Archive of Our Own ^beta

DEX

            Dex had been fast asleep when his imparter rang. He stumbled out of his bed, stepping quickly on the cold floors of Rimeshire. Dex picked up the imparter, looking at the caller. Grady’s name was prominently displayed. Dex’s mind started racing with horrible scenarios as he answered. 

            “Hello?” Dex whispered, his voice hoarse from only just waking up.

            “Dex? Thank goodness you answered!” Grady’s voice was pinched, as if he was stressed. He also sounded wide awake. “I’ve tried reaching Fitz and Keefe, but they didn’t respond. Sophie’s disappeared!”

            Dex stumbled back onto the bed. Sophie disappearing? That couldn't be good. 

            “What happened? Where have you checked for her?” Dex asked frantically.

            “Well, the Gorgodon got out. When we finally got it back in its pen, we went upstairs. Sophie’s door was open, and she was gone. We have checked everywhere, but can’t find her.”

             Dex rubbed his temples. “Have you checked on Silveny?” he asked, wondering if Sophie went on a midnight trip with the glittery alicorn. 

             “Yes. Silveny, Greyfell, Wynn, and Luna are all asleep. All of the flying creatures are. Edaline and I have no idea where Sophie is!”

            “Have you checked the Cliffside Pastures?” Dex asked as he grabbed some of his gadgets, including a new invention that once he pressed the button on top, the device would produce a sleeping gas, like the one sophie used to drug her family.

            “...No…” Grady said. “I didn’t think Sophie would go there again after what happened…” 

            “I’m coming over now.” Dex grabbed his crystal and leaped away.

            Dex arrived at Havenfield to see both Grady and Edaline pacing frantically through the fields. Grady stopped pacing, instead jogging in Dex’s direction. “Let’s go.” Grady said, heading towards the Cliffside Pastures, followed by Edaline. Dex chased after them. The three reached the pasture and Grady unlocked the door. Dex used a balefire pendant to illuminate the path to the cave. The dark rocks looked foreboding as they stepped forward. 

            Dex shined the pendant again, this time into the cave. The beam of light flashed on a hairpin in a corner. The starstone to Elysian! Dex raced forward, grabbed it, and ran back outside. Catching a beam of light on the stone, Dex leapt away.

            The fields of Elysian shone in a beautiful silver under the bright moon. Looking around, Dex spotted a ring of burning flowers in the air. Through it, Dex could see his friends facing off with someone in a gray cloak. Dex crept through the flowers and saw Sandor fighting his way up from the dirt, his waist in the ground. Sophie was talking to the figure in gray. No one but him saw Gisela creeping toward Keefe with a leaping crystal. Dex raced across the grass and just as Gisela reached Keefe and held up a crystal to leap away he grabbed Keefe’s arm as the light whisked them away. 

            They leaped to a cave. Lady Gisela pressed a button and a door sealed them inside. Then, out of the shadows, two members of the Neverseen jumped out and restrained Keefe and Dex. Dex could smell the familiar sweet scent of sedatives as a third figure brought a damp cloth to Dex’s nose…

LADY GISELA

            After Dex and Keefe were sufficiently drugged, Lady Gisela smiled. She hadn’t anticipated Dex tagging along, but it was a happy accident. Now she had an excuse to deploy the project Gisela had been working on for thirteen years. 

            The project was Gisela’s form of Project Moonlark. The Neverseen had been made aware of the project from the time Sophie was born, and Gisela realized that the Black Swan was on to something in creating a weapon. So Gisela decided to do it herself. 

            It took Gisela a while to find something to base the project on, but one look at her son solved that problem. Stellarlune would take a while, and was potentially deadly. So why not test it first?

            Using the process of Stellarlune, Gisela had a little girl. She carried the child untill it became too  obvious she was pregnant. Not wanting her husband to find out about the child, she went to the Neverseen. They came up with a solution, the troll hives. After negotiating with Empress Pernille they created a separate, secluded hive just for the girl. The baby then continued to grow and develop until she was born. Throughout this time, Gisela frequently made excuses to her husband and son about where she had been going, but she had been checking on the baby. After the child was born, she handed it off to Umber to take care of and train. Umber trained the child in basics like math, reading, and science, but also in fighting and battle strategy. Once the girl, now called Project Stellarlune, turned five, the training ceased and the real Project Stellarlune began. Once Gisela completed the last two steps, she was left with the finished project. After this, she gained new abilities, such as being a Polyglot, and being able to control people by a single word. It also revealed to Gisela that the girl was a pyrokinetic, and a very strong one. Both Brant and Fintan took turns training her under Gisela's watchful eye. Because of this, Project Stellarlune sparked her first ball of Everblaze when she was only six years old, now becoming Project Flame.

            She watched human movies of war to desensitize her, so her mind wouldn’t break under the horrors she would see and do.

            She completed the ogre training, but with more lessons on how to defeat an elf. She also completed training from trolls and dwarfs so she would have the best fighting skills of any elf.

            Flame had practiced killing humans since she was eight years old. Every human was different, from elderly people whose family didn’t care about them, to orphan children, to hermits with no one to miss them.

            Project Flame’s mission was to destroy the Moonlark, but it wouldn’t hurt to practice killing an elf. In fact, it would probably help Flame get used to what she was going to have to do. 

            Gisela walked into Project Flame’s holding room, keeping her face straight. Gisela was determined to keep the girl without love, compassion, or affection.

            “Project Flame,” Gisela said as the twelve-year-old girl looked up from the horror movie she was watching. “I have a new assignment for you. There are two elves in that room behind me. Kill the strawberry blond one and bring the other to me. Fail, and you won't like the consequences.” Gisela then walked away.

PROJECT FLAME

            Project Flame stepped gently down the hall, her padded black boots barley making a sound. Her black bodysuit rubbed against her skin. She loosened the clasp on the cylinder on her belt and extended her staff, clipping it to her back. She also took out a throwing star and used it to pin up her long blond ponytail into a bun. Flame could hear boys arguing in the room she was headed to. Too bad. Flame had hoped they would still be asleep. She pulled out her calling card, a silver coin with an eye that had a burning pupil on it as she slipped silently into the room. Flame tossed the coin towards the boys and they stopped at the sound. 

            “Huh. This is weird. It looks like the Neverseen symbol with a spot of fire.” A boy with strawberry blond hair picked it up. It was the boy she was supposed to kill. 

            “I’ve never seen that before…” The other boy, with blond hair. She was to bring him to Lady. 

            “That’s because it’s my calling card,” Flame said as she slipped out of the shadows. “Get ready, boy,” Flame said to the boy with strawberry blond hair. “I’m the last thing you’ll ever see.”

            Flame unclipped her staff, using it to push herself off the wall. She extended her leg in a karate kick, like the ones in those human movies, and pulled a knife from her belt. However, the boy stepped out of the way, which was completely unexpected. He then pulled out an odd device. The strawberry blond boy pushed a button, then he and the blond boy raced away. Flame decided to pick up the device. It was flashing red, which was a warning sign. Flame then realized what it was, and dropped it. She wasn’t fast enough though, and the little box exploded.

            When Flame woke up, she was bound and gagged. She also couldn’t see. These boys were smart. She wiggled her hand enough to grip the bonds and pull the knot loose easily. She pulled her legs close and hid what she was doing, and soon she was unbound. She removed the cloth over her eyes and jumped up. Her staff was near her and the boys were asleep. She crept forward and taped the blond one on the shoulder. He started awake and stared at her. Removing her gag, she said, “Who are you?” 

            “Keefe Sencen.” The boy seemed hesitant. “Why?”

            “Lady sent me to get you. Please come with me.” 

            “What about Dex?”

            “Is that the other boy?”

            “Yes.” 

            Flame sighed. “He will be killed later. Now, come with me or face the consequences.” 

            “Not until I know your name.”

            “Name?” 

            “Yeah. What people call you.” 

            Flame sighed again. “I was Project Stellarlune. Now I am Project Flame.” 

            Keefe jolted at the name. “Stellarlune?” he whispered.

            “Yes…? Now I am Project Flame.” Flame sparked a fireball to prove her point. Unfortunately, this awakened the other boy. 

            “Um, Keefe, isn’t Stellarlune what Gisela was working on?” Dex said sleepily.

            “Y-y-yes…” Keefe replied.

            “So that means… You aren’t the test subject? Also, does that mean Flame is your…. Sister?” 

            Keefe sat down, holding his head. “Sister?” Keefe did look like her… “We have to get out of here.”

            “Wait, slow down!” Flame shouted. “What is Sister?” Dex stared at Flame. “You don’t know what a sister is?” 

            “...No…” Flame said, looking down. Lady had never taught her that word, like the word ‘name’.

           Dex stared at her. “A sister is your family.” Flame stared at him. She didn’t know what that word meant, either. “Family are people who love and take care of you. And you love and take care of them back.”

            “So… Is Keefe my family?”

            Dex bit his lip. “Well… We don’t know. Or wait,” He reached into a secret pocket in his boot, pulling out a small, silver, circular device. 

