abandoned— I sat on the stone bench beside the pool and tried not to bawl.
Korva had told my secret to the entire world. And it wouldn’t cease with the school. The papers knew I was back with Ethan. They’d done a five-page spread about it in last weeks’ magazine. They were going to have a field day once they found out about my CVID.
And they would find out. They’d do some digging, and if they couldn’t come up with the facts, they’d make something up.
“Emma!” I heard Kiara’s voice. Her books were nearly tumbling out of her hands. She’d grabbed them in a hurry to catch up with me. She sat down beside me, breathing heavily. There was a small cut on her head, just above her eye that was draining blood.
“Kiara, are you okay?” I asked. Had Morgan tossed a spell at her?
“I tripped and fell down the stairs when I was running after you. It’s merely a scratch,” Kiara insisted. “Don’t bother with it. I’m concerned about you.”
“You should go back to class,” I said as I wiped my tears away. “Korva’s going to punish you for ditching class.”
I hardly cared if Korva gave me detention for fleeing her classroom. There was nothing worse than what she just did.
“Battleaxe Korva can go to hell,” Kiara raged. “Telling others about a disabled person’s condition is like exposing a person’s sexuality when they’re not ready. It’s forcing them to come out. Korva needs to face penalties by the school board.”
“She won’t. You know that. Elijah’s her son.” I sighed.
Something at the edge of my senses tightened and panicked. Ethan had found out. He was reaching through the bond, asking where I was.
I sent a mental picture to him of the courtyard. I felt him shift, running to me as fast as he could.
If Ethan knew, I bet everyone else did, too. I felt so defeated. I was already treated like shit because I was shunned. This would make it worse.
A white wolf stalked through the entryway to the courtyard. Ethan shifted back and reached out to give me a hug. “I’m sorry, onawilke. Korva will hear about this, even if it’s only from me.”
“I don’t care about getting revenge. My secret’s out now,” I said. “I just wanted everyone to believe I was normal, and that’s over.”
“But you’re not normal, Em. You never have been,” Kiara said. “You’re a stronger sorceress than all of us. This doesn’t define who you are.”
“You know how the fae work. People are going to say I’m cursed by the gods because I’m sick,” I stated.
“So prove them wrong,” Ethan insisted. He grabbed my shoulders and squeezed tight. “Yes, there’s nothing you can do about this situation now that the news has broken. But we must do something to turn this into a positive. The puck has been passed to you. How are you going to respond?”
His words made my mind work. Yes, Korva had taken my chance away to tell the world about my illness, on my own terms. But I had the opportunity to take advantage of it. My grandmother’s lessons had been focused on creating positive intent out of even the worst situations. How could I turn this thing around?
Then it clicked. Vara had connections. She worked for The Annual Arcanea as a student reporter.
And I bet an exclusive from Malovia’s most hated woman was something they’d eat right up.
I steeled my tone. “Korva took away my choice to come out, but she didn’t take away my dignity. I’m not ashamed to be who I am. If everyone knows I’m sick, I might as well use it to bolster my position.”
“What do you need us to do?” Ethan asked.
“Find Vara. Tell her I want to meet up as soon as possible,” I said. “It’s time I took my illness back into my own hands.”
I was waiting in the Journalism classroom when Vara walked in. Ethan was holding my hand for support— he wasn’t sure if this was the right move, because he knew the press could be ruthless, but he stood beside me in my decision. And I knew in my heart this is what I wanted.
Vara looked me up and down. “Wow, Emma. This is really brave. Are you sure you want to do this?”
I stood from my chair, dressed in my day clothes. My infusion pump hung off my shoulder. Four lines went straight to my stomach, infusing my medicine into my system. “Absolutely. I want to do an interview,