Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Morning sunlight poured through the crack between my curtains and landed directly across my face.

I groaned, rolled onto my other side, and shoved my face deeper into my pillow. Whoever decided sunshine was supposed to be a peaceful way to wake up was a liar. There was nothing peaceful about being blinded at nine in the morning.

Still, I couldn't complain too much. It was summer break. No classes. No assignments. No getting dragged out of bed because Wildstar was waiting for me at the stables. No Ms. Wildwood reminding me that being five minutes late still counted as late.

I had nowhere to be.

Which had been amazing.

For about a week.

Now I was bored out of my mind.

I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. My room was quiet except for the soft whirring of my fan and the occasional sound of Mom moving around downstairs. I could smell something cooking from the kitchen, which was probably the only reason I was considering getting out of bed anytime soon.

I missed Unicorn Academy more than I thought I would.

Not school itself. Let's not get crazy.

I missed Wildstar. I missed riding through the forest with everyone. I missed Sapphire Dorm and how there was always somebody around, even when I didn't necessarily want somebody around. Rory would be doing something stupid. Isabel would be trying to beat somebody at something nobody else realized was a competition. Layla would have her face buried in a book. Ava would be talking enough for three people.

And Valentina would probably be complaining about all of us.

I smiled before I could stop myself.

Okay, I missed that too.

Ever since Valentina and I had become... friends, I guess, being around her had gotten a lot more fun.

Not that I'd ever tell her that.

Her ego was already big enough.

She still made fun of me. Obviously. I was pretty sure Valentina would stop breathing before she stopped finding reasons to insult me. But it didn't bother me as much anymore. Half the time, I found myself waiting for whatever sarcastic comment she was going to make next.

Which was normal.

Completely normal.

Friends liked being around their friends.

And Valentina was my friend.

That was it.

It wasn't like I liked her.

I mean, obviously I liked her because we were friends, but I didn't like like her.

Ha.

No.

Why was I even having this conversation with myself?

My phone started vibrating on the nightstand.

Thank you.

Anything was better than wherever my brain had been going with that.

I grabbed it and squinted at the screen.

Ava.

Of course.

I answered and dropped my head back against my pillow. "Hey."

"Open your window."

I frowned.

No hello. No good morning. Nothing.

"What?"

"Open your window."

"Why?"

"Because I'm outside."

My eyes snapped open.

"What?"

"Your window, Sophia. Open it."

I sat up and looked toward the curtains. "Why are you outside my window?"

"Because I came to see you."

"And you couldn't use the front door?"

"I haven't tried the front door yet."

That somehow made even less sense.

I climbed out of bed, crossed the room, and pulled the curtains apart.

Sure enough, Ava was standing in my front yard.

The second she spotted me, she grinned and waved like we hadn't just been talking through the phone pressed against her ear.

I pushed the window open. "What are you doing?"

"Hi!"

"I know it's you."

"I came to surprise you!"

"You could've surprised me at the door like a normal person."

"Where's the fun in that?"

I stared down at her.

Ava stared up at me.

Yeah. I wasn't winning this one.

"Go to the front door."

"Okay!"

She hung up and practically skipped out of view.

I looked down at my pajamas.

Oh, whatever.

It was Ava.

I left my room and hurried downstairs. Before I even reached the bottom step, someone knocked on the front door.

"I'm coming!"

Mom was in the kitchen, standing at the counter with a bowl in front of her. She glanced toward me as I crossed the living room.

"Who is that?"

"Ava."

Mom barely had time to respond before I opened the door.

Ava stood there with the biggest smile on her face.

"Hi, Ms. Mendoza!"

"Hi, Ava," Mom called from the kitchen.

And that was apparently all Ava needed.

She grabbed my arm.

"Come on!"

"What?"

Before Mom could say anything else, Ava pulled me toward the stairs.

"Wait, why are we running?"

"I don't know!"

That was not an answer.

We hurried upstairs anyway. I glanced over my shoulder just before we disappeared down the hallway.

Mom was staring after us from the kitchen with the strangest expression on her face.

"Okay, weirdos."

Then she shook her head and went right back to whatever she had been doing.

I laughed as Ava followed me into my room.

"You know my mom would've let you upstairs without us running away from her."

