Taken

The clock beside my bed read seven thirty-five—I’d been asleep only a few hours. From the rooms around I could hear the sound of the mansion’s inhabitants waking up for the second day of the tournament. My room was quiet and undisturbed, the alarms hadn’t been tripped, and everything was where I’d left it. Yet though I couldn’t put my finger on what it was something about it felt off, like the feeling you get when you walk into your house at the end of the day and know someone else is there.

I dressed, threw on my mist cloak, and went out to find the others. The halls of Fountain Reach were cold but stirring with activity as more people woke, lights coming on one by one. Variam was still asleep but Luna and Anne’s room was empty and I went looking for them.

I found them in one of the practice halls, and they weren’t alone. A raised voice was echoing through the open doorway; it was a girl, not quite shouting but close to it. Moving into the shadow of the doorway I saw Anne and Luna on one of the duelling pistes. They looked like they’d been in the middle of practice when they’d been interrupted by the two apprentices opposite them.

“What have you done with her?” the girl said. It was Natasha, the round-faced girl who’d been sniping at Anne and Luna before. Back then she’d had a smile on her face, but she wasn’t smiling now.

“I haven’t done anything,” Anne said. She looked troubled.

Natasha clenched her fists. “You’re lying!” Her voice was high-pitched, on the edge of breaking. “You were fighting with her before!”

“I wasn’t fighting with her—” Anne began.

“We don’t know where Yasmin is,” Luna said at the same time. “The last we saw her she was with you.”

“You’re lying!”

“Tash, come on,” the boy next to Natasha said. It was Charles, the same boy I’d seen with her before, and he looked uneasy.

“I know it was you,” Natasha said. She stared straight at Anne, ignoring Charles. “I know what you’ve been doing. Give her back or I’ll make sure everyone else knows too.”

Anne looked unhappy but didn’t answer. “You’ve got it all wrong,” Luna said. “Look, we’re trying to find the guys doing this, okay? We don’t—”

“You too!” Natasha whirled on Luna. “You think you can help her? I’ll get you as well!”

“Listen, you stupid—” Luna began.

“Okay,” Charles said loudly. “We’ve got to go.” He pulled Natasha away towards the door. Natasha didn’t resist, but as Charles led her out of the hall she shot Luna and Anne a glare and there was hate in her eyes. Then she was gone and Anne and Luna were left alone.

I stayed silent in the doorway, scanning through the futures to see if anything was coming to threaten them. “Well, this is just great,” Luna said. “Now she thinks we did it. What do you think she meant about what you’ve been doing?”

“I’m not sure,” Anne said. But there had been a moment’s hesitation there.

Luna didn’t seem to notice. With a sigh she sat on a bench, the whip handle dangling from her hand. “This is impossible. Onyx wants to get Alex, someone wants to get you, Natasha wants to get both of us, and in two hours I’m supposed to win a duel against some apprentice who’ll be way better than I am.”

“You don’t have to win,” Anne said.

“Mm,” Luna said. “I want to.”

Anne looked at her curiously. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Luna said. “I guess it’s just . . . I keep feeling useless, you know? Like I’m always leaning on Alex. I mean, it’s taken me this long just to get to where I probably won’t hurt whoever I’m with.”

“Alex and Sonder don’t seem to think you’re useless.”

“I always wonder if they’re just pretending.” Luna rested her chin in her hands, the whip sticking out to one side. “Don’t you ever feel like you need to do something?”

“No,” Anne said simply.

Luna twisted to look at her. “Really?”

Anne shook her head.

“Why didn’t you enter the tournament?” Luna asked. “Does your magic not work that way?”

“It’s not that. I can . . .”

“Why don’t you want to, then?”

“I don’t like hurting people.”

“I can think of a few I’d like to,” Luna muttered. “Like Natasha.”

“She did just lose her best friend.”

“I’m not sure mages have friends.”

“I’m a mage,” Anne reminded her gently.

Luna sighed and straightened. “Sorry. Can we have one more try with the stance thing? I think I was getting it by the end.”

No sign of danger was showing through the futures I could see, and it looked as though Natasha had gone. As Anne and Luna went back to the duelling piste I withdrew silently—I didn’t want to disturb either of them and I knew Luna would be focused on her coming match.