1 Alive, Again I usually crave cookies, but right now, all I want is a golden beam of sunlight warming my skin; pink, sunburned cheeks; longer days; and the feeling of being alive again. Winter is the season of death, and I''m sick of it. Winter might be perfect for banshees, whose screams will kill you, or for the Grim Reaper''s offspring, who knows exactly how you will die. But the rest of us could use warmer weather! I''m a fairy-you might be, too, but we''ll talk more about that in a moment-and I''m meant to fly through meadows, give bumblebees kisses on the forehead, and drink milk and honey from buttercups. Instead, I''m bundled in hats and mittens and blankets; staring at dead branches, gray trees, and brown grass; and watching Rosemary Thorpe, the girl who has visions of death, prevent the Seelie Keeper''s stormy attempt to rule the realms. Picture this, if you will: a dozen children in the snow, a handful of teachers braced against the blizzard, and an army of Seelie fae rushing toward them, trying to gain access to the other realms. (His motives are frustrating, but if the Seelie Keeper can navigate the Lost Woods, access the human realms, and travel freely from place to place, he plans to rule all of them, as he thinks the strongest and most powerful should be in charge, regardless of whether that''s right or wrong.) The battle was intense, and I was freezing.

I''d much rather fight in the sunshine, under blue skies and a light breeze. I''ll do my best to schedule the next battle for better weather. But, anyway, we won, thanks to Rosemary''s quick thinking. Her ability to see the future helps lead us away from the worst possible outcomes and choose the path that doesn''t end in our squishy deaths. It''s a really useful power, which explains why my dad is obsessed with getting Rosemary and her gifts on his side. This has been a challenging power for our girl to embrace, as the gift brought her years of bullying, misunderstanding, and pain. Powerful people see how important her ability is, even if it''s been the source of many tearful nights for Miss Thorpe. The Keeper is a bitter old man, but fortunately, I didn''t get any of my winsome and charming genes from him, as he''s utterly dreadful.

Oh, did I mention? The Seelie Keeper is my father. Anyway, the frosty battle was tense, and unfortunately, one of us did not make it out. My younger sister, Iris-a demifae student with the magical power to persuade and manipulate, which, yes, is as dangerous as it sounds-has been under our father''s influence for a long, long time. And just when she seemed to understand that he''s the bad guy, he took her with him back to the Seelie court. I''m tired of shivering in the cold and waiting for things to change, whether the temperature, my relationship with my sister, or my dad''s terrible ideas about fairies and humans and politics. But that''s the thing about springtime, I suppose. Changes start slowly at first, and then one day, you look around, and everything is right with the world once more. If it''s true about the seasons, I''ll hold my breath and hope the idea applies to changing the world, too.

And, yes, it''s been quite frustrating to have a parent so miserable, with such cruel ideas about the world, when I myself am marvelous and perfect and have never done anything wrong. Rosemary, on the other hand, has a different sort of parent. She didn''t know her father was the Grim Reaper until recently. Despite people being very scared of the fae known for bones and funerals, he''s a rather pleasant person and has a remarkably brave and kind daughter. It made me think of the thing people say about parents and children: Sometimes the apple doesn''t fall far from the tree. Whereas other times, like in my case, the apple rolls downhill, across town, and to another country just to prove it''s nothing like the tree. But let''s get back to the point. A flower pops through the snow, warmth begins to melt the ice, and, at long last, we take off our jackets and reveal our beautiful wings.

Unless you, dear reader, don''t have wings? I suppose you might be human, in which case you might like spring for the warmer weather, the end of the school year, or holidays with eggs and chicks. But if you''re part fae, and there''s a chance you are, then this may be the most important season of your life. First, Rosemary has a student to save from the clutches of the Seelie court. Second, she needs to squash the Seelie Keeper''s plans to rule the realms, and end his reign of terror. Third, and perhaps most importantly, Rosemary must tackle the greatest battle of all: the icy divide between the Seelie and Unseelie fae. The Seelie fae, in case you''ve forgotten, are the sorts of fae who sparkle and shine, and therefore believe they''re better than everyone else. Unseelie fae may love the shadows and be friends with the night, but I''ve met many an Unseelie so kind and generous they would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it. Up until now, I''ve told you the story of death.