"I know."

"Then why did we do that?"

Ava dropped onto my bed. "It felt right."

"You concern me."

She hugged one of my pillows against her chest.

"You missed me."

"I talked to you two days ago."

"That's not the same as seeing me."

"True."

I sat beside her.

And honestly, she was right. It was nice having someone from the Academy here again. For the first time all morning, my room didn't feel painfully quiet.

Ava looked around. "So what have you been doing?"

"Nothing."

She waited.

I shrugged.

"That's it."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"For summer break?"

"That's usually what break means."

"Sophia!"

"What?"

"You can't spend the whole summer in your room!"

"Why not? I have snacks. I have Wi-Fi. I have air-conditioning."

Ava stared at me like I'd just announced I planned to live under my bed for the rest of my life.

"We need to do something."

Here we go.

"What?"

"I don't know yet."

"Great plan."

She ignored me and looked around my room, tapping her fingers against the pillow.

Then she suddenly gasped.

I flinched. "What?"

"We should have a sleepover!"

I blinked.

"That's what the dramatic gasp was for?"

"Yes!"

"A sleepover."

"Yes! Here!"

I glanced around my room.

"Why here?"

"Because we're already here."

Fair enough.

Ava sat up straighter as the idea apparently grew inside her head. "We can invite everybody! Rory, Isabel, Layla..."

"And Valentina," I added.

Ava smiled. "And Valentina."

Obviously Valentina was coming.

Or, well, being invited.

Whether she actually agreed was another problem entirely.

I could already imagine her reaction.

A sleepover, Mendoza? What are we, twelve?

Then she'd probably complain about sleeping on the floor.

And my blankets.

And the snacks.

And Rory breathing too loudly.

I smiled again.

Why did I keep doing that?

Whatever.

"Okay," I said.

Ava's mouth dropped open. "Really?"

"What?"

"I thought I'd have to convince you."

"Do you want me to say no?"

"No!"

She grabbed her phone immediately.

"Then stop questioning it."

"Everyone has to come."

I nodded. "Everyone."

Ava started a group call with Rory and Isabel.

Rory answered first.

Except I couldn't see Rory.

I could see one eye.

Just one.

"Hello?"

I stared at the screen. "Why are you inside the camera?"

The phone jerked backward, and Rory's entire face finally appeared.

"Oh. Hey."

"Do you always answer calls like that?"

"Like what?"

"Never mind."

Isabel joined a few seconds later. Her hair was pulled back, and from the look of her clothes, she'd already been exercising.

Of course she had.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Why does everybody think something happened?" Ava complained.

"Because you called both of us at the same time."

"Maybe I wanted to talk."

Rory squinted. "You want something."

"I do!"

"I knew it."

Ava held the phone farther away so we could both fit on the screen. "We're having a sleepover at Sophia's!"

"We are?" Rory asked.

"Yes."

"When?"

"Tonight."

I turned toward her. "Tonight?"

She looked at me innocently.

I lowered my voice. "You didn't say tonight."

"It's a sleepover. Why would we wait?"

"Planning?"

"Overrated."

Rory nodded. "I agree."

"Nobody asked you," Isabel said.

"Wow."

Isabel looked at me. "Your mom's okay with all of us coming?"

I paused.

Oh.

Probably should've asked that first.

"I'll ask."

Ava waved a hand. "She'll say yes."

"You've known my mom for five minutes."

"And she likes me."

"You said one sentence to her."

"Exactly. Great first impression."

I laughed.

Isabel shook her head, but I could see her smiling. "I'm in."

"Me too," Rory said.

Ava clapped. "Perfect!"

"Layla has to come too," I said.

"Yes!" Ava immediately agreed. "Layla has to come."

Rory frowned. "Isn't she still at school?"

"Yeah," I said.

Layla had decided to spend part of her summer at Unicorn Academy doing an internship in the historical archives.

Because apparently Layla saw summer vacation and thought, You know what this needs? More books.

Ava was already adding her to the call.

"She might be working," Isabel said.

"She can take a break."

The call rang several times before Layla finally answered.

Her face appeared on-screen, her glasses sitting slightly crooked. Behind her were shelves packed with books and boxes.

"Ava, I'm working."

