“Yes,” I groaned, well aware Skye was behind Nova’s stare. “You can come in.”
Nova’s tail flicked appreciatively, and I tilted my head in question. Skye had told me on the walk back from Odessa Hall about her gift.
“Did I even need to say that? Or did you already know?”
Skye dragged in a chair and plunked it down next to the tub, straddling it backward with her arms folded over the backrest for her chin to rest on. The way she was sitting gave me a clear view of the beautiful blue and green watercolor dragonfly soaring across her shoulders.
She said quietly, “Nova can’t read your mind, but I can hear and watch you through her. The mindreading goes quiet when I do. I guess that’s what the Goddess decided I was missing — night vision and a place to go when I don’t want to hear everyone’s thoughts.”
I was pretty sure the dragonfly on Skye’s shoulders was the same one from my sister’s letters, including the letter I’d received from Ash most recently, the one with scratchy handwriting, purple pen, and a lack of useful information. I’d thought more about the witch in disguise at the Allwitch temple. They’d stopped and stared at me for a long time before leaving. I wanted it to be my sister.
“You’re right,” said Skye, staring ahead at the line of sinks where plinks of water leaked from old silver faucets. “Ash and I are together. She’s my Counterpart. You know how she made the Dark Deal to work with Jaxan? That’s still happening. But she’s also working with Helen — or pretending to, so she can report back to Jaxan, and it’s . . .” She let out a heavy sigh. “Helen expects loyalty. Loyalty is not speaking to you.”
I stared up at the stone ceiling and listened to water rushing through pipes behind the walls. I wasn’t mad at Ash for doingwhat it took to keep herself alive, and Skye, too, if they were bonded. But I wished it didn’t have to be like this.
Skye twisted a silver ring around her knuckle. “She doesn’t tell me,” she said, “what they make her do — it’s why I couldn’t go in the temple with you. She doesn’t want me to know how she’s involved. But Ashy wanted you in Everden. I know that for sure.”
“Is she safe?” I asked.
Skye snorted. “Safer than anyone who messes with her.”
My throat was tight, so I just said, “That sounds like her.”
* * *
I had plenty of time alone to get ready for the party while everyone was decorating the cafeteria. A lot of that time, I stood at my mirror, reveling in the smoothness of my unbranded forehead. My arms were bare — the last time I saw my cuffs was at the temple — but I felt fine, still basking in the relief of etherizing not two days ago.
Because I could, I dressed in a short-sleeved, summery dress made of thin cotton material. It had a corset-style closure in the back, eyelet detailing sculpting the curves of my waist, and a lemon-yellow bow at the sweetheart neckline. I dabbed my wrist and spritzed my neck with Rainy Day Café, a perfume I’d found in Ash’s bedroom and wore to remind me of her, though now it wasmysignature, almond croissant.
At six, I headed down for the party, pausing in the arcade to admire the beautiful decorations in the common area. The tables were covered in giant, cascading bouquets of peach-cream, dusty-pink, and violet roses, carefully arranged in crackle-coated golden glass vases. I almost didn’t see Vyra standing at the cafeteria doors with her arms crossed, her short, flouncy skirt the same shade of burgundy as her lipstick. I checked for Sutter but didn’t see her.
“Hi, Vyra,” I said in acknowledgment as I tried to slip past her.
“I want to keep this short,” she said.
I stopped, surprised to hear the falter in her voice. She uncrossed her arms, and I waited, looking up at the skylight where the evening sky was turning a cool shade of periwinkle.
“It was out of concern for Leland,” she said, her voice ramping up with emotion. “I treated you poorly because I wanted you to stay away from him. It had nothing to do with you. Leland’s had a hard life. I knew a half witch, in this world, wouldn’t make it better. That’s why I treated you the way I did.”
“I understand,” I said, meaning maybe not the rudeness, but the desire to protect him — I knew how that felt.
“Just don’t hurt him and we won’t have a problem.”
I gave her a nod, some feeling preventing me from saying I wouldn’t. Which she noticed. She strutted into the flowering oasis of the cafeteria without another word.
Belinda, Rayne, Skye, Aila, and Pepper all sat at the first-year table, and Vyra folded herself in a seat next to Aila, which happened to be the seat farthest away from the one Skye had reserved for me. Antique brass table lanterns flickered, casting warm light on our faces as servers in white gloves stood by attentively.
“Since when does the cafeteria have servers?” I asked out of the corner of my mouth. I couldn’t take a single sip of water without one leaning over my shoulder to refill my glass.
“Belinda hired them,” said Rayne, holding her chin in her hand and smiling slyly. She looked beautiful, her red-beaded bracelets matching the embroidered ladybug motif on her fitted white dress. “Leland’s paying for it.”
“Of course he is,” I said.But where is he?
Belinda clapped her hands in a decisive manner. “This is going to beextremelycomplicated,” she warned a server. “Have you ever made a Sunset Moonale? Right, understandably — itismy own concoction,heh.”
She proceeded to feed the server a long list of instructions, which included two shots of moonale, orange, vanilla, and multiple ingredients I’d never heard of, like bubblin’ and giggleflower.
“Muddle it,” she continued, and made a churning motion into an imaginary mortar and pestle. “And voilà! Perfection.” With a serious hand on the table, she finished, “It’s also important you understand we needrounds.Many, many rounds.”
