Page 59

T he next morning, I woke up with a thick tongue, a pounding headache, and a furry raccoon pressed against my face.

“Ugh, get off,” I muttered, shoving Bandit off and onto the pillow beside me. He didn’t even wake up. He just let out a snuffle and curled back up before starting to snore again.

“Here, drink this.”

I looked up to find a clear-eyed Fable looking down at me, her gaze full of pity as she handed me a mug.

“Bless you, my friend.” I took the offering and tossed back its contents in one open-throated gulp. My belly heaved instantly as the taste of whiskey filled my mouth. “Blerg.”

I barely made it to the trash can beside my bed before I wretched, chucking up the contents of my stomach.

“Gods, what the hell was that?” I swiped a hand over my mouth as I blinked back a hot rush of tears that had come along with the heaving.

“The hair of the dog that bit you. Plus, some clamato juice.”

I stared at her like she’d grown a second head.

She shrugged and held up both hands. “Look, I’m a newb when it comes to partying. Maybe next time just drink one or two, and we won’t have this problem, hmmm?”

For a second, our eyes locked, and a memory of the night before passed between us.

“Harlow, it doesn’t change anything ...” she whispered, taking the empty mug from my unresisting fingers.

“Good morning, sunshines!” Marina crowed as she rushed through the door balancing two coffee cups in one hand and a heaping bowl of oatmeal topped with fruit in the other.

“You two better get down and eat before they clear breakfast away. I’m carbing up big for the next two weeks.

If we can’t find our Quirks, at least we’ll have our strength. ”

My head had its own pulse, and I grimaced. “What time is it?”

“Nine fifteen. You’re just sleeping the day away,” Marina replied.

“Weirdly, your hangover concoction may have actually worked. I was super nauseous before, but now I’m just hungry. Some food, couple of aspirin, and I’ll be right as rain.”

Once I’d washed my face and brushed my teeth, I was already feeling marginally better.

Until I walked into the dining hall to find Typhon in deep conversation with Nikita, their heads pressed close together.

To my surprise, though, the second we made eye contact, he excused himself and made his way toward me.

“I can’t believe I have to say this out loud, but I am not sleeping with Nikita.”

I wanted to be furious but weirdly, the more I looked at his anguished face, the less angry I felt. “Tell me why I should believe you? Better yet, tell me why you care if I do?”

“Because it matters. I ... I am not a good guy, Harlow, but – forget it.”

He turned to walk away, but I couldn’t let him go. I needed answers.

“Was she trying to sleep with you?” I asked, bracing myself for the lie.

“Yes. Ever since she came here. It’s never worked.”

Fruck me, I believed him.

“Are you feeling unwell?” he asked, studying me through narrowed, dark eyes. “You’re looking feverish.”

Part of me wanted to snap back and say the same to him, but it would’ve been a lie. Even tired and strained, he looked amazing and smelled even better.

“Rough night’s sleep,” I conceded with a tight smile.

“Look, I ... um, the whole reason I tracked you down last night was that I wanted to thank you. For the gift.” He was dead silent and, for a second, I wanted to crawl into a hole.

“I mean ... I assumed – did you leave something on my bed, or ...”

“I did,” he replied with a nod.

The relief left me feeling a little dizzy.

“Oh, good. Okay then, well thanks.” I forced a smile, “I, um, really appreciate you thinking of me. It really helped a lot. It was like someone turning a light on in a dark room. If I’d known, maybe ...”

Maybe things here at Neverthorn would’ve been different for me the first time around.

“Anyways,” I said, forging on. “Thanks.”

Again, no reply.

I resisted the urge to start fidgeting under the heat of his gaze.

“I got you a teapot full of whiskey, but I drank it. Hence the chipped teapot. The rune on it should still work, though. It will make you more once it’s recharged.”

His lips twitched but the hint of a smile was gone before it ever fully materialized.

“I didn’t give you something because I expected something in return, Harlow.

And it wasn’t even really meant to be an Abundance gift.

I just so happened to finally get it exactly right only yesterday morning.

” He stepped close enough that his woodsy fire smoke scent filled my senses, and I nearly got lost in those deep-green eyes.

