Through all the lying days of my youth

I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun; Now may I wither into the truth. —W. B. Yeats

FIRE

The towers of the East Wing were like twin blades waiting for me in the dark. There were two Specialists guarding Beatrix's prison, the faces of teenage boys I knew turned suddenly grim, soldiers who would cut down anyone who dared to enter. Soldiers who seemed ever so slightly panicked by the situation they found themselves in. I knew how that felt.

I watched from the shadows. Dowling and Silva were in there, interrogating Beatrix. The other students whispered that they tortured her every night. That our headmistress was obsessed by the wish for revenge.

Dowling and Silva left the East Wing as I kept watch. Dowling's face was cool. She didn't look like a woman obsessed by revenge. But she didn't look like a woman satisfied by the answers she'd received, either.

I bet Beatrix was being stubborn.

Beatrix had offered me answers. And I wanted them badly.

I jotted notes in my phone: 12:15. Dowling and Silva. Then, surveillance completed for the night, I put my phone away and turned to head off when a silhouette loomed out of the darkness and came at me.

Caught.

But then the figure emerged from the shadows, and I saw Dane in his Specialist uniform, clearly on guard duty. Just like the other guards, he looked suddenly older.

"Late-night stroll?" Dane asked.

"Needed some air," I claimed.

"This particular air? The air outside the place they've been holding

Beatrix? I know what you're doing."

I gave a sharp, unconvincing laugh and started to walk away.

"You don't know anything."

"You want to talk to her, don't you?" Dane asked.

Just walk, Bloom, I told myself.

Then he called after me, "I can help you."

That stopped me in my tracks. I turned back to face him.

"My guard shift is tomorrow night. Maybe you'll need air then, too."

Dane walked away, leaving me to look back at the East Wing. Answers were waiting there, with Beatrix.

But to get to tomorrow night, I had to get through tomorrow.

FIRE

The walls of the hedge maze were tall and green around me and Sky, walls so high there was nothing but green around me and blue above.

Until a Burned One burst into view, and began a deadly charge to where we stood, together at the end of a long arm of the maze. Side by side. Sky wielded his sword, and I focused my magic, as the Burned One drew near. I felt my magic rise. The Burned One burst into flame.

It didn't stop. It didn't falter, but came at us like a fireball on legs. Sky tried to parry the blows its fiery fists rained down.

Just as the Burned One was about to score a hit, a whistle blew, and the creature vanished into dust. A crystal, every facet glittering with magic, fell onto the ground where the monster once was.

I tried to regroup, and helped a frustrated Sky to his feet. As he rose, I noticed a cut on his face.

"You're bleeding," I murmured.

"Bad?"

"Nah. Want me to ...?"

I waved my fingers with a smile. He nodded, so I laid my fingertips gently against his cheek. My magic flared inside me as I touched him, like a tiny spark coming alight, and the wound closed as I used my magic to cauterize it into a scar that vanished like a whisper.

I breathed, "Good as new."

We stood looking at each other for a moment that went on for a little too long. It seemed like Stella and Sky had broken up, but maybe that was just because her mom had taken her away. I still didn't want to get in the middle of a complicated situation. I dropped my hand and turned to where the Burned One used to be. I picked up the crystal.

"I wish they would just tell us how to fight these things." I wished they'd tell us a lot of things.

"I think that's part of the fun," remarked Sky. "Us not knowing." "Very on brand for Alfea faculty," I said bitterly.

Sky was a soldier on task, looking around, and didn't seem to register my bitterness.

"Professor Harvey?" he asked. "Can we go again?"

Now we were moving toward the exit of the maze, and Terra's dad moved across the field toward us. "Every failure brings you one step closer to success."

He should make fortune cookies.

I gave him a chipper smile. "A good lesson, Professor. As usual."

Sky gave me a sidelong glance, but I firmly ignored him. Professor Harvey picked up the crystal, looking excited to share the wonder of knowledge.

"Fire magic is effective, if wielded properly. Inside each Burned One is a magical core called a Cinder. With time and finesse, your magic can extinguish it and destroy it." "Got it," I said.

I could do this on my own. All I needed was to learn more.

As though he could hear my thoughts, Professor Harvey said, "The key is mutual trust. You must trust your Specialist to hold the Burned One off while you channel controlled magic. And you must trust your fairy to get the job done."

When Harvey walked away, I joked: "I guess that's the question, then

... Can I trust you?"

I meant to be playful, but Sky stared across the field at the distant figure of Silva. Sometimes I got the sense Sky was keeping secrets from me.

Sky said, "Kinda want to ask you the same thing."

He might be deflecting, but he was right. I was keeping things from him, too.

Mutual trust? Not so much.

" 'A good lesson, Professor, as usual,' " Sky said in a squeaky voice that definitely didn't sound like me. "Who was that girl?"

"After my trip with Beatrix, they're all still watching me like a hawk." That was the truth, as far as it went.

When we left the maze completely behind us, the massive training day was spread out like a feast in front of the castle. I could see Dowling and Silva walking by pairings of fairies and Specialists, sparring with assistants provided for the day. Water Fairies drew water from the lake. Earth Fairies snagged them with vines. Fire Fairies blasted them with flames.

I glanced covertly at Dowling. She already had her eyes fixed on me. Aisha and Musa were walking with Dowling, industriously taking notes like good little helpers. Musa had definitely never struck me as the helper type.

Aisha made an I-hate-this face at me, and I smiled back at her.

The same bright, false smile I'd given Professor Harvey. Only Sky had seen through the smile. Sky knew me well enough for that. It seemed like I could always find comfort with Sky.

"I have to show them I'm not one of her ... evil ... henchwomen," I explained to him.

Sky cracked a smile. "Because Beatrix is a Bond villain?"

I had regrets. "A bad choice of words."

"Are you gonna help her carve her name on the moon with a laser?" Sky asked.

"Shut up," I told him. He was too cute.

Sky grinned like he knew it. "Steal the Eiffel Tower?" "Can we go again, please?" I yelled.

Grinning together, Sky and I headed back toward the training maze. Mutual trust? Maybe someday.

MIND

Musa trudged through the field of combat, alongside Aisha and Headmistress Dowling. Aisha eyed her clipboard in a highly professional manner.

"That'll be attempt five for Sky and Bloom," Aisha reported.

Dowling addressed Musa. "And?"

Musa said wearily, "He's slightly winded. She's ... frustrated? But neither of them are fatigued." "Good," said Dowling.

The headmistress looked to Aisha, who quickly made a note. Musa was fatigued herself. And conflicted. And jealous of the others, whose task was so comparatively simple.

"I know they know that I'm reading them, but it still feels invasive. Can't I use my magic against an actual enemy?"

"Not all fairy magic is suited to combat roles," Dowling said repressively. "Support is equally, if not more, important. Your magic can help us assess fragile mental states or uncover hidden enemies."

Her voice was pointed. Musa exchanged a quick look of alarm with Aisha. Was Dowling talking about Bloom?

Swiftly, Aisha put in, "Like Beatrix?"

Dowling hesitated. "Exactly."

