Natalie didn't hear anything from Blake that day, or the principal. In fact, Natalie barely saw Blake, as she didn't take the bus that morning and skipped gym. She knew the other girl was in the building somewhere from the whispers circulating the cafeteria and the girls' bathroom, but Natalie believed that Blake might actually be avoiding her.

It suited Natalie just fine.

"Where's Tyler?" asked Mitch, glancing around as they sat down for lunch. Quinn wasn't there yet either, but he got out of tech class a little late sometimes, so none of them were concerned.

"Steven, too," said Kelsey. "Getting a bit lonely here."

"What, we're not good enough?"

"Jenny is, but you're a negative so we're back to zero again."

Natalie smiled, but she didn't feel much like laughing after the morning she'd had. Quinn seemed upset too, after she'd told him about the phone call and her backup plans in case something happened. She hoped he'd be willing to leave with her if it came to that, but Natalie couldn't be sure.

Not that she was ever sure of anything anymore.

Quinn arrived finally with lunch in hand, taking his usual spot next to her. Natalie took his hand under the table and squeezed it, trying to give him some measure of support even though it sent little quivers of discomfort back up through her arm. Quinn smiled and squeezed her back, and she knew it was worth it.

"Steven won't be here. Home sick."

"Really?" Mitch frowned. "Sounded totally good last night."

"What do you mean?"

"We were online last night, playing—"

"Don't tell him," said Kelsey with a sigh. "I got a rep to keep here."

"You won!"

"Yeah, and I still hate myself for playing."

"Oh come on—"

"Steven sounded okay?" asked Natalie, concerned.

Mitch trailed off, still annoyed, while Kelsey answered instead. "Yeah. Totally fine, and we weren't up that late either."

Quinn shrugged. "Maybe he got sick overnight. Or he's skipping a test in advanced math."

"Whatever. You see the news this morning?" asked Mitch. "More stuff about the warehouse murders in Seattle. They're calling it magic for sure. Got evidence and everything."

Natalie flinched involuntarily, but neither Kelsey or Mitch saw it. Quinn wrapped his fingers between hers under the table.

"Do they have a suspect yet?" asked Quinn casually. Natalie thanked him with a squeeze. She couldn't have asked it herself with a straight face.

"Nah." Mitch was trying to talk through a mouthful of fries while also pulling out the story on his phone.

Kelsey snatched it away to muffled protests. "God, chew your food," she muttered. "Okay. Warehouse murders, possibly drug-related. Four deaths caused by severe electrical burns—magically inflicted—one by gunshot, one by knife. Federal marshals were overheard in Seattle on Tuesday talking about magic and awakened people in connection with the case." She finally handed the phone back. "They've totally got a suspect."

Natalie winced. They're in town. Asking about people like me. What if…

You are already preparing. Continue. Make sure you're ready, and have your allies close at hand.

She stood up suddenly, letting go of Quinn. "Can we go outside?"

"...It's freezing outside," said Mitch slowly. "Why do you…" He trailed off, as the other three were already walking away. "Shit, fine, I'm coming!"

Natalie hurried out, Kelsey right next to her with Quinn a few steps behind. As soon as they were out, Natalie turned the corner to the outer wall—the same secluded spot where she'd first met Tyler, first been asked to hang out with Quinn and his gang. She hadn't really meant to come here, but it worked as well as anywhere. Concentrating, Natalie threw out her mind in a wide net, calling gently for her friend.

A hawk cried out above them. Percy dove out of the sky like a bullet, coming in and landing neatly on her arm.

"...Okay?" asked Mitch, panting as he caught up. "So we're outside, now what?"

"I just… needed to be out here."

Natalie sat down and went back to eating, with Percy perched on her shoulder. In her mind, though, her net was still cast, and she was searching. Hunting, for more allies. There was a technique, one she hadn't used since the forests in Rallsburg, with Alden and Rika beside her. She could call out and an animal would answer her. Not just anything, though—an intelligent animal blessed with life and strength.

She still wasn't sure how she did it. It was the spell Natalie had learned from the book, and the page had vanished by the same she'd returned to her castle out in the forest. She'd used it three times—to find Scrappy, to find Gwen, and finally to find Percy. Now, she was starting that process again… except, she had learned so much more about magic since then.

After Scrappy, she had been stronger, and had managed to get a much more powerful and beautiful companion in Gwen. In the forests while the town burned, she sought out something that could help them find people, and Percy had answered her. Now, Natalie had much better control. She could start the process without actually following through. Her mind stayed open, listening for the animals around her, ready to call one if she needed it.

