for eavesdropping. You’ll discover this soon.”
“Yeah, so they were hoping you’d either get caught while breaking into someone’s home,” Gemma says, “or that their anonymous tip to Club Deviant’s owner would get you in trouble with him. And by ‘trouble—’” she glances at Perry “—I think they meant something a lot worse than just getting kicked out.”
I press my lips together as anger heats my blood. I’ve wound up an outcast at every school I’ve been to, but no one’s ever tried to get me killed before. What is wrong with Saskia?
“We tried to find you at the Guild after we heard everything, but you’d left already. I asked your mentor for your amber ID so I could get hold of you, but the moment I mentioned your name, she looked at me like I was a pile of goblin droppings.”
“Yeah, she’s super friendly.”
“And we couldn’t find your brother either,” Perry adds as he pushes himself up onto a wall. “So we figured the next best thing would be to try find you Underground before you got yourself into too much trouble. We wandered around Sivvyn Quarter for a while, then kept opening doorways near Club Deviant until you finally showed up.”
“Wow. You went to a lot of trouble.”
Perry shrugs and swings his long legs, kicking his heels against the wall. “The bill’s in the mail.”
“Perry!” Gemma elbows him. “Don’t be such a butt-head.”
“What?” His eyes widen in defense. “Obviously I’m joking.”
I feel the hint of a smile on my lips. “Well, thank you for pulling me out of there. I appreciate it.”
“Sure.” Gemma beams at me. “That’s what friends are for, right?”
Friends. Right. I look down. The bangle lies on a rock beside my left foot. I can’t tell if it’s a trick of the moonlight or some kind of magic, but the green stones seem to be glowing. “Being friends would be great,” I say, “but I don’t want to waste your time.”
“Why would you be wasting our time?” Perry asks.
“It’s just … people don’t generally want to be friends with me.”
“Because …”
“They’re scared of me. And soon you will be too. You’ll hear more and more stories about me, stories that will freak you out, and you’ll decide it’s a whole lot safer not being my friend.”
“We already know about the boy and the bicycle,” Gemma says. “So what? He went crazy. Doesn’t mean it was your fault.”
“Everyone knows that story,” I say. “It got out pretty quickly. I’m referring to all the others.”
“Others?”
“Yes. There are other stories.” I fidget with the frayed edge of my make-shift shorts.
“And … are they true?” Gemma asks carefully.
I bite my lip. I can’t tell them everything, but I don’t want to lie to them either. “The truth is that I’ve never made anyone crazy. I’ve never used dark magic, and my mother isn’t an Unseelie faerie.”
“Well, that’s all we need to know then,” Perry says, clapping his hands together as if that settles the matter. “Interview over. You’ll receive a formal offer of friendship in the mail.”
Gemma rolls her eyes and pushes him off the wall.
* * *
Exhausted from projecting the detailed dragon scene, I collapse into bed late on Tuesday night—after hiding the time-travel bangle at the back of my sock drawer next to the necklace from Zed that I plan never to wear—and then proceed to oversleep the next morning. I’m lost in a deep, faraway sleep when Mom bangs on my door to ask if I’m still planning to have breakfast at the Guild. I get dressed in record time, ignore the three amber messages I received from Zed during the night, and just about run out of the faerie paths into the entrance room at the Guild. After the guard scans my pendant, I hurry toward the dining hall. I’m almost there when I realize I didn’t bring the bangle. I slow down, wondering if I should go back home and get it, but then decide not to. I haven’t figured out
“Yeah, so they were hoping you’d either get caught while breaking into someone’s home,” Gemma says, “or that their anonymous tip to Club Deviant’s owner would get you in trouble with him. And by ‘trouble—’” she glances at Perry “—I think they meant something a lot worse than just getting kicked out.”
I press my lips together as anger heats my blood. I’ve wound up an outcast at every school I’ve been to, but no one’s ever tried to get me killed before. What is wrong with Saskia?
“We tried to find you at the Guild after we heard everything, but you’d left already. I asked your mentor for your amber ID so I could get hold of you, but the moment I mentioned your name, she looked at me like I was a pile of goblin droppings.”
“Yeah, she’s super friendly.”
“And we couldn’t find your brother either,” Perry adds as he pushes himself up onto a wall. “So we figured the next best thing would be to try find you Underground before you got yourself into too much trouble. We wandered around Sivvyn Quarter for a while, then kept opening doorways near Club Deviant until you finally showed up.”
“Wow. You went to a lot of trouble.”
Perry shrugs and swings his long legs, kicking his heels against the wall. “The bill’s in the mail.”
“Perry!” Gemma elbows him. “Don’t be such a butt-head.”
“What?” His eyes widen in defense. “Obviously I’m joking.”
I feel the hint of a smile on my lips. “Well, thank you for pulling me out of there. I appreciate it.”
“Sure.” Gemma beams at me. “That’s what friends are for, right?”
Friends. Right. I look down. The bangle lies on a rock beside my left foot. I can’t tell if it’s a trick of the moonlight or some kind of magic, but the green stones seem to be glowing. “Being friends would be great,” I say, “but I don’t want to waste your time.”
“Why would you be wasting our time?” Perry asks.
“It’s just … people don’t generally want to be friends with me.”
“Because …”
“They’re scared of me. And soon you will be too. You’ll hear more and more stories about me, stories that will freak you out, and you’ll decide it’s a whole lot safer not being my friend.”
“We already know about the boy and the bicycle,” Gemma says. “So what? He went crazy. Doesn’t mean it was your fault.”
“Everyone knows that story,” I say. “It got out pretty quickly. I’m referring to all the others.”
“Others?”
“Yes. There are other stories.” I fidget with the frayed edge of my make-shift shorts.
“And … are they true?” Gemma asks carefully.
I bite my lip. I can’t tell them everything, but I don’t want to lie to them either. “The truth is that I’ve never made anyone crazy. I’ve never used dark magic, and my mother isn’t an Unseelie faerie.”
“Well, that’s all we need to know then,” Perry says, clapping his hands together as if that settles the matter. “Interview over. You’ll receive a formal offer of friendship in the mail.”
Gemma rolls her eyes and pushes him off the wall.
* * *
Exhausted from projecting the detailed dragon scene, I collapse into bed late on Tuesday night—after hiding the time-travel bangle at the back of my sock drawer next to the necklace from Zed that I plan never to wear—and then proceed to oversleep the next morning. I’m lost in a deep, faraway sleep when Mom bangs on my door to ask if I’m still planning to have breakfast at the Guild. I get dressed in record time, ignore the three amber messages I received from Zed during the night, and just about run out of the faerie paths into the entrance room at the Guild. After the guard scans my pendant, I hurry toward the dining hall. I’m almost there when I realize I didn’t bring the bangle. I slow down, wondering if I should go back home and get it, but then decide not to. I haven’t figured out
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