“Not missing,” Trey said. “She’s gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?”
Trey sipped his coffee. “I mean, that’s she’s no longer here at Derleth Academy.”
“That’s what the headmistress said, but I don’t believe her.” I told them about how Loretta’s stuff was in our room one minute, and gone as soon as I returned from speaking with Headmistress West. “She didn’t take her things with her.”
“Loretta had the lowest score of all the scholarship students at the school. That means she has to leave,” Trey explained. “They eliminate one scholarship student each quarter, so at the end of the year, only one of you graduates with the rest of the class. You don’t understand just how deep hatred of the scholarship program goes.”
“I…” Did they tell me that when I enrolled? I don’t remember anything about having to compete to stay at Derleth. I was pretty out-of-it when the scholarship officer visited, but I think it’d rememberthat.
“It’s a secret,” Ayaz said, his eyes flaring with anger. “You can’t let on that you know about it, or they’ll send you away, despite your ranking.”
“But…” My heart thudded in my chest as I realized what they were saying. “But yesterday, I had the lowest score.”
“And now you don’t,” Ayaz growled.
I stared at the three of them, struggling to form words. “Why would you help me? You hate me.”
“That so, Hazy?” Quinn pressed his body against me, his eyes dancing over my neck. God, the way he touched me in the grotto, at the library… I wished then, as I wished every time I laid eyes on him, that I could be loved by a guy like Quinn. I had a feeling that once you cracked him open, a lot of goodness and vulnerability would pour out.
Trey and Ayaz exchanged a look I couldn’t read. I shoved Quinn away, gently, and shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t understand you guys at all.”
“Good,” Quinn grinned, then winced as if the action hurt his swollen eyes. “We like being mysterious.”
I turned to Trey, trying to focus on the guy who had tried to kill me, not the one who had kissed me like I could cure all his pain. “You’re no longer top of the school.”
He shrugged. “Some things are more important than that.”
“Like keeping me here at Derleth?”
No answer.Hmmm.
Above our heads, the bell rang through the intercom system. The guys ignored it. What were three tardy points to them? I guess three points meant little to me now, too. I was safe, for now. I was here at least until next quarter.
But what did that mean? Why would the school force the scholarship students to compete like that? Why would they not even tell us?
I folded my arms across my chest. “I need more than this. I need answers.”
“Have a croissant instead.” Trey pushed a plate of hot croissants across the table. I hesitated. He laughed, and for the first time, his laugh had none of its usual cruelty. “I promise I haven’t spiked them. My Dad’s chef has them flown in from Paris. They’re amazing. You’ve never had anything like them.”
I took a croissant and nibbled off the tiniest corner.Omigod, that’s divine.Hot buttery goodness melted on my tongue.
Trey threw his blazer over his shoulder. “We should get going.”
The guys scrambled for jackets and ties. “This talk isn’t over!” I yelled. No one paid any attention to me.God, they’re so infuriating.
Trey leaned over and pecked me on the cheek, his lips leaving a red-hot mark. Ayaz glared at me as he followed Trey into the hall, but the glare held an odd kind of possessiveness that made my heart do all sorts of flips in my chest.
“You’ve got to be careful out there, Hazy,” Quinn whispered, draping his arm over my shoulder. His breath caressed my earlobe, and I almost missed what he said.
Almost.
“Careful of what?”
Quinn pointed to the massive television, which nearly covered one whole wall. It displayed the school rankings, with my name highlighted in the middle of the table, sandwiched between two average rich students and miles above my fellow scholarship kids.
And miles above Quinn, I couldn’t help but notice.
