“E-Ella! Ella!” A muffled voice called out to me. I awoke with a jump, nearly launching myself across the bed. I slowed my breathing and hoped my heart rate would soon follow as I turned to see Aidan and Marge standing over my bed, the light from my window illuminating their worried expressions.

  “Were you having a nightmare?” Marge frowned as she sat on the edge of my bed. Aidan ran to the corner of the room to pull a chair over.

  “I guess you could say that,” I answered. “I was dreaming about the other night when I left home… I’ve dreamt about it almost every night since leaving...”

  “W-was it really that bad?” Aidan asked. I had gone over the gist of things, but not in detail. Finn was the only one who knew the true extent, except maybe Maverick if he had heard our conversation from the kitchen or was eavesdropping.

  I clenched my fists at my sides, tears falling from my eyes just thinking about what had happened. “My dad wanted to put me in a facility—he thought I was insane.”

  Marge’s jaw dropped, and Aidan lowered his head, seemingly unsure how to answer.

  “I probably sounded insane claiming I had magic.” I chuckled dryly.

  “It’s not your fault,” Marge said sternly. “You couldn’t have known that Sylvis would prevent you from using magic!”

  “How is she even capable of that?” Aidan asked the one question I had been wondering since returning here. If she had the power to stop my magic, did she also have the power to reawaken it? She was fond of her secrets, so asking her would be pointless.

  I shook my head.

  “And why did she feel the need to stalk you? Stalking isn’t cool! Unless you’re stalking— Nah, not even then.” She shook her head, shaking the thought away with it.

  “You were totally going to say Rosalie.” The tips of my lips crept up into a smile.

  “S-shut up! No, I wasn’t! You don’t know that! You’re not a mindreader.” She crossed her arms and looked away.

  “I’ll just get Finn to confirm it in the morning.”

  Her expression turned aghast, but she quickly went back to her usual perky self. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, anyway.”

  “Better…” I mumbled, feeling anything but. My family thought I was crazy. I had left again, this time with little more explanation than the last. They certainly wouldn’t believe me either, meaning they had no idea where I was or if I was safe. I had caused them just as much, if not more worry, as I had the last time. Only this time, there wasn’t any chance of me going back to explain myself.

  “Whoops. Too soon?” Marge scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Why don’t you share what’s on your mind then? It’s good to get that stuff out.”

  I grabbed the edge of the mattress, my fingers clutching it as if it would somehow ease the pain and guilt that I felt.

  “I’m a jerk.”

  “Y-you’re not a jerk! Why would you even think that?!” Aidan was quick to defend.

  “Why did I go home? Why did I say the things I did?! I only made everything worse. Everyone I know who loves me thinks I’m mentally unstable and lost!” I cried. “I hate Sylvis! I hate her for what she’s done to me! She kidnapped me and brought me to a world I wanted no part of, and wouldn’t even let me tell the truth to my own dad! I wouldn’t be surprised if—”

  And then it hit me.

  “…This was her plan all along.” I thought the mattress would break under my grip.

  “W-what was?” Aidan asked.

  “She was never going to let me leave.” I laughed humorlessly. “She let me return home knowing I would be back—and she made sure of it. That’s why she was watching me—why she made my magic fail. Why she let Maverick go.”

  Marge sputtered at this realization, trying multiple times to find the right words. “No offense, but why would she care?”

  “That, I don’t know.” My voice was little more than a whisper.

  “You make it sound like the lady’s obsessed with you. …Eh, I’ve heard stranger.” She shrugged.

  Maybe I was overthinking this. Why would Sylvis be obsessed with me, of all people? Sure, I’m an Ethereal, but she has two others. She didn’t seem concerned with keeping Zuri around either. Though…

  “She treats Ethereals differently. I’m sure you’ve noticed this by now. The undying and unconditional love she shows you… I was almost deceived by it, too.”

  I shook my head, a chill running up my spine, causing me to shiver. The more I thought about Sylvis, the more I feared her. I was happy to be away from her for once. Though I knew deep down she was probably watching us. There was a reason she didn’t want us to come here, I just knew it. She would keep her eyes on us the whole time we were here.

