How am I supposed to sneak out with her right here? Make up an excuse about a late-night library session? Fake a sudden craving for kitchen leftovers?
I fidget on my bed, pretending to read the same page of my Fire Philosophy text for the tenth time. The words about flame control and emotional regulation feel particularly ironic given my current state.
“Isn’t there somewhere you need to be?” Evie looks at me over her shoulder, as if she’s scolding me for pressing the snooze alarm one too many times.
“What?” My voice comes out higher than intended. Because how the hell could she know that? What did Logan say to her? And why didn’t he warn me, so I’m not sitting here like a blubbering idiot trying to figure out how to answer her question? “I don’t... what are you talking about?”
She turns fully in her chair, studying me with those perceptive eyes of hers. “Come on. You’ve been checking the time every thirty seconds for the past hour.”
“I have not.”
“You literally just looked at the clock again.”
Caught.
“Look, I know Logan’s tutoring you for the tournament,” she continues. “And I’m perfectly aware that you need his help if you want to stand a chance against anyone in our class. Plus, I’d hate to be woken up early by you struggling to get up for the entirety of next semester to drag yourself to kitchen and grounds duty at dawn. So, go, before you’re late.”
I stare at her, stunned.
But mainly—why the hell didn’t Logan warn me that he’d told her?
“Just be careful,” she adds, but she softens it with a small smile. “Okay?”
“We’re talking about this later,” I warn, getting up and heading toward the door.
“No, we’re not.”
I pause at the door. “Evie…”
“Go.”
So I go, slipping out into the empty hallway with my mind spinning, making my way to the back section of Phoenix Hall as quietly as possible. When I finally reach the storage closet,I open it and step inside—making sure no one sees me as I do—and press my palm against the wall where the entrance to the passages hides. My sigil warms, and the stone shimmers, opening like it recognizes me.
Logan’s already there, leaning against the tunnel wall with his arms crossed, looking like he hasn’t slept since last night.
The relief that washes over his face when he sees me makes my chest tight. But it’s quickly replaced by something more guarded, more careful.
“You came.” His voice is carefully neutral.
“Did you think I wouldn’t?”
He pushes off the wall, maintaining a careful distance between us. “I wasn’t sure.”
“Not even wild, bloodthirsty Harpies could keep me away.” I try for light, but it’s unconvincing, and I know it.
His lips quirk. “Just one Harpy, actually. And you handled her beautifully.”
We’re standing several feet apart now, that magnetic pull between us fighting against the distance he’s deliberately maintaining. I can smell cedar and smoke, and can see the way he’s holding himself rigid, like he’s physically restraining himself from coming closer.
“Did you fire travel here?” I ask him, needing to saysomethingto break the silence.
“The magic in the passages prevents fire travel,” he answers. “Hecate’s the goddess of the crossroads, and she requires everyone to walk her paths on foot.”
He doesn’t explain beyond that. Which leaves me and him, watching each other, with that damn invisible wall he constructed between us.
“So.” I clear my throat, trying to focus on anything other than the memories of what we did together last night. “What did you say to Evie?”
Logan steps back, his expression shuttering. “What do you mean?”