            “What is that?” Flame stepped back, afraid it would knock her out again.

            “A DNA tester.” Dex explained, stepping towards her. “You lick it.” Flame did so, the metal tasting weird on her tongue. Keefe licked it next, still seated. They all waited with baited breath as the little device flashed green. “A match,” Dex whispered. “You two are… Related.”

            “So, we’re family then?” Flame asked, confused.

            Keefe looked at her. “Yes.” Then he stood. “I can’t have a sister without a proper name. Dex, what are some ideas?”

            “Hmm… Well, there’s Plana, Caldiana, Kalinda, Purtith-”

            “Stop.” Flame said. “I want that one.”

            “Purtith?”

            "No, that is the stupidest name you listed. I like the third one. Kalinda. It sounds a bit like Keefe.” All her life she had been starved of affection, and now she had a chance to get some. Plus, the way Keefe was looking at her gave her the feeling that he cared about her. Suddenly a thought came over her. "What will Lady do?" Kalinda said. “She told me to kill Dex. If I don’t, something bad will happen!” 

            Dex approached her. “Do you want to come with us?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a hairpin. Keefe gasped. “You stole the starstone?” Keefe stepped towards Dex. “I found the starstone,” Dex corrected. “Let’s go.” Dex sparked a beam of light, and Kalinda stepped back.

            “I can’t leave. The cuffs on my wrists keep me here.”

            “I can fix that.”

            In a few moments Dex had the tight cuffs off her. “Wait, why are we leaving?” Kalinda asked. “Don’t you want the information that the Neverseen have here?” They stared at her. Kalinda said, “I’ll take that as a yes. Wait here.”

            She slipped through the door and up the stairs. The blank stone room was empty, besides the Dire wolves, but she easily got past them. The information room was down the hall from hers. Kalinda grabbed everything important, like plans, interesting crystals, and maps. 

            When Kalinda returned to the dungeon, they were back to sitting. “Let’s go! “We’ve gotta get out of here before Lady comes back for Dex, expects me, or notices that all this stuff,” Kalinda gestured to the pile of things in her arms, “is gone.”

            Dex stared at her. “Did you just go take that?”

            “Yes. It’s not like it’s a secret, it was just down the hall in a storage room.”

            “What’s in it?”

            “Uh, maps, crystals, and some of their plans.”

            “Is there more of it?”

            “Yeah, but this is all I could carry. Now, let’s get out of here!”

            Keefe and Dex stood up and relieved Kalinda of some of the stolen items. Then Dex held up the starstone to the sky, sparking a beam of light. “Let’s go.” Keefe grabbed Kalinda’s hand, making her jump. He looked down at her, and his expression seemed to soften and harden at the same time. Keefe grabbed Dex’s arm, and stepped towards the beam of moonlight.

DEX

            Dex collapsed onto the grass at Havenfield with a sigh. The cool night air brushed against them as Keefe. Dex heard Sophie shouting his and Keefe's names but was too tired to do anything but moan. Beside him Dex could feel Keefe and Kalinda do likewise. It had been a long night, and Dex felt sure there had been some sort of protection over the Neverseen hideout. He felt strong arms lift him up and then fell asleep. 

            Dex woke up in the healing center. Elwin was in a full fledged argument with Sandor over Kalinda being a threat and of throwing her out.

            “She smells of the Neverseen and of Gisela,” Sandor pointed out, practically yelling at Elwin.

            “This girl is seriously injured. We can’t move her until I treat her!” Elwin said.

            “Kalinda isn’t bad Sandor, she's Keefe’s sister.” Dex chimed in, his voice thick and scratchy.

            Sophie jumped up from her chair and ran towards him. “Dex! You’re all right! Also, Keefe has a sister?!” 

            “Yeah.” Keefe slowly sat up, stretching. “Apparently Mommy Dearest wasn’t lying when she said she wouldn’t experiment with her son. She had already tested it with her daughter.”

            “Oh. We thought she was with the Neverseen.” Sophie looked down. “How do you know that you two are related?”

            “Dex tested it during our adventures in the dungeon.” Keefe briefly explained what had happened. “Did I miss anything Dex?” Dex shook his head.

            Keefe stood, walking over to where Kalinda was laying. He tried to wake her up, but she pushed his face away. Dex tried as well, but got the same treatment. 

            “Kalinda,” Keefe said, “Now is a bad time to be sleeping.” Then he whispered, “You need to meet my girlfriend.” Kalinda mumbled that she would do it later. Dex then pushed her out of the bed unceremoniously to the floor. She let out a yelp as she hit the cold floor. 

            She stood almost immediately before she noticed everybody. Backing up towards the door, she began asking questions about who everyone was, what was going on, and what the big gray thing that was staring at her was. After they finished explaining it to her, Kalinda let Elwin examine her. Well, after she pulled a giant stick out of her hip-length blond hair. 

            Dex watched the examination and realized just how bright Kalinda’s ice-blue eyes were. She was really pretty. She had all of Keefe’s good looks, but for girls. When Kalinda looked at him and smiled, Dex felt his heart skip a beat. He smiled back, his cheeks warming. Keefe looked at Dex suspiciously. Then Dex realized that Keefe had already mastered ‘protective brother bear’ mode. 

            It was amidst this suspicious staring contest that Rex and Lex ran in and tackled him. Dex’s parents were right behind them, trailed by Bex. Rex and Lex had on simple gray tunics, but Bex was wearing a fancier tunic than normal. In green. Her eyes were also brimmed with tears. She ran forward, pushing her brothers aside and strangle-hugged him. 

            “I thought you were dead.” Bex whispered, squeezing Dex tighter. Their parents nodded. 

            “I guess I messed up then, didn’t I?” Dex muttered.

            “You took off in the dead of night!” His mom yelled. “You didn’t tell us where you were going, who you were with, or when you were planning on being home. We had to talk to Grady and Edaline to find out where you were, and they said you picked up the starstone and leapt away! Then, an hour and a half later, Sophie tells us that you left with Keefe and Gisela! Thirty minutes after that, you show up practically dead, I might add, in Havenfield with Keefe and some other girl! You are so grounded, mister!”

            Dex flinched. Practically dead? How bad had he been? 

            Pretty bad… Sophie’s voice filled his head. She must have been listening to his thoughts. Rex and Lex thought you were going to be fine, but Bex and your parents were really worried… Bex was worried for him? That was out of character for the troublemaking brat he had always had to deal with. Then again, the triplets were getting older…

            A tap on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. He looked down to see Bex. Her eyes were back to periwinkle blue, and she was pointing to Kalinda.

            “Who is that, why does she look like Sophie, and why were you staring at her?”

            Dex sighed. Some things about siblings never changed. “That’s Kalinda. She’s Keefe’s sister, and the test subject for Stellarlune.”

           “Stellarlune?” Bex tilted her head, and Dex realized that she had never heard of Stellarlune. “Nevermind.” Bex rolled her eyes. “I don’t care.” She then ran over to Rex and Lex and began teasing them about liking Kalinda. Then it was Dex’s turn to roll his eyes. 

            Kalinda looked perplexed at what Bex was saying. Stepping with the moves of a graceful dancer, Kalinda made her way to Keefe. Upon reaching him, she whispered in his ear. Keefe’s eyes went wide, and he pulled her over to the corner to talk. 

            Dex noticed Sophie looking at them with an expression he hadn’t seen before. Was Sophie… jealous of Kalinda? Dex hadn’t realized that the feelings between Keefe and Sophie had gone that far. Soon enough, Kalinda nodded and left to talk to Elwin. Sophie’s expression relaxed as Keefe walked over to her. 

            “Crazy night, huh?” Sophie said to Keefe as he approached.

            “You have no idea.” Keefe shook his head. “Mommy Dearest kidnapped me and Dex, I met my long-lost sister, she tried to kill us, and the base had a force field around it that almost killed all three of us. I’ll say it was a crazy night.”

            Sophie shuddered. “You know, I was really shocked when Gisela kidnapped you. I was worried that she would kill you.”

            “No, but she did try to kill Dex. Well, she told Kalinda to kill Dex.” Keefe smirked, but then sighed. “I’m really sorry.” He whispered to Sophie, before giving her a hug. Dex looked away. He wasn’t in love with Sophie anymore, but it was still hard to see open acts of affection. Kalinda noticed this, and walked up to him.

            “What’s wrong?”

            “What were you doing in the corner?” Dex said, completely ignoring the question.

            “I was asking Keefe what a liking is. Don’t worry, I know now.” Kalinda shuddered. “Do those boys really like me?”

            “No. Bex, their sister, was just teasing.” Dex shook his head. “And all three of them are triplets.

            “Thank goodness they don’t like me. I was worried for a second.”

            They sat there in silence. Dex wanted to say anything to break the uncomfortable silence in the room, but thankfully that was when the Vackers came in. Dex explained what had happened while Keefe explained to Kalinda who the Vackers were. Alden went to inform the council, and Biana tried to talk to Kalinda.

