Sora knew something had happened as soon as Daemon raised his mental ramparts, but she didn’t know what it was. Their gemina bond had vibrated with sadness, but then the feeling had disappeared, replaced with a silent wall.

Broomstick was still telling her about the different ways he had tried to destroy the soul pearl, but Sora stopped listening and started to walk back toward the crab apple trees, where she’d left Daemon and Fairy.

“Where are you going?” Broomstick asked, jogging up beside her.

“I need to find Daemon,” she said.

Broomstick reached out and put his hand on her arm. “No, you don’t.”

Sora frowned at his hold on her. “You know what’s going on.”

“Wolf probably needs space right now.”

“Tell me what happened.”

He let go of Sora and shook his head. “It’s not mine to tell.”

“Then that’s why I need to find him.” Sora set off toward the orchard again, and Broomstick let her go.

She ran through the trees, searching for Daemon. She didn’t find him, but not far from where he’d been showing her his gravitational magic, she saw Fairy sitting in the dirt, back against a tree.

“Do you know where Daemon is?” Sora asked as she approached.

Fairy looked up. Her face was solemn, without a trace of her usual laughter. It was then that Sora noticed the ferns in Fairy’s hands. The long leaves wove themselves into the shape of a dragon.

“Oh . . . are you all right?” Sora asked.

“Not really,” Fairy said as she loosened the ferns. The leaf dragon fell apart. “I broke up with Daemon.”

“What? Why? I thought it was going well for you two.”

“It was.”

“So . . . ?”

Fairy shrugged. “We’re not right for each other.”

Sora knelt in the dirt. “Why would you think that?”

“I probably would have been a bad girlfriend for him, in the long run. I’m not ready to settle down. I thrill in the chase of boys too much.” Fairy set the fern leaves on the ground.

“You would never have hurt him,” Sora said.

“I might have.”

“Not like that.”

Sora sat down beside her, looking straight ahead so Fairy wouldn’t feel too put on the spot. They’d done this many times over the years as roommates, as a way to lend support. The one with the problem could speak or not. It was up to her, but regardless, she’d know her friend was there for her. “Do you want to tell me the real reason you broke up with him?”

Fairy sighed. “Not really.”

“Then do you want to show me how to weave these fern leaves into a dragon instead? When we’re done, we can light it on fire. Like an effigy of Prince Gin.”

A surprised laugh escaped Fairy’s lips. “I think I’d like that.”

Chapter Forty-Four