I'm loathe to leave her, but with a sigh, I slip back into Limbo to handle it.
29
MAVEN
When Crypt disappears,I'm left with Baelfire dragging his hands through his hair anxiously, Everett, who has frost up to his elbows and refuses to look at me, and an inexplicably frustrated blood fae.
"There. Now you guys know everything," I offer.
Silas gives me an acerbic look. "If you say so."
Damn it. He somehow knows I lied there at the end.
But when he asked what will happen to me, I couldn't find the words to explain that even if I succeed at killing most of the Immortal Quintet, saving Lillian and all the Nether-born humans, and find ways to break my matches' curses…
There's still no way this can end happily for me. I came to terms with that long ago.
It's shitty, but there it is.
Before any of us can say anything else, footsteps sound nearby, and several seconds later, Professor Gibbons pokes his head into the alcove, blinking in surprise. I know he didn't overhear us, thanks to the special acoustics of this alcove, but he still looks flustered.
"Oh, my," he grimaces, looking between the four of us. "Miss Oakley, as the keeper of your quintet, you should ensure that you're all abiding by the rules set forth by our leaders. That means eating lunch during the scheduled block, not canoodling in the hallways!"
Canoodling?
I make a face. "Don't repeat that word around me."
Baelfire folds his arms. "I wish wewerecanoodling. Would've been way more enjoyable than that emotional fucking roller coaster."
Gibbons starts to fret. "Please, won't you all come along to the dining hall? You're breaking the rules, and the Immortal Quintet has been extremely intolerant of those who cross them lately. Speaking of which, all legacies and faculty are mandated to stay inside the dining hall during the next hour."
"Why?" Everett asks.
"I…well, I don't know," the warlock grimaces, rubbing one bushy eyebrow. "Asking seemed unwise."
I'll bet it did. At what point will the Immortal Quintet give up all pretenses and start killing legacies left and right while they look for their mage's murderer? They're fucking tyrannical, and it reminds me too much of Amadeus.
"As unwise as canoodling?" Baelfire suggests, earning an elbow to the side from me, which only makes him grin.
Great. Now he's going to keep tormenting me with that stupid word, isn't he?
If the Immortal Quintet is forcing everyone to stay in the dining hall, I assume it's either to keep us away from something else shady happening within Everbound Castle. That, or they want to sift through students there more effectively.
There's only one way to find out.
When we reach the crowded dining hall, a veritable feast is laid out on individual tables already set with plates, eatingutensils, and napkins. Legacies eat and chat in groups, sticking to their quintets or those they have agreed-upon allegiances with. It takes me less than ten seconds to pinpoint Kenzie's pale corkscrew curls.
When my quintet and I sit at the table with Kenzie's group, she leans forward with large, animated blue eyes.
"Okay, this is so fucking weird. What do you think is going on?"
"Perhaps they're trying to distract us," I mutter, reaching for an odd-shaped food item on the platter at the center of the table.
"Oakley, wait. That dumpling has meat in it," Everett cautions. "Try this spring roll instead."
He sets two rolls on my plate and begins picking other non-meat things out for me to try, arranging everything meticulously and even pouring a glass of some kind of juice for me. When he realizes I'm side-eying him, and so is most of our little table, his cheeks pinken. He clears his throat, standing and adjusting his blazer three times in a row.
"I'll talk to other faculty members to figure out what's happening."
