.
“Birds,” Darby said quickly, not wanting Flynn’s help. “I’m quite fond of birds, actually.”
The elf faerie snickered, though Mei Li’s sharp glare wiped any and all smirking from his face within seconds.
Professor Wu, Professor Simmer, and Professor Mikkelson—Ragna, though Darby didn’t feel as comfortable calling her that to her face in the classroom setting—filed into the room. Professor Wu took his place in the center, while the other two stood on either side of him.
“Welcome
to the assessment behind the assessment,” Professor Wu said.
Darby looked around at the other students’ bewildered faces. She was glad she wasn’t the only one who had no idea what Professor Wu was talking about.
Professor Wu continued. “You’ve all come to Alanza to learn and grow as politicians within the faerie realm and beyond it, as you encounter other beings with unique powers, priorities, and alliances. To the outside world we are a school for the future leaders of the faeries. But internally, we are so much more.”
Darby glanced at the other students, still confused. Her eyes met Flynn’s for a split-second before they both looked away.
“You see,” Professor Wu said, “As part of our partnership with the Alliance of Faeries, we have agreed to train key leaders of our clans in… special subjects that are valuable to our cause.”
“Professor?” Mei Li interjected. “What cause, exactly?”
“There are several different smaller schools within this school,” Professor Simmer explained. “The specialties vary, and you will eventually meet students who attend these extra classes across all the secret schools. Each contributes to our larger intelligence body within the Alliance of Faeries, and each works hard, in addition to their regular royal and political duties, to help the Alliance remain a strength among the supernatural powers of this world.”
“You are all here to take the assessment for the Botânico Program,” Ragna said. “We are a school within Alanza that specializes in training a select few in the many arts of spying.”
“Spy school,” one of the air faeries murmured.
Spy school, Darby thought in her mind. Kerr had known—perhaps all the adults in her family had known. Griffin had known, even. And that’s what they had all been pushing her toward, asking her specifically to acknowledge these three professors at the presenting ceremony.
She sat up straighter, feeling enormous pressure all of a sudden. She hadn’t prepared for this particular assessment. She hadn’t even known it was an option.
“There are eight of you in this room,” Professor Wu said. “Unfortunately, we only have three spots in the school. You will have about 36 hours to decide whether you are up for the grueling task of joining this special program.
“Do not choose lightly. The Botânico Program is rigorous and an addition to your other coursework. You will also be given junior missions throughout the program to maintain your place in it. It’s highly competitive to get into our program—the most competitive in the whole school—but that is only the beginning of the challenge, as it is even harder to stay in the program. Only about half of the students who join the program graduate onto the council in the Alliance of Faeries.
“However, if you are able to commit to the program, you will be one of the most powerful political leaders within the Alliance, and because of that, within the world.”
Darby’s heart skipped a beat at the word powerful. She had not ever considered spying, nor ever wanted to be a spy. It wasn’t something that had ever crossed her mind.
But now, it seemed like the answer to so many of her challenges. If she could get into the program and stay in it, she could possibly secure her family’s future and reign over the leprechauns.
Ragna pulled some envelopes from her jacket and began to hand them out. “These are the first part of the assessment. Again, you have some time to decide if you want to interpret this clue and go after the next. With each round of clues, we will be narrowing down the group. The last clue will be delivered shortly before the end of orientation.”
As Ragna handed her an envelope, she gave the slightest wink, almost imperceptible. Darby tried not to grin; she had a feeling the professor had pushed specifically for her to be included in the assessment, as Professor Wu did not appear to like her much.
“Let’s talk about these clues,” Professor Simmer said. “You may not work together on them, but you may tell your household that you are taking a special assessment for our program. You will find it impossible to tell other students beyond your household, as the secret is bound by magic.”
“Does anyone have questions?” Professor Wu asked. “If not, you are dismissed.”
Darby felt like she probably did have questions, but she was struggling to digest what she had just heard. From the looks around the room, she sensed that others felt that way as well.
Her eyes landed on Flynn, Teagan, and Mei Li, who were whispering amongst themselves. She narrowed her eyes, wishing the three of them weren’t in the group. It would be difficult to compete against them, especially if they worked together.
But more importantly, if even one of them made it and she didn’t, it could have consequences stretching far beyond a school assessment. It could be the thing that ended her family.