            “So, what type of clothes are you into?” Biana asked, trying to start a conversation about the thing she knew best—clothes.

            “Quiet ones that don’t rustle when I walk. Dark ones so I can blend in with the shadows. Loose, but not too loose so I can move comfortably without giving myself away.”

            Biana was instantly suspicious. The only girl she knew who didn’t like dresses was Sophie, and Sophie didn’t like them because of human traditions. “What do you specialize in? I do makeovers and dresses; Keefe does anything related to trouble; my brother, Fitz, does telepathy; Dex does gadgets; and Sophie does, well, anything.”

            “I specialize in assassinations.” Kalinda’s voice held a bit of pride.

            “You… kill people?” Biana asked, taken aback.

            “Well, that’s what I’m trained to do. I’ve never actually killed an elf before though, just humans,” but Biana still shuddered. “That’s terrible. I can’t believe Lady Gisela made you do that.”

            “Yeah. So,” Kalinda totally changed the subject. “Who’s your brother?”

            “The one with teal eyes and brown hair. Everyone thinks he’s soooo cute, at least… they used to. Now everyone goes out of their way to avoid us…”

            “What happened?”

            “Our brother, Alvar, joined the Neverseen.”

            “The Neverseen are the bad guys, right?”

            Biana nodded. “Uh huh. He also caused a ton of chaos at our house a while back.” Biana then went on to explain the "troll hive at Everglen" scenario they had dealt with that year. 

            Kalinda started to explain her life, and everyone stopped to listen. They were horrified at what she had been forced to do. But she never felt like she was being forced to do anything. It was just her purpose. Biana felt really sorry for her.

            “You never went shopping, or had friends who cared?”

            “No.”

            “The moment Elwin clears you to leave, I’m taking you shopping.”

            Keefe and Dex spent the next two minutes explaining shopping. Elwin made everyone but Dex, Keefe, Kalinda, and Sophie -she refused- leave. “You three are very lucky. Whatever force field Gisela put above that fortress, it almost killed you.”

            Kalinda gasped. “What happened to all the stuff we took?” Dex shook his head. He had completely forgotten about all of the stuff they looted.

            “Sandor has it stored at Havenfield,” Sophie explained as Elwin gave Kalinda a bottle of Youth. 

            “Drink this,” said Elwin.

            “‘Youth in a Bottle?’ What’s that?” Kalinda asked

            “It’s what keeps us healthy. You’ve probably had one, but I want you to drink two for a while.”

            “I’ve never seen this before.”

            “Just try it.” Kalinda lifted the bottle to her lips and sipped. Within seconds, the bottle was empty.

            “Hey, I’ve had this before! But I’ve never seen the bottle.”

            “Well, drink two daily for a few weeks. They’ll help boost your immune system. Other than that, you’re free to go.”

            Keefe stood, sighing. “Elwin, please call my father and get him to come here.”

            Dex gasped. Keefe wanted to see his father? “Why? Why have him come here? Don’t you want to keep Kalinda safe and secret from your father?”

            Keefe shook his head. “Kalinda needs a safe environment, and I want to keep her close to me. The only way to do that is to take her home with me. He might not hate her as much as he hates me.” 

            Sophie reached for him, squeezing his hand. “He doesn’t hate you. He just… has different ways of showing affection,” but Keefe shook his head.

            That was when Lord Cassius walked through the door. “Keefe, what do you think you’re doing?”

            “Getting destroyed by Mommy Dearest. But, I think we can fix one of her problems.”

            “What are you talking about?”

            “Meet Kalinda. She’s your daughter whom your wife experimented on using the process of Stellarlune.”

            Cassius stepped back. “W-w-what? I have a… daughter? What has Gisela done?”

            “Messed up another child.”

            Kalinda looked at them. “Who’s this?”

            Keefe explained things to Lord Cassius in the hall -the Vackers had left- and Dex told Kalinda how she had terrible parents but a great brother. Dex looked at Kalinda. Should he make a move while Keefe was distracted?

            “Hey Kalinda,” Dex said.

            “Yes?” Kalinda asked.

            “Do you want to go stargazing at Moonglade tonight?”

            “Moonglade?”

            “It’s a beautiful meadow, and it’s perfect for stargazing.”

            “That’s where you sit around and look at stars, right?”

            “Yep.”

            “Oh… Well, I guess it couldn’t hurt,” Kalinda was a bit hesitant, but Dex didn’t care. He had just asked Kalinda out, whether she realized it or not.

            “Great! Have Keefe drop you off at Rimeshire. I can hail him to pick you up,” Dex grinned. He would be going on his first date with the prettiest girl in the Lost Cities, in his opinion. 

KALINDA

            After she met Lord Cassius, or as Keefe called him, ‘Daddy Dearest’, she leapt with them to the Shores of Solace to move in. Keefe looked less than thrilled to be back, but Kalinda was ecstatic. She had a father! And a brother! And possibly the coolest house ever! 

            All the walls were covered in beautiful shells, pearls, and other shiny things. Her own bedroom was like a beach because of the sandy-rugged floors. An in-the-ground bathtub also helped solidify that idea. Her large canopied bed looked almost like an overgrown beach chair with an umbrella shielding it from the glass ceiling above her. A few walls were lined with dressers, so she began unpacking. 

            Thankfully, the doctor hadn’t seen her toolbelt, so he didn’t touch her weapons. She took out throwing stars, daggers, throwing knives, melders, her calling cards, and her extendable staff, throwing them all into various drawers. Then she sat on the bed to think about how much she’d learned that day, and how much her life had changed.

            While she was contemplating, Keefe walked in. “Time to go,” he smirked. “Don’t you have any other clothes than the bodysuit? It doesn’t look comfy…”

            “Well, it is. Also, no, I don’t have any other clothes. Just the bodysuit.”

            Keefe sighed. “Alright. Let’s go then.” Leading her out of the bedroom, they stepped into the hall, where they came face to face with Lord Cassius.

            “Where are you going?”

            “Biana wants to take Kalinda to Atlantis”

            “Without money?”

            “I popped over to Everglen and Alden gave me her birth fund.”

            Lord Cassius —Dad— sighed. “Go ahead.”

            Keefe grabbed Kalinda and called, “Everglen!” and a crystal came down from the ceiling, sparking a beam of light. Keefe pulled her into the light.

It turned out that Everglen was better than Shores of Solace, a huge mansion glittered among the beautiful forest as Biana came rushing out of the doors. 

After finding out that the body suit was all Kalinda had, Biana made her change into one of her dresses. The dress was pink, frilly, and had a long cape. 

            After Kalinda changed, the two girls leapt to Atlantis. Biana quizzed Kalinda on her life while they visited store after store. When she talked about stargazing with Dex, Biana squealed, but Kalinda didn’t know why.

            Kalinda's favorite thing they got was a midnight blue tunic with pearls sewn in like the night sky and pants a shade of indigo, and once the two were back at Everglen, she changed into them. Biana helped show her how to style her hair, surprising her with a turquoise jewel encrusted butterfly pin. Kalinda grabbed all of the clothes, and leapt to the Shores of Solace. 

            Keefe took her to Rimeshire. Dex was waiting with a blanket. “It gets cold where we’re going,” he said. Dex’s forest green tunic and dark red pants looked good on him. Kalinda's stomach churned with an unfamiliar feeling, and she had a strange urge to check her hair. 

            “I’ll be back in one hour.” Keefe said, casting a glare at Dex before he leaped away. Dex looked slightly uncomfortable as he offered her his hand. They leaped away. 

            The stars sparkled. The grass tickled her feet. The air was cold on the beautiful meadow Dex had leaped Kalinda to, but he put a blanket around her shoulders. They sat looking at the stars for a while, until Dex put his arm around her. Kalinda snuggled up to him, grateful for the extra heat. 

            The time passed quickly, and before either of them knew it, their hour was almost up. Dex leaped them back to Rimeshire. His house was dark and silent because everyone was sleeping. 

            “Thank you for tonight, Dex.” Kalinda said, desperate to break the silence.

            “Of course. I’m glad you liked it. Maybe we can do it again sometime.”

            “Do what again?”

            “...Go on a date..?”

            Kalinda jumped up. “A date? Does that mean you… like me?”

            Dex’s cheeks were nuclear as he nodded. “Yeah. You’re just so… Pretty. And cool, and funny, and different, and sweet, and… I love you.”

            Kalinda stepped forward. “I think… I love you too.”

            Dex smiled, and Kalinda smiled back. He leaned in, and she did, too. Their lips touched, and then a feeling of blissful peace settled into her heart.

            But the moment ended all too soon. They heard a door open and a strangled gasp. Keefe was glaring at Dex.

            “WHAT?!?!” He raced into the room and grabbed Kalinda by the arm, yanking her away. “You stay away from my sister, Dizznee!” Pulling out a crystal, he leapt them away. 

            They arrived at Havenfield. Kalinda barely noticed Sophie trying to calm Keefe down. She was too focused on the fact that she just had her first kiss as she lay on a couch, blissfully smiling. Keefe started another rambling denunciation of Dex. 

