As we left Sip whispered, We have to get back to that archive before we go.
I nodded. I want to see those rings again.
Definitely, Sip agreed.
We decided to try again the next night, but first we had to attend Olives introduction to this years Tactical.
Oliva was waiting for us at the field when we arrived. We broke up into our teams, which was hard for me because I didnt want to be anywhere near Daisy or Camilla.
Students, said Oliva, I realize that it is difficult to concentrate on school while were at war, but I want you to understand that were fighting a good fight, and the best thing you can do for the paranormals is to keep up with your schoolwork, and that includes Tactical.
The sky was cloudy and threatening rain. I wore a light jacket zipped up to my neck. Fall was coming.
This semester, we want the Tactical to be as progressive as possible, that is, we want it to be a little different from past years. Yes, there are still high value targets, and as in real life we expect you to protect the elemental.
I heard m.u.f.fled laughter around the field and wondered if Oliva was being ironic, since Caid had advocated handing me over to the demons to end the war.
Therefore, we want you to find an object that is hidden somewhere on campus. It is a Key of Light, and we want the Tactical teams to find it. Of course, you can attack each other while you do. We encourage all students to look, but only with your teams. To that end, if any student finds the object while alone, it will not count. We also encourage you to continue to make your fellow students targets.
I love this part, Lough muttered to me. Like fish in a barrel.
Do you think our teams will protect us? I whispered back.
Lough glanced at Daisy and Camilla, who were standing next to each other and glaring at us. Then he shook his head. What else is new?
Tactical had become dangerous. Or maybe I should say more dangerous. Stuck with Daisy and Camilla, I was probably in more danger than anyone else. Sip was with Dobrov, who still mostly hung around the Nocturns. Ordinarily he never went near Sip or tried to speak to her, which was probably for the best, because Sip was in no mood to tolerate people who talked to Nocturns.
I continued to sleep poorly, which only served to make the days harder and longer. We were all buried under our coursework. It was like the professors had decided that the only way we would be saved from darkness was to study as much as possible.
I dont see why this matters, Lough muttered. Im a dream giver. There are only a handful of us in the world. My destiny is to become sought after and rich.
You dont want to work in government like Kair? Sip asked. Kair was Loughs older sister, who was dating one of Sips brothers.
Absolutely not, said Lough, shaking his head emphatically. Too much work.
Sip snorted.
What do you want to do? they both asked me. I shrugged. As the only elemental Id been given countless lectures about how vital my role in paranormal society had become, but to be honest, I hadnt really thought much about my future. I didnt think of myself as a diplomat, and although I loved the idea of traveling around the world and using my powers for the protection of paranormals, I wanted to make sure I saw Ricky through college, paranormal or otherwise, first.
I think youd make an awesome professor, said Lough, beaming. You might not be as nerdy as Sip - he ignored her cry of indignation - but youre excellent at explaining things and wonderful in a fight.
What does being wonderful in a fight have to do with being a professor? Sip demanded, bracing her fists on her hips.
Charlottes just going to have a time of it, said Lough. It proves shes brave enough to cope with whats coming.
I smiled at my friend. At least he was on my side.
Thanks, I said. Well see.
I couldnt bring myself to tell them that I had secretly cherished the idea of becoming a professor. I saw how much Dacer enjoyed Public, how it gave him grounding for boundless opportunities, and I wanted that. I had also secretly wanted a future with Keller. Not that I wouldnt work, of course I would, but with Kellers life mapped out I had always thought of myself in relation to that. Without him by my side I felt lost and adrift. I didnt really want to commit to anything at all.
The archives were as dark and musty as ever when Sip and I reached the top floor. She hadnt wanted to bring me through the same window twice, so I had flown in through a window on the floor below. Alixar was as incredible as ever. I wondered why Queen Ashray hadnt made more masks.
I was very careful to keep Alixar hidden, not only in Astra - I had complete privacy there for the time being, but I didnt know if that would always be true - but especially when I carried it around campus. I was pretty confident that Dacer hadnt told anyone he had given his student one of the priceless masks in his care.
And there was no doubt that I would hate it if he got in trouble because of me. As it was, I only used Alixar when there was no other way to get the job done.
Lough had tried to follow Sip into the building through the front doors, and the magical protections around it had sent him slamming backward. He had flown a good twenty feet before he plowed into the ground.