  Aidan comforted me as Marge shared a few jokes, and shortly later, I felt myself drift back into sleep. As much as things sucked, I was really lucky to have amazing friends.

  A knock woke me up at the crack of dawn—or what felt like the crack of dawn after waking up in the middle of the night. Marge, being closest to the door, answered it.

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  “Maverick?” Her voice was groggy and slightly hostile.

  “I made sure to wake up nice and early so we wouldn’t see those ponies.” He crossed his arms.

  “Pegasi,” I corrected.

  “Same thing.”

  “That’s mean.” I couldn’t bring myself to sound any more threatening given how tired I was.

  “You woke up this early and came all the way here to tell us this?” Marge’s voice was just as monotone as mine had been.

  “Yes.”

  She slammed the door in his face without a word and crawled back into bed. Much to our misfortune, Maverick simply teleported inside the room.

  “It’s not that early.” He pulled the blanket off of me, causing me to shiver. Why was it so cold in here? “Finn and Zephyr are already up.”

  “That’s a surprise.” I recalled Finn enjoying sleeping in late.

  “Besides, we’re on vacation. We should use the time we have to, you know, actually enjoy our vacation.”

  “Since when do you enjoy anything?” I asked, yanking the blanket out of his hand and covering myself with it again.

  “Since when do you not? Fine. We’ll just go see the pegasi without you.” He shrugged and started sauntering towards the door.

  “No, you won’t. You don’t even want to see them.”

  “Don’t underestimate the power of spite.”

  “If we get up right now, will you take us with?”

  “I suppose.” He sighed dramatically.

  I was instantly on my feet and quickly yanked the blankets off of Marge and Aidan. Aidan had somehow slept through everything, so I summoned ice, covering my hand in it and pressing it against his cheek. He shot up in an instant.

  “W-what was that for?!” His voice cracked, having just woken up.

  “We’re going to see the pegasi!” I replied excitedly.

  “T-there are other ways you could’ve woken me!” His voice was agitated as he slowly got out of bed.

  I grabbed my rolled-up clothes from my suitcase that I hadn’t bothered unpacking, not knowing how long we would be here, and dashed into the bathroom to change. We had actually forgotten the suitcases in the cave, so Maverick had to go back for them. He teleported to the right place this time, so me thinks the cave was on purpose.

  After the three of us got dressed, we met with Finn and Zephyr in the lobby and headed out.

  Unsurprisingly, the pegasi stables were on the top level of the city. Well, “stables.” It was more like a fancy hotel for horses. It was a giant, luxurious building not unlike the palace. Instead of white marble, it was turquoise blue with dashes of pink and green. “We are in the right place, right…?” I asked as we approached the building.

  “In exchange for carrying humans on their backs, they receive a cushy life.” Zephyr’s hand was resting beneath his chin, his characteristic thinking pose. “It makes sense to me.”

  “Are animals in Meridia treated the same way?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “We don’t ride animals in Meridia,” Finn explained. “Most animals won’t allow us close enough for that, though most humans would consider it cruel to expect an animal to carry them.”

  “I-I was shocked when I saw people mounting those hoses on TV!” Aidan added.

  “Horses?” I asked.

  “Yes, those.” He nodded vigorously.

  I sighed and shook my head before looking at the building in front of us. Nobody seemed to be outside, neither person nor pegasus. Was it really okay for us to just go inside?

  “Probably.” Finn shrugged before stepping to the door and pulling it open. Inside was a wide hallway with a fuchsia rug; the turquoise and green motif from the exterior continued on inside, painting every wall.

  Once all of us had stepped in, a lady came to greet us. She wore a long white and lilac robe that scraped the ground, her long brown, almost silver hair wrapped around her shoulders. “Ah, travelers, welcome. It is not often we receive visitors from afar. Have you come to meet the pegasi?”

  “And ride one, if we’re able,” Marge added.

