Page 39

THIRTY-NINE

The board members trooped out of the conference room, pausing only to shake her hand on the way out, leaving Lily alone with Leo, who sprawled in his chair like he'd been stunned.

Lily sank onto the chair next to him, feeling a little drained, but nowhere near as exhausted as she thought she'd be. Maybe because she'd experienced worse grillings after her presentations at Mirror Academy. The only question she hadn't been able to answer was about the power systems, as that was firmly contracted to Eirwen Energy, who she still hadn't heard anything from.

She checked with Faye, who hadn't been able to contact them, either.

Probably time to use her personal contacts to see what she could find out.

The last time she'd seen Arwen was before the ball, when she'd gone home early due to her father's illness. She'd sent a text message earlier that morning, asking if Arwen was okay, but she'd received no response. Time to call.

She dialled Arwen's number, but the call went straight to voicemail. Like it was turned off, or somewhere there wasn't phone service.

"Who are you calling?" Leo asked.

"Arwen. Her father owns Eirwen Energy. I was hoping she might have an update on the Sanctuary's power systems."

"You mean Arwen Snow? I've seen that name somewhere...in the news, I think. Let me check..." Leo pulled the keyboard toward him, and the big screen lit up with a search window. Leo typed in her name, and a flood of pictures filled the screen.

"Oh, no," Lily whispered.

Her father, Fannar Snow, had died after a short illness, and Arwen was missing. How had she not known? First Diana, then Eden, and now Arwen...was someone kidnapping Mirror Academy students? And why?

"We need to find her," Lily said.

"I'll get Badger on it," Leo promised. "With his help, we'll find her, I promise."

"And the other girls, too."

Leo's eyes widened. "There are other girls missing?"

Lily nodded. "Three of them. All Mirror Academy students."

Leo wrapped her in his arms. "I won't let them get you, I promise."

Lily swatted him. "I'm not worried about me. I have claws and can kick your furry arse, remember? But the other girls...Rosalind and Sienna and Auren...what if they're next?"