Musa chanced directing a little of her magic at Ms. Dowling. "How is she, by the way? Have you found out why she ... killed Callum?"

Dowling's walls were higher than the hedge walls in the maze.

"Let's keep focused," their headmistress said crisply. "Who is next?"

EARTH

Terra staggered toward the Bastion benches, barely able to walk after her training session. Her path to rest was cut off by her own father. "You doing all right there, love?"

Terra didn't dignify that with a response.

"I made Popsicles earlier, if you—"

Terra nodded curtly. She wasn't taking Popsicle bribes to forgive him for lying to her.

"I'm fine ... but thank you."

Her dad nodded, message received, and left her alone.

At last, Terra reached the benches and grabbed her water bottle. She was so hot and thirsty, and she felt super gross. She was sure her face was the color of an overripe tomato, the kind of tomato that made everyone wonder how a tomato got in such an awful state.

Lean, muscular, and barely looking phased, a Specialist named Kat grabbed up her bag from next to Terra. Terra hated her deeply. "That vine restraint move's not half bad, Ter."

Actually, maybe Kat was okay. Maybe she was awesome, and they would be friends.

"Yeah," Terra said eagerly, even as she gulped water. "It's all about ... tensile strength ... of the cellulose ..."

Kat gave her a blank stare and veered away from the benches.

Clearly, Kat did not care about tensile strength. Nobody did. Terra was so dumb. She should know better than to talk like this by now.

Terra closed her eyes, willing herself to cool down.

When she opened them, Riven was sitting next to her. Terra almost jumped out of her skin. Had Riven not seen her there? Terra had been told she wasn't difficult to spot.

Riven looked absolutely wrecked, his usual swagger nowhere to be found. His eyes were all hollowed out from lack of sleep. He seemed to have lost his hairbrush, and his hair resembled a gorse thicket run entirely wild and in need of urgent pruning.

As Terra studied Riven's tired, sad face, she accidentally made eye contact. Terra swiftly looked away and sprang up to gather her stuff. Riven stared straight ahead.

"Tensile strength?" said Riven quietly. "Hot." He offered her a tiny smile, gone as soon as seen.

"She's right, you know. You're a force out there."

Terra was astonished. Were these compliments? Was Riven feeling well?

But one look at him would tell anyone he wasn't.

"You, too," she told him softly.

Riven dismissed that with a swear. "I was crap. After two attempts with me, Aisha quit combat and switched to support."

It was totally natural Riven wasn't at his best after all the traumatic events. He was good normally, Terra considered. Maybe not as good as Sky yet, but he had potential.

Riven must be lonely. Terra was a little lonely with Stella gone, their

Winx Club missing a key member, and Stella had just gone away with her mom. Stella wasn't a murderer.

"It's been a weird week," she reassured him. "You ... I'm sorry. I know you and Beatrix were close. This must be really hard."

Riven swallowed and glanced up at her. This time Terra didn't look away. His eyes held hers and a true smile began to curve his mouth, brightening his face immeasurably. She thought he might be about to say something important, then Dane walked over and interrupted them. God, if only Terra could hit Dane's beautiful face with a melon.

"Sweet moves, Riv," Dane sneered. "I've never seen somebody die so many different ways so quickly. You should go out for Alfea's Got Talent."

Riven shook his head, trying to ignore Dane. Terra thought that was the right attitude to take!

Dane scoffed and walked off, but the damage was done. Riven's shoulders had slumped. He wasn't smiling anymore.

"Um ..." Terra said to Riven. "What was that?"

She'd thought Dane and Riven were friends. Of course, she'd once thought Dane was sweet.

Riven said tiredly, "That was a sick burn from the first-year monster I created. Or Beatrix created. He's still got a thing for her. Like a weird gay thing?"

Wait, gay? thought Terra. She'd thought the Instagram story was just cool-fairy debauchery. Oh no, Riven had thought Dane liked him? No wonder Riven had taken to Dane. Riven liked it when people liked him.

And it hardly ever happened, because Riven was the worst.

He'd thought Dane liked him, and of course he'd believed his girlfriend liked him. And he'd been wrong on both counts. Oh, Riven.

"Is he even gay? I don't know anything anymore."

Riven gave a defeated sigh, and then looked wearily around as though wondering where he was. Slowly he got up and trudged away.

It would have been the action of a maniac to rush after the worst person in Alfea and get him a blanket and that deeply needed hairbrush.

So Terra just watched Riven go. For no good reason at all, she felt her heart break a little.

MIND

All was peaceful in Musa and Terra's room. Well, as peaceful as it ever got.

"In your mind, I just sit on my bed listening to nineties grunge, half doing runes homework, and sexting your brother, don't I?" Musa asked, hiding her phone.

Terra considered the matter, then visibly decided she didn't want to consider the matter, and then grabbed another plant pot.

"Just a few more plants and it won't feel so ... ghostly in there," she announced, determinedly chipper.

"A Stella Plant Exorcism?"

"An empty room just creeps me out! It's been a week. We need to accept she's not coming back. No matter how much we wonder how she's doing or text or call or check her Insta. Snap. Tumblr. Pinterest."

Well, that wasn't an unexpected feeling, but it was coming off Terra in waves. No wonder Dane had turned out to be a weasel. Terra actually liked awful people.

"Wait. Do you ... miss Stella?"

"No!" said Terra. "She was mean and insulting and left without saying goodbye, which is actually the meanest ..."

"Do you want me to insult you?" Musa asked. "Will that make you feel better?"

"What? No!" Terra paused. "Maybe just ... my outfit?"

Just then, a crash sounded from Stella's room, and Terra rushed out to remedy the situation. Terra must have placed the eighteenth plant in a precarious position.

With their door open, Musa could hear Aisha, trying hard to have a heart-to-heart with Bloom. So much suitemate drama. Musa had never thought she'd feel this way, but she was actually happy she had Terra as a roommate. Terra was the best one.

Plus, Terra had that hot brother.

"Bloom," said Aisha. "You know I'm here if you want to talk, right? I know after everything ... you feel like you can't trust Dowling, but I would never ... You can talk to me about anything. It's between us."

Yeah, or not, Musa thought. She wished Terra had closed the door.

"I know. I don't have anything to talk about. I want to focus on training this week. I've spent too much time focusing on everything other than school, and—" The sound of a phone ringing cut off Bloom's feeble excuses. "I should grab this."

Bloom walked out of the suite.

As soon as the door shut behind Bloom, Aisha bolted out of her room and into Musa and Terra's.

"We need to talk about Bloom!" she announced. "She's been singleminded about her birth parents and Rosalind for weeks. Are we actually meant to believe she's just ... over it?"

Terra nodded, acknowledging how unlikely this scenario was, and put down her plants in surrender.

"Has she said anything about what happened that day with Beatrix?" "Nothing," Aisha answered.

Then both Aisha and Terra turned to look at Musa with dawning suspicion.

"All the wisecracks about me broadcasting feelings, and you think I was going to volunteer that Bloom's a mess?"

It was Bloom's business. Aisha and Terra shared a look, as if to say: fair point.

"I know she's keeping something from us. I just don't know what it is.

