Why did I care so much, anyhow? I wondered. After all, I was a criminal. It wasn’t as if I had never lied myself.
But not to friends.
Then again, I had never had any to lie to.
But wasn’t there some code? How could he have done such a thing to me?
Just as I was finding out who I truly was Fae, my world had been shattered over and over again.
I made an effort to find an even keel to rest on. At least we had avenged Vayvin’s killer, I reminded myself. Paradoxically, Kayka had lured her away precisely because they were friends, and she couldn’t risk the exposure that would have come once Vayvin figured out her secret.
I sank into my bunk. After all the fear and all the killings, all I kept asking myself was, What’s the point of friendship, anyhow?
Unlike me, the principal was jubilant. He called an assembly for the next morning, above all to honor Colly and me. The prince’s secret was now revealed. The quiet young fae who had been acting as a bodyguard to Prince Reidar was in fact the prince himself.
It turned out that several students had known Colly when they were younger, and they had kept his secret for him. But it was impossible to keep him hidden at Noble Fae Academy any longer. As for the students who hadn’t known, including Londa and Esmerelda, they were shocked.
Jocko was dressed in the plain clothes of the guards when I joined everyone in the atrium. The principal had an exciting announcement to make: after two years of terror, the Shadow was dead. Sadly, he said, she had been one of our own.
Except that she hadn’t. Behind the smiling façade of friendship, she had hated all of us. She hated our country and she had worked from the inside to destroy everything that Noble Fae Academy stood for. My heart ached for the damage she had caused.
When I had arrived at Noble Fae, I hadn’t expected to want to stay two days, let alone a year or beyond. But I had formed friendships during the school year, and I felt differently now. Londa and Esmerelda would be back next year, and yes, we would be friends. Lewis, Colly, and the others would be harder to figure out, but as I listened to the principal talk that morning, with glorious sunlight streaming in, I realized that something had shifted inside me.
I wanted to fight. I wanted to battle back at the forces that threatened the kingdom. What the healer had said to me on my journey to the academy all those months ago came back to me.
And with a certitude that I wouldn’t have thought possible, I knew that I’d return next year to claim the place at the academy that was mine.
No longer a prisoner.
No longer an outsider.
But a fighter.
Epilogue
At sunset two days later I came out to the expansive courtyard. The sky was a brilliant purple. The air was crisp, but filled with spring color and promise. The sweet smell of grass and wet flowers was all around us.
Students were preparing to leave. Cuthbert and Lord Cory were flying out over the water, having an epic battle with play swords. Several students were watching, their bags packed and waiting nearby. Some girls had spread a blanket on the grass and were giggling up at the handsome men as they soared overhead. Steeds and chariots had been arriving throughout the day, many of them carrying noble family members relieved that they no longer had to worry about their children being murdered by the Shadow.
Colly was surrounded by a ring of guards, which was surrounded in turn by a ring of students, and even some teachers, who wanted to get close to him. They had spent the year currying favor with the wrong prince, now it was time to remedy that mistake.
Jocko was now a guard, but Colly was the future of the kingdom.
I noticed that they were all standing near a gold chariot.
“Can you believe Colly’s the heir to the throne now?” Londa asked me. She was dressed for riding, and despite the fact that the spring day was warm, she was wearing a collar that covered her neck. Up there in the windy skies it was still cold.
As we watched, many of the older students took to the skies with magical wings. “Maybe next year we’ll all get to fly out of here,” Londa murmured.
“Maybe,” I said. “So Colly’s going to be king?”
“Yes, one day he is. He’s the obvious choice. No one who met Prince Orlando would want him on the throne,” she said.
Colly was talking quietly with Batham. Some nervous-looking attendants stood nearby, keeping a close eye on anyone who wanted to speak with the prince.
No, Colly was no longer just a prince, he was now the Crown Prince, heir to the throne of Whessellond. Soon the news would spread throughout the kingdom and bring hope to subjects beleaguered by war.
“King Deffy was impressed that Colly played a role in ending the Shadow’s reign of terror,” Londa observed.
“Do you think that’s why he made him Crown Prince? He knew Colly was lying about who he was?” I asked.
“Of course the king knew. He’s known all the princes their whole lives. That’s part of why the academy was allowed to stay open. He felt certain that his favorite was safe,” she said.