"Hi, Layla!"

"I saw your name on the screen. I know it's you."

I laughed.

Ava ignored the attitude. "We're having a sleepover!"

Layla blinked. "Okay."

"At Sophia's."

"Okay."

"You have to come."

Layla stared at her. "Ava, I'm at Unicorn Academy."

"So?"

"So you're in the human world."

"Yeah."

"And I'm not."

Ava paused.

"Oh."

Rory started laughing.

"Don't laugh!" Ava said.

"How did you forget she's on a magical island?"

"I didn't forget!"

"You kind of did," I said.

She elbowed me.

"Ow."

Layla sighed. "I'd come if I could, but I have my internship anyway."

"You're allowed to take one day off," Ava said.

"I am not taking a day off to travel across dimensions for a sleepover."

"That's exactly what someone who needs a day off would say," Rory said.

Layla ignored him.

Ava frowned. "But everybody's coming."

Layla's expression changed slightly.

"Really? Everybody?"

"Yep!"

I knew what was coming before Layla even asked.

"Even Valentina?"

Ava froze.

Silence.

Complete silence.

I looked at Ava.

Rory looked at Ava.

Isabel looked at Ava.

Even Layla seemed to realize something was wrong.

Finally, Ava gave a tiny laugh.

"Well... I haven't asked her yet."

Layla raised an eyebrow. "Okay. When are you going to ask her?"

"I don't know."

Isabel suddenly leaned closer to the screen. “Wait, Ava, didn’t you ask 

Valentina for her number before we left?”

“I did!” Ava said.

“And?”

Ava’s face fell.

“She said no.”

There was a second of silence.

Then Rory burst out laughing.

I tried not to.

I really did.

But something about the way Ava said it, like Valentina had personally crushed her dreams, got me too.

Isabel started laughing. “She just said no?”

“No!” Ava protested. “She said more than that.”

“Oh, this should be good,” Rory said.

Ava crossed her arms. “I asked her if we could exchange numbers so we could all keep in touch over summer, and she said she’d rather cut off her left pinky and dangle it over a pool of sharks than ever give me her number.”

There was complete silence.

I stared at her.

Isabel stared at her.

Even Layla stopped what she was doing.

Then Rory completely lost it.

He doubled over laughing so hard that half his face disappeared from the screen.

“Her left pinky?!” he managed.

“Yes!” Ava snapped. “She specifically said her left pinky!”

That got me. I covered my mouth, but a laugh slipped out anyway.

Ava whipped around toward me. “Sophia!”

“I'm sorry!” I said, already laughing harder. “Why did she specify which pinky?”

“I DON'T KNOW!”

Isabel snorted. “I think the shark part is more concerning.”

“Thank you!” Ava pointed at her. “Finally, somebody is focusing on the important part.”

Rory lifted his head back into view, still laughing. “No, the important part is that Valentina apparently hates the idea of you having her number so much that she already has a whole shark-related backup plan.”

Ava frowned at the screen. “I hate all of you.”

“Love you too,” Rory said, still trying to catch his breath.

Layla shook her head, though the corners of her mouth were still twitching. “Okay, so does anyone actually have Valentina’s number?”

Silence.

Rory looked off to the side like maybe the answer would magically appear somewhere in his room.

“Nope.”

Isabel scratched the back of her head. “I don’t.”

Everyone looked at me.

Why were they looking at me?

“What?”

Ava raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”

“No.”

The answer came out a little faster than I meant it to.

Not because I wanted Valentina’s number or anything.

I mean, it would be useful to have. We were teammates. Friends. Friends had each other’s numbers. That was a completely normal thing to want.

And if I had her number, I could text her sometimes.

About normal friend stuff.

Like Unicorn Academy.

Or Cinder.

Or Wildstar.

Or... other things.

Okay, moving on.

“Well, she is a private person,” I said, mostly because everyone was still looking at me. “She barely even sits with us at lunch.”

“She does sometimes,” Ava said.

“After you make her,” Isabel pointed out.

“That still counts.”

Honestly, sometimes I thought Valentina was embarrassed by us.

Not because she hated us. At least, I didn’t think she hated us anymore.

But we weren’t exactly the calmest group of people to be around.

