Ava nodded rapidly, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "Thank you."

  After giving Ava’s hand a solid squeeze, Winta got up and exited with JiSoo close behind her, leaving Ava alone in the empty room.

  It was finally time…. She’d been waiting for this, but now she didn’t feel ready.

  She plucked the first one from the pile. Let’s see what you got, Dad.

  Okay, ready.

  No, not ready. She dropped it again like a hot coal.

  All right, she decided to do one thing at a time, just like her mother taught her. She picked the one with the furthest date. He didn’t include his home address.

  Carefully, she peeled open the envelope.

  Ava,

  I was extremely glad to hear from you. I hope you can forgive your mother and me. We thought we were looking out for you. I can’t tell you how many times I considered coming to see you.

  But it’s dangerous out here, especially for unicorns. I couldn’t risk being recognized and exposing what you are. Poachers are everywhere. They have captured and killed most of our kind. You have to be careful, Ava.

  I hope you’re having a great time at Animage. Does Bills still terrorize the students? I’m sure he does.

  Ava, I love you so much. I’ve watched you grow, well, through the pictures your mother sent to me, and I love the woman you’re becoming. I may have missed your track meets, but I was cheering you on every time.

  I can’t wait to know everything about you, Kiddo.

  With love,

  Dad

  P.S: I may not reply as quickly as you want, but I’ll try my best. Unicorn shifters rarely stay confined to the walls of a house. I know you understand.

  Ava sniffed, an unladylike sound. She dabbed her cheeks, gave up, and made a beeline for JiSoo’s Kleenex.

  He loved her! He cared about her. That was all she ever wanted. All of a sudden, she didn’t want to be alone anymore. She rushed out to call her friends in. Part of the reason why she couldn’t face them was fear that her father would reject her. Warn her never to get in touch again. And that they would see her break down when that happened.

  But it didn’t.

  JiSoo was reclining on the whirling stairs with Winta and James when she got there.

  "Are you done already?" JiSoo jumped up. "And you’ve been crying! Is that a good thing or bad?"

  "Definitely good! He does care about me," she announced, excitedly bouncing up and down.

  "Yay! Come here," Winta exclaimed as she opened her arms.

  After the hug, Ava detached herself. "Will you guys read the rest with me?"

  James chuckled, patting his khaki pants. He cautiously checked if any part of his white shirt was untucked. "Winta, remember what we talked about?"

  "Your trouble peeing?"

  James’s face flushed a furious pink. "I told you that in confidence," he growled out.

  Winta cracked a wide smile, her shoulders shaking as she suppressed her laughter.

  "Also, I’ve treated it!" he retorted in a huff as he stood and walked off, leaving the girls in stitches.

  "Omigod, Winta, you did not!" JiSoo squealed, allowing herself a full belly laugh after James walked off.

  Winta plucked at her clothes as if needing to cool herself down from her raw amusement.

  The three girlfriends read the other two letters together, huddled in a heap on the floor with Ava in the middle. The third one was over a dozen pages long.

  "Oh god, Ava, did you see this?" Winta pointed to the bottom of one of the pages Ava hadn’t finished reading yet.

  "What?"

  "This line; your father’s an alicorn!" Winta’s voice grew high pitched. "He’s got wings and everything. And he’s a werewolf, too. Omigod, omigod!"

  "Where are you getting all that?" Ava moved her attention to where Winta pointed and stared at the words.

  Her father had ranted incomprehensibly for the first two pages, mostly in frustration. He didn’t understand why she hadn’t responded to his first two letters.

  "My father’s an alicorn! That’s incredible." Her mouth slackened in astonishment as she kept reading. "And he said he was bitten by a werewolf…. Umm…that’s not totally bad, right? He doesn’t transform unless it’s a full moon?"

  "Let me see that." JiSoo grabbed the letter. "Uh oh. Ava, does that mean you’re also a werewolf?" She turned to stare at Ava like she’d suddenly developed a second head.

  "Guys, it’s not possible. I would’ve felt it by now." Ava rubbed absently at her arm. "Is that even passed down genetically? I thought you had to be bitten?" She made a mental note to ask Mrs. Peabody about that.