It took some effort. She wouldn't do it always, but now she knew she could. When she called, allies would come. Natalie would never be totally alone.

she said, handing Percy a little bit of her lunch. He squawked, and she realized she'd given him something he couldn't actually eat. She sighed and went back to her lunch. Percy needed something to hunt; she didn't have anything like that in the cafeteria food.

Percy rubbed against her head, and she stroked him gently. Her friends were getting used to this regular dialogue—Natalie and her animal friends—and didn't pay much notice anymore. Natalie preferred that. She really hadn't enjoyed the constant attention about her magic after a little while, and thankfully it had dropped off fast as the rest of the world came into focus. Suddenly, Natalie wasn't so unique anymore, and she just went back to being their friend again.

"It's cool to have Percy here?" asked Kelsey uneasily.

Quinn looked just as concerned, but Natalie waved it off. "It's okay," she said firmly.

They shrugged and went back to eating. Mitch and Kelsey immediately launched into a spirited argument over who did better in their game the night before, while Quinn sat next to Natalie against the wall. "What's up?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing," she murmured back. "I just really needed to see Percy." Natalie realized the rest of them were shivering, and quickly muttered a spell to warm up their corner. Mitch shot her a grateful look, but Kelsey got his attention again almost instantly and the two were back at it. Quinn and Natalie just sat back and enjoyed the sniping for a while—so much so that none of them noticed Tyler suddenly join them.

"And just 'cause you won the fifth round doesn't mean you're actually winni—what's wrong with you?" Mitch asked, switching in mid-stream as he saw Tyler's face.

Natalie looked up. She'd been stroking Percy after he came back from hunting down a mouse across the field. Tyler looked like he'd been crying, but he was desperate to hide it from them. He stared at his food, chewing mechanically, with a weak smile on his face despite his red eyes.

"Tyler? What happened?" asked Quinn.

"...Nothing…" he muttered.

"Dude, that's the least convincing nothing I've ever heard," said Kelsey. She put an arm around his shoulders. "We've got your back. What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Tyler insisted, shaking her loose. His face was getting red, and his eyes watering up again. Kelsey shot Quinn a helpless look—Quinn was the one Tyler respected most, after all, and the leader of the group. But before Quinn could say anything, Natalie realized what had happened.

This was her next move, and it was a brilliant one. Natalie hated her even more for it.

"Did someone do this to you?" asked Quinn.

"...Blake," whispered Tyler, so low that only Natalie could hear him.

"What?"

"Quinn, stop," Natalie quickly jumped in, before Tyler got even worse. She whispered to Percy, and the hawk flew over to land next to Tyler—not on him, Natalie knew better than to risk a clawing talon right now—and rub up against him. Tyler had always loved her magic the most, and here was something she could do right now. On top of that, she extended the warmth in the area to wrap up Tyler most of all with another quick muttered spell.

"What's going on?" asked Mitch, annoyed at being left out again.

Natalie shook her head. Kelsey looked just as confused, but knew better than to jump in.

"Just drop it," said Quinn firmly. "Tyler, you need anything?"

Tyler slowly shook his head. He started coughing and pulled out his inhaler. Mitch finally caught on, launching right back into their game discussion again, with a lot less hostility than before. Quinn joined in, even though he hadn't that whole time, and Kelsey made sure she stayed interested and involved too.

Natalie was the only one left watching Tyler. He looked better, little by little, but Natalie knew—whatever Blake had done, she'd gone right for the jugular, with the best weapons she had. If Blake could drive Natalie into throwing out the secrets she'd kept for so many months, there was no doubt in her mind that Blake could tear Tyler apart with only her words.

He is the weakest among you. She chose her target well.

Tyler's not weak!

They are all weak compared to you.

So what am I supposed to do about that? I'm not going to cut out Tyler or anything.

Tyler is one of your own. You protect your own. You must attack the source.

Attack… attack Blake? But—

Remind her what you can do.

"No," Natalie murmured aloud. Quinn looked over briefly, but Natalie didn't say anything else. He went back to their conversation soon after. Tyler was already looking much better, even joining in a little—but Natalie knew it wouldn't last.

Blake would go after him again.

Quinn and Natalie escorted Tyler all the way to his bus. She knew he realized what they were doing, but she didn't care as long as he got home without any more from Blake. The girl wasn't on their bus either, to Natalie's surprise. Maybe her parents are giving her rides now or something.

Perhaps you scared her more than you think.

Nothing else big happened for the rest of the day, to Natalie's relief. She used the time to continue studying, continue planning and preparing for the outdoors, which looked increasingly likely to come to pass—just as the voice had warned.

I'm still not okay with this. I'm staying here.

As long as you are ready.

