“You have to go downstairs and show him he didn’t get to you. Good thing you have Odie and I to help.”
The night had become way more complicated than I could have imagined. I was trying to get Holly alone to talk to her, a feat that proved difficult, as Heidi kept trying to show her roomie the time of her life. But I was also trying to be a supportive pal.
One thing was for sure, this whole evening made me grateful that Alex and I had a relatively drama-free relationship.
It was well past midnight when the break I’d been waiting for presented itself. Holly proclaimed that she had to go to the bathroom, and I hopped up from the chair I’d been lounging in and said I would join.
We chit-chatted up the stairs, all the way to her room. When Holly closed the bathroom door, I sat on her bed, my knee jumping up and down as I waited for her. I needed answers, but considering her breakup, I also wanted to be delicate about it.
The toilet flushed, and the faucet ran. A moment later, Holly flung the bathroom door open with a flourish, a grin on her face. “I think we’re getting to Caleb. Honestly, I can’t thank you and Eva enough for coming. I’ve had so much fun—”
“Holly,” I blurted out, unable to hold it in for a second longer. “Why were you whispering with Spymaster Chena today?”
Holly took a step backward. “Wh—what are you talking about?”
I sighed. “I saw you today, after the Samhain Trial. You two hovered in an alcove off the school entryway—hidden from most people, but not me. I was climbing the stairs, and from my vantage, I saw that you and Spymaster Chena were close.Veryclose.” I bit my lip. “Did he ask you to do something? You’re not in the Society of Spies yet, and you don’t have to do it. Or did he . . . hit on you?”
I couldn’t picture either scenario. The spymaster had always been someone I respected. But the way they’d been talking, like people sharing an intimate secret or like lovers, had left only two options in my mind.
“Is he forcing you—”
“David would never do that!” Holly shouted, and then catching herself, flung her hands over her mouth.
David?As far as I knew, I was the only other Spellcasters student who called Spymaster Chena by his first name. That was only because he respected my parents a lot and had insisted upon it.
“What do you mean?” I stood from the bed. “What’s going on between you two?”
Tears formed in Holly’s eyes.
“Holly, you and I are friends. You can tell me. Are you doing something you shouldn’t be? Is he making you?”
She covered her face with her hands. “David and I are together! We’ve been having an affair since my PIA orientation. It’s why I needed to break up with Caleb. Please don’t think I’m a whore!”
Chapter Thirty
Six days later, I still felt guilty for thinking that Holly might be up to something foul. Even though I thought her relationship with David was inappropriate—the power imbalance alone made it sketchy—she was eighteen, a consenting adult. What she did in her spare time was none of my business.
I’d quickly apologized after she told me about the affair, but Holly definitely had not forgiven me for thinking the worst. The week had been filled with her tossing hurt glances and scowls my way every time we passed in the halls.
I was reminding myself that she probably just needed time, after yetanotheruncomfortable run-in, when Amethyst sprinted up to me.
“Odette! I need you to come with me!Now!”
“What?! Is someone hurt?”Geez, why is that always the first thing out of my mouth? Shows what kind of life I’m leading . . .
“I can’t say here. Just come on!”
Amethyst led me down a series of hallways and into a room that I hadn’t been inside since our initiate orientation night. Despite the months that had passed, the Marie Laveau Room was just like I remembered it, dark and den-like. A fire was lit and beating the fall chill from the room. The rack of antlers above the hearth looked as impressive as ever, and a scent of sage, as if someone had just cleansed the area, hung in the air. To my great surprise, Eva was already there, sitting in an armchair by the fire.
“That was fast,” Eva said and then patted the seat next to her. “I expected her to take longer than two minutes to find you.”
“I had help this time.”
My eyebrows shot up, but I took a seat. Once Amethyst locked the door, she whipped around, her brown eyes sweeping the room.
I shot Eva a glance. “Is she—?”
“No freaking idea,” Eva whispered.
