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My stomach churns acid at the thought. “She can make my life either pleasant or miserable.”

“Nice.” He laces his fingers through mine. “Ignore her. She just thinks she has more power now that she’s engaged to your dad. Do you want to practice with the band?”

“I’d love to, but unfortunately, I really do have to study.” I sigh. “It’s too bad Queen Sirena didn’t have to kill her stepmom.”

Bash covers my mouth and pulls me into an empty classroom. “Don’t talk out loud about what we read! Not around others, at least. We weren’t supposed to be there, remember?”

“How would anyone know where I got the information?”

“If it’s in the secret library, they’ll know.”

“Doubtful. Nobody knows anything about her, which tells me that book hasn’t been touched in a long time. Maybe not even as long as we’ve been alive. It’s been that long since a student here had a trident.”

He cups my chin. “Still, don’t risk it. Remember Middlebrooks making you clean up after the dance—after Earwyn and her dogfish beat you? I’m sure she has worse up her sleeve.”

“What am I supposed to do, then? I can’t pretend I never read that. I’m supposed to—”

Bash covers my mouth again. “I know what you read! Do you remember what I told you?”

“Yes, and I think you’re full of hot air.”

“Hot air?”

“It’s a saying on land. Never mind. Thanks for helping me get rid of Middlebrooks back there, but now I really do need to study.”

He pulls me close. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because your mom moved away forever after your dad announced his engagement to the devil, who is now threatening to make your life miserable, and now you’re worried about an ancient story that has nothing to do with you. That might be why I’m asking.”

“It has everything to do with me!” I pull back. “Why don’t you get that? Stop telling me it isn’t my destiny.”

He frowns. “We don’t know either way. Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. We should look into it more.”

“How? It’s not like I can just go back to the library. I’m sure Rudder isn’t going to do that spell on us every time we ask.”

“He probably would, but that’s not the point. We can find other ways around it. The academy doesn’t house the only library in Valora. There are people we can talk to who might know more. There are options, that’s all I’m saying. And just because you-know-who had to kill her father, doesn’t mean you will. We know almost nothing about why she did that.”

I take a deep breath. “It was important enough to mention in that book.”

“It was about her, not you. You’re in charge of your destiny.”

We stare each other down, but I finally relent. “I don’t feel in charge of my destiny. My life is spinning out of control, and there isn’t anything I can do about it.”

He presses his lips on mine. “We’ll get through it together, no matter what happens. I’m not going anywhere, so you’re stuck with me.”

I smile. “That thought does make me feel better, but I’m going to show Middlebrooks. One way or another.”