Jordan was silent for a long time, and for a moment, Lonnie worried that she wasn’t going to forgive Jay. That she was going to tell him it was too late for apologies. But then Jordan shook her head and barked out a laugh. “Oh, my gosh, Jay, you are such a dork.”
Jay looked insulted. “A dork? Seriously? You’re calling me a dork?”
Jordan nodded. “I’m calling you a dork.”
Jay thought about that for a moment. “A charming dork, though, right?”
Jordan pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Semi-charming.”
“A dork you forgive?” Jay asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jordan cracked a smile. “Of course.”
Jay leaned back in his seat, looking proud of himself. Then, a moment later, his smirk turned into a frown. “What did you mean when you said ‘semi-charming’?”
Jordan sighed. “Oh, get over yourself.”
“C’mon, admit it, you think I’m just a little bit cute.”
Jordan shook her head. “Actually, I don’t.”
“What about my devilish smile?” Jay asked, showing his teeth.
Jordan snorted. “More like dorkiest smile.”
As the two continued to banter, Lonnie returned her gaze to the window with a contented sigh. Everything was back to normal. In fact, it was better than normal. Because even though she was about to be in deep trouble with Headmistress Fairy Godmother for sneaking out of school, Lonnie was returning with something she hadn’t had when she left.
And it was more than just a sword.
We’re back home now. Gulp.
As the train pulled away from the station, Lonnie, Jordan, and Jay began the short walk to campus. Lonnie knew everyone would probably still be in study mode, locked up in their rooms, trying to cram historical dates and dragon anatomy and fairy compounds into their heads before finals started the next morning.
They crept onto campus, fully expecting Fairy Godmother to be waiting for them in front of the dorms, ready to give them the lecture of a lifetime, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m sure we’ll get what’s coming to us when she spots us at dinner,” Jordan said.
The three parted ways and disappeared into their rooms. When Lonnie got back to her room, she placed the sword of Shan-Yu on her dresser and stood back to admire it. She couldn’t believe it was finally hers. It felt too good to be true, but at the same time, it felt right. She deserved that sword. She had earned that sword.
She was worthy of that sword.
When dinner rolled around, Lonnie slipped down to the banquet hall and joined Mal, Evie, Freddie, and Ally at one of the tables.
“Haven’t seen much of you all weekend,” Mal said as soon as Lonnie sat down. “Studying extra hard?”
Lonnie’s eyebrows pinched together as she tried to figure out whether or not Mal was joking. How could she not know where Lonnie had been? She had to have seen the competition on TV.
“Um,” Lonnie stammered. “Well…”
A second later, she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder, and Lonnie gazed up to see Fairy Godmother looming over her. Her stomach clenched. This was it. She was so busted.
“Hi, Lonnie,” Fairy Godmother said, and Lonnie struggled to interpret her tone. Did it sound upset? Disappointed? Furious?
“Hi, Fairy Godmother,” she replied warily.
“Are you ready for exams tomorrow?”
Lonnie studied Fairy Godmother’s expression, once again trying to figure out if there was a secret meaning behind her words.
“I think so,” Lonnie said.
Fairy Godmother flashed a warm smile. It seemed genuine. “Good, good.” She then nodded at each of the girls at the table and said, “Well, best of luck to all of you tomorrow!”
Then she shuffled away.
Okay, what is going on? Lonnie wondered.
“Um,” Lonnie said again, trying to figure out the best way to broach the subject. “Anyone watch any good TV this weekend?”
Freddie scowled. “We couldn’t.”
“Couldn’t?” Lonnie repeated. “Why? Because of the lock-in?”
“No,” Ally replied, looking at Lonnie as though she were out of focus. “Because of the outage. You know that.”
“What outage?” Jordan asked, appearing next to the table with a plate of food and sliding into a seat next to Lonnie.
“The Auradon Prep Wi-Fi was out all weekend,” Evie griped. “Or were you two just so studious you didn’t even try to get online?”
“Oh, um,” Lonnie faltered. “Right. I forgot.” She shared a conspiratorial look with Jordan. “So no one was able to watch anything this weekend?” Lonnie confirmed.
