get last place. The officials might ban me from the rink in embarrassment.”
“Don’t say that.” I nudged her shoulder. “You’re a great skater. You just need to focus.”
Emma gritted her teeth. “How can I focus when Gabby is out there pulling off a perfect performance, and I suck?”
“I think you guys need to stop comparing yourselves,” Stefan spoke up.
Both of us looked up at him, and he shrugged. “Just my opinion. You’re not going to be able to do your best if all you’re doing is trying to better someone else.”
Emma and I blinked at each other. She was the first to speak. “He’s right,” Emma said. “Sorry for complaining. I know I should be focusing on myself.”
“It’s all right,” I said. “I’ve been comparing myself to others quite a bit, too.”
“Good! Now kiss and make up!” Stefan made kissing sounds at us. Emma narrowed her eyes at him. I tried not to scowl.
“Anyway...” Emma began. “I have something to tell you guys. Kiara thinks I have Unseelie blood.”
“What?” Stefan and I asked at the same time.
I leaned forward. “Emma, tell us everything.”
Emma explained what Lord Lucien had told her about being the Worldweaver, and her and Kiara’s deductions about her being part Unseelie. When she was done, she looked up at me and asked, “You don’t hate me now, do you? Because I have Unseelie blood?”
I shook my head. “No, Emma. Though I have to say, it is shocking.”
“You should, though,” Emma said. “If Kiara’s theory is correct, I’m basically part evil.”
“Nuh-uh. Good and evil are human concepts,” Stefan said. “In Edinmyre, there was dark magic and light magic, and both were used equally without judgment. Laws and morals are somewhat human constructs. As long as it was within the bounds of nature, it was permitted by the fae. Back then, anyway.”
“That’s not how things are now. If you use dark magic, you’re accused of being a terrible person,” Emma replied. “How can such a thing as good and evil not be considered part of the old fae?”
Stefan smirked. “Hey, when a dragon kills a deer, it’s not evil. We all gotta eat, and killing is within the bounds of nature, isn’t it?”
“So what changed?” Emma wondered aloud.
“We began interbreeding with humans,” I explained. “They assigned the Seelie the title of good, and the Unseelie the title of evil, which more or less turned the Arcanea against each other. It’s one of the reasons we started the civil war.”
Emma’s gaze was accusative. “You think the Unseelie are bad. You made that clear when you took me to the Willow Maiden last semester.”
My stomach wiggled uncomfortably. “I can’t deny I’m somewhat prejudiced,” I admitted. “But I don’t know everything, and there’s always a way to have a new perspective on something. Perhaps there’s something about the Unseelie that I don’t understand.”
“You’re brave enough to admit that. But what about other people?” Emma asked. “Whenever you bring the Unseelie up, it’s like you’re uttering a curse. People act like they deserved to die out, and if you argue that dark magic isn’t bad, you’re instantly accused of being evil. It’s like everyone knows better.”
“They don’t know better. They know different,” I said. “Maybe the Unseelie aren’t as bad as we’ve all been led to believe. History is written by the winners, remember?”
Emma slumped forward and put her chin in her hand. “Well, it’s not like we can ask the Unseelie. They’re all dead.”
“Maybe not,” Stefan said. “If Unseelie blood is in your veins, it has to be recent. Otherwise, it would’ve been diluted out. What if there’s still a few Unseelie hanging around in Malovia, just in hiding?”
Emma perked up. I could see an idea churning in my head. “We can talk to my mom,” Emma suggested. “She might know something about my ancestry.”
“Brilliant idea, Emma.” My heart pounded in excitement. “Let’s head out.”
Emma went back to the locker room to change. When she’d done so, we took our bags back to Arcanea University, then said goodbye to Stefan as we began the walk through Dolinska.
I changed into a wolven and offered Emma my back. “Want a ride?”
She seemed grateful for the opportunity. “Yes, thank you.”
I knelt, so she could climb on, and said, “Didn’t think you wanted to walk all this way in the cold after having a long practice.”
“Not really,” Emma said. “I don’t have a lot of energy.”
And why was that?
I trotted along at an easy pace. Emma buried her hands in my fur for warmth. Her head