Not that it was anything new, but Shay’s whirlwind of emotions and depressive thoughts chased away any reasonable chances of her getting anything that even closely resembled restful sleep.

What would have been nice, though, was magic. Tyvan knew a magic spell that could put anyone to sleep if they needed it.

--and it worked instantly!

Just bam! Asleep.

Shay couldn’t understand that guy.

He was...

--the way he lived his life was... so close to danger... and all the time.

He could fight against real-life martial artists. He could jump up to second-story windows with a whole person on his back. He could drink literal poison and not even get a stomachache--

He could eat THREE double-patty cheeseburgers, each layer sLaTheRed in dragon sauce, one after the other, without pausing even once to sip on water!

It was insane.

......Tyvan talked about being human like it was a weakness.

Was he... not?

Werewolves existed. Weird Croatians with shark teeth existed. Maybe aliens, too...

The more Shay thought about their conversation, the more she realized she didn’t know.

She didn’t know what Tyvan did.

She didn’t know what he liked or his family history.

She knew-- or she was pretty sure that he was in a relationship. That felt like a betrayal, even though she knew someone like him not having a girlfriend would have been weirder.

The one thing she did know... was that Tyvan was part of something called ❴The Kingdom❵.

When she showed off her-- no...

When she showed Tyvan’s snake pin to Dajik, she almost got all her bones broken and her body thrown into the bay.

--so the people Tyvan dealt with on a daily basis were obviously dangerous!

Staying close to him was obviously dangerous!

So why wOuLdn’t he teach her magic?! He obviously could! She was obviously special enough!

--or was she?

Bishop said she might have had some potential...

But that... she had never had potential in anything positive, before.

People at school thought she was smart. She just studied a lot. They thought she was good at Student Council stuff. She just sacrificed sleep to do most of the planning and organization herself. They thought she was good at talking to people. Besides that being just plain wrong, she got away with it by avoiding drama and keeping her mouth shut.

So...

Maybe...

Maybe magic was the same? Maybe she could do everything on her own?

Shay spent half of her weekend going to two different libraries. (The bus rides were so boring, though. With her next paycheck, she needed to invest in a CD player.)

She tried meditating with her garden shears? She didn’t get a single sparkle, much less a supernatural glow.

She was too scared to ask Yeonha or Raia for answers. They were definitely more on Tyvan’s side than hers.

--but Heidi.

Sweet Heidi~

On Monday, Shay gathered up her courage and asked Heidi about magic.

That day... she sat for a 2-almost-3-hour class on herbal teas.

That was really cool, honestly-- and Shay learned so much. She took notes. (Still, that wasn’t the kind of magic she was looking for.)

By Wednesday, Shay didn’t have any breakthroughs-- not in magicky magic.

She found the perfect balance between earthy and sweet by steeping ripe puer with a tiny little bit of dried licorice root. Heidi was so proud, she teared up.

But anyway...

Shay had no answers... just questions.

She... did have a potential solution for that, though.

And her name was Aquila Davey.

Shay approached her gaggle of friends over lunch break. A few of them greeted her with smiles and ‘Hi Shay!’s, but, as usual, they were mostly engrossed in otherworldly gossip.

--”Have you seen the tennis team recently? They’ve all gotten so big.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

--”So there was this article in the Enquirer-- they found a two-headed, four-armed alien in the bay!”

--”Did you see the news this morning? Someone in Horned County ate four Double-Dragon Burgers and got sent to the hospital!!”

Huh. So the limit was three...

Aquila sat in the center, wearing a backward flat cap, unjustifiably loose jeans, and a thick, gold chain on her neck with dollar signs hanging off the end.

“Yo, Shay-Shay! You got mAh money??”

Her chain made hollow, plastic sounds when she aggressively bobbed her head.

Shay smiled politely, “I need to talk to you for a bit.”

“What you playin’ at?” Aquila said-- to the giggles and snickering of her crew.

Shay bared her teeth, hoping it would look more ‘I’m cool and confident’ than ‘I’m about to smack you in the face.’

“It’s about a boyYy~”

“Yo, for real?” Aquila sat up immediately, her oversized cap falling off. “Tell. me. Everything.”

Her friends had questions too, of course.

--”OooOh, spRing has come for la pResiDente~!”