            “…And she’s going to see him at school tomorrow!” 

            “School? You didn’t tell me about that.” Kalinda asked. Sophie explained what Foxfire was as Keefe muttered under his breath. Kalinda sighed inwardly. Tomorrow was going to be interesting. Stupid glowing mushroom school.

KALINDA

            When Kalinda woke up, she was in shock. The events of last night were still fresh in her mind. Sitting up in her large bed, she blinked. And blinked again. In fact, she could think of nothing to do BUT blink as the sunlight filtered through the windows. 

            The door opened ever so slightly as a blond boy stepped in. Noticing Kalinda’s long red nightgown covered in flaredons, he smiled. He smiled wider when he noticed the flaredon stuffed animal Kalinda was squeezing. 

            “Good morning,” Kalinda said through a yawn. “How can I help you?”

            “You can get dressed, come downstairs, eat some Blitzenberry muffins, and leap with me to Foxfire.” Kalinda was amazed at how calm Keefe seemed. He was so furious at Dex last night. Nonetheless, Kalinda obeyed. 

            Because Kalinda had showed up so abruptly, she didn’t get a uniform. Instead she wore a lavender skirt, silver leggings, a periwinkle top. Unfortunately, Kalinda hadn’t been allowed to bring her weapon belt, but she did keep a few stars and daggers in pockets of her clothes. She also wore a black cape with the Sencen Crest. 

            Keefe had offered to make the pin an enlarged version of her calling card, but having the crest made her feel like she belonged. 

            “What’s your locker number?” Keefe asked.

            “Ummmm… I don’t know yet.”

            “You don’t have a schedule?” Kalinda shook her head.

            “Oh. Guess we should go see Magnate Leto.”

            Kalinda sighed. She didn’t want to be a problem. “I guess so.”

            After a long series of hallways and stairs, Keefe and Kalinda made it to Magnate Leto’s office. When they knocked, a booming voice called, “Come in.” As they walked in, Kalinda surveyed the room. Other than the glass on the outside of the room, there were windows allowing you to see the outside surroundings. Beautifully carved bushes surrounded Foxfire, standing out among the desert. Kalinda shook her head fast. She needed to focus on why they were here.

            “Ah, Miss Kalinda. I was hoping you would be stopping by. Sophie told me all about you last night. I’ll get your schedule and I’ll allow Keefe to lead you to your classes today.” Keefe nodded and took Kalinda’s hand. That was surprising. From what Sophie told her he loved ditching and sneaking out of class. 

            “What’s your first period?” Keefe asked.

 Kalinda stared at her schedule. “Cryptozoology,”she said eventually.

            “You take care of animals in that class,” Keefe said. He led her down a hallway, and then another one. And another. After about 20 hallways -yes, she counted- she was met with a jeweled door. Kalinda glanced at Keefe, and he nudged her forward. She opened the door and stared at the beautiful landscape in wonder. She was pretty sure she squeaked. Unicorns, gremlins, gulons, and a few animals she didn’t know, roamed around the room. A man walked up to her and asked her for her name.

            “Kalinda, and you are?” 

            “Sir Cravel.”

          While the class was interesting, she was distracted. How was Dex? Was Keefe angry with her, too? The class flashed by and soon it was lunch. She would see Dex! 

            Kalinda followed Keefe in the lunch line and took whatever he took, and then added a mountain of desserts. He walked her over to the table and they sat down.

            “How was your class?” Sophie asked.

            “It was good,” Kalinda replied. “We were learning how to take care of a gremlin, and I was pretty good at it.” Kalinda loved the gremlin’s silky black fur.

            “Nice!” She heard a boy say. Kalinda followed the voice and met Dex’s eyes. Her heart stopped, and she stared at his eyes. Then someone tapped her on the shoulder.

            “What?” Kalinda asked and looked in the direction of the shoulder that had been tapped. 

            “I asked what your next class was.” Sophie said with a smile.

            “Oh! Um,” Kalinda reached into her pockets, pulling out the schedule Magnate Leto printed out for her. “Universe.”

            “Do you have a photographic memory?” Both Keefe and Sophie asked in perfect unison, then they both blushed. “It helps with memorizing all of the star maps,” Sophie explained.

            “Um, maybe? Does photographic memory mean whenever you look at something you remember it perfectly?” Kalinda asked.

            “Yeah, how’d you know?” Keefe asked. 

            “Lady Gisela mentioned you have it. And when I asked her that was what she told me. And, to answer your question, yes. I have a photographic memory.”

            Dex looked at her and mumbled something that sounded like, “Unfair.” Keefe glared at him before he stood to leave, beckoning to Sophie. They both left, followed by Biana and Fitz, leaving Kalinda and Dex the only ones at the table. After a while, Kalinda made the first move. “So… Do you want me to come over tomorrow, and we can go stargazing again?”

            Dex looked up. “No, I want you to stay away from me!” He stood abruptly, before storming out of the room. Kalinda looked down at her plate, feeling her cheeks redden, and her eyes filled with tears. She was crying when Keefe came in to take her to Universe.

            Universe was easy. The mentor was nice. The class was beautiful. But again her thoughts circled to Dex. Why had he been so mean to her?

          Soon enough, the chimes rang and everyone headed for the leapmaster. Biana ran into her. 

            “Kalinda? What’s the matter?” Kalinda briefly explained how Dex had rejected her. “Oh, Kalinda… Tell you what, how about you come over to Everglen, and we’ll all play Base Quest?”

            “What’s that?” Kalinda asked.

            You don’t know what base quest is?” Biana exclaimed before explaining how to play. The girls found Fitz, and he nodded slightly. The three walked to the Leapmaster and leapt to Everglen. 

            As soon as they glittered onto the property, Alden and Della met them at the doors. 

          “Do I smell Mallowmelt?” Biana asked.

          “Yep!” Della said, “There’s a bunch in the kitchen!”

            They all raced toward the kitchen and snacked on the gooey cake. When they were finished, they went outside to start playing base quest. Kalinda was the winner every time. It made her feel good to be included, but she wasn’t sure how much she liked how Fitz kept staring at her…

            “Hey Kalinda?” Fitz asked, interrupting her thoughts.

            Kalinda whipped around. “Yes?”

            “Can you come here for a minute?” 

            “Erm… sure..” She followed him to a large empty room, with sunlight dappling through the large glass window. 

            “Biana told me what happened between you and Dex. So I just want you to know that if you ever need anyone, I’m here for you, okay?” Fitz told her.

            “I-I..Okay.” Kalinda managed to stutter out.

            “Just, if you need a shoulder to cry on, or a hug, I’m here.”

            “W-well... Um… What?” She asked, her lips and tongue finally cooperating. 

            “If you need anything, come to me. I can be very comforting at times.” Kalinda backed away from Fitz, but ran into a wall. He walked towards her. 

            “What? Are you afraid of me?” His voice was teasing, but he was entirely correct. Kalinda squirmed a little bit, but he put his hand on the wall, and reached for her face. She froze completely as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

            “You don’t need to be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered. With that he leaned in his lips ready for a kiss. He was a fraction of an inch away when something sparked in Kalinda. Why was he doing this? Couldn’t he see she was afraid? Kalinda remembered her training. Kicking him hard in the shins, he stumbled away from her and she from him. 

            That was when a brown haired figure dressed in her green Foxfire uniform appeared from the corner of the room.

            “FITZ!” Biana screamed “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”

            “GAH!” Fitz shouted, falling over.

            “Kalinda! Are you okay? What just happened?” Biana asked, running to Kalinda, purposefully stepping on Fitz’s hand.

            “He-he-he-tried to kiss me,” Kalinda gasped still in shock from the situation.

            “We have to get you out of here…” Biana glanced at Fitz, who was still on the floor, clutching his most likely broken hand. Grabbing Kalinda’s arm, Biana raced them to the Leapmaster.

            They arrived at Havenfield, where not only Sophie was standing in the expansive meadows, but also Keefe and Dex. 

            “What are you guys doing here?” Biana asked, completely forgetting what had happened with Fitz. “I mean, Sophie lives here, and Keefe is her boyfriend so he’s going to be here,” Dex cringed, “but what are you doing here, Dex?” 

            Sophie rolled her eyes. “Keefe’s had a long talk with Dex about Kalinda and him going out, and he agreed that if Dex didn’t try anything, they could go out!” Sophie smiled at Kalinda, clearly expecting some kind of big reaction from her.

            When Kalinda kept looking at the floor, Sophie walked towards her. “Kalinda, what’s wrong?” Kalinda burst out sobbing, and ran to Keefe. “Kalinda! What happened?!”

            Keefe looked down at Kalinda, clearly reading her emotions. “Something happened at Everglen…” he murmured.

            Biana looked up, remembering why they were there. Quickly she explained how their day had been perfect, up until Fitz asked to ‘talk’ to Kalinda. By the time she was finished, Dex’s face was redder than his hair, and Keefe looked ready to punch some stuff, preferably Fitz’s face.

