The Hated Hero

The Third Sister

Everything had been going fine. Delphi was finding herself excelling in classes, doing better than before. No longer was she or Rowan or Tahlia glared at in the halls. Even the teachers had stopped looking at them suspiciously.

Of course, there was a point when Carren Starkiller had to ruin it. The intercom system had blared on at four in the morning.

"Breaking news, this is Esther Goldstein and I'm inside the Megaera Prison-there is a prison break in progress-only one prisoner, according to guards I'm with right now-Carren Starkiller."

"I thought she wouldn't be able to!" Tahlia cried.

"Yeah, I forgot to tell you about one little loophole in the amulet's powers," Rionach announced, stepping into the landscape.

"That's convenient," Delphi grumbled. "What is it?"

"It does lock the stars into place, but that means any stars she already summoned are trapped here," Rionach explained.

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Tahlia demanded.

"I thought the other sisters could handle it," Rionach said helplessly.

"Never mind that, we've gotta find Rowan," Delphi said, leaping out of bed and changing quickly into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that she'd gotten for Christmas. She stuck her wand in the front pocket.

"The elevators are probably going to be shut down right now," Rionach advised as Delphi pulled on her more beat-up school shoes.

"I can climb down to a courtyard," Delphi said. "Rionach, can you tell Rowan to send a quick note to one of his aunts? We need to get to Megaera and fast!"

"I'm on it," Rionach said, and she dashed off.

"Be careful, Delphi, okay?" Tahlia said.

"I will," Delphi said as she climbed out of the window. To her surprise, she was only on the second floor. She could see the seven stories towering above, ten windows wide. She took a deep breath, and found her footing on the jutting out of the wall. Before she could step down, she'd somehow lost her grip, and fell.

To her surprise, however, she just bounced off. She got to her feet and realized she wasn't hurt in the slightest. However, when she looked up to the room where her bedroom was, she realized she couldn't see it anymore.

It was a few minutes later when she saw an owl fly off like lightning. Delphi tapped her wand against her leg impatiently. In a moment, she saw Rowan drop down much more gracefully than her, although he dropped into a roll.

"I sent a notice to Aunt Camora," he said. "She'll know what to do-you have the amulet?"

"Of course," Delphi said,fishing the chain out from under her shirt. She only ever took it off to shower and kept it under her pillow when asleep.

"Good," he said, sounding a little calmer. Delphi checked her watch. Right then came a shimmering noise.

Both Rowan and Delphi looked to see Camora standing there in her leather catsuit.

"So you found and assembled the amulet?" Camora asked Rowan.

"I have it," Delphi said icily.

"Give it to Rowan, it should just be us-'

"It was my ancestor's-it's my birthright," Delphi argued.

"Fine, fine, fine!" Camora said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Both of you, take my hands. "You'd better prove yourself useful."

"Delphi took her hand and the world of Ilvermorny disappeared. Delphi felt as if for as second she was nothing but a pinpoint, and then had grown back in the middle of a sea of golden grass.