Rory once tried to see how many grapes he could fit in his mouth during lunch.

Isabel had challenged me to a race through the dining hall until Ms. Wildwood caught us.

Ava once spent an entire meal trying to convince Valentina that their mashed potatoes looked like a unicorn.

And Layla...

Actually, Layla was normal.

Most of the time.

Maybe Valentina had a point.

Still, she was our teammate.

She was my friend.

And if everyone was coming, Valentina had to come too.

Even if we had to drag her there.

Okay, maybe not literally. Cinder would probably set us on fire.

Layla sighed.

It was a long, defeated sigh.

The kind that usually meant she had realized the rest of us weren’t going to give up until she helped.

“Well, I guess I can help you find her address.”

Ava immediately brightened. “Really?”

“I said I can try.”

“How?”

Layla glanced behind her toward the rows of shelves filling the archive room.

“The Furi family has been connected to Unicorn Academy for generations. They have one of the most extensively documented family histories in the Academy archives.”

Rory frowned. “So?”

“So,” Layla continued, already standing, “there are records of former Furi riders, family members, Academy positions, properties, residences, land ownership...”

Rory stared at her.

“You think Valentina’s home address is in a history book?”

Layla stopped walking.

Her eyes narrowed.

“That is an incredibly oversimplified version of what I just said.”

“So yes.”

“No.”

“But you’re looking in a book.”

“Rory.”

“Okay, okay.”

Layla carried the phone with her as she walked between the shelves. The screen bounced around enough that for a few seconds all I could see were books, pieces of the ceiling, and occasionally half of Layla’s face.

Ava leaned against my shoulder to get a better look.

“How many books are in there?”

“Thousands.”

Rory groaned. “Never mind. Valentina can stay home.”

“No!” Ava and I said at the same time.

Everyone went quiet.

I looked at Ava.

Ava looked at me.

Rory slowly raised an eyebrow.

Why did I say that so fast?

I cleared my throat. “I mean, we already said everyone has to come.”

“Right,” Ava said, nodding.

Exactly.

Everyone.

That was the only reason.

Rory had this stupid little smile on his face now.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Then stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like that.”

“I’m literally just looking at you.”

Isabel laughed. “You two are exhausting.”

Before Rory could say anything else, Layla stopped in front of a shelf.

“Found it.”

Ava practically climbed over me. “You found her?!”

“No, Ava. I found the section.”

“Oh.”

Layla ran her fingers along several enormous books. Most of them looked like they hadn’t been touched in years.

She pulled one halfway out.

Then stopped.

She pulled harder.

Nothing.

“Need some help there?” Isabel asked.

“No.”

Layla grabbed it with both hands and yanked.

The book suddenly came free.

“Whoa!”

The phone shook as Layla stumbled backward.

Rory burst out laughing again.

“I’m fine!”

“Did the history book almost take you out?”

“No.”

“It definitely did.”

Layla ignored him and carried the giant book toward a nearby table.

She dropped it.

THUD.

Even through the phone, it sounded heavy.

A little cloud of dust rose from the cover.

I coughed just looking at it.

“That thing hasn’t been opened since dinosaurs were around,” Rory said.

“That’s not even remotely possible.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do know that.”

Layla opened the cover before Rory could start another argument.

The pages were covered in writing, family trees, paintings, symbols, and dates. Some sections had moving illustrations that shifted when Layla turned the pages.

I leaned closer to the screen.

Okay.

That was actually kind of cool.

Layla slowly flipped through the book.

“Fletcher... Frost... Furi...”

She stopped.

“There.”

Ava gasped like Layla had just discovered buried treasure.

“The Furi family.”

The page was filled with names.

A lot of names.

Portraits moved along the sides, showing different members of the Furi family with their unicorns. Some wore old Academy uniforms. Others stood beside people I recognized from paintings around the school.

“Wow,” Isabel said.

Layla nodded. “See what I mean? Their family has been part of Unicorn Academy for a very long time.”

“Do you see Valentina?” Ava asked.

“I’m looking.”

Layla flipped forward.

More names appeared.

More properties.

More records.

Then she stopped.

“Oh.”

That sounded interesting.

“What?” I asked.

Layla leaned closer.

“There are several residences listed.”

