The Hollow Child

1

Alive, Again

I usually crave cookies, but right now, all I want is a golden beam of sunlight warming my skin; pink, sunburned cheeks; longer days; and the feeling of being alive again.

Winter is the season of death, and I'm sick of it.

Winter might be perfect for banshees, whose screams will kill you, or for the Grim Reaper's offspring, who knows exactly how you will die. But the rest of us could use warmer weather!

I'm a fairy-you might be, too, but we'll talk more about that in a moment-and I'm meant to fly through meadows, give bumblebees kisses on the forehead, and drink milk and honey from buttercups. Instead, I'm bundled in hats and mittens and blankets; staring at dead branches, gray trees, and brown grass; and watching Rosemary Thorpe, the girl who has visions of death, prevent the Seelie Keeper's stormy attempt to rule the realms.

Picture this, if you will: a dozen children in the snow, a handful of teachers braced against the blizzard, and an army of Seelie fae rushing toward them, trying to gain access to the other realms. (His motives are frustrating, but if the Seelie Keeper can navigate the Lost Woods, access the human realms, and travel freely from place to place, he plans to rule all of them, as he thinks the strongest and most powerful should be in charge, regardless of whether that's right or wrong.)

The battle was intense, and I was freezing. I'd much rather fight in the sunshine, under blue skies and a light breeze. I'll do my best to schedule the next battle for better weather. But, anyway, we won, thanks to Rosemary's quick thinking.

Her ability to see the future helps lead us away from the worst possible outcomes and choose the path that doesn't end in our squishy deaths. It's a really useful power, which explains why my dad is obsessed with getting Rosemary and her gifts on his side. This has been a challenging power for our girl to embrace, as the gift brought her years of bullying, misunderstanding, and pain. Powerful people see how important her ability is, even if it's been the source of many tearful nights for Miss Thorpe. The Keeper is a bitter old man, but fortunately, I didn't get any of my winsome and charming genes from him, as he's utterly dreadful.

Oh, did I mention? The Seelie Keeper is my father.

Anyway, the frosty battle was tense, and unfortunately, one of us did not make it out. My younger sister, Iris-a demifae student with the magical power to persuade and manipulate, which, yes, is as dangerous as it sounds-has been under our father's influence for a long, long time. And just when she seemed to understand that he's the bad guy, he took her with him back to the Seelie court.

I'm tired of shivering in the cold and waiting for things to change, whether the temperature, my relationship with my sister, or my dad's terrible ideas about fairies and humans and politics. But that's the thing about springtime, I suppose. Changes start slowly at first, and then one day, you look around, and everything is right with the world once more. If it's true about the seasons, I'll hold my breath and hope the idea applies to changing the world, too.

And, yes, it's been quite frustrating to have a parent so miserable, with such cruel ideas about the world, when I myself am marvelous and perfect and have never done anything wrong. Rosemary, on the other hand, has a different sort of parent. She didn't know her father was the Grim Reaper until recently. Despite people being very scared of the fae known for bones and funerals, he's a rather pleasant person and has a remarkably brave and kind daughter.

It made me think of the thing people say about parents and children: Sometimes the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Whereas other times, like in my case, the apple rolls downhill, across town, and to another country just to prove it's nothing like the tree.

But let's get back to the point.

A flower pops through the snow, warmth begins to melt the ice, and, at long last, we take off our jackets and reveal our beautiful wings. Unless you, dear reader, don't have wings? I suppose you might be human, in which case you might like spring for the warmer weather, the end of the school year, or holidays with eggs and chicks. But if you're part fae, and there's a chance you are, then this may be the most important season of your life.

First, Rosemary has a student to save from the clutches of the Seelie court.

Second, she needs to squash the Seelie Keeper's plans to rule the realms, and end his reign of terror.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, Rosemary must tackle the greatest battle of all: the icy divide between the Seelie and Unseelie fae. The Seelie fae, in case you've forgotten, are the sorts of fae who sparkle and shine, and therefore believe they're better than everyone else. Unseelie fae may love the shadows and be friends with the night, but I've met many an Unseelie so kind and generous they would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it.