That event had led to an argument between the two of them, something that had been happening more frequently this semester. They had always bickered, but we were all feeling the strain of not having Lisabelle there and not knowing if she was alright. I kept rea.s.suring myself that she was okay, because nothing would dare to hurt her. The Nocturns wouldnt have gone to so much trouble to get her on their side just to kill her, and if the paranormals working for the Police Academy had gotten to her we would have heard about it. If that had happened, Tabble would have gloated about it for months, if not years, and I probably would have had to take Sip out of the country. Sip was barely reining in her temper as it was, and her confrontations with paranormals like Camilla proved that she was still on edge.
Wait a minute, Sip said thoughtfully. We were in Astra, in the kitchen. Sigil had just appeared from the library to check on us. He had dropped something of a bombsh.e.l.l, observing that since there was a lot of mystery about the elemental royal family, and a lot of mystery about my parentage, perhaps the two were connected.
Nascaro is the only royal house ever to rule the elementals, continued Sip, with Queen Ashray as the longest serving monarch, but I thought she didnt have any children. So what happened? Did a cousin take over?
Ah, its a wonderful story, said Sigil, pushing his gla.s.ses up his nose. It is one I would have thought Charlotte had read by now. Then again, I do not recall this particular story making its way into the history books.
I blushed. I had done a lot of reading, but it had all centered on the history and former powers of the elementals. Id been so obsessed with learning how to be a proper elemental that there were still gaping holes in my knowledge.
Um, err . . . I said.
Never mind, said Sigil, zipping through the air. You know how dearly I enjoy a good tale.
And with that he began.
Queen Ashray lived in the country, where her father had sent her, supposedly to keep her ignorant of her station as a princess and future queen. But in actuality thats not the only reason he sent her away. It was also partly to hide her love for a man and the fact that she was pregnant.
Sip and I exchanged glances. The royal family sounded complicated.
She had a child, whom her lover raised once she was called to duty as queen of the elementals, said Sigil. We are all fuzzy on the details, and theres a good chance even some of the history books have it wrong, but the point is that she did have an illegitimate heir. Once she died, at ninety-eight, that heir, her son, had long since married and had two sons of his own. This was not revealed until it was absolutely necessary, because it was clear that the elementals were already a target for darkness. It was equally clear that royal purists would not want an illegitimate king, even if he had all the incredible powers of his mother. Even so, one of those sons became king upon his fathers death, while the other son became the heir of the first.
I was staring at him like he was mad.
Did either of those sons have children? I asked breathlessly.
Sigil shrugged. Asher Nascaro was the younger son and the family rascal, but I remember a story that said that he did settle down eventually, finding a girl that knocked his socks off, so to speak. Sigil steepled his fingers. Lovely when that happens. Most young men come around eventually.
Was it even remotely possible that Queen Ashray was my great-grandmother?
Sigil, I said, why didnt you tell me all of this a long time ago? Wouldnt you think I would want to know?
Sigil blinked at me several times. My dear, its the royal family. He puffed out his chest and stared hard at me. When it was clear I still didnt understand, he said, One does not gossip about the royal family.
You have strange ideas, I muttered. He was right about one thing, though. I knew of the royal family and their rule. I had just never thought I was the child of a prince, or a king. It all sounded too dream-like to be true.
I shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around it all.
Are there pictures? I asked.
Sigil nodded. Most of the second floor is pictures of generations of Nascaros.
I bolted. Behind me I heard Sigil say forlornly. Always running here and there. I wish shed just relax by the fire with a good book. He paused, then added, Or even a mediocre book.
I heard Sip running after me. Maybe after we defeat the Nocturns, she called back to him.
Maybe youd have a better chance of not being killed by them if you stopped trying to defeat them, so to speak.
Sigils words were drowned out after that as I pounded down the staircase from the library. I was going so fast that I nearly fell when I reached the second floor. Having been a dorm for hundreds of students at one time, Astra was ma.s.sive. I had barely started to explore it, but I was going to remedy that omission now.
There were several small studies I had never been in, which had simply remained locked. Leaving them that way gave me more of a comforting feeling when I had the place all to myself.
The first study was called The Kings Room. I gently placed my hand on the handle, unlocking it with my touch, and stepped inside. There was one big window overlooking Astras back yard and the stream that flowed toward the dorm. And there were pictures everywhere.