            “You know why he did that right?” Sophie asked when Biana stopped to gasp for breath.

            “No…” Kalinda said, while Biana nodded.

            “It’s really quite simple. Remember how Fitz liked me? Can you see any similarities?”

            “WHAT? You mean to tell me that Fitz just likes Kalinda because she resembles you? I cannot believe him! I’m leaping over to Everglen right now!”

            “I’m coming too,” Kalinda, Sophie, Dex, and Biana said at once. Then Sophie added, “You’re going to want this…” Handing Keefe her Sucker Punch, the five friends leaped over to Everglen. 

            When they arrived, Fitz was outside, near a tree. “OH! Hey Keefe.” Fitz said, not looking too happy to come face-to-face with his best friend. In fact, he looked nervous, no, terrified. 

            “DON’T YOU EVER COME NEAR MY SISTER AGAIN!” Keefe yelled. Then he punched Fitz in the nose, making sure it was powered with the Sucker Punch for good measure. “At least DEX really likes her! YOU just want her because she looks like SOPHIE!” Keefe yelled. 

            “Your nose is broken,” Kalinda informed Fitz. 

            “Yeah, I noticed,” he said dryly, before reaching up to wipe away some of the blood.

            She punched him flat in the chest, and he toppled over allowing her to kick him. So she did. She kicked him in the head. Hard. Then the five friends leaped away, leaving Fitz alone in the large grounds of Everglen. 

            When they got back to Havenfieled, the party decided to split up. Biana went to tell Tam and Linh what happened, while Sophie and Keefe went to explain things to Marella and Wylie. 

            All alone at Havenfield, Kalinda hesitantly asked, “Why were you so upset during lunch?”

            “Keefe was so mad that I thought it would be better for you if we weren’t together, but Biana told me how upset you were. I’m so sorry,” Dex added before leaning in to kiss her. He hovered an inch away, and Kalinda kissed him.

            Breaking apart, they smiled at each other. “Fitz will regret the day he messed with you,” Dex promised Kalinda. She knew he would.

DEX

            Fitz would pay. For the kind of misery Dex wanted to put him through, he would need some help. The triplets were more than happy to provide all kinds of elixirs. 

            Biana also came to him to ask to participate, because she wanted to make sure Fitz wouldn’t try anything like that again. Dex wasn’t sure what the combination of elixirs would do to Fitz, but he was excited to find out. 

            The next morning, it was utter chaos at Rimeshire. The triplets ran through the halls, shouting things like, “WHERE’S MY BOOKBAG?” “WHO TOUCHED MY UNIFORM?” and “WHERE’S MY BREAKFAST?” Bex also stopped in front of Dex’s room and asked, “Do you have Fitz’s prank elixir?” Dex nodded, and Bex took off down the hall.

            When Dex arrived at Foxfire, he immediately gave the bottle to Biana. “Be careful,” he told her. “I don’t want to know what happens when you touch it.” 

            “Don’t you worry about my brother Dex.” Biana assured him. “I’ve put him through more than you realize,” she flipped her hair. “Anytime he tries to mess with me, I get him back five times worse. There was one time he stole my makeup and tried to put it on me while I was sleeping. He made me look like a clown!”

            “What did you do to him?” Dex asked, intrigued.

            “Can’t tell you. It would be too much for your innocent ears,” Biana told him, flipping her hair again. “Thanks for the elixir. I’ll slip it to him during lunch,” she told him, strutting away. 

            Dex rolled his eyes. Then he spotted a pretty blond girl wearing a black Level One uniform heading to her locker. Dex took off through the halls, taking all kinds of shortcuts as he raced to Kalinda's locker. He leaned on her locker as she came up the path. He nodded at her and said, “Morning, beautiful.” 

            She rolled her eyes. “Really?”

            “No? You don’t like my compliment?” he joked. 

            She rolled her eyes again, but this time she was smiling. “How’s Fitz’s punishment going?”

            “Gave it to Biana this morning. He’ll get it at lunch, or, I hope so…” Dex moved out of Kalinda’s way so she could get her books out of her locker.

            Their relationship had been approved by Keefe, but in the background, he still didn’t look too happy about it. Nonetheless, Dex had to be very open about it to discourage other boys from flirting with Kalinda. He was getting jealous looks from most boys in the halls throughout Foxfire. However, the lunch spectacular would hopefully discourage anyone looking to mess with Kalinda.

            “What’s your first period?” Kalinda asked, pulling her schedule out of her locker. “Mine’s… Elvin history. What’s that?”

            “To answer your first question, mine is Agriculture. And for your second, it’s basically where you learn about some of the stuff that happened in the past.”

            “Why do I care about what happened in the past?” Kalinda asked with a skeptical look.

            “Because otherwise the past could repeat itself,” Dex told her, just before the bell rang. “Time to get to class,” he said. “See you at lunch.” With a wave, he took off down the hall to his agriculture session.

            Agriculture passed in a blur of dirt, plants, and lots of lectures. By the time the lunch bell finally rang, Dex had become so tense he practically bolted to the cafeteria. He had Keefe’s elixir tucked safely away under his cape. Nothing too serious for Keefe, after all, he hadn’t done anything wrong. However, Dex needed him out of the way. Without realizing it, Dex had clasped his hands together and began blowing into them; he did that occasionally when he was nervous or excited about something small.

            Spotting Biana and Fitz going through the lunch line together brought him back to his senses. He had a mission to complete. When Dex’s eyes met Biana’s, she winked. Fitz grabbed a glass of lushberry juice, and when he wasn’t looking, Biana slipped the elixir into Fitz's drink.

            They all sat down at lunch together -Dex sat next to Kalinda- anticipating Fitz’s reaction to the elixir. He took a sip of his lushberry juice.

            “GAH! What is in this thing, Flareadon poop?”

            Keefe snickered. “That’s what you get for messing with my sister, Wonderboy.” 

            Fitz stood up and grabbed Keefe by the neck of his shirt. “Why you little-” he was interrupted by a loud fart. Fitz blushed and bolted out of the cafeteria, his hair turning different colors -and falling out- as he ran. 

            “What do you say, guys?” Keefe asked the group.

            They all looked at each other. “Mission accomplished.” Sophie said. Kalinda smiled at Dex gratefully, and Dex smiled back.

DEX

            Lunch flew by fast in a blaze of memories. Keefe spent the period telling Kalinda everything that had happened, starting at Sophie and Dex’s kidnapping to Elysian showing up. Then Sophie explained to Keefe and Dex what had happened with Elysian. Dex took advantage of Keefe’s distraction and slipped an elixir of Gurgle Gut into his food. Then he turned around to Kalinda, who was staring at him in a whole new light. 

            “Did you really do all those things?” Kalinda asked, her voice hushed. Dex nodded. “Wow… I could never do any of that…” Kalinda looked down. Dex reached over, pulling her chin up slowly until her eyes met his.

            “You’ve done so much more than that, Kalinda. You’re the best fighter I know,” Dex said, earning a glare from Sandor and Grizel. “and you’re a Pyrokinetic who has great control over your powers. Don’t doubt yourself like that.” Kalinda was crying softly by that point, and Dex brushed a tear off her cheek. “You are amazing.”

            Someone near Dex cleared his throat. Whipping around, Dex came face-to-face with a very red, very angry Keefe. His eyebrow was raised in play, but his eyes were furious. “Whatcha doin’ Dex?”

            Dex’s mind was blank. Every part of him wanted to run away fast, but Dex also knew if he held out, the Gurgle Gut Dex slipped Keefe would have him out of the lunchroom faster than you could say ‘lunchroom’. Which was why Dex held out, stumbling over his words instead. “I, uh, I me-no-wha…. I wasn't… I meant that-uh-that Kalinda… I was just tryin-ya know- I mean…”

            Keefe’s face was starting to get red at that point, and he looked ready to strangle Dex. He stood up, presumably to yell at Dex again, before keeling over and clutching his stomach. Keefe gave Dex a glare as he ran out of the room, holding his stomach. 

            Everyone was staring at Dex. Dex was staring at everyone. “Well,” Dex said loudly, “his stomach must not have liked whatever he had for lunch!” slight laughter trickled through the lunchroom as all the students turned their attention to whatever they were doing before.

            Kalinda’s eyes were wide as she stared in the direction Keefe had run in. “Who’s going to take me to my next class?” she asked. 

            “I could.” Dex said, blushing slightly for added effect. Inside, he knew that this was all going to happen.

            “Oh, Dex, that would be wonderful!” Kalinda told him, turning and giving Dex a huge hug before turning back to her food. 

            Dex smiled. There was one thing left to do. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a mini humanoid robot, inspired by Tinker. Giving the robot a note, he told it to put the note on his locker.

            After lunch was over, Dex, Kalinda, and Lovise went to Dex’s locker to get his stuff. But there was a note on the locker. Dex gasped, reaching for the note. His heart was pounding, this was the last step. Then the plan was complete. 