“The reason I made the glass of lucidity was so I could right a wrong.”

“Oh?” I croaked.

“We failed you the first time around. Someone should have noticed sooner. It’s our job to make sure we connect the dots for the students who rely on us. Those dots never connected for you, even more than the others, and no one stopped to ask why.”

“You were just a student teacher yourself. And I didn’t exactly make it easy for you or anyone else to ask me anything. I wanted to be home with my mom, and I know I was a pain in the asterisk –”

“You were a kid and there was a whole team of adults tasked with your care. Facts are facts. The school dropped the ball, and it had a lasting effect on you and your life.”

Having someone acknowledge and validate a piece of my childhood trauma knocked the breath out of me. My eyes stung, filling with unshed tears, and I blinked hard.

“Anyway, on behalf of Neverthorn Academy and for myself personally, I wanted to ... apologize.”

“I accept your apology,” I said. “And I thank you again for your very thoughtful gift.”

“On that note, there’s one other thing I’d like to give you. Once you’ve finished your breakfast, can you stop by my chambers?”

I blinked at him, my imagination running wild.

His lips twitched like he could read my mind, and I launched into a nervous chuckle.

“Uhm, yeah. Sure thing. About a half hour, sound good?”

“That’s fine, yes.”

The clanging of trays and dishes was a welcome distraction from his unrelenting gaze, and I whipped my head around to see the staff clearing away the breakfast spread.

“I’ve got to make a plate,” I mumbled, giving him one last glance through my lashes.

“See you shortly.” He turned on his heels and headed out of the room, taking a piece of my heart as he went.

A thoughtful, kind, and apologetic Typhon? One who still looked like he might pull my hair and smack my asterisk in bed?

That Typhon was positively lethal.

“Stop thinking about it. He probably just wants to show you some rune trick or something.”

And for that alone, I should be grateful. I’d missed our field trips, and our team needed every leg up we could get going into the games.

I’d just finished up making a plate and was looking around for Opie when Fable rolled up beside me.

“I’ve got a great idea,” she murmured in a low voice as she all but dragged me back toward our dorm.

“We are going to be stuck with crap rations at the Games, which got me to thinking, what if we start squirreling food away now, and then the morning of, someone hit all this with a nicking notions, shrinking rune ...”

I snicked my tongue at her in mock disdain. “Fable, you naughty girl. Where is this coming from? Don’t you want to play fair?”

“I learned from the best. And no. We aren’t even supposed to play fair.

It’s guerrilla warfare, isn’t it? That’s why we’re going to win, because you know how to survive better than any of us.

So, are you going to do it, or do I have to try to figure out how to stuff all this into my bra and explain my suddenly bodacious boobies? ”

We reached the dorm, and I pushed the door open, chuckling. “Of course I’ll do it. I’m just busting your chops. I’ve just got to get the proper rune for it. You’re turning into a real baddie, and I have to admit, I like it.”

“You got some mail, Fable.” Marina handed her a red envelope before flitting out of the room again, calling over her shoulder.

Fable set her plate down on the desk near my bed and tore open the envelope. Her excitement drained away almost instantly, and she lowered her hand.

“It’s from my mom and dad. Abundance card and the promise of a shopping spree whenever I come home next.”

“And you’re worried you might not be able to go home for a long time?” I asked gently.

“Nah. No offense, but I’m looking forward to kicking Nocta’s ass now. I was just hoping ...”

Zeed.

He’d been gone for weeks now, and still hadn’t written back to her or anyone else. We got reports from Tarquinius every once in a while, and he told us that he was on the mend, but it wasn’t the same as hearing from Zeed himself.

Especially not for Fable.

“I have a meeting with Typhon in a few minutes, but after I’m done, I’m going to track Liam down, come hell or high water.

See if he heard anything from his sources at the Senate.

He at least will talk to me, and give me answers when I ask,” I squeezed her arm gently and offered an encouraging smile.

“Maybe he can even see if they will agree to bend the rules a little and let us have a video call with him or something.”

She let out a big breath and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I like that idea.”

And if that didn’t work?

I’d figure out another frucking way. Because that’s what real friends did. They were ride or die. They stuck by each other through thick and thin.