Sip coughed. Dust in here, why dont you?
Yes, I have nothing else to do, I muttered.
Its not like you have much of a social life, Sip commented.
She was right. Most of our fellow students looked at me like it was my fault the Nocturns had taken over Vampire Locke. It was a constant comfort to me to remember that Queen Lanca didnt think so.
Over there, said Sip. On the wall around the window there was a small plaque that read, Nascaro Family, and under it were several pictures.
Here, she said, pointing. And here.
There were pictures of aunts and cousins of the Nascaros. As I counted faces I realized that I was seeing more of the extended family, and even that wasnt very big.
They were the first targets, said Sip. If the Nascaros had always ruled, it would make the most sense to get rid of them first. They were a very powerful family, not just among the elementals but among all the paranormals, but they didnt have as much protection as, say, the Rapier vampires. Im sorry, Charlotte, but it looks like their goodness is what brought about their demise.
Chapter Twenty-Eight.
I went to the library by myself. Sip wanted to go with me, but I told her I needed to be alone. I dont know why I thought my entire life story would just be lying in a book waiting for me, but I wanted it to be.
After hours of research and the sun disappearing into the night I realized that the whole enterprise was silly. There was absolutely nothing here to confirm what Sigil had said, but somehow I still believed him. Sighing, I closed the book I was reading. Putting the books on the cart so the librarian could put them back in the right place, I headed out into the darkness. I hadnt realized how long Id been there until I went outside and didnt see any other students around. It was past curfew. It was vampire time.
Even though I was on Publics campus, I walked faster. The night swept around me and the cold wind picked up. I glanced behind me, but saw nothing, so I turned around and focused on the path in front of me. A heavy footstep was the only warning I had before I went sprawling.
I tried to catch myself as I tumbled backward, but it was too late. I fell hard on the cold ground, my shoulder slamming into the earth.
Get up, hissed the hooded figure. I couldnt see any of their faces, but there were three of them, none very tall.
What, are you afraid to show your face, Faci? I asked, trying to goad the vampire into doing something stupid.
The figure nearest to me, the one who had knocked me over, stepped forward and said, You think youre so great as an elemental, and your friends are so cool. The voice was like thick smoke and dark wind, without a trace of kindness.
Now that youve told me what I think, can I leave now? I asked. I wanted to grab the hooded figure and use my elemental magic, but I knew I was outnumbered. There was no way I could fight three Nocturns on my own.
The hooded figure lashed out again, black magic whipping from a black ring.
Just remember, he said, for it was definitely a male voice, the demons are coming.
Lets go, he said to the other two figures. I stayed on the ground long after the three of them had disappeared into the inky night.
So the Nocturns had come to Public itself, and no one felt like doing much about it. I rolled onto my side and slowly pushed myself to my feet. I could see puffs of my breath in the air in front of me as I trudged back to Astra, watching over my shoulder the whole way.
Before I left for Tactical the next day I went in search of Sigil to get his help with something I had been thinking about. The ghost was playing a game, tossing books into the air and seeing if he could get them to land perfectly on top of each other.
I looked at him askance. I thought you liked books, I said skeptically. Throwing them cant be doing them any good.
Im only doing it with books I dont like, said Sigil, quickly dashing his gla.s.ses up his nose before they fell off.
Oh, silly me, I said.
What can I help you with? Sigil asked. More about your family?
We dont know if theyre my family, I said quickly. Theres no proof.
Probably all for the best, said Sigil. I would find suddenly becoming a princess stressful.
I didnt even touch that one.
Sigil, I said, you used to be a professor of advanced pyrotechnics, right?
Sigil nodded. Oh yes. I rather like fire. So warm and alive and vibrant. All the pretty colors. Oh!, he cried suddenly, as an idea came to him. I could use fire on some of these books. I wouldnt have to look at them anymore.
He started to examine the pages of the book he held in his hands: The History of Gutter-Gobbers.
You dont like gutter-gobbers? I asked.
Oh, I like them well enough, useful creatures. Its the author of this particular work that gets my goat. I burn everything of his I can find. He dated my sister, but she said all he did was talk about himself.
Oh, I see, I said. Your sister was lucky to have a brother like you.
Yes, rather, said Sigil.
But really, I said. You know a lot about a fire.
Yes, he said. I suppose I do.
Can you teach me? I asked quietly.