  "With you? Anything is possible these days." JiSoo leaned back suspiciously.

  "You know what? I’ll just ask him in my letter." She folded the letters back into the envelopes and looked forward. "I just need a little time to process all this."

  JiSoo shifted her weight a few times and then cleared her throat. "By the way...I have something to tell you guys."

  Ava looked over at her from the side of her vision. "Oh yeah? Is it about Kaelan?" She was grateful for the distraction.

  "No, it's something else entirely."

  Winta perked up. "Is this about Levine's announcement? I've been wanting to ask you about it, but we got all caught up in this whole thing with Ava's dad."

  "Sorry," Ava muttered uncomfortably.

  "No, no. Don't be sorry, Ava, it's a really big deal!" JiSoo reassured her. "But I've been noticing some changes lately. Whenever I shift, it doesn't feel complete anymore. It's like there's—"

  "Something more coming," Ava finished for her. "Yeah, I get it. That was how it felt for me, although I honestly didn't see it coming until a unicorn just exploded out of me that one day."

  "Ew." Winta laughed. "That sounds gross."

  Ava smiled, but JiSoo didn’t even seem to hear the joke.

  "Yeah, well, I've been wondering what it was about." JiSoo rubbed her hands together a few times. "So after the announcement, I went outside and really focused…"

  "And…?" Ava and Winta said together, both leaning forward.

  JiSoo blinked brightly, then walked to the center of the room. "You might want to push the beds back," she suggested.

  Her friends did exactly that, clearing as much space as possible, not knowing what their little Korean friend would turn into

  JiSoo rolled her neck from side to side, cracking it a couple times, then the cracking noises continued as she shrank down, dropping on all fours into her cute little pug form.

  Not knowing what was about to happen, Ava and Winta backed up into the bathroom and stood together in the doorway, waiting to see.

  JiSoo pranced in a couple circles, barking adorably. Ava could tell she was trying to gear up for something. Something she wasn't used to doing.

  After about a minute, Ava wondered if perhaps JiSoo wouldn't be able to do it, but then the sound of cracking bones filled the room again, and the little pug started to morph into something much bigger.

  About twenty seconds later, Ava stood, staring, slack-jawed, at a gigantic wild boar. "Holy…" she whispered, but trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

  She was glad they moved the furniture because JiSoo now took up almost the entire room. There was no space for her to even take a couple steps in either direction. Standing about nine feet tall, JiSoo could easily hop up and brush her snout against the ceiling.

  "JiSoo, you're amazing!" Winta's eyes lit up as she clapped her hands. "You're not messing around! Are wild boars normally that big in Korea?"

  Instead of answering with words, JiSoo carefully shook her head from side to side, making a few snorting noises.

  Apparently she hadn't yet mastered the ability to speak with her human vocal cords while in her second transformation. Come to think of it, JiSoo hadn't ever gotten very good at speaking when she was in her pug form either.

  "Is this your first time transforming fully like this?" Ava asked her.

  JiSoo nodded, a little more avidly than she should have, because the floor rumbled beneath her, and one of the bedside lamps fell to the floor with a crash. That seemed to startle JiSoo, and she backed up, cracking the front of her wardrobe with her very large butt.

  "Oh!" Ava waved her hands at her friend, trying to somehow indicate that she needed to morph back.

  Luckily, JiSoo took the hint and slowly shrank back to her usual human self. Ruffling her spiky hair, she looked around frantically. "Oh, gosh… I'm so sorry! I won't do that in here again…"

  Ava just laughed. "It's okay, we’ll clean it up. Let's just hope you don't accidentally shift all the way to your second transformation in your sleep!"

  JiSoo's already bulging eyes bugged out even more. "I didn't even think of that! What if… Oh no!"

  Her right eye popped out, but she caught it deftly in her hand.

  Ava and Winta both groaned.

  "It's okay," Ava reassured her. "I still only shift into my tabby cat when I'm asleep. I haven't woken up as a unicorn yet, which I think you would have noticed as well."

