After lunch, there was an hour of free time. Nory was startled when Mitali found her by the water fountain in the dining hall. “Do you want to go explore?” Mitali asked. She hooked one ankle behind the other. “We could flux,” she whispered.

Nory hesitated. She felt muddled about so many things. Almost losing Bax. Her dad being here. Mitali.

Nory did like Mitali. And she was interested in Mitali’s double talent. It was kind of like having upside-down magic.

Then again, Mitali was clearly Father’s pet. The thought made Nory ache with jealousy.

Then again again, Nory wanted to see more of the fire-breathing kitten. And whatever else Mitali could do.

“Sure,” she said.

Outside, the fall air had a buttery cast to it. Orange and yellow leaves fluttered. It was all so beautiful.

“Do you do any birds?” Nory asked Mitali. Almost nobody did birds till high school, but Nory had done bluebird and flamingo, both with other animals mixed in.

“I can do robin,” said Mitali. Robin was a beginner bird, but a bird was a bird.

“Sweet! That means we can fly together!” Nory said. “I do bluebird, but I also add other animals to a lot of my fluxes. I can’t help it, most of the time. So don’t get scared if it goes upside down.”

“Like how?”

“Last time I did bluebird, I added a touch of elephant and got really enormous.” Nory grimaced. “Then I added a human face—we’re talking a really big face, as in my face stretched out a hundred times. I’m pretty sure I scared the jellybeans out of everyone who saw me.”

Nory thought back to the day she was Enormous-Bluebird-Nory-with-Nory’s-Actual-Face. Blubiphant- Nory. She’d done all that for Andres, who’d been in danger. “I won’t do that today, I promise.”

Mitali laughed. “I can do elephant, but I’ve never done elephant and robin mixed together.”

“Robiphant!” said Nory. “If you want to try, I think you’d just add a tiny bit of elephant to your robin. You take the elephant that’s waiting inside you, and you kind of—let it out.”

“I’m not sure my magic works that way,” said Mitali. “It sounds cool, though.”

“You know what?” said Nory.

“What?”

“Let’s not talk about how our magic works, or Sage Academy, or my UDM program. Let’s not talk about my father or double talents or upside-down magic. Let’s not even talk about dragons. Let’s just fly. Okay?”

Mitali grinned and fluxed into a robin.

Nory fluxed into a bluebird.

Together, they soared up, flying over the trees, over the buildings, and over Dragon Haven. They swooped and arced, looking down at the kids and dragons, ponds and meadows below.

Mitali was a very solid bird. She was good at holding her form. Ten minutes into their flight, Nory’s bluebird turned flamingo pink. She caught a glimpse of her pink wings and felt her ego swell. Flamingos were very vain.

She was Fabluebird-Nory! Flabubird-Nory? In addition to being vain, flamingos didn’t have the biggest brains—not that it mattered, given how fabulous they were.

Yes! Flabluebulous-Nory, that’s who she was!

Flabluebulous-Nory and Robin-Mitali swooped and zoomed, leaving the weight of their problems behind. The air was surprisingly warm among the treetops. Much warmer than down below. The blue sky shimmered. Tiny pinecones dotted the highest branches like ornaments. Flabluebulous-Nory saw every detail up close: the sapphire sky, the emerald pine needles. She felt like she was soaring through jewels.

Finally, she and Robin-Mitali landed back in the clearing by the kittenball courts. Mitali fluxed back into her girl form. Flabluebulous-Nory circled Mitali once, making Mitali laugh. Then Nory fluxed back as well. Both girls flopped onto the grass, leaning back on their arms.

“So fun,” Mitali said.

“Crazy fun,” Nory said, breathing hard. Her chest felt looser, her muscles warm and stretched out. “I’ve never had a chance to fly like that before, out in the wild. I’ve only flown for a long time with my aunt, who’s a taxi. Don’t you feel lucky to be a Fluxer?”

“So lucky.”

“Which do you like better, flaring or fluxing?” asked Nory.

“Neither, because I’m not choosing between them,” Mitali said sharply.

