I glance at the empty seats again, then back at the others at our table. “Is anyone even checking on her?”
Felix pushes his eggs around his plate, only half looking at me. “Callie and Alessandra said she refused to leave her room this morning.”
The lump in my throat grows larger.
“I need to find out what’s going on.” I’m already moving to the third-year table before I’ve consciously decided to. Callie and Alessandra are Avery’s suitemates, so if anyone knows what happened last night, it’s them. And if they try to brush me off, I’ll burn through their deflections until I get a real answer.
The chandeliers flicker again, their flames jumping and dancing.
Control yourself. You’re in public. Keep it together. Oliver’s probably fine.
But the thing clawing at my throat isn’t just worry. It’s the sick, growing certainty that the signs were there, and I looked right past them. Because for weeks, Oliver’s been secretive and jumpy, disappearing into his advanced studies like it was eating him alive.
I told myself he was stressed. But maybe I should have pushed harder. Maybe I should have asked.
Callie looks up as I approach, her expression shifting from bored to vaguely annoyed. She’s immaculate as always—not a hair out of place, her makeup perfect despite the chaotic night.
Alessandra sits beside her, stirring her tea.
I don’t have time for the fake pleasantries they give me because I’m Oliver’s sister.
“Have either of you seen my brother?” I ask, already bracing for condescension from both of them, given that they mutually decided not to like me from day one since I’m friends with Jade.
“No.” Callie’s tone suggests supreme disinterest as she pours herself a cup of coffee.
“What about Avery?” I ask.
Alessandra dumps an unholy amount of sugar into her tea. “After watching Oliver fawn over your roommate all evening, Avery got herself good and drunk. We practically had to carry her back to Hydra Hall.”
The chandeliers flicker more insistently.
“She was getting sick in our bathroom around three in the morning,” Callie adds. “Paying the price for drinking her feelings about your brother’s wandering eye.”
The chandeliers overhead surge brighter, flames leaping in their iron cages, and my hands ball into fists.
“Then where’s Oliver?” I demand. “If Avery’s in her room, where did he go after the ball?”
“I don’t keep track of your brother’s schedule.” Callie’s eyes flick to the chandeliers, then back to me with a smirk. “Maybe ask your roommate.”
“Callie,” Alessandra says, low and pointed.
“What? It’s true.” Callie shrugs one elegant shoulder. “Oliver was following Jade around like a puppy. If anyone knows where he ended up, it’s her.”
I want to defend Jade, defend Oliver, or throw Callie’s coffee in her immaculate face. But the chandeliers are flickering faster now, and if I don’t walk away, I’m going to melt the mug right out of her manicured hand.
“Fine.” I take a deep breath and step back from their table. “If you see him, tell him I’m looking for him.”
“Will do.” Callie smiles and waves a dismissive hand. “Now, run along back to the children’s table.”
The world blurs around me as I move through the dining hall.
Oliver wouldn’t just disappear. He wouldn’t miss breakfast. And Avery collapsing at the exact moment the Unity Flame went out, at the exact moment that impossible storm appeared…
Correlation isn’t causation. Correlation isn’t?—
The chandeliers flare so bright that people at nearby tables shield their eyes.
Causation.