  “Bonding with a pegasus is a time-consuming process, I will warn you. Should you dedicate sufficient time for one to deem you worthy, you may.” The lady smiled at us warmly.

  I vaguely remembered reading somewhere that bonding with horses was important before riding them, though I think most ranches allowed you to ride with a trusted rider. Somehow, I felt that wouldn’t apply here.

  “Yeah, we don’t have time—” Maverick was quickly cut off.

  “Can we still meet one?!” I interrupted.

  The lady paused as she looked at me. It felt as if her eyes were peering into my soul. “Your ether is the color of innocence. You will have the best chance at taming a pegasus. The two of you as well, with your empathy.” She pointed to Zephyr and Marge. “I must ask you to stay behind.” She stared directly into Maverick’s eyes. “Your violent ether will startle her.”

  I watched Maverick’s eyes momentarily widen as he shifted uncomfortably. “Fine by me.”

  “The rest of you, follow me.”

  She opened a door to the right, which led to another hallway just as wide as the previous one. I imagined the size was to accommodate the pegasi.

  “My name is Alysha,” the lady introduced herself. “All Soothers are given a name derived from the sacred letter upon completion of their training.”

  “Sacred letter?” Marge asked the question that I was too concerned would be offensive if I asked.

  “The letter that our goddess’ name shares. Surely Iola still remembers Her Divine Grace?”

  “Of course.” Zephyr smiled politely. “We just aren’t familiar with sacred letters.”

  “I am curious as to how Meridia and Vafir share a language?” And how that language also happened to be English.

  “They don’t,” Zephyr answered. “Sylvis has simply granted us the ability to understand any language and also speak it. She granted us this power before visiting Earth, and granted you the ability to understand Merizan upon arriving.”

  “That… makes a lot more sense.” I almost felt stupid for asking now. Oddly, this understanding didn't seem to apply to written words. Several framed certificates lined the wall, and I couldn't seem to make any of them out.

  “This way. Slowly, please.” Alysha opened the door. Inside was a room slightly smaller than my living room back home. It was entirely pink, with a few plants added for decoration. The floor was a plush pink carpet that I was certain would feel heavenly to walk barefoot on. I imagined it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to take my shoes off now? I could’ve sworn I heard Finn chortle.

  “This way.” Alysha gently took my hand in hers and walked me towards the pegasus.

  She was absolutely stunning—her white coat giving off a pink hue due to how pink the room was. Her wings had hundreds, if not thousands, of feathers. Her mane was thick and luxurious like Alysha’s hair.

  And her horn looked like it would hurt if you were stabbed by it.

  Okay, maybe that description didn’t fit the rest of her. More than anything, I felt something peaceful about her. Peaceful, yet distrusting.

  Alysha placed my hand along her neck. She was much warmer to touch than I had thought. She flinched slightly, but quickly relaxed.

  “Share your ether with her,” Alysha instructed.

  “Oh uh, I don’t know how to do that… I barely know how to use magic as it is.” I frowned. The pegasus flinched again, this time noticeably disturbed.

  “Calm your thoughts, child. There is no need to be afraid here.” Alysha’s smile was comforting. I nodded and sucked in a deep breath, the pegasus relaxing as I exhaled.

  “She really is beautiful… How old is she?” I asked.

  “One hundred years, I would think. She is one of our youth. Pegasi can live for thousands of years.”

  My eyes widened in surprise. Perhaps this creature would consider being my lifelong friend? She would long outlive me.

  “You,” Alysha turned to Zephyr. “Help this one channel her ether.”

  Zephyr nodded and stood beside me. The pegasus eyed him warily, but seemed otherwise unbothered. Zephyr took my hand in his. “May I?”

  “Take my ether? Yeah,” I replied.

  I could feel my ether traveling from my hand into his, and watched as the light from the ether traveled to the pegasus, his hand hovering over her, careful not to touch her. To my surprise, the ether’s light wasn’t teal, but rather pink.

  “The color…” I said without thinking.

  “The ether doesn’t lie in Vafir.” Alysha smiled.