Everett turns and storms away before she can even think about getting a picture. Crypt vanishes, probably to stand guard outside this door until I come back out. Silas eyes Dirk suspiciously through the doorway, but Baelfire brushes off the offer for a picture and turns on his typical charm that's been missing for days to ask Kenzie how she's feeling and how their quintet classes have been.
They chat briefly about a shifter professor who apparently went missing in Everbound Forest before Baelfire and Silas leave so I can follow Kenzie into her room. Like mine, it's the largest room in her quintet apartment. I guess that's a keeper thing.
She rushes to shove a couple of what I assume are sex toys under the bed and then hops onto it with a wide grin. Her hair is in a messy bun that's almost the size of her head, thanks to all the curls.
"Oh mygods! I didn't want to say anything out there, but is Professor Frost, like…withyou now? I mean, obviously, he was always in your quintet, but he was all standoffish and uninvolved, wasn't he? But I saw the way he was looking at you earlier in the library, and holywow. That is dead-ass, the exact kind of pining, starry-eyed, melt-your-panties hero stare that love interests always have in romance movies when they secretly can't live without the heroine. So, did you finally get to sample Frost's popsicle, or what?"
Gods. She said all of that in under twenty seconds. Her lungs are beyond impressive.
"I slept in his bed," I admit.
"And?"
"And we didn't fuck, so don't get too excited."
Kenzie pouts. "Monk."
"Slut."
"Guilty as charged," she nods and then sobers a little. "So, you talked with Harlow Carter earlier. Did it have anything to do with…you know. The changeling and yours truly?"
I suppose now is as good a time as any to ask her about this. "It did. She mentioned your families are both involved in the anti-legacy movement but on opposite sides. Her parents are Remitters who think all legacies should return to the Nether, so I want to know. What does your family do in the movement, and why didn't you tell me about it sooner?"
Kenzie stares at me wide-eyed. "Whoa. Hang on. My family is part of the anti-legacy movement?"
Shit. I forgot about her memory loss. She doesn't remember anything from before the past year or so.
"Forget I asked," I say quickly.
But she's in full-blown spiral mode now. "Holy shit. Holyshit,May—they might be. They're way friendlier with humans than most legacies because they work in human relations, but last summer, I noticed that they were going to meetings at weird times and were constantly calling unmarked numbers and…oh my gods. They even talked shit about the Immortal Quintet. They don't like how things are run—maybe they never did, but I don't remember. I—I kind of don't even remember who Iamanymore, much less anything about my family, and…"
She covers her face as emotion overwhelms her, and I once again wish I had killed that changeling far slower. My drama with my quintet members cut that pleasure short.
"You'll learn more about your past when you visit your family for the holidays," I offer gently. "Rediscovering your past will help you discover any missing pieces about yourself."
Kenzie nods, wiping at her face. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Gods, I was really looking forward to taking my quintet home to meet my family. I was calling my moms about them all the time and making plans. Fuck the Immortal Quintet for canceling that," she huffs.
Then she pales and looks at me.
"Oh. Um…you're not a fan of the Immortal Quintet, are you? It'd be pretty awkward if you were after I said that."
I smile grimly. "Not even slightly."
"Oh, good! Because the way they're running Everbound right now is fuckinginsane. Right? Like, no contact with the outside world? No fuckingWiFi?And the faculty isn't even allowed to send out student death notices to their families. This is all giving me the willies. What even is going on?"
I hesitate and then look at her thoughtfully. "You're good at keeping secrets."
"Unless it's a surprise party, yes. Why?"
"The changeling killed Headmaster Hearst."
Her eyes bug out."What?But he's supposed to be unkillable! How is it more people aren't talking about this?"
"No one but myself and my quintet know, but that's why the Immortal Quintet came here. Don't tell anyone else."
She blinks. "Oh. Okay. Wait, but how did you find out?"
I almost give her a non-answer but I pause and consider my options. I've decided to fight for my quintet and spill my secrets to them, but I've known Kenzie longer. She's been so patient with me, and she deserves answers. I still can't say she's my friend out loud, but I seriously don't know what I would have done without her when I first came to Everbound.
