“Summer Solstice, I need to see you running so hard your heels are tapping your mortal ass!” Eclipsa orders from her purple and yellow leopard printed hammock chair, where she’s been overseeing my run around the Lake of Sorrows for the last forty minutes.
“Yeah, tap that ass!” Ruby cheers from her perch on my shoulder. “Tap it so hard the prince will have to ice it down later.”
Oh. My. God. My friends have no idea how dirty they sound.
I would laugh—would, if I wasn’t getting my butt kicked five ways from Sunday. Pumping my arms, I burst through a patch of dandelions, my legs disturbing the wispy white seeds into the air.
“I’m . . . trying,” I pant, glaring at the Lunar Court assassin turned sadistic torturer. Her moon-white hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, her lithe body poured into metallic silver-blue yoga pants and a sports bra, showing off the lunar tattoos cresting her ripped abdomen. The half-moon jewels over her brow glimmer beneath the afternoon sun.
I’m pretty sure she added a couple jewels, which means the Fae assassin killed again.
Eclipsa summoned me to the Everwilde a week early to train. I think she thinks I should be appreciative—and I am, I suppose—but that’s in between my near constant pity party.
When I round the final leg of the run, I sprint across the meadowscape, the bright pink Nike trainers Eclipsa loaned me skipping over hyacinth flowers and daisies, and collapse at the finish line in front of her.
Six freaking miles. And I just sprinted every single one of them like a boss. Thank Queen Titania I kept up my training during the summer. My routine was grueling. Mornings I ran the paths around our land. Afternoons I practiced my yoga regimen. And nights were spent squatting, deadlifting, and planking my way into the best shape of my life.
This was going to be my year. Winter could suck it.
Yet, none of it prepared me for Eclipsa’s brutal punishment.
Eclipsa glances over the neon green stopwatch in her hand. “You shaved two seconds off your time.”
“Yeah I did,” I boast, winking at Ruby.
“Okay, badass. Now stop gloating and get up.”
“More torture? You can’t be serious.”
She cuts her dark eyes at me. “Why? Is today special or something?”
Nope, it’s just my birthday. But I don’t say that. Who knows how the Fae celebrate birthdays, or if they even do, considering their long lifespans?
Groaning, I drag myself to my feet, hands on my head, and suck in giant gulps of the sweet spring air. Around us, a vibrant tapestry of color unfurls. Wildflowers in every hue imaginable blanket the campus grounds, contrasted against an ocean of tranquil blue. Pink trees bloom like fireworks, their buds so large they look like cotton candy caught in the branches.
It’s hard to believe this is the same academy I left three months ago.
Ruby buzzes toward the side table, her magenta hair smudging the air, and wraps her tiny arms around the dark gray hydroflask Mack sent me as an early birthday present. The hot pink words, Property of the WP, are engraved into the steel.
Mack’s idea of a joke. Hardy har.
The spell my BFF paid to make the words only visible to me must have cost a pretty penny.
“Look at you,” I tease, “being all useful.”
Ruby hands off the water and bows, her shimmery wings flapping so fast they’re a blur. “With what that savage is about to put you through, you’ll need every drop.”
Holy Fae. I throw a pleading look at Eclipsa. “Please not burpees. Anything but those.”
Eclipsa springs from the hammock chair. Every muscle in her abdomen flickers, the moon cycle tats rippling as if alive. I’m pretty sure she does sit ups in her sleep.
“That’s right, beotch.” Eclipsa grins. “Prepare for an epic beat down.”
That’s when I notice one hand is behind her back.
Squealing, she thrusts her arm out, a sparkly silver-wrapped gift in her hand. “How dare you not tell me it’s your birthday.”
“Ruby!” I scold. “You little snitch.”
“What?” Ruby grins. “She bribed me with sugar drops.”
Eclipsa stuffs the gift into my Puma gym bag. “Open this later, okay?”
I nod as Ruby flits up level with my face, holding out a half-chewed Charms lollipop. “Here you go, Kid.”
“Thanks.” I take her gross birthday offering, still wet with slobber, and glance at Eclipsa, suddenly hopeful. “Does this mean no more trying to kill me today?”
Eclipsa’s eyes light up, and she waves her hand through the air. “Who said anything about taking it easy on