Like why would she be texting Dane?" asked Aisha.

"She was texting Dane?" Terra demanded.

Musa got hit by a wave of emotion from Terra. Fear. Betrayal. Longing.

Something about melons.

"That was laced with more alarm than seems appropriate," she remarked.

Terra and Aisha both turned to Musa, startled. She stared back, giving a mental shrug. People. Can't escape from reading their emotions, can't stop them getting upset about it. Can't win.

Terra came to a decision. "Yeah ... I saw him today. Riven said he's still

Team Beatrix."

Musa didn't need to read emotions to know they were all alarmed by this information.

FIRE

My heart beat fast as I refused the call from my parents and made my way to the East Wing that was Beatrix's jail. I couldn't face them, knowing so little, with the awareness I knew even less. I could only talk to my mom again when I knew who I truly was.

Dane was standing guard as he'd promised. Next to him, apparently asleep in a chair, was another Specialist.

"It's okay," Dane said. "He's out."

Dane held out a baggie of powder. I was alarmed by the possibility it was poison or hard drugs.

Dane sighed. "Relax. It's a minor sedative. He'll be awake in an hour.

She's waiting."

I ventured near the cell bars to find Beatrix curled in the corner. She looked up when she saw me. I thought it was a genuine smile, but there was a touch of the tigress about this lady.

"Somebody took her sweet time," Beatrix purred, rising to her feet as I got closer. But I didn't have the energy for any of Beatrix's usual garbage. "Did you kill Callum?" I demanded.

"Right at it, then. Good girl," said Beatrix. "Did you?" I pressed.

"Short answer. Yes."

That was honest enough. So honest I was stunned. "Do I want to know the long answer?"

"How about the medium one?" Beatrix suggested. "Callum wasn't some suck-up assistant. He wanted the same thing I want."

Realization descended on me. "He was here to break Rosalind out?"

"A bit more complicated than 'evil Beatrix kills hapless assistant.' That's the story the faculty is going with, right? I mean, I get it. Who wants to deal with nuance?"

It took a moment to absorb. Then I said the names of those Beatrix was dismissing as "the faculty." "Dowling, Harvey, Silva ... They didn't tell me the truth about a lot of things. But just because they haven't doesn't mean you have."

Beatrix's voice went taut. "You still don't believe me that they torched

Aster Dell?"

"If they did ... if they killed my birth parents ..." I didn't know what I would do. "I have to know what actually happened that day."

In almost a singsong, Beatrix said, "I know somebody who can tell you."

She didn't have to say the name. Rosalind.

"Where are they keeping her?"

"I can show you," Beatrix promised. "Where Rosalind is, how to get to her. All this and more can be yours."

"What do you want?"

Beatrix indicated the magical manacles that I'd been informed were called runic limiters.

"These lovely accessories Dowling gave me hurt like hell. On your way out, Dane will give you a trinket that can help get rid of them. Think of it like a fairy battery. If you use your magic to charge it in the stone circle ..." "You want me to free you?" I demanded.

I was speechless at her audacity. She'd just admitted to killing someone!

But Beatrix didn't push too hard. She just dangled the carrot.

"You don't trust me. You shouldn't. You shouldn't trust the faculty. You shouldn't trust your friends. The only person you should trust is Rosalind.

And if you want to see her, this is your only option."

I left the cell without another word, wrestling with the decision. I was still wrestling when Dane approached and handed me a textbook. I glanced at Dane. He was a piece of work, but he wasn't a killer. As far as I knew.

Doubtfully, I began, "I know you and Beatrix were friends, but ..."

"Why am I helping her? Easy. She's the only person here who ever let me feel like being different was a good thing. The odds are stacked against the outsiders at Alfea." Dane paused significantly. "Isn't that why you're here?"

MIND

Musa stood in the Bastion training area and tested the balance on a staff. She wondered if wielding a weapon for a while would get her mind off things.

"You like holding that big stick?" asked Sky's annoying friend, Riven.

Musa spun the staff around, stopping with her weapon poised inches from his head. She stayed there a beat as a flirty smile crept up on Riven's face.

"Guess that's a yes," murmured Riven, in a low rumble.

Oh, this guy. He looked a mess. And his head was an even worse mess.

"I think I just threw up," scoffed Musa.

That was the right attitude to take with Riven. There was a gleam in his eye suddenly. Well, maybe not a full gleam. Maybe a spark. It lit something within Musa, too.

"Saw you on support rounds with the headmistress at training. Wouldn't expect a Mind Fairy to have such good moves."

Blood still racing, Musa admitted, "I used to be a dancer. Kinda miss being physical. Using my body."

Musa cursed herself for handing Riven that line. Riven only looked morose. Apparently, he only wanted to be flirty if he might get beaten up.

"Too bad. You're a fairy. They don't care what you want to be in this place. Only what they want you to be."

Musa's eyes narrowed as her magic surged. She got desperation, longing, wanting to be—somewhere not here. With someone else.

"You really hate it here, don't you?"

Riven's face twisted in horror and self-disgust. Cursing, he stormed off, and warned Sam off Musa as he went.

Sam came closer. And suddenly Musa could think of another way to deal with all her pent-up feelings.

"You wanna go back to the suite?" Musa suggested.

She practically tackled Sam when they got there.

"This is hot," Sam panted against her mouth. "You're hot." "Hotter without commentary," Musa breathed.

She kissed him harder, trying to stop the words and the feelings, but felt Sam's mouth form a protesting shape.

"Right. Okay. It's just ... I don't want to say aggressive, but ..."

"Sam," Musa murmured. "I promised I'd meet Terra and Aisha, so let's just—"

Have a moment. For ourselves. She wanted to lose herself in kisses, but Sam pulled away.

"I can't believe I'm being this guy, but just because I'm not an empath doesn't mean I don't have empathy. What's going on?"

She considered his sweet, concerned face. She didn't have much practice at opening up.

"I'm just annoyed with training. With sitting on the sidelines and not being able to do anything."

Sam said in a pacifying tone, "Musa, Mind Fairies are some of the most powerful fairies—"

"Bull. We are powerless when things actually go wrong."

She remembered, from the time when things went worse than wrong.

Her response was too sharp. Sam's glance at her was pretty sharp as well. "Yeah, this is about way more than training. Did something happen?"

"No. I mean, yeah, but it was a long time ago. Family stuff. And all this training is just ..." She gave up. "It's not a big deal. I'm just frustrated. And if I were you, I'd take advantage of that frustration while you still can."

Kind Sam obviously wanted to push it, but he let her have her way for the moment. "Fair enough. Be frustrated."

Wise decision, Sam. He smiled, and she shoved him down on the bed.

She tugged her shirt off, and saw his expression turn awed.

As Musa crawled on top of him, a pot fell off the dresser and shattered. Sam let out a little shout, startled. At the noise of distress, Musa's magic instinctively flared, and then she felt a wave of self-consciousness from Sam.

"Please do not judge me based on my legitimate and completely masculine fear of ghosts, which are objectively creepy and—" Musa smiled at him, and gave him a quick kiss.

"Moment's passed. I should probably get changed and catch up with them."