Nory’s cheeks grew hot. Had she said something wrong?

“Sorry,” Mitali said. “It’s just, your dad told me I have to choose one type of magic and stick to it if I can’t keep them separate. You know, my kitten isn’t supposed to breathe fire. My robin isn’t supposed to make the temperature around me heat up.”

“Is that why it was so warm when we were flying?”

“Yeah, I was flaring. But not on purpose!” Mitali shook her head. “I don’t think your dad knows how hard it is to unmix them. It’s not as if I haven’t tried!”

“Father’s pretty old school,” Nory said. “I wasn’t admitted to Sage Academy because my magic isn’t one of the five Fs. At least, not the way the five Fs are supposed to be.”

“I know,” said Mitali. “I mean, your dad doesn’t talk about it, but kids do. In the halls and stuff.”

It stung to hear it, but Nory knew she shouldn’t be surprised. Of course people talked about the headmaster’s wonky daughter. How could they not?

“When my magic first came in, I tried so hard not to be … well, the way I am,” Nory told Mitali. “But I am who I am, so now I focus on making the most of it. I mean, I can learn to control my magic better, and I can get better at the kind of magic I have, but it’s never going to be typical.” Nory thought for a moment. “I’m sorry my father can’t accept you just as you are.” She blinked hard. “I can tell he really likes you, though.”

Mitali smiled awkwardly. “I know he’s proud to have a double-talent student at Sage, but he wants me to be a proper double talent. He doesn’t want me to flare while I’m fluxing, or flux while I’m flaring.” She sat forward and drew her knees to her chest, locking her arms around her shins. “I feel trapped sometimes. Like … this’ll sound weird … but like I’m a slippery, oozy blob, and he and the other teachers are trying to squish me into a too-small container.”

Nory laughed. It did sound weird. But she got it, because a while ago she and Elliott had read a book called The Box of Normal. It was all about taking “wrong” magic and pretending to hide it away inside a box. Nory had even tried the book’s strategies, and it was just like Mitali said: trying to wrangle a large blob into a small jar.

The more time Nory spent at Dunwiddle—especially with Ms. Starr for her teacher—the more convinced she grew that “normal” was a dumb idea in the first place.

“You know what might make you feel better?” Nory said.

“What?” Mitali said.

“To do whatever you feel like doing without worrying about getting in trouble. I’m the only one who’ll see, and you know I won’t judge you for it. I’ll even do it with you! Seriously, Mitali, let’s just wonk out. Let’s go for it!”

Mitali seemed unsure, but Nory knew she was right about this. She got on all fours, arched her spine, and whoosh! She was Kitten-Nory! She puffed out her kitten ribs, curled her kitten claws, and thought dragon-y thoughts. Double whoosh! She was Dritten-Nory!

She pranced happily. She flapped her dritten wings, making Mitali’s hair whip about.

Mitali laughed. Still, uncertainty lingered in her eyes.

Dritten-Nory pounced and roared, a tiny flame shooting from her mouth.

Mitali bit her thumbnail, and then her body shimmered and shrank. She was Robin-Mitali again!

Dritten-Nory was delighted. A playmate! She made sure Robin-Mitali was watching, then flew toward the river. Dritten-Nory had an idea, but it involved being near water.

She picked up an autumn leaf with her teeth and tossed it in the air. Then she blew fire on it. Sparks glowed orange before what was left of the leaf hit the water. Dritten-Nory grabbed more leaves and tossed them at her friend.

Robin-Mitali hovered for a moment, and then she opened her beak and breathed out fire! The leaves burst into flame—glorious and shining. The sparks fell into the water, and the sizzling sound made Dritten-Nory’s fur feel electric.

Robin-Mitali squawked. Dritten-Nory meowed. Robin-Mitali blew a fire bubble. Dritten-Nory popped it, and Robin-Mitali promptly blew more, a whole stream of beautiful, magical fire bubbles!

Robin-Mitali and Dritten-Nory circled and chased each other in the air.

They played until the bell rang for afternoon activities.

They had fun.