            Dex read the note allowed. “‘Dex… If you think that you can mess with my sister, you’re going to have to get through me. I offer you a challenge. Come to the healing center for a battle to the death. Warning - I will kill you. ~ Keefe'"' Dex had written the note himself. He might have gone a little overboard, but he needed Lovise to go running after him. And it worked! After Dex asked Lovise to help him out, she grabbed the note and took off down the hall, leaving Dex alone with Kalinda.

            “Why would Keefe do this?!” Kalinda fumed.

            “He didn't,” Dex admitted, “I did. I needed to distract Lovise. I wanted to be alone with you.”

          Kalinda blushed. “Why…?”

          Dex looked at her. “I just want to get to know you better. What you’ve gone through, who you want to be, what your goals are.”

            Just then, Stina walked by, looking as stuck up and haughty as ever. Dex rolled his eyes as she flipped her curly brown hair. Stopping by them, she exclaimed, “Wow! A new loser! Why did they let you into Foxfire?” 

            Dex rolled his eyes. “Stina, back off.”

            “Surprise, surprise, the stupid Technopath is standing up for some random girl. Or wait, do you… like her? Ha! I knew someone like you would fall for someone like her.”

            “Excuse me, Dex,” Kalinda interrupted, “I should deal with this.” Kalinda walked towards Stina, pushing her against the wall. Then she leaned in close and whispered “I don’t care what you think about me, Stina, but you leave Dex alone or I will make you miserable. Do you want to have your face melt like wax? Or your bones fuse together? How about 3rd degree burns taking away every layer of your skin? I can make your worst nightmares become reality, so don’t cross me.”

            Stina was shaking hard by the time Kalinda was done with her, which was when Sophie walked down the hall. “Stina? Kalinda? Dex? What’s going on?”

            Kalinda headed to Sophie, her head held high. “This girl,” she pointed to Stina, “was insulting us. But don’t worry, she won’t do it again,” she said in a sugary voice before turning to Stina with a very dark look, “will you, sweetie?”

            “N-n-no” Stina stuttered trying to hide in a dark corner.

            “That’s a good girl,” Kalinda said deprecatingly, completely ignoring the fact that Stina was terrified. Sophie looked at Kalinda, then to Stina, glanced at Kalinda again, before turning to Dex. 

            “Do I even want to know?” Sophie sighed when Dex shook his head. “Ok then. Kalinda, try to be a little nice to Stina. She’s very slowly making her way into our group,” Dex rolled his eyes, “and being less of a stuck up jerk.” Sophie sighed when Kalinda shrugged. “Alright. I’d better get going then. See you tomorrow Kalinda. Dex and Stina, I want to do a Team Valiant meeting sometime today. Drop in whenever you’re ready,” Sophie waited for both teens to nod before walking away, presumably to her first class. 

            Dex turned to Kalinda, offering her his arm. “Shall we?” he asked. Then Stina spoke up. 

            “Would you really do that stuff?” she asked. 

            “No,” Kalinda replied, “I just wanted to scare you.”

            “It worked,” Stina replied with a shiver, then smiled shyly.

            “Kalinda, we need to get going.” Dex touched Kalinda’s arm, and she jumped. Her eyes settled to where Dex’s hand rested. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

            “Nothing. No, don’t,” Kalinda grabbed Dex’s hand as he tried to pull away. “I like it.”

            “Alright,” Dex smiled, “but we have to get going. Come on,” He led her down the hallway, just as the first bell rang. The two walked for quite a while, until they found an empty room.

            “This is perfect!” Kalinda exclaimed as she walked into the room. The large walls were shaped into a dome, and glinted with the light from the window. The room was empty, save for two chairs in the middle, which Kalinda immediately ran to. “Come,” she beckoned to Dex, “sit.” Dex casually made his way over, plopping into the other chair.

            “Sooooo…. Kalinda, have you ever made elixirs before?” Dex inquired

            “No, have you?” Kalinda responded.

            “Yeah, I work at the apothecary, Slurps and Burps”

             “Umm. Cool.”

            “You don’t know what an apothecary is, do you?

            “Nope, no idea. I’m getting used to that though. There’s so much in this world I don’t understand.”

            “You sound like Sophie when we first brought her to the Lost Cities.”

            “You had to bring Sophie to the Lost Cities? Was she getting trained to be an assassin, too?” Kalinda’s eyes were wide as she stared at Dex, but her expression faltered as Dex laughed.

            “Yes and no. While we did have to bring her to the Lost Cities, she wasn’t getting trained to be an assassin. You see, here’s how it went…” Dex then started rambling on and on about the Black Swan, and how Sophie fit into it, and everything they had done.

            “Wow! It just gets more exciting every time you tell me!” she said after Dex was finished.

            Dex felt his cheeks grow hot. “Oh yeah, Keefe told you at lunch, didn’t he?”

            Kalinda nodded, “Yes. But I didn’t know that Sophie came from the Forbidden Cities. Or how deep her connection is to the Black Swan. Did you really know Sophie first?” 

            “Uh huh. I was her first friend, and Sophie was my first friend, too!”

            “That’s so sweet! I’m really glad you found each other, then,” Then she paused, deep in thought. 

            “What’s wrong?” Dex asked. 

            “Sophie was your first friend… Sophie is pretty… Did you like Sophie before you liked me?!” 

            Dex bit his lip, before replying, “Well… I liked her for a bit, but that was because she was the only person who was nice to me…” Dex faltered as he saw the hurt look on Kalinda’s face. “Oh… How can I show you that I only like you?” 

            “I don’t know… I feel really hurt right now, Dex.”

            “How about a hug?”

            “I guess…” Kalinda leaned in, but instead of a hug, her lips brushed his. 

            Dex jumped back. “I thought you wanted a hug?” he asked, shaking his head.

            Kalinda shrugged. “I changed my mind.”

            Dex smiled, and the two leaned in. They were about to kiss when the door of the room burst open. Lovise stalked into the room. The glint in her eye terrified Dex, making him push away from Kalinda. Lovise grabbed Dex roughly by the shirt, lifting him above her head. “What, exactly, do you think you’re doing?” Lovise dragged Dex out of the room while Kalinda was escorted to her next class by Magnate Leto, who walked in the room shortly after Lovise stormed in.

            “I’m so sorry, Kalinda!” Dex called at her.

            “It’s okay, Dex, this was fun!” Kalinda told him.

            “Soooo…Lovise, where are we going again?” Dex asked.

            “To Rimeshire,” Lovise grunted, still dragging him. “Oh boy, your parents are going to be sooo mad at you. You know, as a bodyguard, I’m supposed to protect you. So not only am I excited to see you get in trouble, but I also want to see you learn your lesson.” Lovise had a dreamy look in her eyes as she raised Dex’s home crystal to the light.

            “Dex?” Kesler looked up from his chair as Dex and Lovise walked into the cold halls of Rimeshire. “What’s wrong?”

            “Dex decided to sneak out of class with Kalinda so I had to take him home,” Lovise bluntly stated.

            “WHY DID I HEAR THAT YOU HAD TO BE TAKEN HOME!?” Juline shouted from the other room, storming in.

            Dex coughed. “Well, uh, you see..” Dex frantically looked around the room for an excuse, but failed. “Alright, fine. I just wanted to hang out with Kalinda.”

            Juline and Kesler were shocked to hear this. Since when did he act out like this? “You’re grounded, mister, for a while,” they said in unison.

KALINDA

            Kalinda stood alone in the empty room for a few seconds after Dex left, her mind in a blaze. He had come so close to kissing her! But that was when Lovise came in and took Dex away to Rimeshire. Kalinda let out a sigh. Bodyguards could be the worst sometimes.

            The door burst open and Keefe and Magnate Leto stormed in, glaring at Kalinda.

            Magnate Leto took one look at her and said, “You need to go to your classes Kalinda. This behavior is unacceptable!”

            Keefe growled. “I can’t believe him!” Kalinda rolled her eyes. “Dex made me sick, just so he could hang out with you! You wanna know what the back of that note said?”

            Kalinda shook her head. “‘Back off Keefe. If Kalinda wants to date me, that's her choice. Deal with it.’ ARG!”

            “So?! It is my choice and you do need to back off!”

            “I’m your brother, and the only one who can take care of you-”

            “No, I have Dad. And Sophie. And Dex!”

            Keefe sighed. “Fine. But I am responsible for you, and I don’t want you ditching classes to talk to boys.”

            “Didn’t you ditch classes to talk to girls?” Kalinda challenged.

            “Who told you that?”

            Kalinda smirked. “Dex mentioned it.”

            “Dex…” Keefe grumbled, stretching his face with his hand, “I am a bad example. Why don’t you use Sophie as an example?”

          “Doesn’t Sophie go out of her way to fight the Neverseen?”

            “Ok, fine. Be more like Biana.”

            “Isn’t Biana the one who’s covered in scars because she chased down Vespera?”

            Keefe glared at her. “Use Lihn as a role model.”

            “Um, nope, she’s too quiet and her brother is… interesting.”

            “Okay, then use Fitz.”

