Becoming Magical [2]

C H A P T E R - 2 3

Biana didn't smile as she opened the gleaming gates to let Sophie into Everglen the next morning. Her pale green tunic was wrinkled and tied with a sloppy knot, and her hair was pulled back in a boring ponytail. With hair bumps.

"Is it that bad?" Sophie asked, feeling her already knotted insides twist even tighter.

When Grady and Edaline had come home the night before, all they could tell her was that Elwin was working on Alden and they were sure he'd be fine. Meredith had stayed behind to help the others, as Grady said. And when Sophie had tried hailing Alden with her Imparter first thing in the morning, Della had simply told her to come right over.

"My mom keeps saying he'll be okay," Biana said, her gloss-free lips trembling slightly. "But, I don't know . . ."

They rushed down the winding path, and Biana explained how Elwin and Meredith had been there all night trying different balms and medicines, but so far the only thing that helped were sedatives—and even those didn't work the right way. By the time they reached the mansion, Sophie felt like she couldn't breathe.

Alden had to be okay.

"Oh, Sophie," Della said, appearing out of thin air in the hallway. "Thank you for coming."

Della wore a pale pink strapless gown with a full skirt of wispy tulle that swished as she moved, and her lips were painted with sparkly pink gloss. It seemed strange that she would be so dressy, but Sophie wondered if Della was trying to prove that nothing was wrong. Her human mom used to do that sometimes when she didn't want her or her sister to worry.

It only made her worry more.

"Can I see him?" Sophie whispered as Della wrapped her in a hug, squeezing a bit too tight.

"Of course." Her hands shook as she let Sophie go, and she took a deep breath and smoothed the feathery layers of her skirt before she turned and motioned for Sophie to follow.

A few steps in, Sophie realized Biana wasn't with her. She turned back and Biana shook her head, sinking into the nearest chair and wrapping her arms around herself.

"She's having a hard time," Della whispered. "Best to just give her some space."

"Is Alden—"

"He's going to be fine."

Della led her up the twisting silver stairway to the third floor, and every step they took seemed to thunder off the crystal walls. Della blinked in and out of sight in the prismlike hallway, finally stopping at two arched doors that led to one of the mansion's many crystal towers. A jeweled mosaic had been carefully assembled across the gleaming metal—yellow birds with scarlet beaks soaring through a cloudless sky. Della knocked quietly, waiting for Elwin to call "Come in" before pulling open the door.

Sophie's mouth went dry as she entered the wide round room. Thin columns of white silk cascaded from the peaked crystal roof and draped around a silver-posted bed. A vine with bell-shaped flowers trailed down each swath, anchoring the fragile fabric to the ground—which was blanketed in white petals. The room should've been bright and breathtaking, but a strange sort of gloom hung over everything. Even the yetis on Elwin's tunic seemed dull and sedate. Meredith was standing but even her figure was hunched.

Glittering hallways branched off the sides of the room, leading to other private spaces, but Sophie forced herself to finally look at the pale figure in the bed with his eyes closed.

"How is he?" she asked, relieved when she noticed his chest moving. Breathing was a good sign.

Elwin flashed a purple orb around Alden's head and adjusted his iridescent spectacles. "I have no idea. His wound healed perfectly. His cells are clean, no signs of any toxins. I've checked his nerves, his veins, his muscles, not to mention I searched him head to toe for some other injury I missed. There's nothing wrong with him—and Bullhorn agrees." He pointed to the slinky gray creature curled up in the corner, watching them with his beady purple eyes.