Up until now, I've told you the story of death.

At long last, it will be the girl who sees how people will die who will show us all what it means to be alive again.

2

Slip, Slush, Splat

Mud squelched around Rosemary's foot with a loud sucking sound.

The front lawn to Fern's school had become a bog of hopeful, half-melted snow. The swampy grass, bobbing with chunks of slowly disappearing ice, promised the students that spring had arrived. The cold still bit her ankles to remind her that they weren't quite done with winter yet. Slush clung to everything: boots, cloaks, hoodies, doormats, and what was left of her pride. Rosemary didn't mind. The gurgling mud soaked through her sneakers, but she grinned at the sun like it was a long-dead friend who'd returned from the grave.

It was quite like her situation, she thought.

Her gift had made her frosty. It sat within her ice block of a heart, frozen solid, until she learned slow, safe ways to accept who she was and what she could do. She knew she needed to leave her years of sorrow in the past if she wanted to move forward.

As it stood, Rosemary had more pressing things to worry about than her tragic past.

The long winter felt so much like her struggle to get others to trust her when it came to the Seelie Keeper. For ages, people were convinced he was good and powerful and strong. Little did they know he'd been planning to use that strength to spread his control to the human realm, the Unseelie court, the Lost Woods, and the many realms who lived free from a king, from rules, from his reach. The time had come for the most powerful to be in charge, he believed, and he was ready to take out anyone standing in his path. His plans started with a stubborn girl who knew precisely which of his wicked paths would lead to his death. If her gift was used correctly, Rosemary would know which of his plans ended with his victory and which ended with his tearful end.

Now the winter of disbelief had melted, and with the spring came brand-new understanding from everyone in Rosemary's life.

Tree branches sparkled with melting icicles, and the whole school seemed to exhale as color returned to the world. The ground squished beneath her soaked sneakers as she headed for the pink-and-purple animal sanctuary.

She waved at Henry and Leo as she passed, but the boys were on the far end of the lawn, locked in a spirited exchange of . . . something. Henry's loose chestnut curls flopped as he jumped to catch an object. Leo threw an excited fist into the air, rich brown skin and wide grin stark against the white sparkle of melting snow. From a distance, it looked like they were throwing around either a football or a dragon fruit. Leo was yelling something about rules. Henry was shouting something about physics. Neither appeared to be winning.

Just beyond the sanctuary, near the bushes, Willow's pale hair created a birch-bark curtain as she crouched beside a single brave yellow flower, probably whispering encouragements. Rosemary knew that the girl could talk to plants, but she didn't realize how hard the dying seasons of autumn and winter had been on Willow until she saw her personality come back to life in the spring. Unlike Henry and Leo, Willow looked up to return a grin and a big wave as Rosemary continued down the lawn.

She wondered what Iris would be doing on a day like today.

After all, she and Iris had not been friends when they'd first met. Iris had been firmly Seelie, and so rooted in the long-standing division between their courts that Rosemary hadn't even recognized the million tiny ways Iris was cruel to any non-Seelie student. In fact, Rosemary hadn't realized just how much Iris disliked her until she learned that the Keeper was Iris's father. He wasn't much of a dad, though, as he pushed his daughter to the point of breaking and kidnapped her into the void when she didn't turn against Rosemary in the end.

Iris had been hard to spot against the winter snow, since she always wore a long white dress, as if she were a Victorian ghost instead of a fourteen-year-old girl. Perhaps the bottoms of her dresses would be brown from the mud. Maybe she'd be grumpier than ever as she struggled to keep her clothes clean. Or maybe, for the first time since Rosemary had known her, they could truly be friends. Now that Iris's dad had gone too far, and they had an enemy in common.