He gave her another kiss, and she walked him out of the room.

After Musa heard the door to the suite close behind Sam, she turned and faced the empty room. She surveyed the space carefully, then reached out with her magic, and sank back down on the bed. She knew what she'd felt.

Who she'd felt.

"Wanna come out now?" Musa inquired softly.

There was silence for a long moment. And then the empty space in front of Musa shimmered, revealing Stella.

"New magic? Not bad," Musa said as calmly as she could.

"Thanks." Stella was doing her best to sound indifferent. "I've had some practice."

"How long have you been hiding here?"

"A few days?" Stella sounded like she wasn't sure. She was bare-faced, wearing baggy clothes, with her hair in a bun. Musa had never seen Stella appear actually vulnerable before.

"Wanna talk about it?" asked Musa.

Stella didn't answer. She looked almost afraid, Musa thought.

When Musa reached out with her power, she realized what Stella was feeling was terror.

FIRE

Rays of light pierced the mist of morning, making the stone circle seem an even more magical space than usual. I stood looking around uneasily, holding the textbook Dane had given me.

When I was sure the coast was clear, I opened the book and took out a metal disc. It was intricately wrought with runes I couldn't even guess the meanings of.

When I called my magic to me, at the very edges of the disc, the wrought metal glowed red as an ember. My power felt like a spark lighting a fuse. As I let my own magic ebb away, the glow remained. I'd keyed the disc into a source of power, and now it was drawing magic from the stone circle. Fire slowly traced its way through the metal. I watched the delicate tracery, mesmerized, until an unwelcome sound snapped me out of my daze.

Sky's voice rang out in the morning air. "Is this where the overachievers hang out?"

Quickly, I shoved the disc behind my backpack and turned to watch Sky approach.

His gaze went to the textbook.

"Gets kinda loud in the suite," I said, as casually as I could. I couldn't tell if he bought the act.

Sky asked, "What is that thing?"

I widened my eyes. "It's called a book? Bit concerned you've never seen one, but—"

Sky's face twisted as if he'd reached a breaking point. "I don't want to do this, Bloom," he burst out. "I don't want to lie to each other. I don't want to play some game."

I kept playing. "There's no game."

Sky was clearly struggling, trying to force words out. As if each word was forbidden, was breaking a direct order.

"Silva wanted me ... to watch you. I told him he was crazy! That there wasn't anything weird going on. That you were frustrated, but ..." "You've been spying on me?" I demanded.

Even though he'd just confessed to spying on me, apparently hearing me reiterate it stunned him. As though he was so sure he was a good guy, he couldn't possibly have done what he'd done.

I was such a fool. "I should've expected that. And you just blindly did what they said—"

"He gave me an order," Sky told me helplessly.

"Which he could have given to anyone! But he chose you. Used our friendship. But I'm the bad guy, right?"

In answer, Sky grabbed at my bag, revealing the disc and the fact that I hadn't exactly been forthcoming myself.

"What is it, Bloom?" he demanded.

I hesitated for a long guilty moment. Sky took the time to collect himself.

"I want to be on your side here, but you're making it really hard. Tell me," he urged, soft, insistent. "You can trust me."

He'd just proven that I couldn't. Or had he? At least he'd told me.

Maybe I should try telling him something.

I took a deep breath, and began to spill the truth about Aster Dell.

LIGHT

Stella hadn't been looking to bond with her suitemates. They were first years, and besides, she'd always known Terra would spill about what had happened with Ricki, and they would all judge her for what they believed she'd done. Judge her and hate her.

So she'd judged and hated them first. She'd hated Terra, for telling what she believed to be the truth, and also for Terra's ghastly taste in blouses. Bloom, for maybe being the girl of Sky's dreams. Aisha, for always trying to do the right thing. And Musa, for her terrible power of seeing into Stella's soul.

She'd feared Musa's magic. Now, though, she found the idea of Musa's power almost liberating. Stella was literally forced to be invisible. She was done keeping up appearances.

Musa knew people's innermost feelings already. Stella could spill it all, pour her whole heart out, and it wouldn't matter.

"I ran away days ago. I'm sure my mom has the entire army looking for me. But you won't hear about it."

"And she won't look for you here?" Musa asked, doubtful.

"Not at first. To do that, she'd have to admit she'd lost control of something. That'll never happen."

Musa's eyes glowed, and Stella knew Musa was sensing Stella's conviction of this. Feeling exactly how intimidated Stella was by her mother, how the longing for love and the longing to please her mom were overlaid by stark fear.

Stella was glad. Stella wanted Musa to see her. She felt as though she'd been invisible far longer than a few days.

Stella's voice underlined her feelings, saying, "Project strength and power. Never show weakness. It's all she cares about. And I am an extension of her strength. My magic has to be powerful at any cost. That's what she taught me. My mom tutored me growing up. When positive emotions didn't work, she went right to the negative. Hard. My magic is erratic ... because of her."

Stella swallowed, on the verge of the most important revelation. It was easy saying these things to Musa, because Musa could tell Stella truly meant it. Nobody else would believe how sorry Stella was.

"Ricki was my best friend. I didn't mean to hurt her," Stella whispered, and hoped the truth and regret rang through Musa's bones as pain rang through Stella's own. "But I lost control, and it was better ... for my mom ... if people thought I did it on purpose. Because at least if I'm a raging bitch, or a monster, I'm not weak."

"That is messed up, Stel," Musa said gently.

Stella was so utterly exhausted, she couldn't even be ashamed. "Tell me about it. And the second I got home it started again. So here I am. Until I figure out what to do next. Please don't tell anyone."

Her mother had raised her to be proud, to be royal, and here she was begging. She waited, every muscle tense, for Musa to mock her for being brought so low. Stella was alone. She'd always been alone, really.

The purple had faded from Musa's gaze. As Musa gazed at Stella, her eyes were soft with sympathy.

"You don't have to hide," Musa promised. "The rest of the girls in the suite will be okay with you being here."

For a moment, Stella felt as though she could almost believe Musa. As though her mother had been wrong, and she did have friends after all.

EARTH

Dane chugged from a big water bottle as he finished lunch, and then glanced around in what Terra found to be a suspicious manner. He headed away from the crowd in the courtyard to a quiet back area where he wouldn't be observed. Terra sneaked after him, just in time to see him pull out a joint and light it up.

Terra felt she had to speak now. "In the middle of the courtyard? 'Cause that's smart."

Terra approached. Dane took another hit.

"Yep. Want some?"

Dane exhaled smoke aggressively into her face. Terra flapped her hand, waving the smoke out of the way. "What is wrong with you?" "Oh, you care about me again?" Dane asked bitterly.

That was the last thing Terra expected to hear. It had never occurred to her that Dane might actually miss her. She faltered, "I've always cared about you."

Dane's tone went savage. "Really, 'cause it seemed like I did one bad thing and you cut me off."

"So you're all about Beatrix now?" Terra demanded.

"She definitely never did anything to make me feel bad."

Terra snapped, "No, she just murdered someone, Dane."

And if Dane had mocked Beatrix on the internet like he'd mocked Terra, Beatrix might have murdered him. Right now, Terra felt that would have served Dane right. Why did Dane think his wounded fee-fees were more important than someone's life?

