Evermore Academy (Evermore Academy #3) - Audrey Grey Page 0,17

but it always gets returned.

Should I text again?

I glance over my outrageously expensive luggage and designer frock, that familiar feeling of guilt pitting my stomach, and turn off my phone.

I don’t want to bother them.

“Hyacinth.”

My gaze darts to my mother.

“Head up, dear. You are the reigning top student for the season. Now you must act like it.”

As parental advice goes, I suppose her words are meant to inspire me to greatness. But somehow they plunge me further into panic.

This is really happening.

Since I crossed the Shimmer and met Valerian, not a moment has passed that I’m not painfully aware of my mortality. But now, as I cross the portal into the Everwilde, my humanness feels like a noose around my neck, tightening with every step I take into the lush world of the Fae.

A world that is supposed to be mine.

Deep down, I know it’s not.

It’s a prison of iron and fangs and twisted magic, a beautiful, unforgiving land of power and deceit, and I am about to dive headfirst into my gilded cage.

We are met almost immediately on campus by a Star Court Fae assistant from the academy. The assistant wears a crisp green and black suit and white gloves. My mother begins barking orders in lieu of greeting, the demands continuing as the poor Fae guides us to my new home for the next nine months.

Nestled deep behind the nature conservatory, the two-story miniature white chateau looks straight out of a town and country magazine. My mother wrinkles her nose at the unkempt roses and hedge bushes as her heels expertly navigate the stone path leading to the beautiful white oak front door, but I love it immediately.

The dusty pink climbing roses, overgrown purple lilac shrubs, and tall yellow sunflowers remind me of Zinnia. She would love this place.

An ache forms just below my breastbone, and I tamp down the urge to check my phone again.

“Everything needs to be trimmed back or ripped out,” my mother says. Her miss-nothing gaze darts to what I assume was once pure white stone, lingering over the moss clinging to the lower half. “The entire façade needs a scrub. And this door”—she focuses her wrath on the poor white wood—“needs paint. I’m thinking of a dark storm gray.”

The Star Court Fae hasn’t stopped nodding or writing since we arrived, and he adds that to the list.

I don’t dare say that I like the chateau exactly as it is. Mainly because I would be completely ignored, but also because the faster she gets this done, the quicker she’ll leave.

Is feeling smothered and breathless around your mother normal?

Somehow the inside is more disheveled than the outside. Trumpet vines have snaked through one of the living room windows and curl up the tall fireplace. Leaves and dust pile in the corners of the rooms, and the tattered couches look like they’ve been the home to a few squirrels and possibly a raccoon.

My mother takes the condition as a personal affront. “Really? This is how the school treats a high-ranking member of the Summer Court?” Her lips curl in a way I can only describe as feline. “Considering how much I donate to this school each season, this is very disappointing.”

The horrified Fae scribbles that into his magical notepad, his head never pausing from its up and down motion.

I can still hear her listing changes as I slip up the creaking wooden stairs. Giant climbing roses wind around the balcony level overlooking the living room. I brush a finger over one of the dusty pink petals. “Don’t worry. I won’t let her take you away.”

“Talking to the flowers?” a teasing voice asks.

My heart somersaults at the familiar tone. I whip around and drag Mack into my arms. “What are you doing here?”

She gives me a squeeze. “Really? You think I’d let my bestie face her first day on campus alone?”

Eclipsa slides from the shadows of the nearest bedroom, her eyes dancing with humor. “Surprise.”

“Get your toned ass over here,” I order.

Grimacing, she slides into my open arms. After the longest group hug ever, Mack and Eclipsa disentangle from my grip.

Eclipsa jerks her head to the room she exited. “I did a few little renovations to the bedrooms. Hope you don’t mind.”

“She claimed the biggest room after yours, but mine is still beyond perfect.”

“Wait.” I shift my backpack onto my left shoulder. “You are both staying with me? Here?”

“Yep.” Mack hooks my arm in hers. “Eclipsa ironed out the details with the Head of Housing. She can