by H. E. Barnes
“Well, yeah?”
“I guess you really don’t take a hint.” Orla said rolling her eyes. “We’re done. We’ve been done. Probably why we haven’t spoken in weeks.”
“I gave you space,” Ren shrugged.
“And I want a whole lot more of it.” Orla said. “Get it through your thick skull,” Orla said thumping him on the forehead, “I don’t want you. I don’t need you. Now, get out of my house.”
Ren blew out a frustrated breath. He opened his mouth to speak. But, Idalia, Aviva, and Eira stepped up beside Orla. Ren pushed his way through the group without a word and stomped out of the house.
“Good riddance,” Idalia said.
Orla wrung an arm around Idalia and Aviva. They pulled Eira into a big group hug. “Love you, guys,” Orla said. “Glad to have my sisters.”
Chapter 31
Idalia sat in Professor Hendrix’s class, avoiding eye contact. She hated being in his class, but at least the semester was more than half over. And, she made sure she wasn’t going to have to see him the next semester. Or really, ever again since she was changing her major away from his field of study.
“Class dismissed,” Professor Hendrix said. “Remember, final project proposals are due next week,” he said while the students piled out of class.
Idalia waited behind. Her skin crawled as each student left, leaving her with less and less cover, but she had to talk to him as much as she hated it.
“Professor Hendrix,” Idalia said going up to his desk. He didn’t get up from his desk. Instead, he stayed seated looking up at her.
“Yes, Ms. Gallagher?”
“I had a question,” she trailed off.
“What is it?” he asked, his voice was hopeful as if he thought she was finally going to take him up on his offer to bump her grade up.
“I was wondering if you had ever heard of a place called Season.” Idalia bit at her lips and picked at her fingernails while she waited for his answer.
“Season?” he asked. He shook his head, “It doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Why?”
“I just thought I saw it mentioned somewhere. Maybe not.” Idalia shrugged. She pulled her backpack up on her shoulder and turned to leave his classroom.
“Wait,” he said, standing and putting a hand around her arm. Idalia felt heat rise to her skin. He took his hand away and shook it in the air. “I can do some research and get back to you. What are you wanting to know?”
“Anything about it really. I think I read somewhere that there were the Four Daughters of Season and they had to do some sort of tests. The Trial of Autumn.”
Professor Hendrix jotted down what she said on a notepad and nodded his head. “Is this what you’re planning on doing your project on?”
“Yeah, if I can find some more information,” Idalia lied.
“Interesting.” He said looking over the list he’d written down. “I’ll see if I can find something and get back to you.”
“Okay, thank you,” she said. She gave him a sweet smile despite her insides twisting and turning in disgust.
“Of course, Idalia. Anything for you.”
Idalia rolled her eyes and hurried out of the room. She hated the man, but maybe he could help. Maybe there would be something useful he could find on Season. Maybe he’d be able to figure out how to get through the first trial alive.
Chapter 32
Eira snuck out of the abandoned house and onto the dark street. She stayed out of the lights from street lamps and front porches, pulling the hood of her jacket close over her head until she reached Idalia’s dorm.
The other girls were already outside, sitting under a tree together. They were laughing when Eira walked up.
“Oh, hey, Eira,” Idalia said.
“Hey,” Eira said sitting down next to them. “We’re still practicing tonight?”
“Yeah, of course,” Orla said.
“We’re just waiting for everyone to clear out. Shouldn’t be too much longer.” Idalia said. Eira looked around. There were only a few college students left outside still.
“How’s the witch hunt going?” Aviva leaned over to ask Eira.
Eira shrugged. “They haven’t found me yet, so good for me, I guess.”
“What do they want you for anyways?” Idalia asked.
“Y’all haven’t seen the news?” Eira asked.
“Of course we have,” Orla said. “But what did you actually do?”
“I mean, you didn’t really kill someone, right?” Aviva asked.
Eira shrugged and looked away from them. She didn’t want to think about the cops trailing her. And she especially didn’t want to think about why they were after her. “I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Yeah, sure,” Idalia said.
“Of course,” Orla said at the same time as Idalia.
“Look, that’s the last ones,” Aviva said pointing to the last couple to leave the courtyard.
Idalia looked down at her phone. “Yep, classes are over. Everyone should be in their dorms by now.”
Eira rubbed her hands together as if she needed warmth. But, she didn’t. She just longed for the power she felt every time she let the water free.
Orla waved her arms above her head and a small breeze fluttered around the circle. Aviva called the branches of the nearby trees down to where they sat. Idalia shot a flame into the middle of the group. Eira let the water flow through her and out, extinguishing the fire.
“Hey,” Idalia called. She raised her flaming fists beside her. “Leave my fire alone,” she said, her mouth set in a hard line.
Eira pushed the water out of her body and let it fill up in her hands. “Don’t test me, little sister,” she said.
Idalia through a flame at Eira. Eira’s ball of water met the fire in the middle of the circle. The water splashed everywhere. Orla and Aviva threw up their hands to protect their faces.