Dane rolled his eyes and Terra felt every last drop of sympathy in her evaporate.

"Done with this," Dane announced.

He moved to stand up. But he couldn't. He looked down and saw a vine, wrapping around his legs, fastening him to his chair.

"Except you kinda aren't," Terra pointed out.

Dane laughed, not bothered. He took another defiant hit, but then a tiny jet of water put it out.

Aisha approached. "What's going on with you and Bloom?"

Dane looked back and forth between them with a carefully blank expression on his face.

Terra lost patience and commanded, "Tell us. Or—"

"What? You're not going to hurt me."

Terra said noncommittally, "Depends what your definition of hurt is. Might not be physical pain, no. But don't think I'm above leaving you in that chair as long as it takes for you to talk. And that ..." She gestured meaningfully. "Looks like a pretty big bottle of water. Hope you can hold it.

Otherwise, messy."

Dane finally seemed to realize he was trapped. Terra folded her arms and waited.

Dane might be feeling injured she'd stopped being his friend, but that was rich considering he'd bad-mouthed Terra to amuse Riven and Beatrix, and he hadn't tried hard to make up for it. Hadn't tried much at all. Hadn't thought she was worth it.

Terra wanted to help Bloom. But she'd be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying taking a little revenge for herself as well.

FIRE

All was silent in the stone circle, once I'd told my story.

"I've lived at Alfea my entire life. Silva raised me," Sky said numbly at last.

I understood it was hard for him to believe, but he had to know the truth. "I saw Aster Dell with my own eyes."

Sky was clearly still focused on Silva. If it had been my dad, I would've felt the same way.

"He would've never helped massacre an entire village!"

"Not even if he thought he was killing Burned Ones? If he thought he'd save more lives in the future?"

Sky opened his mouth, and then closed it.

Yeah, that was what I thought, too. "I don't think they're evil, Sky. I just think they're ... complicated," I said helplessly. "They think they're protecting this place. But they're also protecting themselves. So whatever the truth is? Whatever happened that day? They're not gonna tell me."

He moved toward me, as he heard the desperation in my voice. Perhaps he could sense where the desperation would lead.

"I know how hard it is to not know your parents, Bloom, but—"

"Do you? At least you were raised by people who knew yours. You heard stories. Saw pictures."

I stared out at the green hills beyond the stone, trying not to cry as the empty landscape blurred in my vision. The wind kicked up, sending chills all through me.

"Are you cold?" Sky asked, instantly concerned. "You need a sweater?"

I pulled out my water bottle, turning back to see that Sky had shrugged his jacket off and was holding it out to me.

"That's sweet, but—Fire Fairy."

Six fires ignited around us. Warming us, like a circle of stars to go with our circle of stones. Sky looked around, and every dancing flame caught the brightness in his eyes.

"Right," Sky scoffed a little. "Because you never need help."

I offered my water to Sky. As he took it, and drank, I tried to shrug his words off. "Part of my charm."

Sky gave me a look that said he couldn't be shrugged off. "Frustrating charm."

"'Cause you're a fixer. And I don't need to be fixed."

Sky turned away from me slightly. I wondered if I'd sounded harsher than I intended, but then he spoke, with difficulty, and I realized he was just trying to get the words out.

"I've heard more stories about Andreas than I can count. Like he's still alive. Except he's not. He's an ideal. A void. An impossible ghost. Do you know how hard that is to live up to? Even Silva ... it's like he's playing

some role out of a sense of duty. All I really want is a dad."

I drew closer to him and laid a hand on his arm. "Sky ..."

Sky said desperately, "I'm a fixer because I'm supposed to be. Because I have to be. Because when I fix other people, I don't have to think about how broken I am."

He turned to face me. It was like seeing him for the first time, with the careful mask of duty completely gone.

"We're all broken, Bloom. We all need to be fixed. There's charm in that, too."

His face was so close to mine, and once again I felt that yearning pull toward him. This time I didn't resist. This time I couldn't.

Our lips met, and I finally understood why I had always felt so drawn to him. We fit together like two broken pieces that could form a whole.

Then against the darkness behind my eyes, I saw the brilliant glow as magic lit up the disc Dane had given me.

Sky and I broke apart, both of us looking toward the light. I hesitated, and then reached for the disc. Sky reached for me, and put his hand over mine.

"You haven't told me what that's for. You still don't trust me?"

I looked down at his hand over mine. Just the sight of that, us touching so simply, filled me with sorrow.

"I do, actually. But I also know if I tell you, you'll stop me."

Sky looked ready to argue the point, but then what I'd been waiting for happened. Sky staggered, eyes going unfocused, and grabbed at the bench as he tumbled down to the ground. It was heartbreaking to watch Sky, with his soldier's grace lost as his body betrayed him.

Because I'd betrayed him.

"What's happening ...?" asked Sky, but I could see he already knew. He just didn't want to believe. He'd wanted to trust me.

I slid the disc back into my bag, alongside the bag of powder Dane had given me. Sky's eyes were already sliding closed. He would sleep, for a little while.

"Dane said it wouldn't last long," I told Sky's unconscious body. "I'm sorry."

I put out the dancing flames surrounding us, knowing that the fire between us was already lost.

SPECIALIST

Silva had sent a group text to the Specialists saying to suit up. Riven had no idea what he wanted, but he climbed morosely into his armor. Probably it was another drill. Maybe he'd feel better if he hit someone. Maybe he could cut off Dane's head in an unfortunate training accident. He walked out of his room, buckling on his sword and shaking his head, trying to pull himself together.

Then Terra came charging through the Specialist corridor, headed right for Riven.

She grabbed his arm. "Hey! I need help."

Riven reached for his sword. "What do you need?"

There were bits of vines in Terra's hair and a wild look in her eye.

"Bloom's about to do something absolutely insane, so I have to find Sky."

"You have to find Sky," Riven said flatly. "For help."

"Yes, obviously!"

"Have you ever even had a conversation with Sky?"

"We have conversations!" Terra protested. "Multiple ones! Anyway, everybody knows he's a great guy, and I think he really cares about Bloom.

Hope Stella doesn't—"

"Blind her," Riven murmured. "I've been concerned about that, too." "Blinding's very concerning!" said Terra. "But it's not the issue right now. The problem is this. Dane is a weasel. He is a weasel-faced weasel.

Had you noticed that?"

"It had come to my attention."

It hadn't bothered him. He'd thought it was something he and Dane had in common.

Terra pointed an accusing finger. "And yet, you kinda made out with him!"

"And you just wanted to make out with him," Riven shot back.

"That's not important at this time! Dane was up to no good, so I bound him to a chair with vines and threatened to keep him tied up there forever

—"

"I'm sorry, you did what?" Riven gave Terra a scandalized glare. "Terra, has it occurred to you that you have something of a vine management problem?"

Terra waved this off. "I mean, not forever, but I wouldn't let him pee. I had to extract information from him somehow, you must see that!"

Riven swore. "Did you shake your vines at him in a menacing fashion and say, 'We have ways of making you talk'?"

