“Did you not see me in the hall, Simon?” A girl with long dark hair sat beside him. Winter only had a glass of juice, and without asking, she stole a pancake off Simon’s plate and dipped it in his syrup. “You walked right by me.”
“I—sorry,” he said, sheepish. In his defense, Winter was very short. “It’s been a long morning. You won’t believe—”
Ariana elbowed Jam in the ribs. “We’re here.”
“What?” Jam snapped his head up, clearly startled to see them. “I—oh. Hi.”
Simon exhaled slowly. “Hi, Jam. Good book?”
“Great,” he said, though his tone was anything but enthusiastic. Closing the cover, he added, “Have they posted it yet?”
“Five minutes ago,” said Ariana. “You’re fifth round. Winter’s fourth. I’m going in the first round, naturally, and of course Simon advances straight to the finals—”
“What?” Giving up any hope of telling his friends what had happened that morning, Simon sat down. “Finals of what?”
All three of them stared at him, and if Simon hadn’t been used to having no idea what was going on, he would have been embarrassed.
“Haven’t you been paying attention?” said Winter. She reached for another pancake, and Simon didn’t bother stopping her. “The midwinter tournament. They posted the order today.”
It was Simon’s turn to look at her blankly, and she rolled her eyes. “You know what a tournament is, right?”
“We all fight the other members of our kingdom in the pit one by one,” cut in Ariana, who was somehow already halfway through her breakfast of fruit and toast. “Whoever wins the last round in their kingdom advances to the finals, where they fight until only one’s left standing. It’s a huge deal, especially if your kingdom wins.”
Simon blinked. Fighting in the pit was the school’s version of sport—where students battled in their Animalgam form to not only learn their own strengths, but also to learn other kingdoms’ weaknesses. And he hated it. He wasn’t very strong in his eagle form, not against predators from the other kingdoms, and he was always worried he would accidentally shift into another animal and give his secret away. “What do you mean, I advance straight to the finals?”
“You’re the only member of the bird kingdom in the L.A.I.R.,” said Winter as if it were obvious. Simon supposed it was.
“But—I don’t want to,” he protested.
“Then lose your first round and you won’t have to anymore,” said Ariana with a shrug. Before Simon could come up with a response, she focused on Jam. “You’re awfully quiet. They’ll probably let you guys fight in the water, you know.”
Jam shrugged. He was a dolphin and a member of the underwater kingdom, which always had a disadvantage in the sand-filled pit. “None of us have ever won the tournament. I’m not worried.”
“Then what’s wrong?” she said. “Were they out of your favorite sushi again?”
With his expression pinched, Jam pulled out a sealed envelope from between the pages of his book. “The General wrote me.”
“Your dad?” said Winter. “What’s so bad about that?”
“He hasn’t written since we got back from Paradise Valley,” said Simon, instantly understanding the anxiety on Jam’s face. While Simon had never met the General of the underwater kingdom, he’d heard all about him from Jam, and he was strict—far stricter than any parent Simon had ever encountered, and his silence over the past six weeks had become painful for Jam. “Have you opened it?”
Jam shook his head. “Couldn’t. What if he pulls me out of school? What if he makes me attend one of the academies at home? What if—”
Ariana plucked the envelope from his fingers. Without preamble, she ripped it open and began to read.
“Hey!” cried Simon, trying to snatch it away from her, but Jam just stared at the table.
Ariana had to stand up in order to keep it out of Simon’s reach, but she scanned the letter, her eyes widening. “It’s an official summons.”
Jam groaned and buried his face in his hands. “I knew it.”
Winter stood and peered over Ariana’s shoulder. “Stop complaining. He just wants you home for the holidays.”
“He’ll find an excuse to keep me there, and you’ll never see me again,” said Jam miserably. “Goodbye, friends. Goodbye, free time. Goodbye, everything I’ve ever loved—”
“You’re more dramatic than I am,” said Winter, sitting back down.
Jam shook his head. “You don’t understand what it’s like there. Everything’s scheduled down to the last second. Exactly five minutes to get dressed. Two minutes to brush my teeth. Five minutes to use the toilet—”
“We get it,” said Ariana. As she sat back down, she handed Simon the letter. “But winter break is only two weeks. You’ll survive.”
“Without you guys? I’ll be shark chum within the hour,” mumbled Jam.
Simon scanned the letter. It was typed up, and there was a very official-looking header declaring it from the desk of the General of the underwater kingdom of North America. Part of him expected a long message, but it was only a couple of lines long.
OFFICIAL SUMMONS for Benjamin Fluke to return to Avalon. Report to General Fluke at 1800 hours on 21 Dec. Expected to remain through 1100 hours on 04 Jan.
It wasn’t even signed. Simon set the letter down on Jam’s open book. “Where is Avalon?”
“Near Los Angeles,” said Jam, eyeing the letter like it was about to bite him. “Off the coast.”
An idea began to form in Simon’s mind. It couldn’t have been more perfect if he’d planned it himself, and he looked between his friends, leaning in. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Jam blinked behind his thick glasses as it dawned on him. “Simon—no.”
“We have to go there eventually,” insisted Simon. “This is exactly the excuse we’ve been waiting for.”
“The General’s already mad enough. He’ll never let me bring friends.”
“He’s right, Simon,” said Ariana grimly, drumming her fingers against the table. “The underwater kingdom is notorious for being closed to members of the other kingdoms. It even takes a special request for my mom to visit.”
While Jam’s father was the head of the underwater kingdom, Ariana’s mother, the Black Widow Queen, was head of the insect and spider kingdom. Even Celeste, who had been the Alpha of the mammal kingdom up until September, was afraid of her. And as far as Simon knew, no one ever told her no.
“They especially hate reptiles and birds,” said Winter, who was still disgruntled about inheriting the ability to shift into a cottonmouth snake rather than a bird. “Even if the General did let Jam bring friends, you and I would never be allowed in.”
“So—I’ll hide,” said Simon. “We have to go. Orion’s been there for over a month now. Sooner or later, he’ll figure out where the General hid the underwater kingdom’s piece, and then—”