“Where is she?” His voice sharpens. “What happened to Alessandra?”
“She’s upstairs.” Logan doesn’t miss a beat. “Where else would she be?”
“Why does Jade have her blade?” Miles refuses to let Logan’s deflection distract him.
I start to open my mouth to explain, but what would I say? That Alessandra threatened me, made my forbidden electricity magic flare up, pulled a dagger on me, Logan intervened, and then he compelled her to forget the entire thing?
Logan raises his hand, and orange fire blooms in his palm, with that same sharp dark edge as before.
“Go back upstairs.” He looks between Miles and Evie, sweat beading on his forehead, the flame sputtering as if it’s struggling to stay alive. “Enjoy the party. Forget you came looking for us.”
“Back upstairs,” Evie murmurs, already turning. “The party.”
Miles’s lips press into a thin line, reaching for something in his jacket pocket, but he turns as well.
They climb the stairs with mechanical movements. It’s not quite the sleepwalker shuffle of Alessandra, but close.
When they disappear around the bend, Logan sags against the wall.
“Are you okay?” I reach for him, but he waves me off.
“Using it multiple times in one night is difficult.” He says it like an observation, not a complaint. “But we need to move. Now.”
I want to argue again. Push him to explain… everything. But he looks so exhausted that I can’t bring myself to do it. Especially since the reason he’s so exhausted is because he just saved my lifetwice.
I’m going to get answers. I won’t rest until I do. But it’s clearly not going to happen right now, or even tonight in general.
“Fine,” I say again. “But we’re talking about this later.”
My legs feel like lead as we splash through the rising water to the stairs, the dagger weighing heavy in my hand. Alessandra’s dagger, which Logan is going to have to return to her without raising her suspicions. Although given his impossible compulsion magic, I suppose it shouldn’t be a problem for him.
“I’ll take that,” he tells me, apparently noticing me staring at it. “Next time, remember to bring your own weapon. You should never be without it.”
I hand it over, my heart dropping when he avoids touching me while taking it from me. It’s like he’s afraid of being shocked by my electricity, although my magic clearly doesn’t hurt himthatmuch, given what happened between us right before we were attacked and nearly killed.
He puts the dagger inside his jacket, turns away from me, and we continue up to the third floor in silence. It’s quieter on this floor than the others, since most people are either dancing above or drinking on the roof. The only reason to come here is to use the bathroom, and that’s tucked all the way in the back.
But there’s one other person in the main room, tucked into an alcove near the windows.
Nina.
She sits cross-legged with a notebook in her lap, sketching something by the light of the torches.
“Perfect,” Logan mutters, the word sounding like a curse.
Nina looks up as we approach, her sharp eyes taking in our waterlogged state. “What happened to you two?”
“Nina.” Logan’s voice turns layered and melodic as he creates more of those dark flames in his hand. “Jade came down here to use the bathroom about twenty minutes ago, and you’ve been hanging out here since, talking and getting to know each other. Becoming friends.”
She lowers her pencil. “We have?”
“Yes. Go back upstairs and tell anyone who asks that you and Jade were together. Bonding. First-year solidarity.”
Her eyes glaze over like the others, but there’s something different in them. A flicker of resistance before she nods.
“Jade and I were talking,” she repeats. “Third floor. Getting to know each other.”
“Good.” Logan nods. “Now, go back to the party.”