"No, Riven. Be reasonable. Why would I do that?" Terra shook her head and waved an object at him.

Riven squinted at it. "Is that Dane's cell phone?"

"Yeah. Will you please focus!"

"I wanted to be clear," said Riven. "You're mugging people now." Terra was really blossoming. Into a criminal maniac flower.

"Bloom and Dane are plotting a jailbreak of your deranged, murderous ex," Terra announced. "Dane gave Bloom some sort of magic key." They were what? Dane had done what?

"We didn't technically break up," Riven pointed out.

"Murder means breaking up," said Terra. Riven nodded. "Yeah, that's fair."

"So I desperately need help and I must find Sky! Who else could possibly help?"

Riven gave her a wry smile. "Certainly not me."

"Nobody would ever ask you for help," Terra agreed absentmindedly.

"Sky can talk sense into Bloom! Do you have any idea where he is?"

"I thought he went off to find Bloom, to be honest."

"Oh no." Terra's eyes were saucers. "What if Bloom's already eliminated him?"

What, did Terra suspect another murder? Blindings. Murder.

Kidnapping and bondage with vines. Why was nobody content with being a low-key delinquent like Riven himself?

"I don't think Bloom would murder Sky," Riven decided. "She's too warm for his form to put him on ice permanently."

Terra punched Riven in the arm. She punched pretty hard. "Bloom is my friend! She would never murder anyone."

"You just said she was gonna jailbreak a murderer!"

"That's not the same thing at all," Terra told him severely. "I'm sure she just tied up Sky and stashed him somewhere safe. All right, I'll deal with

Bloom. You should probably go find Sky."

"That's all you want me to do?"

"Uh," said Terra. "I guess you could also untie Dane?"

Riven felt his eyebrows hit his hairline. "Did you not already untie

Dane?"

"No, Riven," Terra said. "Dane might have got in my way."

She whirled around and hurtled off. Well, that had been an unhinged interaction. Apparently, Terra was a spy of the realm now.

Riven looked after Terra and murmured, "I genuinely don't think Dane would dare."

He shook his head and set off toward the courtyard when Silva marched past him. Silva's always-set jaw currently looked like granite that was disappointed in the world.

"Good that you suited up. Where's Sky?" snapped Silva.

"I'm glad nobody's even bothering with 'hey, Riven' anymore," grumbled Riven. "Just cut right to the chase, guys."

Something deeply military was about to happen to Riven; he could feel it. Why did he have to be tormented like this?

Silva snapped out the words. "There's at least six Burned Ones massacring people on the other side of the Barrier. Marco's team is already down. It's our job to stop them."

Riven stared at Silva with his mouth falling open. He hated to point out the wildly obvious, but if a whole team of trained adult Specialists had been taken down, the trainees at Alfea were just gonna get slaughtered. He tried to find some non-insubordinate way to ask, "What's my motivation to get slaughtered?"

"Don't ask questions," Silva growled. "Find Sky."

Okay, Riven got it. Everybody wanted Sky. It was Riven's job to fetch him.

Since the Burned Ones were gonna kill them all, he'd better hurry and untie Dane, too.

FIRE

I headed for the gate, and then stopped dead when I saw a strange guard.

Swiftly, I shot Dane a text saying I have the key. Where are you?

Terra's voice behind me said simply, "He's not coming."

I turned to behold Terra and Aisha. Terra held up Dane's cell. Aisha was almost vibrating with disappointment and anger.

"What the hell are you doing, Bloom? Breaking Beatrix out?"

Every justification I could think of to offer sounded feeble under their furious gazes. But my friends weren't soldiers. They'd helped me before.

Maybe if they knew the truth about Aster Dell, they would help me again. "Dowling is lying to me. Everyone here is lying. You don't know what I know."

"We do," Aisha said flatly. "Dane told us about Aster Dell."

Terra's voice rang with righteous fury. "My dad would never do that,

Bloom. Beatrix is a liar. And a murderer." I glanced back and forth.

"Of course. You're his daughter, and you're Dowling's little helper. I'm never gonna convince either of you. Just like Sky."

I tried to walk past them. But Aisha stepped in front of me, blocking the way.

"I'm not Dowling's little helper," she said. "I've been spying on the woman. For days. For you."

Terra sounded disconcerted. "You what?"

Aisha waved this off. "The point is, all I've seen is how hard she's trying—they're all trying—to keep us safe."

Dowling was trying really hard to conceal the truth. I knew that much. I could never forgive her for that.

"They've lied about a woman being dead for sixteen years. About a war crime. I know you want to believe in them, but they're destructive. Maybe dangerous—"

"Listen to yourself!" Terra snapped. "You literally sound like a crazy person."

Fury spurred me to try getting past Aisha. She blocked me again, as though I was on an enemy team and she would never let me score.

The movements of Aisha's body were sure, but her voice was faltering and desperate. "We haven't told anyone what you're doing. If you just give us the key, we won't. But if you don't ... I don't want to see you in the cell next to her."

I stood there, furious, feeling like an animal at bay. Only I had a better weapon than teeth. I could feel my magic curling hot within me, wanting to spring. The temptation to use magic on my friends was very real.

Aisha took a step back, and there was no fear on her face. Only concern.

And hurt.

"Bloom," Aisha said.

Only that.

The look on Aisha's face snapped me out of it. I lost my grip on my magic, and sick regret made my stomach lurch. What had I almost done?

It killed me, but I reached into my bag and pulled out the disc. My last chance at answers. I handed it over. Aisha took it away.

"I know how hard this must be," Aisha whispered.

"No," I told Aisha. Loving her, hating her, hoping I wouldn't always resent her for this. "You don't."

MIND

Stella leaned over Musa's phone, reading a barrage of texts from Aisha about Dane.

Stella's tone got snippy. "I just can't believe everyone is listening to Aisha like she knows everything. You have no idea how hard it's been to keep my mouth shut while the suite goes haywire. I can only bear so much."

Musa's eyebrows rose. "So you're the reason stuff keeps falling and breaking and—"

"I have opinions," Stella said with dignity. "And if I can't express them verbally, I'm not above poltergeisting."

Just then, the door swung open, and Aisha and Terra entered. As soon as the door moved, Stella vanished.

Terra was in full swing already. "I just wonder what else we can do ..." "We can put this all behind us, and—" Aisha stopped, seeing Musa. "Where have you been? Didn't you get my texts?"

Musa didn't know if she could bring herself to spill Stella's secrets. "I did. Sorry. I was ... busy. Sam was here and—"

Terra made a face. "Wait, not in our room, right?"

Aisha ignored her, holding up a runic disc. "It's okay. We stopped Bloom. I think she's losing it. I know I said we wouldn't, but I wonder if we have to tell Dowling."

A flash of irritation made Musa jump. It wasn't her own irritation. She looked at the shelf, where a flowerpot trembled. It started to move on its own toward the edge. Musa pointed at the empty space.

"Don't you dare."

Aisha, naturally assuming Musa was talking about her, said, "No. I think we should tell her."

The vase moved another inch. Actually, Musa was over it. She felt totally ready to spill Stella's secrets.