            Kalinda let out a laugh. “Fitz, the one who tried to kiss me against my will a few days ago, who was a total jerk to your girlfriend, and who loses his temper and screams every 5 seconds?”

            Keefe looked ready to burst. “Just be good, Kalinda! I don’t think it’s that hard.”

            Magnate Leto stepped in front of him. “What Keefe is trying to convey is that you don’t need to go out of your way to find trouble. Trouble will find you.”

            “Who’s Trouble?” Kalinda asked.

            Keefe gave her a side eye. “Trouble is that thing that we always get into.”

            “Yeah, I know. I just like seeing your reaction when you have to explain something relatively stupid and explanatory.”

            Keefe gave her a major glare. “Wow. Just wow. You know, you can be kind of annoying sometimes.”

            “That’s my job as ‘little sister.’ At least, that’s what Biana says.”

            “When did Biana tell you that?”

            “In Atlantis.”

            Keefe made a growly noise in his throat. “From now on, don’t listen to what Biana says.”

            “So does that mean I should go near Fitz?”

            Keefe looked at her quizzically. “What are you talking about?”

            “She told me not to go near Fitz. But if I shouldn’t listen to Biana, then does that mean I should go near Fitz?” Kalinda smirked. “Also, pretty sure you told me to ‘be more like Biana’ just a few seconds ago. Doesn't that mean I should listen to her?”

            “I give up! Go to class! And stay away from Fitz!” 

            “This one’s going to be a handful,” Magnate Leto grumbled.

            Kalinda flipped her hair -another trait she picked up from Biana- and smiled sweetly. “You're welcome.” Kalinda turned and strutted out of the room, her small body seeming to sway with all the attitude she was giving off. Keefe shouted to her.

            “Do you know where the alchemy is?”

            “Yes.”

            “So you don’t need any help getting to your class?”

            “No, not anymore. Dex showed it to me on our way here, and I have a photographic memory, remember?”

            “Well, that’s ONE good thing Dex has done.”

            Kalinda put her hand on her hip. “Don’t be like that, Keefe.”

            “Nope. Dex doesn’t deserve my kindness.”

            “Ugh, fine. You’re the worst.”

            “Well, NOW you’re getting it. Now, get to class! Your alchemy teacher is going to be furious.”

            Kalinda stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Why don't they get it? she thought. I just wanted someone who was actually nice to me, and now they're taking even that away from me! Kalinda had never felt worse in her life. She put up a tough face when Keefe came in, but on her way to alchemy class, she cried the whole way there.

KALINDA

            When Kalinda finally made her way to alchemy class, she opened the glass door to a furious Lady Galvin. 

            "Miss Sencen!" She barked. " You should have been in class thirty minutes ago! Would you care to explain yourself?"

            Kalinda sighed. This was exactly what she expected Lady Galvin to ask when Kalinda walked in. However, while Kalinda had anticipated the question on the walk there, she still wasn’t prepared. Since she was still angry about what happened with Dex and Keefe, she just snapped. "Why do I have to tell you what I've been doing? Where I am and what I do is none of your business!"

            "Don't you give me that tone, Young Lady! Go to Dame Ali- I mean, Magnate Leto's office right now!" Lady Galvin yelled.

            "Fine!" Kalinda said, as she stomped out of the room to where she hoped Magnate Leto's office was.

            "WRONG WAY!" Lady Galvin called back at her. "Are you trying to skip class again?" 

            "I wish I could!" Kalinda shouted back at her as she started running the opposite way.

            Kalinda tried making her way to Magnate Leto's office, but with all of the twists and turns of the halls, she got hopelessly lost. Unable to walk any farther, she sat down and cried. ‘I wish I hadn’t yelled at them.’ Kalinda thought regretfully. ‘I wish I could just be hanging out with Dex and Keefe, without anyone angry at me. I wish -’

            "Hello? A deep voice cut off her regretful thoughts. "Are you okay?" 

            Kalinda looked up from her knees and up at the person talking to her. He was pretty tall, with cropped black hair and dark chocolate skin. She sniffled. "No, not really."

            "Would you like to talk about it?" He asked.

            "You probably wouldn't get it, but sure, I guess." Kalinda responded. She started with how she got to the Lost cities after being with the Neverseen, but he cut her off the second she mentioned Dex.

            "Wait," he told her, “you're the girl I keep hearing so much about!" The guy exclaimed, "I know Sophie! I’ve helped her and the group out plenty of times. I'm Wylie." 

            "Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Kalinda, but you probably already know that. Wait, now that I think about it, shouldn't you be in class right now?"

            "Nah," Wylie told her, "I actually graduated from Foxfire a few months ago. Would you like to continue your story? I have a minute, and no one’s been able to give me details about you.”.

            "I would, but I have to go to the principal's office." Kalinda sighed, "I kept trying to get there, but gave up because I got lost."

            "Really?" Wylie questioned. He smiled when Kalinda nodded. “I was just on my way to see Magnate Leto about becoming a Mentor. I can help you get there if you want.”

            "That would be amazing!" Kalinda exclaimed.

            When they finally made it to Magnate Leto's office, after many twists and turns and hallways and stairways, they made it. Once they walked in, Magnate Leto glared at Kalinda and said, "What have you done this time?" Kalinda sighed and opened her mouth, when Wylie cleared his throat. "Mr. Endal! What brings you here?" Leto asked. 

            "Just helping a prodigy get where she needs to go. She got in trouble, but I came here mostly to vouch for her character."

            "Oh? What has she done now?" The principal inquired, not taking his eyes off of Kalinda. As Wylie told the story, Magnate Leto's face got softer after each scene.

            "I'm so sorry Kalinda," He said, "I had no idea you felt this way." 

            "It's okay, I guess, but I didn't want to get in trouble, I just wanted to hang out with Dex, as Fitz is well, you probably know the story," Kalinda said, but was cut off by Wylie 

            "What story? What has Fitz done?" He asked.

            After Kalinda told the story of what happened at Everglen, Wylie's eyes were wide as he asked, "Why has no one told me about this!? Also, Fitz is now out of the group once I tell Sophie to."

            Kalinda laughed. "That would be nice, but we're off track. Where were we?"

            Magnate Leto cleared his throat. "I was just about to let you get back to class, but I'm certain Lady Galvin will be a pain, so here's a pardon." He pulled out a thin, golden square with a P engraved on it. "Off you go," He said, waving a dismissive hand at Kalinda. She stood up, waved to Wylie, and headed back to her dreaded alchemy class.

            Back in alchemy, Lady Galvin told her what she had learned yesterday. It was the basics, which Kalinda already knew. Bored, Kalinda took out her old notebook. It had alchemy formulas she had never been allowed to test. Looking around Kalinda saw all the ingredients for a formula to make gold. Excited and ignoring Lady Galvin, who was staring at Kalinda’s beloved notebook and shaking her head in… awe? Disappointment? Annoyance? Well, nevermind. If she wanted to watch then she was welcome to watch.

            Kalinlda examined her notebook, looking up occasionally to search the room for the ingredients the recipe would need. 

          Okay, she thought, I think I have everything I’ll need.

            Kalinda got up from her seat and started grabbing at least half the ingredients on the shelves. With Lady Galvin staring at her intensely, Kalinda carefully piled the ingredients on the desk, not wanting any to fall over. Then she reached a higher shelf to grab a few glass beakers, and sat down. 

            She pulled back her hair with a pencil, and got to work. Carefully pouring the ingredients into the beakers, following the instructions to a T. As she mixed, poured, stirred, and boiled, occasionally she would look up to see Lady Galvin reading a book titled, “ How To Catch a Gulon,” or glaring at her with such intensity that Kalinda wondered if her eyes were even open.

            Once everything was mixed properly, the goop she was left with was a light yellow, and extremely hot. For the last steps, she would need assistance from Lady Gavin. 

            “I need your help”

            “What do you need me for? You seem satisfied to make something that will inevitably explode.”

            “It won’t, just pour this into the mix while I heat it.”

            “That will make it explode! Adding spark fruit juice to a mixture with sasquatch fur is a bad idea.”

            “Fine, I’ll do it myself,” Using telekinesis she lifted the juice into the air and lit her hand on fire. The goo almost immediately turned to the consistency of water. Once it began to bubble, Kalinda swirled the golden, scorching, liquid. For the last step, she added in a single petal from an ice flower, dropping it slowly into the liquid. As the petal disintegrated into the mixture, it cooled down rapidly while she poured it into some butterfly molds. Within minutes, all the molds were full and Kalinda was left with 3 golden butterflies. Lady Gavin just stared at her.

            “Where did you get that recipe?” Lady Gavin demanded, glaring even harder at Kalinda.

            “I found it.”

            “That formula breaks 50 fundamental rules of alchemy. You should be dead.”

            “Well, I’m not. Why does it matter?”

            “Go to the study hall and wait for me. I need to contact the council.”

            “Why?”

            “Because the ingredients you used are more accessible than the formula that everyone else uses. If others can also use the formula then this is a major breakthrough.” Lady Gavin’s eyes began to sparkle. 