But, they weren’t fast enough. Everyone was soaked.
They all laughed and put out their elements. “We’re ready,” Orla said.
“I hope so,” Aviva said clenching her fists together.
“I think we are. We’re working together just like Brey said. What’s going to stop us now?” Idalia asked the group.
“Queen Quinn,” Aviva said with a shrug.
“Don’t worry about her,” Eira said. All eyes turned on her. “What? I highly doubt she’s going to try anything with the first Trial coming up.”
“You’re right, Eira. We just need to focus on the Trial of Autumn. After that, we can deal with Quinn,” Idalia said in finality.
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
Hours went by as they manipulated their elements well into the night. They were having fun, growing stronger in their powers and their sisterly bond. Eira finally had a family. One that wouldn’t throw her away.
“Come on, Aviva. We gotta go home,” Orla said pulling Aviva to a stand.
“See y’all later,” Idalia said with a wave. Orla and Aviva walked through the courtyard to the parking lot.
“I gotta get to sleep too,” Idalia said, standing up. “Got class tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Eira said.
“See ya,” Idalia said before turning and walking back into her dorm.
Eira was left all alone in the dark night. She pulled her hoodie tight around her and made her way back to the abandoned house. The only home she had.
She was glad Orla had taken Aviva in. She was far too young to be living the life she was living, but Eira had lived it. She was trying to get away from it, but still, her own family wouldn’t give her a place to live. Eira never asked, but they never bothered to offer.
Chapter 33
In the land of Season
Queen Quinn watched the Daughters through the portal. She’d been watching for weeks, keeping tabs on them. But not for their own good, not as a mother who’s worried about her daughters’ safety. No, she was watching as an enemy.
And she didn’t like what she saw.
The girls had grown too close to one another, getting stronger by the day. Brey, of course, was happy. But Queen Quinn couldn’t have been more upset.
“Season will be strong again, with its new queen,” Brey said watching the girls intently.
Quinn remained silent. She had nothing to say. And she wished she had nothing to fear. But, she did. She feared her daughters. One of them would become Queen of Season after the Finale. And, where would that leave her? In the same place everyone who came before her had gone. Into death.
“Brey, call Eira to Season.” Quinn said. Her voice was strong despite the wavering she felt inside.
“Why only Eira?” Brey asked, his eyebrow lifted in confusion.
“Because I’m the queen, and you do as I say.” She barked. She knew Brey was against her. He was impatiently awaiting the trials and the crowning of the next Queen of Season. Most of Season was. But, there would be no new Queen of Season if it was up to Quinn. She would be it. Until she died.
Brey did as instructed and called for Eira. As the room exploded into light and a murky figure began to appear, Quinn said to Brey, “Now leave.”
Brey nodded his head and left the room.
Eira appeared before Queen Quinn. She blinked her eyes quickly, trying to get them to focus on her surroundings. Quinn was silent.
“What am I doing here?” Eira asked. “Where are the others?” she asked looking around the room.
“I wanted to speak to you.” Quinn said. “Alone.”
“Why?”
“Eira, my darling,” Queen Quinn started.
“Don’t start that “darling” stuff. You know we don’t mean anything to you. You gave us up.” Eira interrupted. She walked around the room, trying to fight off the chill that followed her.
“It wasn’t my choice,” Quinn said. A twinge of sadness and regret shadowed her words.
But, Eira knew better.
“If I had only been able to keep one of you,” Quinn said, “it would have been you.”
Eira huffed. She didn’t believe her, of course not. She wasn’t a fool.
“It would have. You reminded me most of myself.” Quinn said. Eira rolled her eyes, but Wuinn ignored it and continued, “I was only able to keep you for two years before King Quilo decided to change tradition. But even by then, you were independent. And strong, so very strong. You didn’t let anyone tell you what to do. You were a terror to raise, even for that short of time, but I knew you’d grow up to be queen.”
“You know nothing about me,” Eira said turning away from Quinn.
“I know you need Season just as much as it needs you. And more than your sisters.”
Eira turned back around, facing Quinn. They locked eyes.
“Don’t you want to be queen?” Quinn asked.
“Yes,” Eira whispered.
“And won’t you do whatever it takes to become queen?”
“Yes,” Eira said again.
“Then it’s settled. Stay here, and I will teach you all you need to know to become Queen of Season. This will be your home, Eira.”
Eira nodded her head despite her mind yelling at her to leave Season and Queen Quinn. But, she couldn’t. She wanted - no, needed - a home. Someplace that would be hers alone. Somewhere she could rule.
Chapter 34
In the land of Texas
Orla’s hand shot up into the air, stopping Mrs. Banks mid-sentence. “Yes, Ms. Fletcher,” Mrs. Banks said, calling on Orla. Orla put her hand down.
“Can I go to the restroom?”
“Five minutes,” Mrs. Banks said. Orla stood up and hurried out of the classroom. She made her way down the hallway to the closest restroom. She didn’t really need a bathroom break, but she did need to get out of that boring lecture.
