“Hey Kylee?” She started when I said her name. She saw me staring at her from the stairs and raised her eyebrows at me. “Would you—um—could you tell me more about the Faction?”
She studied me for a long moment without saying anything and then patted the cushion next to her.
“What do you want to know?” I wasn’t entirely sure. The thought of Willa’s mom locked away somewhere alone and confused haunted me. There had to be a better way. And if that was the way the Council did things, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a part of it.
“How did the Faction start? What’s the goal?” Kylee sat forward in her seat.
“My dad started the Faction after the death of my mother. She was an alchemist and was injured when she was experimenting with a new potion. The potion caused a huge explosion. It took out a whole city block in the city we lived in in Colorado. The Council convicted her of violating the Secrecy Act and potentially exposing us to humans. She was stripped of her titles, her job, and was even stripped of her powers. She never recovered. There’s no doubt in my mind that she died because of what the Council did to her. But here’s the thing, the Council was the one who hired her to do the work. They knew what the risks were, asked her to do it, and then blamed her for the fallout.”
My stomach was uneasy. I didn’t want to hear this. A month ago, I would have argued with Kylee. I would’ve told her there was no way my dad would have had a part in something like that. But now? Now, I didn’t doubt it at all.
I needed to move. I walked to the kitchen and got a glass of water. Feeling generous, I brought one back to Kylee too.
“I’m sorry about your mom. That’s terrible.”
“I’m sorry, too. I’ve always picked on you and Simon because of your dad. It’s not an excuse, but I blamed you because of your father. But hanging out with you this year made me see I was wrong.”
“I appreciate you telling me that.” It was the best I could do right then. Maybe one day Kylee and I could be friends, but she had tormented me for years. I didn’t know if I could let that go so easily. “So, what’s the Faction’s goal? Just reveal the supernatural world to humans and hope for the best?”
“Not really, I don’t think. My dad started the Faction because he was frustrated there was no one to oppose the Council. If it takes revealing the supernatural world for us to live free, then yeah, that’s what we want. But there could be a middle ground somewhere we haven’t explored. And that’s the goal of the Faction, to put pressure on the Council to listen to the demands of the people they’re making the rules for.”
That didn’t sound so bad, really. A world where I didn’t have to hide my magic, or my dragon sounded nice. It also sounded too good to be true.
“You know, Simon mentioned the rumor going around his school is that the Faction was behind the break in at the faerie school this summer.”
It was Kylee’s turn to stand up and walk around the room.
“You don’t think anyone would have a reason to spread that rumor? The Faction is not a radical group. We are just political. We’re not interested in going against the Council. Our goal is to work with them and change the laws.” I held up my hands in surrender.
“I’m not accusing, Kylee. Just trying to understand. All I’ve heard all my life is that the Secrecy Act keeps us safe.”
“But at what cost?”
“That’s the same question I’ve been asking myself.”
Chapter Thirteen
I fingered the pieces of the glass doe scattered on the table and the floor. It was shattered beyond even magical repair. The figurines were supposed to be presents for family and friends. I could see now that Willa didn’t consider me either. My vision blurred as I picked up the pieces and let them fall like rain into the trash can. So much for that.
A knock on my door had me frantically wiping my eyes with a napkin.
“It’s open.” Penelope came in holding a flyer.
“Have you seen this? They’re hosting a winter ball in two weeks!” She waved the flyer in front of my face until I snatched it from her hand. ‘Join us for a fairy tale masquerade ball’ it said across the front.
I grunted and handed it back to her.
“I’m not sensing the appropriate amount of excitement here. Are you telling me you don’t want to get dressed up and don a sparkly mask and kiss your true love at the stroke of midnight?” She draped herself over the armchair.
“What are you on?” I shook my head at her as I went through my messenger bag to make sure I had all my books and homework for class.
“Oh, come on, you have to have at least one romantic bone in your body.”
“I guess I’m just not in a fairy tale mood.”
“So, are you saying if someone asked you to the ball you would say no?” I snorted.
“No one’s going to ask me to the dance.” Penelope sat up