            Kalinda glared, she knew that look. It was the look of someone about to steal credit. She quickly snached the notebook up.

            “Give that to me!” Lady Gavin glared back at her.

            “No! You want to steal credit for my work! No one is ever getting this notebook from me!”

            “I’ll tell the council! They’ll make you give it to them! Then those recipes, and every other recipe in that book, will be seen by the public! Who knows what kind of secrets are kept inside that book!”

            Kalinda smirked. “You wanna tell the council? Go tell the council.”

            “I don’t like that tone, Miss Sencen. You give me that book or I will get the council involved in this!” Lady Galvin lunged for the book. Kalinda easily sidestepped her.

            “Careful, Lady Galvin, or I might lose my grip on the book…” Kalinda held the book over one of the pots boiling one of Lady Galvin’s older creations.

            Now it was Lady Galvin’s turn to smirk. “What good can come to either of us if you drop that in? Besides, if you do, the whole room could blow up,” Lady Galvin then pulled up her imparter to call the council. “I’ll give you till the count of five to give me the book. One, Two, Three, Four- NO!!!”

            Kalinda had dropped the book into the cauldron. She then stepped out of the way, though the cauldron certainly didn’t explode. In fact, it didn’t even bubble over. It just bubbled a little bit. Kalinda stood with a smirk on her face, her hands on her hips, as she looked at Lady Galivin. The teacher just stood with a look of shock on her face.

            “How could you?! Do you know how important that book was?” Lady Galvin shouted. Kalinda just smirked and began walking away.

DEX

            The day had ended, and Dex stood in line for the leapmaster while he waited for Kalinda. She joined him a few minutes later, looking very happy.  “I don’t think Lady Galvin is having a very good day,” she said mysteriously. 

            “Oh no, what did you do this time?” Dex was genuinely concerned for Kalinda, she had done some dumb things when she didn’t understand things that she viewed as ‘stupid.’

            “I had a notebook that I wrote some alchemy spells in, but had never been allowed to test them. I tested a formula for making gold today in alchemy, and it worked!”

            Dex cut her off, “So how does that relate to Lady Galvin? You haven’t mentioned her yet.”

            “If you didn’t cut me off, I might be able to. Anyway, while I was making the recipe, Lady Galvin came over and wanted my book. She isn’t having a good day because I threw my book in a cauldron of hers that she has been making for weeks!”

            “What?” Dex gripped. “Not only could that pot have blown up on you, but now all those recipes are lost!”

            “Not quite,” she smiled as if she knew something he didn’t before she told him. Dex was about to question her further, but by then they had gotten to the front of the line for the Leapmaster, and in the blink of an eye she was gone. 

            Dex stood in shock. He couldn’t believe Kalinda would do something like that! She didn't normally lose her temper, or act out in such a strange and impulsive way. What had gotten into her? Dex was about to leap home, but decided at the last minute to go check up with Keefe to see if he knew anything about Kalinda’s strange behavior.

            The Shores of Solace were beautiful halfway through the day. Dex arrived just in time to see Kalinda close the front door. As Dex peered through a window, he saw Kalida embrace Keefe from where they were standing. 

            “And how are you today, my fluffy flareadon?” Dex heard Keefe ask. Kalinda gave a muffled response, but Dex couldn’t hear it. Instead of spying some more, he went to knock on the door. 

            Keefe pulled away from Kalinda and told her something Dex couldn’t hear or understand. Kalinda nodded and disappeared down the hall. The next moment Keefe opened the door and said, “Have you finished spying yet, or do you want us to do something else amusing?”

            “Uh…I…uh…what?” Dex sputtered. Clearly he hadn’t been very careful about not letting them see him. He had thought they would have been too wrapped up in their conversation about whatever it had been about. Sighing and regaining his composure, Dex asked, “Fluffy Flareadon? Seriously? That’s the best you can do?”

            “That’s the first fire-resistant animal she has ever heard of. You would be surprised by how well they get along” 

            Dex was dumbstruck… again. “She…I…What? When did she meet a flareadon?! ” he finally managed to say.

            “Oh! Yesterday afternoon, after you left Havenfield. Me and Kalida stuck around after the Fitz incident, and she met Gildie. By the way, Kalinda is still pretty insecure about your relationship, because she doesn’t want you to turn up like Fitz, so be extra nice and understanding and stuff.”

            “Is your relationship with Sophie this hard? I feel like I can’t stop doing or saying the wrong thing!”

            “It’s a different kind of hard. I don’t really have to worry about doing or saying the wrong thing. I know that Sophie will forgive me eventually, and I guess that makes it easier. Then again, there is the whole Grady-hates-my-guts thing, so…”

            Dex glanced at him, giving him a look. “I don’t think Grady hates your guts..” 

            “Really?” It was Keefe’s turn to look. “He doesn’t like it when I’m around, he refers to me as ‘That Boy,’ and he doesn’t trust me at all. I think it’s safe to say he hates me.”

            “When you put it that way, it seems like I have it easy.”

            “Not easy, just a different kind of hard.” He paused. “I’m guessing you want to talk to Kalinda, right?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Fine. Just let me talk to her first, okay?”

            “Fine with me.” 

            Keefe left through the same hall Kalinda had. When Dex went to follow, Keefe stuck his head out and said, “Wait in there for me.” Keefe motioned to the room they were just in.

            Dex had to wait only for a few minutes for Keefe. When he finally emerged, Kalinda followed behind him. Dex smiled at the blond girl, and a look of confusion crossed her face.

            “What are you doing here, Dex?” Kalinda asked. “I thought you were mad at me…” Keefe looked between them for a moment, also confused.

            “Do you two need a moment?” he asked. Dex nodded. “Uh, you can use my room.” Keefe led them into the room, and Dex flopped on his bed. Keefe left so Dex and Kalinda could talk alone. 

            At first it was small talk. Dex hadn’t been paying attention to what anyone, including himself, was saying. They just rambled on about how new she was to the Lost Cities. But once they got to the subject of Foxfire, Dex sat up and looked Kalinda straight in the eyes. “How could you ruin such an important book?” he asked, his voice low.

            Kalinda took a step back, her eyes flashing with an unrecognizable emotion. “It wasn’t that important, Dex. You should know me better than that.”

            “How am I supposed to? You just got here!”

            Kalinda looked away, a tear falling from her cheek, then said in a quiet voice, “I know. Believe me, I know. Did you not listen to a single thing I said? ”

            “Well…uh…” Dex said uncomfortably

            “Dex!”

            “I’m sorry! I was too preoccupied with…other stuff.” Dex had, in fact, been thinking about Kalinda, but not in the way he usually did. He had originally been thinking about how different Kalinda was to Sophie. That had led him to think about how popular Kalinda was in the friend group. Then he had realized that this was the first time the others had included him in anything non-technical.

            “Dex?” Kalinda’s soft voice snapped him back to reality with a sigh. Kalinda sighed at his sigh. He didn’t mean to be such a bad friend, but he couldn’t seem to stay focused on what she was saying. His thoughts kept drifting off to other things. “What were you too preoccupied with?”

            “I just… got caught up on how you threw that book into the cauldron.” It wasn't an entire lie, but not the full truth.

            “Why? I have a photographic memory, remember? I’ve been through that book hundreds of times. I’ve memorized every page!”

            Dex smacked his face with his palm. “Of course! I completely forgot. I’m so sorry I made such a big deal out of it.”

            “It’s okay, but that’s not what’s bugging you. What were you too preoccupied with?”

            “I…well…I just…it doesn’t matter. What’s bugging you?” 

            “No, you are not changing the subject. Something is bugging you, and you need to tell me what.” Dang, this girl was a lie detector.

            “Well… it’s just…” Dex heard a little noise and jumped up, making silent gestures at Kalinda, when he opened the door, Keefe fell inside; he had obviously been leaning against the door listening to their conversation.

            The day had ended, and Dex stood in line for the Leapmaster while he waited for Kalinda. She joined him a few minutes later, looking very happy.  “I don’t think Lady Galvin is having a very good day,” she said mysteriously. 

            “Oh no, what did you do this time?” Dex was genuinely concerned for Kalinda, she had done some dumb things when she didn’t understand things that she viewed as ‘stupid.’

            “I had a notebook that I wrote some alchemy spells in, but had never been allowed to test them. I tested a formula for making gold today in alchemy, and it worked!”

Dex cut her off, “So how does that relate to Lady Galvin? You haven’t mentioned her yet.”

            “If you didn’t cut me off, I might be able to. Anyway, while I was making the recipe, Lady Galvin came over and wanted my book. She isn’t having a good day because I threw my book in a cauldron of hers that she has been making for weeks!”

            “What?” Dex gripped. “Not only could that pot have blown up on you, but now all those recipes are lost!”

            “Not quite,” she smiled as if she knew something he didn’t before she told him. Dex was about to question her further, but by then they had gotten to the front of the line for the Leapmaster, and in the blink of an eye she was gone.