“So, what did Eric do?” I said, nudging my friend with an elbow.
“Look good for the cameras,” he said. “Somebody had to talk to the press, and it sure couldn’t have been any of you three.”
Abi and Clem glanced at one another, then stared at Eric with openmouthed surprise.
“What’s wrong with how I look?” Clem said.
“Other than the fact that you’re the color of cotton candy?” Eric shot back. “And Abi’s so serious he’d depress everyone. They needed a pretty face, like mine, to lighten the mood. Keep people from freaking out.”
The rest of breakfast passed easily, and I felt my mood lifting. Hagar was the first to leave the table, and Eric offered to help her with her tray. Abi left not long after, saying he had to report for Portal Defense Force duty. That left Clem and I alone, and we fidgeted with our food in the awkward silence.
“I was really scared,” Clem confided in me. “When Abi came and found us after you’d gone to Kyoto, I didn’t know what would happen. I didn’t know what I’d do if...”
She let the words trail off and stared down at her plate. Her hands trembled on the table.
“I’m sorry I put you through that,” I said. “There wasn’t time to think. I was the only one who could stop them.”
“I know,” Clem said, her voice strained. She sniffed, then lowered her utensils to the table.
“I didn’t want any of you to get hurt,” I said. It was my turn for my throat to tighten. “That was my fight, not yours.”
“You should’ve,” Clem started, then shook her head. She looked up at me, her cheeks streaked with tears. “You could have told me. About what was happening to you.”
“I had to keep it a secret,” I said, my voice low. “No one knew. Not even my clan elders. Hahen warned me that if anyone found out, it would be the end for me and everyone else who knew about my secret.”
Clem chewed at the inside of her lip. A single tear rolled down her face and splashed onto the edge of her plate.
“I wouldn’t have told anyone,” she said. “I would’ve helped you. Somehow.”
“Clem,” I said, trying to placate her, “it’s not that easy. People died to keep me safe. The Eclipse Warriors didn’t care about anyone around me. If you’d known, they might have killed you. And I—no. I couldn’t live with that.”
“Me, either,” Clem said, forcing a smile. She reached across the table, took my hand, and squeezed my fingers tight. “We made it, though. But if you ever lie to me again, you won’t.”
I laughed.
“I won’t,” I said. “No more secrets. No more lies.”
“Good,” she said. She took her hand back and sawed off a big bite of pancake with her fork.
“Hey, guys,” Rachel said as she slipped in next to Clem. “You look terrible, Jace.”
“You don’t like it?” I asked. “I thought black eyes was the hot new style these days.”
“Hardly,” Clem said. “Let me give you guys some space.”
“No,” Rachel said, her hand closed over Clem’s. “Don’t go. I want you to hear this, too.”
“Okay,” Clem agreed. She took another bite of her pancakes to hide her embarrassment, then glanced away.
“I’m leaving the school,” Rachel said.
“No,” I said. “You worked so hard to get here. If it’s because of me I’ll—”
“Not everything’s about you,” Rachel said with a snort. “Though this kind of actually is.”
Clem raised an eyebrow in my direction, then nudged Rachel with an elbow.
“Don’t keep us in suspense here. What happened?”
“I got a job offer,” Rachel said. “Working with kids in the undercities. There’s a new outreach program the Shadow Phoenix clan put together. The School of Swords and Serpents will have annexes all over the world to help find promising new students. Elder Sanrin said someone recommended me as an ambassador. So, technically, I guess I’m still going to school here, just not here here.”
“That’s clear as mud,” I said.
“Don’t pretend you weren’t the one who suggested me to your clan elders,” Rachel said with a grin. “Not that I’m not happy to do it. It’ll give kids a chance to get a good education without getting their butts beat in the Five Dragons Challenge.”
“If somebody had practiced their martial arts, their fight might have gone differently,” I said.
“I think we both know that’s probably not true,” Rachel said. “Somebody had advantages the rest of us didn’t.”
Her words stung more than I knew she intended, and I struggled to keep the pain off my face. No one knew everything I’d been through, not even my closest friends.
“Point taken,” I said. “When do you leave?”
“After the last day of classes,” Rachel said. “I’ll be porting over to Dallas for three months. Then London. I’m not sure what’s after that.”
Rachel looked at me, a faint, sad smile on her lips. She started to say something, stopped, and found something interesting on the back of her thumbnail. After a few seconds of awkward silence, she reached over and held my hand. Gingerly, as if she were afraid touching me might hurt.
“I just wanted thank you for this,” she said to me. “It really is perfect for me. I’ll finally have a chance to be myself and show other kids there’s a better way. They can be themselves and still make it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I feigned ignorance. “But congratulations again.”
“Yeah,” Rachel said. She stood, leaned across the table, and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. “Take care of yourself, Jace.”
She left us without another word, and I felt a searing jolt of loss. I wished things could have gone differently. I wished I hadn’t lost control in the library and nearly killed Rachel. But, without those experiences, I wouldn’t have been able to make the right choice at the end of the day. Whether she knew it or not, Rachel had helped me save the world.
“She’ll never get over you,” Clem said quietly.
“I
