“Of courseyouhaven’t,” she says, resting her head on her arm, looking at me with her piercing blue eyes. “But Callisto has rankings, don’t they? Crosses, Hymns, Silvers, and Stakes. I’m assuming you’re just a Cross.”
I look away from her. She’s right. I’ve been a Cross for four years.Penny was already a Stake when I met her. I know that the missions Stakes go on aredifferent.“How do you know so much about Callisto?” I ask, trying to keep my mind from racing.
“I had the pleasure of meeting its founder,” she says, acid dripping from her tongue.Catherine Lovelace.I have a million questions. But I get the sense Elia doesn’t want to talk about her.
What if she’s right about Callisto?
If Callisto really does work with the Vassals, if I wasscoutedfor them by Gustavsson, then there’s a chance Callisto may have arranged my parents’ deaths, just to make sure I had a reason to join them. What if they’ve spent the last four years dangling the carrot of revenge in front of me to keep me fighting, when they were the culprit all along?
What if Penny lied tome?
“If you’re right about Gustavsson, what should we do?” I ask. I’m happy to take him on myself. But when we were alone in his classroom, I froze. That might happen again.
“I need a band for my Halloween Ball,” Elia says, picking up her phone. “And I believe he’s part of a quartet. Ada’s little palace has many hidden corners in which we can ask him questions.”
I nod. I find my thoughts spiralling back to what she said before. Callisto, working with the Vassals.
“When did you figure out I was a vampire hunter?” I ask. “When you found the garlic in my room?”
“No,” Elia scoffs. “I knew the moment I first saw you,” she says. “Your eyes were full of the hatred only Callisto’s hunters have.” She puts a hand on my head. “But you’ve changed.”
I take in a deep breath, and I look at her as I exhale.
“If they are behind my parents’ deaths, I’ll crush them,” I say.
“Them?”
“Callisto,” I say. “So, I can’t quit. Not if I can destroy them from the inside.”
“My conditions haven’t changed,” Elia says.
Whether or not Callisto is working with the Vassals, I still need to get into the library.
I need to convince Elia that she can trustme.
“My mission here was to stealThe Book of Blood and Roses,” I say. “From Ada’s secret library.”
“The Book of Blood and Roses?” Elia raises her brows, leaning back. “Why does Callisto want a book of remedies?” She pauses. “It makes sense for your current predicament, of course.”
“Remedies?” I ask. “I thought it was a list of every vampiric weakness. A way to—”
“Cure vampirism?” Elia mutters. “She certainly tried. But thoseweaknessesyou speak of are in the ‘Blood’ section of the book. The remedies are in ‘Roses,’ which takes up the bulk of her work.”
That bizarre name finally makes sense.
“I suppose Callisto is interested in the ‘Blood’ part of the book, then,” I say.
Elia stares at me and finally sighs. “All right, Rebecca. Once the moon’s in its first quarter, I’ll take you to the library. But if you go back on your word and work for them again, I will kill you.”
“I thought you’d done enough killing already.”
“There’s always an exception,” she says, grinning atme.
The week, whichI’d assumed would feel like an eternity, staggers to a sudden end. The half-moon sits atop the hills, a faint glow through the thick clouds. I’ve stopped going to Gustavsson’s class, afraid that if I see him again, I’ll either freeze or kill him. Julia eyes me warily; ever since I ran from her painting, she’s been distant, as though she knows the effect it had onme.
And even though I haven’t gone to Gustavsson’s class, I still can’t stop replaying prom, over and over, in my head, until what I remember becomes a tattoo, and the missing memories a void, threatening to pull me in. My only respite is Aliz, who can twist every emotion, every anxiety, into longing.
“Are we really doing thishere?” I ask. Aliz presses her lips to the black moon on my neck, bringing my every nerve to life. The fifthfloor of Kinsnet Library is empty, but I can hear the low murmurs of my fellow students in the floors below. I swallow and look at the clock. Elia told us to meet her by the nook at midnight, in just two hours.