Jocko and Colly did have similar hair color and builds, so I could see how they could pass as each other, even though Colly was a bit bigger. But that’s where the similarities ended. Colly radiated a power and intensity that was breathtaking. Jocko was talented and sweet, but he couldn’t command a room like Colly could. Now that the secret had been revealed, it seemed so obvious that I felt like an idiot for not seeing it a long time ago.
“What about Colly’s eyes?” I asked.
“No one ever mentioned them,” said Londa. “Maybe when he was little they were magicked to hide them, so no one here knew their true color.”
“A couple of times throughout the year I thought that the prince, I mean Jocko, was trying to protect Colly. At the time his actions didn’t make sense. Now I suppose they do,” I admitted.
Jocko didn’t mind acting as bait. What he minded was that in order for Colly to play his role, he had to put himself in danger again and again, an impossibly brave and almost just as foolish plan. The desperation the Shadow had brought on the academy and all those attending it sent chills down my spine.
“You know he’s been holding back all year,” Londa murmured. “Now that he’s the crown prince, he’ll be immeasurably more powerful than the rest of us. His magic will be immense. Next year sure is going to be something.”
Some of the courtiers started trying to get Colly into the gold chariot. Batham and Jocko were also acting as if it was time to leave.
My heart squeezed. Despite my fury at all of them, I still didn’t want them to leave.
But Colly avoided all of them and strode over to where I was standing. In front of a courtyard full of fae, he came to a stop in front of me, those intense eyes searching my face for something I could not fathom.
I had no idea what to say or even what to think. My throat felt dry from surprise and anger and something else. To compensate, I crossed my arms over my chest and glared.
That made him grin. “I’d be worried if you did anything else.”
“Don’t start that,” I groaned, annoyed at the familiarity. How dare he know me, and lie to me, too!
A tiny voice inside me cautioned that I should be careful. Colly was now the Crown Prince of Whessellond, after all. Another part of me ignored that advice.
“How mad are you at me?” he asked.
“I’m pissed.”
But just as I opened my mouth to fume a little more, a courtier appeared. “Excuse me, Your Royal Highness,” he said. “It’s time to depart.”
“I have eyes. I also heard you the first eight times you told me. I’m going to finish my conversation first,” Colly said.
The courtier hurried away, mystified.
“That’s generous,” I told Colly.
“With the courtier?” he asked.
“Calling it a conversation,” I grumbled.
His smile widened. “Will you miss me this summer?”
&
nbsp; “NO!” I scoffed.
“Your Highness,” called out another courtier, unfazed by the prince’s sharp retort to the first one.
“Coming,” Colly barked over his shoulder. “Have a good summer. I won’t miss you, either.” He winked.
I watched him stride away, no longer hiding. He had risked his life in disguise, and now he was risking his life out in the open.
The sun’s deepest rays trumpeted from behind the tall mountains as fae and chariots rose into the sky.
And what was I doing?
Still a bastard, but no longer a prisoner. For the first time in years I felt free.
Now I only needed to decide what to do with my newfound freedom.
Then again, the answer was obvious.
Train for battle.
The End
~
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By Addison Creek
The Rhinestone Witches
Pointy Hats and Witchy Cats
Rhinestone Way
Pointy Shoes and Cauldron Blues
The Rhinestone Witches Omnibus: Books 1-3
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries
Witch Way to Mintwood
Witch Some Win Some
Spell by Midnight
A Witch on Mintwood Mountain
Witch Raising Situation
Witch Way Round
Witch Wish Way
White Witch Wonder
Muddled Mintwood Murderer
Wonder Wand Way
Miraculous Mintwood Magic
Mintwood’s Magical Map
Mysterious Mintwood Murmurs
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 1-3
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 4-6
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 7-9
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 10-12
Witchy Minter Wonderland
The Jane Garbo Mysteries
Spooky Business
Spooky Spells
Spooky Spider
Spooky Spindle
Spooky Skeleton
Spooky Scarecrow
Spooky Skull
Jane Garbo Mysteries 1-3
Jane Garbo Mysteries 4-6
Noble Fae Academy
Noble Fae Academy: Year One
Noble Fae Academy: Year One Page 25