She pushed the restroom door open. It swung easily on its hinges. Angela was standing at the mirrors. “I gotta go, Ren.” Angela said while staring at Orla. She had a sly smile on her face as if she had planned the whole meetup. Angela put her phone in her pocket.
“Ren?” Orla asked stepping up to the mirror beside her.
“Yeah,” Angela said shortly with a shrug.
“So, what, y’all are a thing now?”
Angela brushed back her hair and peered closer into the mirror, smudging on some lipstick. “Ever since you ditched him at your party,” she said.
Orla shook her head. “You know there’s a reason we broke up, right?”
Angela stayed quiet.
“He’s a cheater, Ang,” Orla said turning towards her. Angela didn’t look away from the mirror, instead she slathered on more mascara and ignored Orla.
“Well, good luck with that,” Orla said laughing. “I sure hope he treats you right.”
“Better than he treated you,” Angela rolled her eyes and stomped out of the restroom.
Orla laughed to herself. She was glad she didn’t have to deal with Ren anymore. And, she had always thought Angela had a thing for him. They were a match made in heaven, Orla thought while rolling her eyes.
A bright light twinkled in the mirror. Orla watched as the mirror faded away, engrossed by a small portal. She could see a piece of paper floating inside of the portal, swirling in circles. The paper drifted onto the countertop. Orla grabbed it and opened the letter.
Eira has aligned herself with Queen Quinn. I am not supposed to interfere, but I thought it best you all know.
Brey
Orla stuffed the letter into her pocket and went to find Aviva.
Chapter 35
“Hey, Aviva,” Orla said coming up behind Aviva in the library.
“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” Aviva asked, her voice hushed.
“Who cares about class?” Orla asked. She pulled the letter out from her pocket and placed it on the computer desk in between them. “We have far more important things to worry about.”
Aviva glanced at Orla, confused.
Orla smoothed the letter out with her hand. “Look what Brey just sent.”
Aviva grabbed the letter and read over Brey’s words. “Eira did what,” Aviva said in shock. “I thought she was on our side.”
“So did I,” Orla whispered.
“We gotta tell Idalia.”
“I already texted her.”
“Good,” Aviva said turning back to her computer screen. Orla looked at the screen. News reports were plastered on it.
“What are you looking at?” Orla asked.
“I was trying to figure out why the police were after Eira,” Aviva said clicking through a few articles.
“Did you find anything?” Orla asked, leaning in as if she couldn’t see the screen from a normal distance.
“Yeah, I think so.” Aviva clicked on an article. “Look at this,” she said scrolling through the article. She clicked on a link that brought her to a new page. The headline read FOSTER FAMILY: ONE DEAD, ONE MISSING, ONE INJURED.
Orla quickly read through the article. “You think Eira killed her foster brother? Samuel?”
“I don’t know, but I think the police think so.”
“Why don’t you think she did it?” Orla asked.
“Because, look,” Aviva said pointing to a section of the article where it talked about the foster family. “Samuel was Eira’s foster brother. Heather was her sister, and she was taken to the hospital. What if it was self-defense? Like Samuel was trying to hurt Heather so Eira intervened?”
“Does that really happen?” Orla asked, her eyes glued to the screen.
“More than you know,” Aviva whispered.
“So after that Eira just disappeared?”
“Yeah, I mean, wouldn’t you? If the cops thought you killed someone?” Aviva asked.
Orla shrugged. “I guess, but why didn’t they just ask Heather?”
Aviva clicked back to another article. “Because she died later that same day. Before the cops could question her.”
“Wow,” Orla whis
pered. Orla’s phone beeped. She looked down at it. “Idalia said we can meet at her place after school.”
“Yeah, okay,” Aviva said. “Sounds good,” but she was barely paying attention to Orla as she continued clicking through different articles.
“I gotta go back to class,” Orla said standing up. “See you after school.”
Aviva nodded and went back to researching.
Chapter 36
“Ms. Gallagher.”
Idalia turned to see Professor Hendrix hurrying down the hallway trying to catch her as she left another class. “Yes?” she asked, slowing down.
“I did some research,” he said matching her pace when she picked up speed again. Her skin crawled with their closeness, but she tried to ignore it. “About Season,” he added.
“Oh, right. Did you find anything?” Idalia asked, trying to keep her voice level.
“Not much. But, if you want to come by my office, I jotted down some notes,” he said looking at her sideways.
“I’m actually on my way out,” Idalia said. “Could you just tell me what you remember?”
“Sure,” he said, the smile fading from his face. “So, I found a book where it talked about a place that had all four seasons year round. It was divided into four sections, each one taking on the essence of a particular season.”
Idalia nodded her head. “Sounds about right.”
“You asked about the Four Daughters. I didn’t find anything specific to daughters, but in the book it said there would be four descendants, one for each season. At the end of a test, one of the descendants would become the leader of the land. And, the leader would decide what season the whole land would be.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure, really,” Professor Hendrix said shaking his head in confusion. “It’s interesting though. Where did you hear about it again?”
“I don’t remember. Probably just popped up online somewhere.”