“Several?” Isabel repeated.

“Yes.”

“How many houses does one family need?”

Layla scanned the page.

“There’s one in Italy.”

Rory’s eyebrows went up.

“What?”

“Another in France.”

“What?!”

“A winter residence in Switzerland.”

Rory leaned toward his camera. “Excuse me?”

I laughed.

Ava looked personally offended. “She has vacation houses?”

“Her family does,” Layla corrected.

“Same thing!”

“No, it isn’t.”

I stared at the page.

I knew Valentina’s family had money.

Obviously.

Valentina wasn’t exactly subtle about that.

But there was rich, and then there was apparently owning houses in multiple countries rich.

Of course.

Why wouldn’t Valentina have a house in Switzerland?

She probably went skiing there while wearing sunglasses that cost more than my phone.

Not that I had ever imagined Valentina skiing.

Okay, now I was imagining it.

She’d probably be annoyingly good at that too.

“Here,” Layla suddenly said.

My attention snapped back to the screen.

“What?”

“I found the primary residence.”

Ava leaned closer.

“Where?”

“Colorado.”

I blinked.

“Colorado?”

Layla nodded.

She touched a symbol beside the property record.

The page glowed.

Golden light spread underneath her fingertips before rising into the air.

“Oh!”

Ava nearly dropped the phone.

A hologram unfolded above the book.

Mountains appeared first, covered in thick forests and stretching far into the distance. Then the image moved lower, revealing a long road twisting through the trees.

And then the property appeared.

Nobody said anything.

There were huge fenced pastures stretching across the land. Several barns sat farther down the mountain. I could see riding trails disappearing into the forest, a lake reflecting the mountains, and what looked like an entire private stable complex.

Then there was the house.

Actually, calling that thing a house felt wrong.

It was enormous.

Rory leaned toward his screen.

“Dude.”

“Is that where she lives?” Ava asked.

Layla looked through the records.

“Yes.”

Isabel squinted. “Is that whole ranch theirs?”

“I think so.”

Rory pointed at the hologram. “Does Valentina own a mountain?”

“Her family owns part of the mountain.”

“Oh, good. For a second there, I thought she was rich.”

I laughed.

Ava stared at the hologram.

“She’s rich rich.”

“Uber rich,” Isabel said.

Rory shook his head. “And she still complains about our dorm room.”

“That actually makes more sense now,” I said.

I kept staring at the ranch.

So this was where Valentina went every summer.

Somehow, seeing it made me even more curious.

What was she like at home?

Was she the same Valentina who walked around Unicorn Academy like she owned the place?

Did she spend all day riding Cinder?

Did she have friends there?

I didn't know why that last thought bothered me a little.

Of course she probably had other friends.

Why wouldn't she?

Ava suddenly clapped her hands.

“Well, we found her! Let’s go!”

I looked at her.

“Go where?”

“To Valentina’s.”

“Ava.”

“What?”

“She lives in Colorado.”

I blinked. “Colorado?”

Layla nodded, her eyes moving across the information beside the glowing map. “Colorado. It looks like this is the Furi family’s primary residence in the human world.”

Ava stared at the hologram floating above the book. “So how is she supposed to get here?”

That was a very good question.

The original plan had been simple. Everyone comes to my house, we eat way too much food, probably stay awake until some ridiculous hour, and then Mom complains the next morning because Rory somehow destroyed something.

But everyone else lived pretty close.

Isabel lived around thirty minutes away.

“More like twenty-five,” Isabel corrected when I pointed that out.

“Fine. Twenty-five.”

Rory wasn't much farther. Ava had obviously managed to get here without any problem.

Valentina, meanwhile, apparently lived on the other side of the country.

Rory pulled out his phone. “Let me see.”

His eyes widened.

“What?”

“Driving from South Carolina to Colorado is, like, twenty-five hours.”

Ava's mouth fell open. “Twenty-five?!”

“Yep.”

“That’s basically an entire day!”

“That is exactly an entire day,” Layla said.

“Well, a little more than one,” Rory added.

“Thank you, Rory,” Layla muttered.

I stared at the hologram.

How had none of us thought about this before?