That's exactly why I'm searching, Rosemary thought. She needed to find out where the Keeper had taken Iris-with their powers combined, the two of them could figure out his next move.

Squish, squish, squish, she continued to pick her way across the lawn, avoiding particularly deep puddles. Her socks were wet. Her sneakers were muddy. Her stomach grumbled.

Iris deserved to be here like every other student, Rosemary thought. She should be enjoying the sun, running to the kitchen for dessert, celebrating the melting snow. Instead, she'd been swept away by the terrible Keeper and was too trapped in the ruler's schemes to be a normal student-or as normal as one could be when they were a fairy.

For all they knew, Iris wouldn't be the last student he stole. He'd already tried to kidnap Rosemary to force her to help his wicked agenda. The Keeper was coming for Fern's School again, and the next time he arrived, they needed to be ready.

She caught her reflection in another puddle just as she squished onto the edges, doing her best to step around it.

It was nice to have a moment of peace, even if there wasn't true time to rest.

Tutors had gone from not believing her about the Seelie Keeper to checking in with her a little too often. Four days ago, Magnolia had stopped her while the elemental fae were training.

"Say, Rosemary." Magnolia had offered his kindest smile, adjusting his colorful vest as he'd waddled up to her. "Have you seen fire in your vision, perchance? My students have fantastic gifts, but Thaeda's wind can stoke a fire or turn it away, if we know how to train it."

"I'm so sorry" was all she was able to say. "I know he's coming for Fern's, but I don't know how. I promise to tell you if I see anything."

Then, two days ago, Miss Amanda gave a lecture on magical beasts, explaining that no one had seen a Pegasus in more than fifty years. After class, Rosemary had wanted to ask a few questions about flying horses, but Miss Amanda spent several minutes trying to find out if she'd had any visions about the school or if Rosemary had tips on how she should tailor her lessons on guardianship so that everyone stayed safe.

"I can make wrong things right, you know," Miss Amanda had said, referring to her gift. "But right now, I don't know what's wrong. You believe the Keeper is coming here, to our school, right? I'm sure that's why he wants his daughter far away; he's stashed Iris somewhere else so she'll be safe when he attacks. Are there cracks in the walls that he'll use to get in? Are there secret entrances we don't know about? I can make them right, you see, once I know that they're wrong."

As glad as she was that the tutors wanted to help, Rosemary didn't know what to tell them.

Things were tense, and everyone was listening, but no one knew what to do.

Once upon a time, Rosemary's mother, her friends at her old school, her human teachers, and everyone around her had been disappointed in her unfortunate powers, as she was the girl with the gloomy ability to see how someone would die. Now everyone wanted her gifts so that they might all stay safe.

Then again, spring was the perfect season for transformation.

A chilly breeze whipped through the shadowy undergrowth of the forest, making her shiver. She rubbed her arms for warmth as she walked, turning toward the broad tree trunks, eyeing the shady space between pines as she looked for the source of the cold.

She spied Owen and Thaeda walking arm in arm along the edge of the forest, looking like they'd just stepped out of a fairy tale. Owen's vampiric coat trailed in the slush, his hair brushed back in his signature dark bun. Thaeda's dress and tight curls floated a half inch above the ground, defying gravity, which made sense for a fairy who controlled the wind. The pair wasn't even taking in the view-they were too busy laughing, blushing, and looking at each other. Rosemary wasn't sure when they'd grown close but was happy to see them smile. As the "older brother" and "older sister" of the school, the two had always seemed to go together, perhaps even before Owen and Thaeda realized it themselves.

Rosemary came to a stop just outside the pastel animal building. She'd wanted to join her roommate in the sanctuary, but the pair had split their research down the middle. Rosemary had buried herself in books, trying to find a realm or kingdom where the Seelie Keeper could have taken Iris. Trym, on the other hand, was taking a more practical approach and using her furry friend, Wiggles, to interview the animals who had come from other realms.