Darby stood up, taking her envelope with her. Professor Simmer and Ragna both nodded to her, with Professor Simmer wishing her good luck. Professor Wu did not acknowledge her. But it didn’t matter.
She had gotten an assessment spot, and now she needed to do whatever it took to get into the program.
7
The next day, Darby went through the motions of taking her assessments, but her heart wasn’t in it. Thankfully, the assessments that day had been written tests about faerie politics and the history of the larger supernatural Archworld, which contained all the magic and supernatural beings, including the faeries. Much of this, Darby knew like the back of her hand, as she had had it drilled into her from the earliest parts of her childhood that she could remember.
She did a passable job on each assessment, knowing it would be enough to get into the classes, and let her mind drift the rest of the time to her real focus.
All should could think about was the clue in the envelope she had received the night before.
Eight seats were once, are now five chairs
The next clue lies by land, by air
You’ll know it when you find the square
Go past it and you’ll be nowhere
She had no idea what this meant, aside from the first line, which meant three students of their eight would be eliminated in this round alone. She was determined not to be one of them, though she felt like the field was closing too quickly, too soon.
Could one task be all it took to end her chances of joining the secret spy school?
When she finished with her assessments for the day, she got back to her household, only to find her two ladies-in-waiting sitting stoney-faced in the dining room.
Brielle gave her a dirty look. “We have to speak to you.” Her flat voice echoed through the household.
“Okay,” Darby said slowly. “About what?”
She glanced at Quinn, who also had a hard expression on her face.
“You’ve been spying on us,” Brielle said. “We found out why you’ve assigned guards to us, and Griffin confirmed it.”
Darby shook her head, genuinely confused. “To protect you,” she said. “To protect all of us.”
“Is that why they’ve been reporting all of our movements to Griffin?” Quinn asked. “You’ve basically had us tailed in plain sight.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I never told Griffin to spy on you.”
“You told me last night that you and Griffin came up with a new security plan together,” Quinn pointed out. “Now you’re saying you had no idea what he was doing?”
“It’s the truth,” Darby said, shrugging. “He hasn’t given me any reports on what the two of you have been up to.”
“I imagine they’d be pretty boring if he did,” Brielle said. “I’ve been taking hours and hours of assessments, same as you. Quinn’s been even busier doing the same, in addition to spending hours more at Fiona’s bedside. You, on the other hand, haven’t been to visit her once.”
Darby sighed. She knew she hadn’t, but she had so many good reasons not to. But how to explain that to either of them?
A tear escaped Quinn’s right eye. “I know you’re hiding things from us,” she said qui
etly. “You don’t trust us anymore, do you? Do you suspect us in what happened to Fiona?”
“No, of course not,” Darby said.
“But you couldn’t?” Quinn continued. “I keep telling myself that you can’t possibly think we had anything to do with it. We’ve all known each other since childhood. There must be some part of you that knows that we could never hurt Fiona… or you.”
“It’s not—” A part of Darby wanted to tell them, to explain why she had distanced herself from them, and another part of her wanted to trust Kerr’s judgment. He had not led her astray yet.
“It’s not what?” Brielle asked, crossing her arms.
“You just—you don’t understand what’s going on right now or the things I’m dealing with.”
“I understand some of it,” Quinn said. “I understand that the Cormacs timed their reappearance into faerie society to undermine you. I understand that they are a huge threat to your family. I understand that there will be a struggle for the throne, and that as the heir apparent, you’re under direct attack by Flynn.”
“That’s not—look, it’s not that easy. It’s not anywhere near that simple.”
“Then tell us,” Brielle urged her. “Help us understand what’s going on. We can help you.”
“No you can’t,” Darby said, hearing the angsty childishness in her voice even as the words were coming out. “For you, it doesn’t matter who’s on the throne. If my family dies and someone replaces us, they are going to need their allies, and both of you would be ideal contacts to help them maintain power.”
Quinn frowned at her. “Do you honestly think my family is safe if the Cormacs rise to power again? My parents helped yours take control of the leprechauns. They’ll never trust us to serve under them.”
“And mine,” Brielle said, “funded your parents’ cause. And frankly, got richer for their new place in court, though I know they don’t think of it that way.”
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