“Yeah,” Evie replied. “It was sobering.”
“So that means Fairy Godmother couldn’t watch anything, either?” Jordan asked.
Ally, Mal, Freddie, and Evie exchanged confused glances. “Yeah, exactly. What’s going on with you two? Why are you acting so out of it? You were here, too.”
“Right,” Lonnie said. “We were here, too.”
The girls then broke into a conversation about their exams, and Jordan leaned in to whisper to Lonnie. “Your wish!”
“What about it?” Lonnie asked.
“You wished to go to the Imperial City without getting caught.”
Lonnie bit her lip. “Are you saying the lamp cut the Wi-Fi so no one here could watch the show?”
Jordan shrugged. “What can I say? Genie magic is pretty awesome.”
Lonnie gazed around the bustling banquet hall. Everyone was chatting nervously about finals. No one even seemed to notice they’d been gone.
Lonnie blew out a relieved breath. “It most certainly is.”
Finals? I slew ’em. Now it’s time for my official induction into the R.O.A.R. team.
The next night, Lonnie dressed in her warrior uniform and stood in front of the mirror in her dorm room, holding her new sword. She gripped the strong handle and gave the weapon three swift flicks, loving the way it cut through the air.
She stuck her sword into the sheath attached to her belt and made her way downstairs. As she walked to the arena, she spotted Jordan up ahead and ran to catch up with her.
“Are you ready?” Jordan asked.
Lonnie patted her sword. “Absolutely.”
“I’m proud of you,” Jordan said.
Lonnie grinned. “Me too.”
They started to walk the rest of the way together, but just before they reached the arena, someone called out Jordan’s name, and they both turned to see King Ben jogging to catch up to them.
“Hey, Jordan,” he said breathlessly. “I wanted to talk to you about that documentary.”
Lonnie looked questioningly at Jordan, but Jordan kept her gaze steadily on Ben.
What is this about? Lonnie wondered. Did my third wish not work?
“When do you think I can see the final cut?” Ben asked.
Jordan smiled. “I’ve been working on it all afternoon. I should have something to show you tomorrow morning.”
Ben nodded. “Awesome. I’m so excited to see it. I’ll find you after breakfast?”
“Perfect,” Jordan said.
“See you at the ceremony!” Ben called out, and then jogged ahead of them.
“What was that about?” Lonnie asked after Ben was out of earshot. “I made the wish to get you out of that. Did it not work?”
“No, it did.”
“Then why is he asking to see the final cut?”
Jordan’s lips curved into a knowing smile. “When we got back last night, Ben found me after dinner and told me I didn’t have to do it anymore. But I told him that I wanted to.”
Lonnie stopped walking. “You did?”
Jordan laughed and stopped, too. “Don’t look so surprised.”
“But I thought you were too afraid.”
“I was,” Jordan said. “Until I saw you reveal yourself in that arena. You took a chance. You faced your fears. And that’s when I knew that I had to
do the same.”
Twenty minutes later, Lonnie stood in the center of the outdoor R.O.A.R. arena, surrounded by her teammates and classmates.
Jay held his own sword high in the air and began the ceremony. “We are gathered here today to officially induct Lonnie as our new R.O.A.R. team captain!”
Everyone around her cheered, and Lonnie’s beaming smile grew wider.
“Lonnie has proved to be a worthy opponent, a valiant competitor, and a loyal teammate.” Jay flashed her a knowing smirk. “And therefore, it is my honor to welcome her to the team.”
Jay waited for the thunderous applause to die down before continuing.
“Lonnie,” he said in a serious tone, “please present the sword with which you will be inducted as our captain.”
Lonnie took one step forward and placed her fingertips on the handle of the weapon attached to her belt. As she did, she felt a strange vibration travel through her. Not quite magic, but something much more than just pride. It was as though everything her mother had done to secure this birthright had seeped right into the sword’s tempered steel.
And now, as Lonnie unsheathed the mighty sword of Shan-Yu and held it high above her head, she felt the spirit of the sword reach out and welcome her. Congratulate her. Bind itself to her.
They were connected now. They were a team. And together, they would go on to do great things.
Jessica Brody, Lonnie's Warrior Sword
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