“Any other juicy gossip?”
She leaned close to me. “It’s not so much gossip, but I have noticed Amethyst is acting strange. She kept asking about you—almost obsessively. As if I would know what was going on with your mission. Alex mentioned it, too. Have you talked to her since returning?”
I nodded and bit my lip. Amethyst had found me right after I was released from the infirmary. After assuring her that I hadn’t mentioned the possession, she’d backed off, but her persistence was a little unnerving. It made me wonder ifshewasn’t tellingmesomething.
Had the ghost possessed her again while I was gone? I wanted to bring it up, but was worried that it would freak her out even more.
“Hey, you’ve gone all . . . serious. What’s going on? I thought Amethyst was worried about your mission, but now I feel like it’s something else.”
I gulped. “It’s nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me, Odie. I can tell that something is up.” Eva studied me, her eyes narrowed. “Why won’t you tell me?”
Something in me broke, and a wall—an admittedly flimsy one that I hadn’t really wanted to hold up in the first place—came crashing down. “It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s that Ican’t, or someone will get hurt.”
“Amethyst?”
I nodded, but clammed up again as the owner of Potions and Pastries, Miss Iris, appeared at the table and asked if we needed any more tea. We declined, and Miss Iris bustled off, content to let us chat as she took care of her other customers.
I cleared my throat, desperate for someone else to know what had happened. “The same things that will hurt us, will hurt her.”
Eva’s eyes popped open wide. “This demon?” She touched her face.
I shook my head.
“So it’s gotta be that one.” She gestured toward my ankle, and I nodded. “The queen spoke to her?”
I bit my lip. But even as the hesitation rose, I knew there was no backing out now. Eva knew the most important part, and honestly, if I was going to free Amethyst from this threat, I needed help.Lots and lots of help.
“Spokethroughher, in a special Rhines way.”
Eva’s hand flew to her mouth. “Spirit talking? Through a freaking ghost?” Her arm dropped to her lap, and a look of awe spread across her face. “Well, damn. That sucks. Impressive as hell, but still—sucks.”
“And Amethyst has been freaking out about it. I’m not supposed to say anything, or the queen will return. Any ideas on how to keep her safe and prevent it from happening again?”
Eva was quiet for a moment. “Have you thought about asking Amethyst if she can confer with other ghosts about this? Perhaps they’ll have answers.”
My mouth dropped at the obvious and genius idea. “I haven’t, but you can bet your butt I will now. And I’ll want your help when I do.”
I had a lot to catch up on after my mission, and didn’t particularly want to confront Amethyst without thoroughly considering what to say, and all the possible scenarios.
Plus, that girl was damn busy. Of course, everyone in the Grind-year was busy, but Amethyst seemed extraordinarily so.
In the end, it took the rest of the week for Eva and me to find Amethyst alone in a library study pod. The pods were basically rooms for those who needed a small group space or extra quiet. I generally avoided them because they smelled of old books, which wasn’t a scent that I loved, but Amethyst spent a lot of time in the pods because the Green Tower could get noisy.
“At least we have an out if Amethyst gets too upset,” Eva said. “Dinner starts soon, and you need to be there right when they open the cafeteria. I plan on making you eat all the food, because who the heck knows if that vampire school will have normal food?! What if they only serve you liquid?”
I chuckled. “I highly doubt that. There’ll be at least twelve of us there who eat normal food and they wanted us to come a day early. Headmistress Wake wouldn’t agree to that if they weren’t providing regular food.”
“Fine then, carb loading.” An envious expression crossed Eva’s face. “Damn, when I think of that, I kinda wish I was the Spellcasters champion.”
Although I appreciated her attempt to remain light-hearted, her mention of the Spy Games tied my already testy stomach into deeper knots.
The champions were scheduled to leave early the next day for Nightdwellers Academy, the first host of the games. It was exciting, but also a lot to take in. I felt like I was just getting my feet beneath me after my mission, and now I had to leave again.
That’s the Grind,I reminded myself for the millionth time, as we knocked on the door to the study pod.
Amethyst looked up from the text that she was scrutinizing, and a smile blossomed on her face. She waved us in.