Sometimes, the voice got a little smug, and Natalie really hated it then. That night, though, they both had something to worry about, and so much more besides. Around five-thirty, just as Natalie was finishing up a ritual that could both keep an area dry and gather up any rainfall to use, Quinn popped his head into her room with a look that sent her heart sinking.

"Something's happening."

Natalie dropped everything, rushing to join him, clutching her phone like it were a lifeline in case someone called. Both of Quinn's parents were home, and the national news has just switched over to a special alert, with the new fancy title card they used if the story involved magic or the awakened in any way. Damian looked scared, Annette worried, and Quinn nervously glancing at Natalie every few seconds.

"Breaking now from the capitol: the United States Marshal Service have announced the capture of a suspect related to the warehouse murders in Seattle."

Natalie blindly found Quinn's hand on the couch next to her, holding on tight. What? How? Who? I'm sitting right here. Did they… did they capture Cinza? Are they blaming her?

"The suspect is also being linked to the similar electrical deaths caused by magic from Rallsburg on May 15th of this year."

Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.

"We've just gotten the official release now: they've taken in Rika Nishimura, daughter of the software engineer and billionaire founder of NishiSoft. Nishimura, age twenty-one, is a Canadian citizen born in Kyoto, Japan. She was last seen during the so-called Battle of Lakewood, accompanying Hailey Winscombe in the neighborhoods after the battle had concluded. Nishimura has been arrested on suspicion of thirty-one murders, twenty-nine using magical abilities, which is an unprecedented criminal charge."

"That's horrible…" murmured Damian.

"Wasted her life," said Annette, shaking her head. "That girl could have done anything with that kind of money."

"Her dad hated her," said Natalie quietly. "She didn't really have that much money after her mom died." Everybody knew her story back then. She never really kept it hidden.

Everyone looked at her, surprised. Annette spoke first, a little cautiously. "You knew her too?"

"...Yeah. She was in Rallsburg a lot."

Natalie didn't want to say any more. Even confirming Rika had been there at the end could convince them she was the killer. She got up and left the room, letting the news play out behind her as they started talking about the case in-depth, even though they didn't really know anything. Quinn followed her after a little bit, waiting to see if anything else happened.

"I don't know what to do," said Natalie, as soon as he'd walked in and she'd muffled the room. She sat down on the bed and pulled her knees up to her chin, curling up. "She's being blamed for what I did."

"You didn't mean to do it."

"But she didn't do it. They give the death penalty for stuff like this." Natalie had looked it up once, after magic was revealed to the world. She needed to know what might happen to her. Now she wished she hadn't. "I… can't just let her die."

Quinn shook his head. "They won't do that. They can't really prove it, right?"

"I don't know." Natalie winced. Quinn sat down on the bed near her, though still the usual distance away. She cursed again the fact they couldn't be any closer, cursed her own weakness and pain. "I think… I don't know. I learned how to do electric magic from the same page Rika did."

"So… they'll see the magic is the same or something?"

"I don't know!" Natalie cried. "How does any of this work? I don't know what to do."

Quinn tried to answer, but he didn't come up with anything. Percy, recognizing her distress, flew across the room from his perch and landed on her shoulder. She felt a little better thanks to him, but she was still trying to wrestle her mind around what had just happened.

"I could tell them," she said slowly. "That it was me. That it was self-defense."

"But… you said nobody else was really there," said Quinn slowly. "So nobody can back up your story."

Natalie shook her head. "...I didn't tell you, 'cause I'm not supposed to say anything about anyone else."

"It's okay," Quinn hurriedly assured her. "There was someone there?"

"Yeah. Both times. But…" Natalie winced. "One of them's completely gone. Nobody's seen from her since Rallsburg. And the other one… did… the other two at the warehouse."

"So they probably don't want to involve themselves either," said Quinn.

"It'd just be me," whispered Natalie. "Me up against the whole country."

"You wouldn't be alone. I'll be there," said Quinn, taking her hand. "And my mom's a defense lawyer. She'd help, I'm sure."

I don't know about that… Your parents still seem really scared of me. I feel like Damian asked me to protect you because he's scared of me…

"I don't know," Natalie whispered again. She couldn't just let Rika take the blame.

She is one of your own.

Rika's one of my own?

There is more than one layer to a queendom. Rika is one of you. You protect her just as you protect any under your domain.

I mean… I want to. If she were getting attacked and I was nearby, I'd do something. But…

She is under attack right now. You have the power to save her. You must consider how to best wield that power. Do not let her be swallowed alive.

Natalie didn't end up deciding anything that night. There was too much. She was overwhelmed. They ate dinner, and Natalie went right back to her preparations—with even more urgency than before.