Golden Prophecy

X X X I I

ANDORRA WOKE up with a headache. She blinked up against the ceiling of the room, waiting to let herself relax. The last thing she remembered was finding Callum, and she moved her hand to the back of her head to see if she was still bleeding.

"You shouldn't disturb the area for a while. It's still healing."

Andorra jumped at the sound of the voice, her eyes frantically searching the room. She met the eyes of the faerie leaning against the wall, and while she didn't look mean, she didn't look friendly either.

"Are you the nurse?"

The fae moved from the wall towards a sink. "A healer, yes. You had a pretty nasty bump on your head. And you have a concussion. You're on a break from Cadmus practice for about two weeks. You'll be benched for three games. I have already spoken to your coach."

On a break, for two weeks. She sat up, waiting to feel dizzy, but instead she just felt muddled. Confused. "Thank you."

"The school had been searching for a few hours for you. They had no idea where the Princess had crawled off to."

Andorra let that information set in. If they had been searching, she wondered how they had missed her. How long had she been in the in-between before it had spit her out? How long had she been knocked out?

"I guess they weren't searching hard enough."

The healer paused, looking back at her. "They're saying two players chased after you."

Was she supposed to agree? Was the healer hunting for information? Andorra scooted towards the edge of the cot uneasily. She wasn't sure she trusted this healer, even if she had healed the injury. "Interesting. Am I all set to go?"

"You're free to go."

Andorra felt like she couldn't escape fast enough. When she left the healer's office, there against the wall was Anders, his eyes trained on hers. His mouth curved up into something menacing, and Andorra felt her heart kick into a gallop.

She tried to train her face into a mask of calm. "Checking to see if I'm still alive?"

"That trick of yours is getting in the way, I'd say." His voice was smooth, but there was an undercurrent of anger there that made Andorra press up against the wall across from him, giving them as much space as possible. She had thought there were rules to this whole murder thing, one of them being that it had to happen off campus. Andorra was beginning to think she wasn't safe here at Hornwell either.

"I'd say that you're a horrible assassin. And so is your buddy there. Nice try, though." Andorra needed to stop talking. Riling him up, making him more angry, would not serve her well.

"Princess, finally. They've had you in there forever." It was Callum's voice that had Andorra relaxing. She watched as he rounded the corner, and the moment he could see Anders, his body straightened. His face grew hard, and his shadows expanded.

"Callum. Where have you been? It's like you've been avoiding me," Anders chuckled, but there wasn't a hint of friendship in his voice. He tilted his head, almost in a calculating way, sizing up the Winter fae. "Your best friend has missed you."

"Back off, Anders. What you're planning won't pan out well for you." Callum stood in front of Andorra, blocking her from the princeling. His protective stance against his best friend had Andorra feeling sad for him. What was that like for him? She wished she could ask. She wished they were close like that.

"What, you like her now?" Anders let out a full belly laugh, but it was cruel in nature. "You've got to be shitting me. You're going soft for the Princess? What about your freak girlfriend?"