-Laelyn-

"Grace?" I repeated questioningly. "Isn't that your sister?" Beckham nodded.

"You have a sister?" Link asked. Instead of answering, Beckham walked away and ran a hand through his hair again. "Anyway, she had some weird book, and she said she needed to show you something important. She said she didn't have much time, or something."

"I guess we're going back to school then?" I surmised. Beckham didn't respond, still pacing around in thought. "Beckham?"

"What," he replied emotionlessly, less a question than a statement.

"Are you okay?"

"Okay? What are you talking about? Of course I'm okay," he said quickly.

"Alright...?" I whispered to myself. He was definitely not okay.

"Psst," Link leaned over and whispered. "What's his deal?"

I shrugged and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and making him flinch. "It's just me," I assured him. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked again. He nodded unconvincingly.

"We should probably help everyone before we do anything though," he mumbled, fumbling with the lock on Alyrica's cage door. I heard the clatter of metal on stone and saw Isaac step easily out of his cage. We all stared at him, dumbfounded.

"I've had it unlocked for ages," he replied simply. He walked around the space, easily picking the locks of every cage.

"You know a lot more than you let people think," I joked. Isaac smiled.

"I like to keep everyone guessing," he smirked.

Beckham eyed him suspiciously, then shook it off. His frown pulled into a wide fake smile, and he walked over to us. "Let's go then, yeah?"

I nodded apprehensively. What was his deal? I looked around to see everyone staring at me, as if I should be making a decision. I don't know anything, why are they looking at me?

"How are we supposed to get there?" Link asked. "As far as I can see, we're about fifty feet above the ground, with no clear way of exit even if we make it down."

"Don't worry about it, I know the way out." Cowyn grunted, looking very weak. "The barrier disappeared with Daeva, but the entrance of the mountain still has a lot of magic energy."

"And I can get us down," Isaac said. "Give me a second."

Beckham grabbed my arm gently and pulled me away from the group, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was in earshot. "Does Isaac seem a little suspicious to you?" He asked in a hushed voice. I shrugged.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He's just helping.

"He knows everything. He knew a lot about Daeva, and he could see the green immunity in Link's eyes."

"Wait, Link is immune?"

"You're twins."

"Right. Continue."

"Anyway," he persisted, "I think he knows a lot more than he's letting on."

"So he's smart, what of it?" I asked. Beckham seemed to be suspicious of everyone lately, when really it was nothing. I wasn't sure if I should believe his concerns yet.

"Well for one, he's immune. Why wouldn't he have told us that?" Beckham inquired.

"If I were in his position, I wouldn't want people to know I was immune either," I reasoned. "Immune means in danger. I don't like it, and I'm sure he doesn't."

"I'm telling you, there's more to Isaac than we think," Beckham said irritably. "He isn't acting normally."

"You want to talk about acting normally?" I joked.

"Yes, I do."

"What's up with you then? Ever since Link mentioned Grace, you've been off," I accused. "Shouldn't you be happy to see her?"

"Yeah, sure, I am. I'm happy about it!" He said. He's a terrible liar.

"Why aren't you?"

"I just said I was."

"Yeah, you lied. Now tell me the truth," I insisted, crossing my arms.

"Hey guys!" We heard Isaac call. "Ready?" Looking over, I saw him at the top of another rope ladder, no doubt a product of another self-made tool. I glanced back over to Beckham, hoping for an answer.

"Maybe later," Beckham smirked at me. "Seems like they're all ready to go."

***

"Wait!" I yelled, before anyone could step through the portal Beckham had made in the field. "Only immunes can travel through it, right?"

"Technically everyone can travel through it, but only immunes will remember it," Isaac responded. Beckham and I stared at him for a while before nodding.

"Can we all travel with you anyways?" Mason asked sadly. "It'd be sad to just watch you go. We won't remember it." He looked up at us with a forlorn expression. He hadn't said anything since what happened to Mai, and hearing his voice crack broke my heart.

"Yeah, can we?" Isaac asked. "It'd be so cool!"

I gave a pleading look to Beckham, who sighed. "You can come if you want, but I don't see why you would."

"Um, question." Alyrica interrupted. "When you guys leave, where is the other Link going to be? He's okay, right?"

"Yeah, he should show up right when we leave," Beckham answered.

"So this is goodbye then?" Chanson asked me. I nodded, and everyone around us shared sad looks.

"Let's go then," I said, taking Beckham's hand and walking towards the white light. He smiled at me reassuringly and we stepped through the portal, experiencing a falling sensation before we were slammed back down to solid ground. A second later, Link appeared beside us.

"We have to find Grace," I said, before I was interrupted.

"Mason? What are you doing here?" Beckham asked. "I thought Isaac was the only other immune with us."

"To be fair, I am here." Isaac affirmed. Beckham ignored him.

