ONE WEEKEND stood between Andorra and the trip to the Northern Mountains. One weekend to help her prepare for the trip, to gather some sort of weapon to bring, and to map out their gameplan.

Andorra felt a little queasy at the idea. Callum had just brought Andorra back to campus after a long training session with Vulara, who helped her learn how to set fire to her fingers, and then to objects further away in the distance. It had taken most of her concentration, and therefore became the only trick she learned.

But, she tucked it away in her arsenal of tools for later. She was sure it would come in handy.

Now, she stood with Callum, looking over a small map that was tacked up to his bedroom wall.

She'd never stepped foot in Callum's room before, but it was cleaner than she imagined a boy's room to be. He had a few knicknacks on his dresser, and there was a pink sweater hanging off of his closet door.

The owner of the sweater was laying on Callum's bed. "I think it would be smartest to open the gate to Sir Nohx's home in the Snow Clan. The Northern Mountains are behind his clan. That way, half of the trip is already over."

Andorra studied the map. She had no desire to accidentally run into Noah, nor did she really want to have him figure out what they were up to. She wanted to lay as low as she could before he came sniffing into her business.

But, Win was right. His home butted right up against the start of the mountains, and it would be a great way to cut back on time. It would be easy, if Andorra had traveled to the mountains beforehand. Then, opening the gate to the right place would be easy.

This would not.

"I agree. It'll take us at least two days to hike up the mountain to the peak. And conditions will be rough. We might as well cut our trip in half by just arriving on Sir Nohx's doorstep." Callum looked over at Andorra, his eyebrows bunched. "But, if you don't think-"

"No, Win's right. We need to do that. It makes the most sense." Andorra swallowed the discomfort crawling up her throat and she smiled at Win. "Are you sure you can't travel with us? You're full of good ideas."

Win let out a laugh, but Callum cut her off. "Absolutely not."

"Callie, you're so overbearing," Win whined. "It's a good thing I love you, or else I would never put up with this." Win seemed to float off of the bed, pressing a kiss into Callum's cheek. "I have to get going. Tell me the path you plan tonight, okay? I want to see if I can read anything on the trip tonight. Just in case."

Andorra gave them privacy as Callum pressed a kiss to Win's lips, short and sweet, his hand lingering on her hip. "I think you should just stay. Plot this out with us."

Win looked over at the map. Then, she moved towards it, smooth as water. She traced the map with her finger, and Andorra watched as her eyes grew milky. She was suddenly not there with them, on some other sort of plane. When she stepped away from the map, a dark line burned itself into the map, curling up through the mountain.

"There. That's the best path to take."

Andorra's mouth dropped open. "How did you do that?"

Win grinned and clapped her hands. "I always forget how little you know! Reaper fae are a little like human psychics. We can foretell bits of the future. When we look at an upcoming future event, we can see multiple situations begin to take root and form. For example, if I were to look into your Cadmus game next week, I can see many different outcomes. Obviously, not all will come to fruition, but I can see the best laid path for success. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. I just found the best case scenario for the both of you, and I laid down the path. It may not keep all danger out, and things can still change, but this is the best path at this very moment."

Now that Callum and Andorra were on friendly terms, he allowed her to see the hidden pieces of himself. Win was a hidden piece of himself, one that he guarded very tightly. Before, Andorra rarely got to see him and Win together. But now, he wrapped his arm around Win and pulled her close. "You didn't have to do that." He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.

"Of course I did. I want my two favorite people to return to me in one piece." She hugged Callum tightly, then released him to stand next to Andorra. "You will have a great trip! I can feel it. You will be coming back with many guards." Win gave Andorra a bear hug, squeezing her tightly around the middle.

"I hope you're right." Andorra hugged her back, just as tightly. "I can finally give Callum a break."

Win let out a laugh. She turned back to wink at Callum. "Okay, I really have to go now. I love you both! Please open the gate to the Snow Clan, okay? It'll make the trip so much easier."