Probably because none of us knew where Valentina lived. She talked about her family all the time, sure, but somehow where she actually went when she left Unicorn Academy had never come up.

Ava leaned closer to the screen. “Wait. Can you make the picture bigger?”

Layla touched the page, and the hologram expanded.

The mountains rose higher above the book. Thick forest covered most of the land, with a private road cutting through it. Layla moved the image toward the Furi property, and more details came into view.

The mansion sat against the mountains like somebody had looked at a perfectly normal giant house and decided it still wasn't big enough.

There were balconies stretching across the upper floors, enormous windows, several wings, and a long driveway leading around the front. Behind it, the property continued into open fields and fenced pastures. Farther down sat a huge stable and several other buildings.

Ava's eyes widened.

“Is that a ranch?”

Layla looked closer. “The property has one, yes.”

“So she lives on a ranch?” Rory asked.

“No,” Layla said. “She lives in the mansion. The estate also has a private ranch.”

Rory stared at her.

“Oh, excuse me.”

I laughed.

He waved toward the screen. “Sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect the mansion with its own ranch and mountain.”

“Part of a mountain,” Layla corrected.

“That doesn't make it better!”

Isabel leaned closer. “How big is that house?”

“I don't know.”

“It has wings,” Rory said.

Ava looked confused. “Houses can have wings?”

“That one apparently does.”

I couldn't stop staring at it.

I knew Valentina was rich.

Everyone knew Valentina was rich.

She wasn't exactly subtle about it.

But this was different.

This was rich rich.

Apparently, while I was spending summer break in South Carolina staring at my ceiling fan, Valentina was living in a mansion in the Colorado mountains with its own private ranch.

Of course she was.

That was the most Valentina thing I had ever seen.

Rory suddenly sat up.

“Wait.”

Nobody answered.

“Guys.”

“What?” Isabel asked.

He pointed toward the hologram.

“Why are we trying to get Valentina to come here?”

I frowned. “Because we're having a sleepover.”

“I know. But why here?”

I stared at him.

He pointed again.

“Look at her house.”

Ava's face slowly lit up.

Oh no.

I knew exactly where this was going.

“We should have the sleepover there!” Ava shouted.

“Absolutely not,” Layla said.

Rory grinned. “Exactly!”

“No, not exactly! You cannot invite yourselves to someone else's home!”

“We're not inviting ourselves,” Rory said.

Layla narrowed her eyes. “What would you call it?”

Rory thought for a second.

“Surprising her?”

“That is not better.”

Ava grabbed my arm. “Sophia, look at that place!”

“I am looking.”

“We could all stay there!”

“I can see that.”

“There are probably enough bedrooms for every one of us to have our own room!”

Rory nodded. “We could probably all have our own floor.”

“Okay, now you're exaggerating,” Isabel said.

“Am I?”

We all looked at the mansion again.

Actually...

Maybe not.

I crossed my arms.

So much for everybody coming to my house.

One look at Valentina's mansion and apparently my sleepover had been stolen.

Should I be offended?

I felt like I should be offended.

But then I looked at the mansion again.

Yeah, no.

I wanted to stay there too.

Also, I'd get to see Valentina.

Not that that was the main reason.

Obviously.

The mansion was cool.

And the mountains.

And the ranch.

And... Valentina.

But mostly everything else.

Definitely.

I leaned closer to the hologram.

What was she even like at home?

I'd only ever known Valentina at Unicorn Academy. Valentina in class. Valentina at the stables. Valentina sitting in Sapphire Dorm pretending she wasn't listening to our conversations when she absolutely was. Valentina making fun of me whenever I did something she considered stupid, which apparently was often.

Seeing her at home would be different.

I'd get to see her room.

Wait.

Why did I want to see her room?

Because I was curious.

Normal curiosity.

Nothing weird about that.

“I'm in,” I said.

Ava whipped around. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

Rory pumped his fist. “Mansion sleepover!”

Layla looked horrified. “There is no mansion sleepover!”

“There is now,” Isabel said.

Layla stared at her. “You too?”

Isabel shrugged. “Look at the place.”

“Thank you!” Rory said.

Ava pointed toward the ranch. “And imagine if we brought the unicorns!”

I looked at her.

“Brought them where?”

“To Valentina's!”