  JiSoo let out a breath as she reattached her right eye. "Well, that's reassuring. And I didn't realize I was going to be quite that big. I had already figured out I was shifting into a wild boar. And they can certainly get pretty big, but not that size! I certainly wouldn't have done it in the room if I'd realized." She let out a little laugh at the end.

  "Well, you are still stunning and very impressive. I'm excited to see what you can do in your new form." Winta's lips puckered as her face suddenly looked excited. "Now the three of us can go romp around outside together in our bigger forms! It’ll be so much fun!"

  "I hadn't even thought of that!" JiSoo waved her fists. "We can even practice our combat skills together now, and I don't have to worry about you stepping on me."

  Ava turned her attention to Winta. "Actually, that's an interesting thought. Do you think you have a second form?"

  Winta shook her head almost imperceptibly. "Me? Heck no. Keep in mind, I would have come to the school anyway. They didn't let me in because of a second transformation. And could you imagine? What could possibly be bigger than an elephant?" There was no humor in her voice.

  "Good point," Ava agreed. "But I'm definitely excited to get out there and explore this together."

  The rest of the weekend swept by. Animage maintained two days of the week completely free for students to do whatever they wanted. So the three friends spent plenty of time romping through the fields and playing in their larger forms. The unicorn, the elephant, and the giant wild boar. What a group. Occasionally, Tarun would run out with them in his white tiger form, but he never stayed long because he always wanted to get back to James.

  Ava felt sorry for James now that JiSoo had finally fully manifested. She hoped that whatever form James was repressing would come out soon, and then they could all play together instead of always having to leave him out.

  They had a ton of fun together, but there was still one thing that kept Ava up at night. Saturday night, she couldn't sleep a wink until the wee hours of the morning, and then, when the sweet oblivion of slumber finally took hold of her, she moved into fitful dreams. More like a restless rolling of images—all of them terrifying.

  She was chased by the hydra dragon over and over. No matter how fast she ran, the beast would always catch up with her and swallow her whole.

  Several times in a row, Ava would wake up in a cold sweat, panting and out of breath.

  The third time it happened, she decided not to go back to sleep. Forcing her eyes to stay open so she didn't have to return to the gaping maw of Madame Waters, she glanced jealously at JiSoo who was sleeping peacefully with her mouth wide open, light snores filling the air—just like a pug.

  She knew Madame Waters’s time was running out. And still, Ava was no closer to learning how to heal her. On top of that, she had no idea how to approach Sir Waters about any of it. He hadn't pulled her aside, and Azar said he hadn't so much as spared her a glance either. He was just pretending the whole thing had never happened. And in class, he was his normal, irritable, prickly self. No indication let loose of his almost sacrificing two students. But despite it all, Ava was extremely worried about his wife. His dragon wife was probably the reason he was always so cranky. And if Ava could help, not only would she be reuniting a family, but she figured Waters’s mood would probably improve as well, and frankly, that would be a great relief for everyone.

  On Sunday morning, which was only a couple hours after she awoke from her latest nightmare, she tried to avoid getting out of bed, still feeling too delirious.

  JiSoo got up and started moving, but Ava tried to ignore her by pulling her blanket over her head. Only minutes passed before JiSoo yanked it down, her eyes bulging comically on her tiny face.

  Ava groaned. "Go away, little woman! Why are you doing this to me?"

  JiSoo, clearly enjoying herself, got even closer to Ava's face and spoke louder. "You told me to wake you up early so you could meet Tarun. But also, look out the window."

  "I just want to stay here in bed."

  "Nope. Tarun is probably already up and ready. And I know you don't want to keep him waiting."

  "This early? Why did I ever agree to this," Ava grumbled, her face pressed into her comforter, distorting her voice.

  "Dude. It’s almost nine. You normally wake up wayyyy earlier for class, and breakfast will be over soon."

  "Then why is it so cold?"

  "I told you, look out the window," JiSoo insisted.

  Grumbling about friends who didn't know their place, who disturbed others’ sleep, Ava tried to slip under her blanket once more. But then the door to their room swung open, and Winta rushed in, kicking off boots and throwing her coat to the side. Her curls were pulled back in a tight bun, and her purple sweater vest was the same shade as Ava's comforter.