Andorra promised she would. And it was a promise she knew she had to keep.

* * *

The following day, Andorra was brimming with excitement to see Vulara. She was hoping to practice just a little bit more before the big trip. Anything to give her an edge, to give the guards a reason to pick her.

She couldn't even begin to imagine what would happen if she went and they all turned her down. It was a reality she couldn't afford to face.

When she and Callum entered Vulara's shop, the man was behind the counter talking to a customer. Both turned to look, and the customer's face turned into a grimace. Andorra pretended not to notice as she walked down the aisle, touching some of the weapons that sat there. Weapons that could come in handy on the trip.

She turned to Callum. "What if we asked Vulara to help us pick out weapons?"

"No."

"Callum, c'mon. We need weapons, and we know a man-beast who sells them. Seems like the perfect set up." She eyed a set of knives, and she ran her finger down the side of one. A shiver ran up her spine as the customer from earlier stormed out of the shop, the heavy door slamming behind him.

She looked at Callum, her eyes wide, then she looked towards Vulara. "Hi!"

Vulara was already moving towards the basement. "You lost me a customer." His voice was a dark grunt, anger evident in the tone. Andorra looked back to Callum before she followed, keeping her mouth firmly shut as they walked down the steps.

"You're lucky that the Prophet has a soft spot for you, girl. Or else we wouldn't be doing this." He spun towards her, his horns seeming longer today, stretching up towards the ceiling, almost raking across the top. "Because if it wasn't for her-"

"I get it." Andorra held her hand up. "But a deal is a deal. Are we gonna train or what?"

She wasn't sure where she got the gall to talk to a creature this way, but there she was. Doing just that.

"You have a big mouth. Let's see if your words can back your power. Light that stack on fire." Vulara pointed towards a stack of wood, freshly chopped. Andorra, who had been practicing on a candle every night since she left Vulara's shop last weekend, waved her hand and sent the stack up in flames.

"Easy."

Vulara eyed the stack, almost like he hadn't expected that, and then he grunted. "Now, put it out."

Andorra hadn't practiced that. Put it out? She eyed the flames, and tried to control them, but it was no use. She felt no connection between her and the flickering light. Even when she concentrated, she couldn't seem to grasp the flames in her own grip.

"Not so cocky now, huh?" Vulara let out a barking laugh. "Just like you set something on fire, focus on the heat. Control the heat. You sent the heat there, now take it away."

Those were just words to Andorra. She eyed the fire, and she felt the heat as it roasted all three of them in the small basement. She let the heat wash over her skin, soaking it in for a moment, and then she let herself control the heat. She pushed more onto the stack, watching it flare, and then she pulled it back. As she pulled it back into herself, she watched the flames dim, growing smaller.

Smiling, she did it again, like a wave. She sent out heat, watching the flames crackle and grow, and then she pulled it back, watching as they nearly turned to embers.

She was so close. Again, she pushed her heat out, watching the flames burst to life, and then with one strong pull, she extinguished the flames entirely, leaving smoke in the wake. She looked down at her hands, watching as they glowed like the burning embers of the stack, and then she looked to Vulara.

He grunted his approval, already thumbing through the Sun Clan book. When she looked at Callum though, he wore a rare smile on his face of approval.

"What's next?" Andorra pushed her way to Vulara, leaning up on her toes to look at the book. He was reading a page about the healing properties of the sun when a loud banging interrupted them from above.

Vulara shoved the book closed, then jammed it in his bookshelf. "I'll be back." He lumbered towards the stairs, looking back at Andorra and Callum with narrowed eyes, and then he climbed his way to the top.

"Whoever is here really needs to learn some manners." Andorra muttered. She blew out a long sigh, twirling fire on her fingertip. "This really is cool. I can't believe I've had this inside of me the entire time. And I never knew."

"Do you think your human parents ever suspected it? That you weren't human?"

