Feyland: The Bright Court

Chapter Thirty-Six (last chapter!)

Jennet spent most of Ancient History class trying not to think about Tam sitting in the back row. It was no good. She couldn't shut off her awareness of him, any more than the moon could stop rotating around the earth.

Every time she glanced over her shoulder, she found he was looking at her, too. Finally Ms. Lewis noticed and asked her to stop fidgeting. Jennet let out a low breath.

No matter what Dad said, no matter the consequences, she and Tam couldn't stop seeing each other. There was way too much at stake. The Bright King would twist human desires to his own ends. The Dark Queen would wreak havoc on the mortal world. She shivered, an icy chill settling in her bones.

How could she and Tam possibly stop them?

At lunch, she squared her shoulders and walked back to their usual table. She didn't think Dad would have spies at school, but it was a chance she'd have to take.

Marny gave her a solemn look from her place at the table - clearly she knew the basics.

"Hey," she said. "You better plan on sitting here, Fancy-girl. Or are all your friends off limits?"

Jennet set her tray down with a dull thunk. "I guess you heard I'm not supposed to see Tam."

"Last I checked, he's not here. Sit down." Marny took a bite of her sandwich. "Besides, you know we have to talk about what's going on. All three of us. At the same time. Now, sit."

Pressing her lips together, Jennet slid onto the bench across from Marny. She glimpsed Tam from the corner of her eye, coming toward the table. He paused, and Marny gave him a scowl that could curdle milk.

"Stop tweaking about this," she said, beckoning to him.

Tam stood there for a second, not meeting her eyes, then put his tray beside Marny's.

"Ok," the big girl said. "I hear Tam was caught at your house last night, Jennet. That was careless of you guys."

"It's not what you think," Tam said. "I wasn't even in her room."

"He had to come over," Jennet added. "Because of the game - he needed to get on the Full-D system in order to come into Feyland and get me out. Did he tell you that?"

Marny nodded, her bobbed black hair swinging around her shoulders. "And Roy was there, too?"

"Yeah," Tam said.

"Then where is he - still stuck in Feyland?"

"I haven't seen him today," Jennet said. "I don't think the Bright King injured him, but - "

"No such luck," Tam said. "He just walked into the cafeteria. And he's heading over here."

Jennet glanced up, relieved to see Roy safely back in the real world - though he didn't look happy about it. His clothes were rumpled, his hair messy and unstyled, and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes. The frown on his face deepened as he stalked up to the end of their table.

"Well, well." He folded his arms. "It's team Feyland. Planning to ruin any more lives today?"

Marny looked him up and down. "You look like hell, Roy, but ruined? I wouldn't take it that far."

"Oh, I'm ruined all right." Without asking, Roy sat down next to Jennet. She scooted away, putting several more inches between them.

He leaned forward, his words coming low and bitter. "Whatever you did at the Bright Court, you wrecked everything. I've spent the morning in detention, trying to explain why I've barely handed in any schoolwork. Everyone's looking at me like I've turned into a toad. I got in such severe trouble with my mom, she's taking my grav-car away. And it's all your fault." His hot, angry gaze slid over Jennet, then came to rest on Tam. "Especially you, Exie."