"Stella has an opinion about that," she declared.

"What?" said Terra.

"Huh?" asked Aisha.

"I refuse to keep cleaning them up," Musa informed Stella. "Just tell them."

Her suitemates stared at Musa as though she had lost it ... until Stella appeared next to the vase. She gave Musa an annoyed glance, and then turned to Terra and Aisha.

"I have an opinion," announced Stella.

The girls were stunned. Terra started to speak, but Stella's tone didn't welcome comments.

"Everyone in this damn suite is so black or white. Did it ever occur to you, like, ever, that there's somewhere in the middle to land?"

Stella looked at Musa. New understanding passed between them. It was kinda beautiful.

"Bloom's a pain in the ass," said Stella, which was less beautiful. "But she deserves to know who she is. Really. Not the stories the faculty is telling her. So we can worry about being right, or we can help our friend.

Which is it?"

FIRE

I found Dowling in front of an open dresser, staring at an outfit that looked almost like Specialist clothing. The outfit Dowling had worn in the old pictures. She turned at the sound of the door, slamming in my wake.

"Excuse me?" Dowling said thinly.

"I want to see her," I stated. "Rosalind."

"I told you, she's—"

My voice was another slammed door. "I know she's alive! So don't lie to me again."

There had been too many lies. I wasn't sure I could bear hearing another.

"I don't have time for this right now, Bloom." Dowling started to walk past me.

"I'm from Aster Dell."

I threw the words at her, and they stopped her cold.

"Yep. That's where I was born. And that's where my birth parents lived.

That is until you, Mr. Silva, and Professor Harvey destroyed it."

For a moment, Dowling didn't speak. She didn't even need to answer. I could see the guilt on her face.

In a shaking voice, I whispered, "So it's true."

I hadn't realized I hoped it wasn't. She was the woman who'd come from another world to rescue me, surrounded by light. The woman who'd lied to me over and over again.

I clung to rage, because it felt safest. "How could you do that? How could killing Burned Ones be more important to you than people's lives?

Than my ... parents?"

Dowling's expression altered. "You think we did it on purpose?"

"That's what Beatrix said." I faltered. "That Rosalind had a crisis of conscience but you did it, anyway."

Tell me it isn't true. No, I thought. I didn't want her to tell me what I wanted to hear. I wanted the truth.

Dowling shook her head. "Rosalind. She's still manipulating people after all these years."

"What does that mean?" I demanded. "Tell me what happened that day."

There was a long, awful silence. I saw Dowling take a deep breath and prayed she wouldn't lie to me again.

"That day ..." said Dowling, "I made a mistake."

And the pain and resolve on Dowling's face let me, at last, believe.

"Rosalind was my mentor. The most powerful fairy at Alfea. Feared, but respected. I never doubted her. Never questioned her. So when we heard about the Burned Ones at Aster Dell, we followed."

As Dowling talked, I could almost see the picture of Rosalind's team, come to life and walking through the green forest. Before the devastation of Aster Dell. Dowling, Silva, Terra's dad, Sky's dad, and Rosalind the trusted leader. Being a team, trying to do good work. How had it all gone so wrong?

"The magic we unleashed that day was immensely powerful. Until then, we didn't know fairies could combine their magic. It was a secret Rosalind kept. Not the first. Still, we never questioned her. She told us she had taken pains to evacuate the village. She told us that only Burned Ones would be killed in the blast."

I remembered the vision Beatrix had showed me. So much devastation. So many people had died in that wrecked village. My parents hadn't been Burned Ones.

Dowling's face was filled with regret. All she had to say was, "We should have questioned her."

So it had been Rosalind's fault? Did Beatrix know? Who was lying?

Maybe all of them were lying.

"When we realized what she had done? What we had done? That day has lived in my mind for sixteen years." Dowling's voice was harsh. "If Aster Dell is where you're from, there are no words I could say that would make right the damage I have caused you."

"Why would Rosalind do that? Lie?" I whispered.

Why did everybody lie? I was so tired of it.

"She was a zealot. She wanted every Burned One dead, no matter the cost. I'm sure she thought if she told us she couldn't evacuate, we'd say no.

She would've been right."

I tried to puzzle it out, unravel the whole sorry mess. "But what about me? Why did she rescue me? Why did she put me in the human world?

Why did she tell me to find her?"

Weariness seemed to overcome Dowling, there in her shadowy office, with the doors of her past open before us.

"That much I do not know, Bloom. Rosalind kept many things from me."

Hope flared in me. "Which is why I want to see her. I know you're holding her. Beatrix told me she's under the school."

Dowling shifted uncomfortably. I suspected she hadn't expected me to know that. But she didn't deny it.

"Whatever she has to give you is not worth unleashing her back into the world, Bloom."

Dowling approached me. More open than I'd ever seen her, as though she might reach out and take my hands. Pour out the truth into my cupped hands, the truth I needed. About my birth parents.

"I will help you get any answers you need," Dowling told me. "I give you my word."

I wanted to believe her, so badly, but I didn't want to be a fool. And just then, Silva arrived. He demanded Dowling's presence. There was something more important than finding me my answers.

There always seemed to be something more important. For everyone, except for me.

SPECIALIST

When Sky came to in the stone circle, it was dark and cold, and Bloom was long gone. He ignored all the texts on his phone, staggered to his feet, and headed back for the castle. Before he got there, Riven found him.

"You look like garbage," said Sky's always-sympathetic best friend.

"I feel like it. So that makes sense."

Riven seemed to feel he should explain his presence outside the gates. "Terra the superspy got Dane to spill. He said Bloom came out here to do something with a magic key, and no one could reach you, so ..." Sky's friend was wearing full armor, and he was holding a gear bag.

Sky tensed. "Where is Dane?" That traitor. Sky would make him pay.

"Gearing up."

"What?" exclaimed Sky. "Please tell me Beatrix is—"

"Still locked up," Riven said briefly. "We have bigger problems."

He tossed Sky the gear bag. Riven always threw too hard, but Sky could always catch whatever he threw. Sky unzipped the bag to reveal his own armor, and his sword.

"The hell is going on?" asked Sky slowly.

"Silva needs us at the Barrier," said Riven.

At once, Sky's hand closed around the hilt of his sword. He knew what that must mean. The Burned Ones were attacking. Sky's duty was clear.

As they headed for the Barrier, Riven explained to him that the Burned Ones were coming at them in force. There was a video circulating of them decimating a Specialist team. Sky's mind sheered away from the idea of so many Burned Ones, of how much destruction they could cause.

As soon as Sky's mind went wandering, it went to Bloom.

"When we see Silva ..." said Sky. "Do you think we could not mention

..."

Riven sighed. "One crazy girlfriend is an accident that could happen to anyone. Two is a pattern. You want me to not mention you getting drugged by a ginger maniac hellbent on freeing murderers from prison?"

"Uh," said Sky. "Yeah."

Riven shrugged. "Whatever, man, I don't judge your kinks. Ugh, what a day. Hope Terra smashes Dane's phone." He brightened, as if that was a pleasant thought.

Sky frowned. "Why did Terra steal Dane's phone?"

