Page 118 of The Black Witch

Maybe she isn’t Fae. Maybe she’s like me. Like Gareth. All of us Gardnerian, but with some Fae blood, maybe. That’s all. Her Fae blood is just...extraordinarilystrong.

No, I finally admit to myself, the crushing truth settling in. She’s Fae. She’ll be sent to the Pyrran Isles if she’s discovered.

And she’s donenothingto deserve any of this.

“Elloren...” Tierney starts, her throat hoarse. Gone is her usual guarded cynicism. She looks small and lost and afraid.

“No.” I cut her off, bringing my hand up to stop her. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. Let’s just not speak of it. Whatever it is.”

I meet her eyes, and her face is an open book, filled with overwhelming, stunned gratitude.

Something shifts between us in that moment, and I can feel the beginnings of real friendship start to take root.

“Here,” I say, grabbing a rag. “Let me help you clean this up.”

Tierney nods stiffly, and I can see her fighting back more tears. She wordlessly picks up a rag, stoops down and together we clean up the floor.

* * *

Outside the rain has stopped, and a cold mist hangs in the air. As we start to walk away from the lab complex, we’re approached by a young Gardnerian military apprentice with the tree insignia of the Twelfth Division.

He bows and hands me a letter. “I’m to give this to you, Mage,” he says. He bows again stiffly and takes his leave.

I look down at the letter. My name is written on it in clean, elegant script. I break the wax seal, the Twelfth Division’s River Oak, and pull the letter open as Tierney looks on over my shoulder.

I’m to rejoin my division at Essex.

I’ll be back for you. At Yule.

Lukas

My heart speeds up, warmth flushing my face, then indignation.

The sheer arrogance of him.

How could he possibly think, after what happened with Ariel, that we could still go to this dance together? And yet...it’s flattering that we could be so at odds, andstillhe’s trying to pursue me.

“At Yule?” Tierney queries, pulling my thoughts back to the present.

“There’s a dance,” I explain, conflicted. “I promised to go with him.”

Tierney’s brows fly up in amazed surprise. “Oh, ho!” she crows, wickedly delighted. “Looks like Fallon Bane’s going to wish she’d frozen your blood after all.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Diana Ulrich

Diana Ulrich slams her books down on the Chemistrie lab table, and Aislinn and I both jump, our eyes snapping up.

It’s early the next morning, class about to start, two sleepy Kelt scholars shuffling in, followed by a straight-backed Elf.

Diana falls into her seat with a loud huff. Her brother looks over at her, raising his eyebrows.

“You would not believe what I had to deal with this morning!” she cries to him, her voice as loud as usual.

The Kelts turn and blink at her, the Elf shooting her a quick look of annoyance.

“What happened?” Diana’s brother asks her calmly.

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