"Okay, um... You need to go back through the portal before it closes," he informed Mason. "Otherwise we'd have to wait until I have enough energy to make one again."

"I don't want to go back though..." he sighed. "I have nothing to go back to."

"I know she's gone," I said sadly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But you have an entire life back there. Friends, family..." I trailed off as he shook his head. "You don't have a family?" I asked. He shook his head again. "Beckham, can he stay here?"

"What about the other Mason?" Beckham asked. I gave him a pleading look, and he sighed. "Fine..." he conceded. Mason smiled weakly, and I smiled in thanks as well.

"Shouldn't we find Grace? I doubt she works at a restaurant," Isaac said.

"Um, what does working at a restaurant have to do with this?" I asked.

"We wouldn't want to keep her waiting," he chuckled. Beckham facepalmed.

We quickly traveled to the school, choosing to ignore the fact that we'd found two more immunes. We didn't even have to walk through the doors before we saw the girl I assumed was Grace: a slight framed girl with dusty brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a nose lightly dusted with freckles. She looked so similar to Beckham that I would've pegged her as his sister before given any knowledge of her.

"Beck?" She called in a soft voice. Beckham said nothing in reply, simply staring at her. She frowned slightly, but switched quickly back to a small smile. "I found this," she explained, holding a leather-bound notebook out towards him. When he didn't take it, she explained further. "It's Father's journal - he wrote a lot about you. I thought you should have it."

Beck sighed and took the book, thanking her quietly. What's his deal? "Does Mother know you're here?" He asked. Grace shook her head.

"Not exactly," she admitted. "I met someone." We gave her confused looks until a blonde boy walked up from behind her. I hadn't noticed him until now, surprising since he was so tall. His blue eyes were so bright they seemed to glow.

"Good evening," he greeted us, bowing slightly in Beckham's direction. He extended his hand to me and I took it apprehensively. Slowly raising my hand to his face, he kissed it lightly. Beckham tensed at the sight. The boy then proceeded to turn and bow to the other boys.

"This is Jaycen," Grace introduced. "He, well... He seems to know a lot about you."

"What are your names?" Jaycen asked gently. He seemed to be around our age, but he acted as if he were making a formal conversation with the queen of England rather than fellow teens.

"Um," I began, "That's Link, and I'm Laelyn."

"Laelyn. What a beautiful name! It means hope, if I'm not mistaken?" He replied. I nodded, looking down. My mom always said that.

"I'm Beckham," Beckham interrupted louder than necessary. Jaycen bowed yet again.

"I recognize your name from the book," he said. Beckham looked up at him suspiciously.

"What book?" He asked. Jaycen looked down, as if he shouldn't have said anything. He cleared his throat and regained his posture.

"And your names?" He asked the other two, ignoring Beckham's question.

"I'm Isaac, and this is Mason." Isaac said. Jaycen's eyes widened, and he nodded approvingly.

"I didn't expect to meet you two this soon!" He exclaimed happily. "Thank you for finding them, Beckham."

"What's going on?" Beckham asked. Grace stepped forward once again, commanding our attention.

"There's a lot we need to explain."

***

- End of Book 1 -

Author's Note!

Guys... I'm literally so emotional over here, like... I just finished a book! (Granted, a first rough draft, but still.) I'm so happy, but I'm also super sad! It's like sending a kid off to college like agh what am I supposed to do?! Cry? Idek. 

Anyways, this is going to be a long-ish author's note. 

I wanted to thank everyone who inspires me and motivates me to write. First off, I want to give a HUUUUUGE thank you to Eiffel_Tower46 for telling me I should write this in the first place! Ash, you've been an inspiration for me since the beginning, and Alyrica wouldn't exist without you either! You've been the best friend a girl could ask for. Thank you for believing in me ^_^

Next I'd like to thank Metalhead-777 for being a constant motivator for me. You have given me so much confidence in myself and in Soryx. (Plus Chanson wouldn't exist without you!) And thanks for reading all my updates whenever I bothered you to read them, like at 1 am, when you probably had other things to do (like sleep) XD 

I have a few more specific people I want to thank. AeLinhCinder, Claudia_Mae, blaccbebe, sheepspeareanTales, and so many more, thank you all for your constant votes and comments. Y'all have given me so much motivation! Thank you for sharing every heartbreak, achievement, and plot building moment in this story with me (and for fangirling over the characters too XD). 

I want to thank all my readers, including you. You reading this, right now. I love you! Thank you so much for reading my book, and I'm blessed to have found my way into your life. I hope you've enjoyed this crazy journey and come along on the next one in Throne of Byrinthia. Now for rewrites and edits, and searching for a publisher! Oh my XD Thank you guys for sticking with me and this story. I know I say it a lot, but I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am today without you. I love you all!

Savy