  "Did you guys see?" Winta said breathlessly as she enthusiastically pulled back the curtains. "That's snow! I've never seen snow before! Never ever in my whole life! Omigod, it's so magical. I want to play in it! Come on, let's go, ladies! Let's go!"

  Ava wasn't able to process Winta's words as quickly as she spoke them, but she gathered enough to pique her interest. Dragging herself out of bed, she joined Winta and JiSoo at the window. "Oh, wow," she breathed. "You weren't kidding. That's a lot of snow."

  Winta was still bouncing up and down in her excitement. "Seriously though, this is amazing. The closest thing I've seen is when Mount Kenya is snow capped. But that's so far away...this is right here. Have either of you seen snow? Do you get it in Miami, Ava? What about in Korea, JiSoo?"

  JiSoo answered first. "We get a little bit sometimes in Seoul, but not really like this."

  "And we don't really get it in Miami either," Ava added. "But my mom took me up north a lot to go skiing, so I've been around it plenty of times."

  "Well, then what are we waiting for?" Winta looked from side to side. "Let's get out there!"

  "I want to, but I also promised Tarun we'd hang out today. He was going to meet us out there at sunrise and then we were going to go off alone together." She cracked open the window and slid her hand out, wistfully watching the tiny flakes flutter onto her fingers. "I've always liked the way the powder shrouds everything in a mystical blanket. No matter how many times I see it, it's still so cool."

  "Me too," JiSoo threw in. "In Seoul, when we actually got enough snow, the kids would crowd the streets, building snowmen, having snowball fights, and sledding. It was the best." She paused dreamily to remember those moments. "One time, I threw a snowball at my favorite celebrity! He had snuck out to play in the streets with all the regular people like us. But I recognized him as soon as it happened. I just froze where I stood, imagining myself in jail already."

  Winta and Ava smiled at JiSoo as she continued her story.

  "Then, he squatted down and balled up the biggest pile of snow ever, and chucked it straight at me!" She giggled. "He stayed and played with us all morning."

  "That's why she has pictures of him all over her locker and inside her wardrobe," Ava supplied helpfully, crossing over to JiSoo's black sparkly wardrobe. She drew it open for Winta to see, exposing several glossy pictures of a K-Pop star. "See? She even kisses him every night before she goes to bed."

  Winta just stared at JiSoo. Then she let out a howl of laughter.

  JiSoo looked mortified. "Ava, you swore!"

  "But I'm a unicorn! I cannot tell a lie." Ava placed her hand over her heart and looked away dramatically.

  "But you didn't have to offer up that information for no reason!" JiSoo continued to whine.

  Ava brought her palms out and shrugged with a sideways smile on her face. "Don't know what you're talking about," she replied smoothly as she sauntered to the bathroom.

  JiSoo hauled her entire weight, which wasn't much, directly at Ava, nearly knocking her down.

  "Ouch!" Ava twisted her hands around and grabbed JiSoo who was now clinging on her back like a monkey. Her dark pixie hair was a blur as she head-butted Ava's shoulder repeatedly.

  Winta didn't make a single move to break them apart. She just watched the spectacle with amusement in her eyes.

  Soon, Ava wrenched JiSoo away easily, laughing, and then ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

  Her friends were on their toes when she came from the bathroom. Winta in particular was eager to join the students frolicking in the snow.

  "I guess this means the Snow Dance is on this year, right?" JiSoo was pulling on a pair of snow pants.

  "Oh my gosh, you’re right!" Ava exclaimed. "I didn’t even think about that."

  "How could you not have thought about that?" JiSoo gave her the side-eye. "That’s all I could think about since I saw it."

  "Well, we didn’t have it last year, seeing as how it never snowed, so it slipped past my radar, I guess." A lump formed in Ava’s throat, and she suddenly no longer felt the urge to go out and play.

  "Is that the dress you’ll wear to the dance?" Winta asked when Ava opened her wardrobe. The dress Winta was talking about was a deceptively simple short black gown. An off-shoulder number Ava picked because it showed off her neck, as well as her shifter marks, and silver stones dotted the neck line all the way to the back.