--”Shay! What grade is he in? Does he go to our school?”

--”Pres! Please, please, please don’t say you got together with Andy!”

Shay kept an even smile. They didn’t need to know the particulars. And while it was true she wanted to talk to Aquila about Tyvan, it wasn’t going to be what she wanted to hear.

It didn’t take long to finally get just-Aquila in a different part of the courtyard. That’s when the interrogation began.

“Who is he?”

Aquila’s eyes popped open and she turned her body away, “Shayyyy... How could I know something like--”

Shay grabbed her arm to keep her from escaping.

“You know, don’t you? That’s why you haven’t said anything.”

“Oh, I dunno about thaaAat~” Aquila said, offering a nervous smile. “Can’t I give my bestie a little bit of privacy in her love life?”

Shay took a deep breath. That was exactly what made her silence so suspicious.

“Aquila,” she said, “What is... ❴The Kingdom❵?”

“What’s the wHaaat?” Aquila said, “Shay, what are you--”

Suddenly, she stopped struggling.

“I told you before, didn’t I? Some secrets are more dangerous than others.”

The black-and-white change in her tone-- in her cold, gray eyes. It sent a chill down Shay’s spine.

But she couldn’t let it go.

“I went to Tužni Ćevap on Friday,” she said, “I think I almost died. No, I would have been killed if Tyvan wasn’t there!”

“I gave you fair warning,” Aquila said impassively. “You took the chance. You took the risk.” She slowly tilted her head, her short hair drifting to the side. “The Greek gods once gave Pandora a jar. I’m sure you know the rest~”

Shay clenched her teeth.

“I know the story. And don’t you even care? I thought we were supposed to be friends.”

Aquila closed her eyes and sighed, “We are. And... that’s not fair. You wanted answers, Shay. And that’s... kinda my thing.”

“Well-- I didn’t know it was gonna be like that,” Shay said. “Who is Tyvan, really?”

Aquila pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows before slowly shaking her head.

“I can’t tell you.”

“That!” Shay nearly shouted-- “that’s completely opposite of what you were just saying!”

Aquila looked up at her, almost with pity.

Shay turned away, clenching and relaxing her hands. She had to think. She was so close to getting real answers.

“I know he works for ❴The Kingdom❵,” she said. “What is that? What do they do?”

“I... can’t tell you that either,” Aquila frowned.

Shay took another breath. She swallowed her saliva.

“I... know magic exists,” she said. “I want to learn how to cast spells.”

“That might be possible,” Aquila said, “but it’s not something you can look up on your own. And Mister Valorum isn't someone who can teach you that.”

Shay narrowed her eyes.

Aquila knew.

Of course, she did. She knew everything.

“How does someone like me learn magic, then?”

Aquila shook her head, “I’m sorry, Shay.”

“Even a hint? Come onNn~! I know you can at least give me that.”

Aquila’s expression twisted as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t... “I can’t.”

Shay gulped. So frustrated. So close. “I need to know. Why can’t you say anything?”

Aquila calmly freed herself from Shay’s grip.

“I have legal obligations that prevent me from saying so.”

Shay’s eyes widened.

An NDA. Aquila had signed an NDA.

The shorter Indian girl gently placed her hands on Shay’s cheeks.

“You know I’d help you if I could, right?”

Shay felt her lip start to quiver... but crying in the middle of the school courtyard was absolutely not in her best interests.

She didn’t give Aquila an answer.

She turned away and marched off to be somewhere else-- anywhere else...

----------------------------------------

Was Aquila part of ❴The Kingdom❵ too?

Was everyone she knew part of ❴The Kingdom❵?

Even Miss Ansari? Oh, that would be so frustrating...

Shay was right back where she started, without any real answers, and... basically no one on her side.

Just... Tyvan.

It was always him-- only him. The guy who saved her. The guy she dreamt about every day and every night. She had to talk to him.

--but he was gone.

He said he’d be gone for a few days-- but that meant he’d be back after that! For sure!

Why did he refuse to teach her anything? Why was he pushing her away? wHat was with all the MiXeD signals???

The mystery. The danger. His involvement in the things surrounding James’ death.

She needed to know.

She didn’t know what she’d do when she did find out-- but she’d be able to figure out something!

And... there was one person whose job it was to know where he was.