Between by Megan Whitmer Read Free Book Online Page B

What am I? My mouth goes dry.
    Behind Lulu, Seth jumps up from the ground. “Oh! Lulu!” he says, a little too loud, a little too eager. “Guess what I brought for you?”
    She instantly spins around to Seth. As soon as her attention is off me, I exhale. “You got it?” she asks.
    His face goes blank. “Maybe.”
    “Seth!” Lulu pouts. “Give it to me!”
    Lulu reaches toward his pockets, and Seth backs away. His mouth lifts again, this time in a full-fledged grin, and it throws me a bit. I don’t see his flirty side very often. I’m so used to his serious face or that half-smile thing he does. This one is—well, it’s stunning. He’s more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him. It takes longer than it should for me to tear my eyes from his face. I long for my sketchbook again. I don’t want that smile to go away.
    He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a tiny black circle. He holds it out to Lulu, then pulls it back quickly when she reaches for it. “Promise me you will never ever play this when I’m at your house.”
    Her shoulders fall. “Seth.”
    He raises his eyebrows and holds it up higher. “Promise.”
    She flies up and snatches it from him. “No way!” Her lips bounce off his cheek and she giggles as she takes to the air, leaving a trail of twinkling violet in her wake.
    Seth and I stare after her.
    “Lulu,” I say.
    “Lulu.” Seth nods, watching while she shrinks in the distance. “The sweetest, feistiest pixie you’ll ever meet.”
    The fondness in his tone makes me turn to look at him. “I like her,” I say, watching him watch her.
    “Everyone does.”
    “Is she your girlfriend?”
    Seth’s eyebrows bounce, and I’m already wishing I hadn’t asked. “No, but she’s my best friend.”
    I feel a weird twinge of jealousy. I’ve never really thought much about Seth having friends besides Sam and me. Not that it matters. Obviously he can be friends with whomever he wants.
    I mean, of course.
    Why am I even contemplating who his friends are?
    “Was that a record you gave her? It was so little.”
    “Yeah, it’s for a phonograph some of the elves invented. That record was Patsy Cline,” he says. “Lulu will only listen to vinyl, and she’s a country music fanatic. The classics. Patsy, Willie, Hank, George. You know.”
    I nod like I have some idea what he’s talking about. I know those names, thanks to Sam’s obsession with music, but I don’t know any of their songs off the top of my head.
    “When she asked me what I was—” I ask, and he coughs, nodding.
    “Right. We shouldn’t talk about that out here.” Seth’s eyes wander, drawing my attention to other creatures nearby who might overhear us. Three fairies and a couple of centaurs linger off the side of the path. “Let’s get to your room. Your things will already be there. We’ll track down Sam, and Adele and I will explain.”
    “Awesome,” I say, reminding myself to be patient. For as long as I’ve known him, Seth’s had an answer for every question asked since the beginning of time. Standing around in his rightness is his happy place. Today, the one day I would appreciate his need to enlighten the world with all his knowledge, he finds a filter.
    Seth points to a gigantic tree not far ahead. It’s larger than any of the other trees, as tall and wide as one of the nicer hotels in the neighboring cities back home. There are multiple stairways leading from the base to various areas of the tree, some of them extending far above my view and disappearing into the leaves. Lights twinkle throughout its canopy like a scattering of fireflies. I see a few creatures lingering near the steps leading to the large double doors at its base. “That’s Artedion, where the Apprentices live.”
    “Awesome,” I say again, completely unexcited.
    “Remind me to find you a thesaurus. Between ‘awesome’ and ‘whatever,’ your vocabulary leaves a bit to be desired.”
    “Your face leaves a bit to be desired.” Self