“Do you believe he’s alive?”
My breath catches.
Say yes. Keep up hope.
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
The flame flickers.
“You’re lying to yourself,” she says, gentler than I thought she’d be capable of. “Part of you knows the truth. You just don’t want to accept it.”
He’s dead. Oliver’s dead. You’ve known it since the emberlink broke.
I press my palms against my eyes, fighting tears. I’ve spent three years perfecting the art of crying only in private, and I’m not about to break that streak in front of a first-year.
“You don’t have to do that here,” Nina says, breaking through my thoughts.
I drop my hands. “Do what?”
“Pretend.” She shrugs one shoulder. “The Crone Chamber is for endings. For facing hard truths. You don’t have to smile through it.”
The permission to stop pretending, even for a moment, makes my eyes burn harder.
“One more question.” She moves closer, watching me as if she can see straight into my soul.
I nod, not trusting my voice.
“Do you believe anyone at the academy knows what really happened to Oliver?”
I think about the hollow look in Evie’s eyes before she disappeared. The way Jade couldn’t meet my gaze in the dining hall. Logan’s careful blankness whenever Oliver’s name came up.
“Yes,” I say. “I think someone knows.”
The flame burns steady.
“So do I.” She nods slowly. “I’ve heard rumors about Jade Harrington.”
Jade. Of course it comes back to Jade. Everything has come back to Jade since she arrived at this school with her chaotic energy and her effortless ability to make Oliver forget that anyone else existed.
But I need to focus on Nina, who—for some reason I don’t understand—seems to want to help me.
So, I take a deep breath and speak.
“Do you mean rumors about her lightning magic?” I ask, since that’s all people were talking about today.
“That’s a fact, not a rumor,” Nina says simply. “I heard Jade was seen with Logan Ashford at strange hours. That there was an incident the night Oliver disappeared, and that it involved her.”
I pause for a moment.
“Where are you going with this?”
“I’m wondering if you think Jade was involved in Oliver’s disappearance,” she says simply.
The easy answer would be yes, I think Jade swooped in and stole the attention of the only person I’ve ever loved, and now he’s gone, and wouldn’t it be nice if I could blame her?
“Jade’s impulsive. She’s reckless. But...” I take a breath. “I don’t think she would hurt Oliver.”
The flame stays steady.