Andorra let the flame blow out as she looked over at Callum. He wasn't asking anything private, or rude, but she felt her stomach clench at the thought of her human life. "I don't think so. My aunt, she knew. She accused me of being a monster when I was a child. But my parents? They loved me. Defended me. I don't think they knew."

"What if they did, and chose to keep you anyway?"

Andorra looked up, her throat suddenly tight. She didn't want to entertain the thought that her parents had always known she was a monster. She couldn't imagine that they had seen her wield these powers, but they had kept quiet.

But, they had loved her. Maybe they had loved her so fiercely that being a monster didn't matter to them.

She would never know.

Before she could answer, there was a stomping coming down the stairs, and then there was a group of people standing there, at the bottom, all staring at her.

They wore robes. That was the first thing Andorra noticed about them. The second thing was that all of them had wings, large and expansive, stretching out behind them like an illustration from a children's book.

Real faerie wings. Real. The longer she stared at them, the more interested she became. They were translucent, but glittered almost, like soap stretching out to make a bubble. Andorra wanted to reach out and touch them, and then the thought that she wanted them entered her mind.

"Princess Andorra. What are you doing out of Hornwell?" The man in the middle stepped forward, taller than the rest, and more intimidating by a long shot. "You should not be here."

Andorra wasn't under any sort of impression that she had to stay at school while she lived in Anlithamy. "Why?"

The woman to the right spoke up. "It isn't safe. This creature isn't safe."

This creature was referring to Vulara, who was half way down the steps. He let out a loud growling sound, his hand tightening around the banister enough to make it splinter. "That is not true and you know it."

Andorra didn't know who these fae were. She almost didn't want to know. "I'm perfectly safe with Vulara."

"This creature has no allegiance to the royal court." The man in the middle continued. "Come with us back to Hornwell where you will be safe."

Andorra pressed herself back, almost touching Callum. These people, whoever they were, seemed important. Important enough where she had to grow a backbone, and actually present herself as the strong Princess she knew she could be. Cowering into Callum wouldn't do her any favors.

She straightened. "I do not wish to return to Hornwell. Who are you?"

"We are the Royal Counsel." The woman spoke again, crossing her arms. "Soon to be your Royal Counsel."

There was no way Andorra would keep them on her Royal Counsel. "It is nice to meet you. However, I will be staying here. I am safe, and it is my choice to stay."

The man on the left, who had been closer to the back, sneered. "You don't have a choice. We've gotten wind that you visited the Prophet. You may have a deathwish, but Anlithamy does not. You will return with us to Hornwell, or we will return to the Royal Court castle with you in tow. Make your decision."

The Royal Court castle? Andorra did not want to know anything about that place. Especially if this Royal Counsel lived there.

"I do not bow down to you." She lifted her chin. "I will do what I wish because I will be queen. And I am asking you to leave us alone before you no longer have a choice."

Was she threatening them? It sure did sound like a threat. She tried to tone it down, but she was growing angrier by the second. Anlithamy was full of bullies it seemed.

"It is you who does not have the choice. You are making us decide: Royal Court castle it is."

"You touch her, and my father becomes involved." Callum stepped in front of Andorra, blocking her. "I don't think you want to involve him."

"Prince Puck doesn't scare us, boy," the man on the left hissed. "Fine, since you both want to start trouble, here is the trouble." The fae shot his arm out, and Andorra watched as Callum turned to stone, right in front of her.

Stone was not something she was prepared for. She ran her finger across Callum's back, feeling the stone against her finger, watching as she trembled. How would she heal stone? Could she heal stone, or was he stuck like this forever?

"Alright Princess, your turn. Will you come with us, or should I turn you to stone as well?"

Andorra absolutely did not want to be stone. She turned to Vulara, wondering if he could read the help in her eyes, as the man in the middle grasped her arm. He looked down at her as if she were a child he was disappointed in. "You'll find the castle to be charming. If you like dungeons."

Andorra didn't have a chance. The man in the middle waved his arms, creating a gate, and he stepped in the in-between, pulling her with him. And she watched as Callum, stuck in stone, disappeared out of sight.