Rory's eyes widened. “Yes!”

Layla closed her eyes.

I could practically see her regretting answering our call.

Ava was already getting excited. “They'd have so much room! Look at all those fields!”

“And the stables,” Isabel added.

“River would love that.”

“Storm would love the mountains,” Rory said.

“Storm would try to jump off one,” I said.

Rory paused.

“Okay, we'd watch her.”

Ava laughed. “Leaf could run around the ranch!”

“And Wildstar,” I added before I could stop myself.

Honestly, that part sounded amazing.

Wildstar and me riding through those mountains?

Yeah.

I wanted to do that.

And Cinder would already be there.

Which meant Valentina probably wouldn't complain about us bringing the others.

Actually, no.

She absolutely would.

I could already hear her.

You brought five unicorns to my house without asking?

Then she'd probably put her hands on her hips and glare at me specifically, even though this wasn't even my idea.

Why was I smiling again?

I stopped.

“There's one small problem,” Isabel said.

“One?” Layla repeated. “There are approximately seventeen problems.”

“What's the biggest one?”

Isabel pointed at the hologram.

“Colorado.”

Right.

Colorado.

Ava's excitement faded slightly.

“Oh.”

Rory checked his phone again. “Still twenty-five hours away.”

“We're not driving twenty-five hours,” I said.

“We can't drive at all,” Isabel reminded me.

“Exactly.”

Ava looked at Layla. “Plane?”

“With five teenagers and five unicorns?” Layla asked.

Ava slowly nodded.

“Right.”

Rory shrugged. “We could leave the unicorns.”

Everyone went quiet.

“No,” I said.

“No,” Ava agreed.

Isabel shook her head. “Not happening.”

Rory held up his hands. “Okay! Just throwing ideas out.”

If we were somehow going all the way to Colorado, there was no way I was leaving Wildstar behind.

Especially after seeing those mountains.

Besides, it was summer break for them too.

They deserved to have fun.

Layla had gone quiet again.

She was staring at the hologram, tapping one finger against the table.

I recognized that look.

So did Rory.

“Oh, she's doing it again.”

Layla looked up. “Doing what?”

“The thinking face.”

“I do not have a thinking face.”

“You definitely have a thinking face,” Isabel said.

Layla ignored her.

“What?” I asked. “You have an idea?”

“Maybe.”

Ava leaned toward the phone. “Tell us.”

Layla hesitated.

Then she sighed.

“The portal doors.”

For a second, nobody spoke.

Then it clicked.

I sat up straighter.

“The ones at Unicorn Academy?”

“Yes.”

Layla adjusted her glasses. “There are portal doors connected to different areas of the human world. They're how Academy staff can travel long distances without exposing Unicorn Island or unicorn magic.”

Rory's face lit up.

“So we find one that goes to Colorado.”

“If there is one close enough to the Furi estate,” Layla said.

Ava grabbed my arm.

“That's it!”

“That's not it,” Layla said quickly.

“It is!”

“No, Ava. You still have to get to Unicorn Island first.”

“The ferry,” I said.

Layla paused.

Right.

We knew where the hidden ferry was.

“We take the ferry back to Unicorn Island,” Isabel said. “Then you let us into the Academy.”

Layla's eyes widened.

“I never said I was letting you in!”

Rory grinned. “But you can.”

“That doesn't mean I will!”

“You're already there,” Ava said.

“For my internship!”

“And you know where the portal doors are.”

“Yes, but that doesn't mean we can use them whenever we want!”

I looked at Ava.

Ava looked at Rory.

Rory looked at Isabel.

Isabel looked at me.

Then all four of us looked at Layla.

She slowly shook her head.

“No.”

Nobody had even said anything yet.

“No what?” Ava asked innocently.

“I know that look.”

“What look?”

“The one all of you are doing right now.”

Rory smiled. “We're just looking at you.”

“No.”

I couldn't help laughing.

Layla could argue all she wanted.

We had a way to Colorado.

We had a way to bring the unicorns.

And apparently, our little sleepover at my house had turned into all of us showing up uninvited at Valentina Furi's mansion with five unicorns.

This was either going to be the best idea we'd ever had...

Or Valentina was going to kill us.

Honestly, it could go either way.