Riven shook his head. "Too much crime to explain. C'mon, bro. We've gotta go get murdered."

FIRE

I sat on the ground and stared out through the Barrier. The Otherworld beyond was beautiful, and strange, and nothing like home. I couldn't see even a gleam of hope in this whole landscape.

Then, with a soft sound, something small and bright dropped into the grass beside me.

"You need answers," said Musa.

"People have kept them from you," chimed in Terra, to whom truth was so important. "We don't want to be those people, too."

I felt so impossibly touched, felt as though finally someone had seen me for the first time in a long time. And it was these someones, my friends.

Then I realized who was missing.

"Where's Aisha?"

Terra grimaced. "You know she has some strong feelings and she didn't totally exactly agree with what we were thinking about—"

Musa said simply, "She's in the suite."

"I guess ... that's as good as I could ask for." I nodded to the disc. "So you're going to let me break Beatrix out?"

"Yeah, so that's kind of the part Aisha couldn't get on board with ..."

And at that moment, Stella emerged from the gloom. I stared. Where the hell had Stella come from?

Stella said archly, "She never likes my ideas, anyway."

WATER

The rasp of the Burned Ones filled the nighttime forest like the sound of rustling leaves with teeth. Headmistress Dowling, Professor Harvey, and Specialist Headmaster Silva, with the Specialists arrayed around them, were standing before the Barrier ready to fight.

The rest of their suitemates had thrown in with Bloom. It was time for Aisha to pick a team.

"How many of them are there?" she asked.

The others turned to look at her. Sky's weird friend Riven gave Aisha some serious side-eye, but Headmistress Dowling looked at Aisha with simple concern.

"Get back to school. You shouldn't be out this close to the Barrier."

"I came because ..." Aisha could only offer the device she'd found in Callum's desk.

"A listening device!" said Professor Harvey.

Dowling's face was stern, but it almost always was. Still, she'd chosen Aisha and trusted Aisha with responsibilities, and Aisha had repaid her by deceiving her in order to help Bloom. Now lives were in danger, Dowling would soon face nightmare creatures to save her students, and Bloom was still bent on her personal mission.

It was horrible, to think she was betraying her roommate. But if Aisha didn't speak now, she was betraying Dowling and Alfea.

"It was Callum's. I found it after he was ... killed," Aisha confessed. "I've been using it. It felt like there were all these secrets, and I didn't know if I trusted you. But now I know. You're protecting us."

Silva snapped, "You need to get back to the school now. This is not the time for extra credit or—"

Aisha agreed. This wasn't a time to think about doing well, or wanting friends. This wasn't a game. It was time to do what she believed was right.

Desperately resolute, Aisha interrupted to say, "I'm not looking for extra credit. I'm here because you need to know what's happening. What

Bloom is going to do."

Riven was now giving Aisha so much side-eye there was side-eyebrow involved. Sky shot Aisha a look that pleaded with her not to tell.

Aisha told, anyway.

FIRE

I marched into the East Wing to free the prisoner. This time, with the support of my friends.

"And here I was, doubting you," Beatrix said as she placed the runic disc over her bracelet.

The disc worked fast. Beatrix's magic returned even faster. Beatrix's eyes glowed gray, and it was scary to see how quickly she accessed her power. She put her finger on the locked door. At once a tiny spark arced through the metal and the door popped open.

"Here we go," announced Beatrix, as though we were embarking on a great adventure.

As Beatrix strolled out of her cell and led the way toward Dowling's office, there was a spring in her step.

Once we got there, she showed me how to move aside the stone bookcase to expose a hidden door. I stood at Dowling's desk as Beatrix cautiously peered through the doorway.

"Once Dane gets here, we can chuck him through," Beatrix told me brightly.

Apparently, that was how it worked.

"Seems kind of harsh, using him to spring the trap," I said casually.

"He'll be game." Beatrix pondered this. "Or he won't, and we'll do it, anyway!"

"What about you?" I asked. "Are you game?"

Beatrix tilted her head in a puzzled, birdlike gesture. She was studying me. She didn't even have time to react when Stella popped into sight right next to her and shoved her hard through the doorway. As soon as Beatrix hit the ground, her eyes clouded with magic, and she lay paralyzed.

I guessed she'd gotten the drop on Callum just like this. Turnabout was fair play.

"That was much more satisfying than a flowerpot," Stella remarked mysteriously, dusting off her hands.

Terra and Musa walked through the door of Dowling's office, less chipper than Stella, but looking determined. Loyal Terra eyed Beatrix with resentment.

"By the way," she said. "Dane would not be game."

Stella clearly wished to be admired at once. "See? Break out the villain to get what Bloom needs, and then trap her again. Simple. My ideas rock." Musa glanced down at Beatrix, her own eyes glowing.

"In case anyone was wondering?" Musa asked dryly. "She's not happy."

I wasn't wondering. I was staring at the secret doorway, and thinking of the answers that lay beyond.

EARTH

The tunnels beyond the secret doorway were dark and creepy. Terra supposed that made sense.

Stella was using her magic to light her way with one of those pretty bright wisps she used to make all her photos so gorgeous. Terra stuck close by Stella, even though Stella was scary and nasty, because of that light.

Also because it was nice to see Stella again. The suite was complete!

"I feel like I'm going to regret this, but ... are you okay?" Stella inquired.

There was so much on Terra's mind, she hardly knew what to say first. She was so relieved Stella had asked.

Stella's expression didn't look relieved, but too late! Terra was already talking.

"I just freed a prisoner. Broke into the headmistress's office."

Stella nodded. Yeah, Terra supposed Stella had been there the whole time.

Terra heard her own voice pick up speed, feelings tumbling out. "Since I can remember, when I've been scared or unsure, I've always turned to one person for answers. My dad. I've always been able to close my eyes in the dark and know he'd lead me the right way. But I don't think he'd lead me down here."

Stella seemed to consider her answer carefully before she replied.

"Even the best parents are doing what they think is best for us. At some point, we have to take over for ourselves."

She paused, and concentrated. Stella's eyes glowed topaz, and another bright wisp of light appeared. Next to Terra. Just for her, lighting her way.

Terra gazed at her magic light. She felt so touched, she might cry. She wondered if Stella would be receptive to a hug.

"Oh, and by the way, your outfit?"

Stella gave her an up-and-down look. Withering without saying a word.

Terra felt a pang of totally normal humiliation, there in the creepy tunnel.

And she beamed.

I love my dumb mean friends, thought Terra. I love the Winx Club.

FIRE

At the end of the tunnel, there was a door. I stopped in front of it, knowing it was where I needed to be. But I held still, too frantic with fear and excitement to move. I felt as if I might stay here, waiting for answers, my whole life.

Until Musa approached. Her eyes didn't glow, but I felt as though she could see into my heart, anyway.

"Everything I've been looking for is right through that door," I whispered.

We stood together for a moment, on the threshold.

"We'll be here when you come out," Musa said steadily.

My friends. I knew they would.

I walked through the door and saw a barrier. Almost like the Barrier to the forest, but this was a latticework of bright magic.

I took another step forward into the light.