At long last, it will be the girl who sees how people will die who will show us all what it means to be alive again. 2 Slip, Slush, Splat Mud squelched around Rosemary''s foot with a loud sucking sound. The front lawn to Fern''s school had become a bog of hopeful, half-melted snow. The swampy grass, bobbing with chunks of slowly disappearing ice, promised the students that spring had arrived. The cold still bit her ankles to remind her that they weren''t quite done with winter yet. Slush clung to everything: boots, cloaks, hoodies, doormats, and what was left of her pride. Rosemary didn''t mind. The gurgling mud soaked through her sneakers, but she grinned at the sun like it was a long-dead friend who''d returned from the grave.

It was quite like her situation, she thought. Her gift had made her frosty. It sat within her ice block of a heart, frozen solid, until she learned slow, safe ways to accept who she was and what she could do. She knew she needed to leave her years of sorrow in the past if she wanted to move forward. As it stood, Rosemary had more pressing things to worry about than her tragic past. The long winter felt so much like her struggle to get others to trust her when it came to the Seelie Keeper. For ages, people were convinced he was good and powerful and strong. Little did they know he''d been planning to use that strength to spread his control to the human realm, the Unseelie court, the Lost Woods, and the many realms who lived free from a king, from rules, from his reach.

The time had come for the most powerful to be in charge, he believed, and he was ready to take out anyone standing in his path. His plans started with a stubborn girl who knew precisely which of his wicked paths would lead to his death. If her gift was used correctly, Rosemary would know which of his plans ended with his victory and which ended with his tearful end. Now the winter of disbelief had melted, and with the spring came brand-new understanding from everyone in Rosemary''s life. Tree branches sparkled with melting icicles, and the whole school seemed to exhale as color returned to the world. The ground squished beneath her soaked sneakers as she headed for the pink-and-purple animal sanctuary. She waved at Henry and Leo as she passed, but the boys were on the far end of the lawn, locked in a spirited exchange of . something.

Henry''s loose chestnut curls flopped as he jumped to catch an object. Leo threw an excited fist into the air, rich brown skin and wide grin stark against the white sparkle of melting snow. From a distance, it looked like they were throwing around either a football or a dragon fruit. Leo was yelling something about rules. Henry was shouting something about physics. Neither appeared to be winning. Just beyond the sanctuary, near the bushes, Willow''s pale hair created a birch-bark curtain as she crouched beside a single brave yellow flower, probably whispering encouragements. Rosemary knew that the girl could talk to plants, but she didn''t realize how hard the dying seasons of autumn and winter had been on Willow until she saw her personality come back to life in the spring.

Unlike Henry and Leo, Willow looked up to return a grin and a big wave as Rosemary continued down the lawn. She wondered what Iris would be doing on a day like today. After all, she and Iris had not been friends when they''d first met. Iris had been firmly Seelie, and so rooted in the long-standing division between their courts that Rosemary hadn''t even recognized the million tiny ways Iris was cruel to any non-Seelie student. In fact, Rosemary hadn''t realized just how much Iris disliked her until she learned that the Keeper was Iris''s father. He wasn''t much of a dad, though, as he pushed his daughter to the point of breaking and kidnapped her into the void when she didn''t turn against Rosemary in the end. Iris had been hard to spot against the winter snow, since she always wore a long white dress, as if she were a Victorian ghost instead of a fourteen-year-old girl. Perhaps the bottoms of her dresses would be brown from the mud.

Maybe she''d be grumpier than ever as she struggled to keep her clothes clean. Or maybe, for the first time since Rosemary had known her, they could truly be friends. Now that Iris''s dad had gone too far, and they had an enemy in common. That''s exactly why I''m searching, Rosemary thought. She needed to find out where the Keeper had taken Iris-with their powers combined,.