Eternal

room with him after midnight. On a school night.”

Cece pursed her mouth, looking thoughtful. “Well, how do you know he was in his room? Maybe they were somewhere else.”

“Good point.” I hadn’t even considered that. “He must have been on campus, though, because he wanted to meet in his office in ten minutes.”

Cece rolled her eyes. “Can you imagine if you got caught? How in the world would you explain that one? ‘Oh, yeah . . . I know he’s a teacher, and a really, really hot one, but he and I are just good friends. It’s not a booty call, I swear.’?”

I tossed a pillow at her, laughing now. Leave it to Cece to lighten my mood, even at a time like this. I was going to miss her so much. That thought alone wiped the smile right off my face.

“You okay?” Cece asked.

I sighed heavily. “I love you. You know that, right?”

“Hey, right back at you, girlfriend.”

“You better call or text me, like, every day.”

“You know I will. And hey, I can do my semester abroad in Paris. Junior year.”

“You better. You won’t even need student housing—you can stay with us.” My voice broke on the last word. Us. Was there still an ‘us’? I wasn’t sure, not after what I’d heard tonight.

Even when Aidan had been off at the Tribunal, he’d somehow felt closer than he did right now. What was happening to us? The future that had once seemed so certain, so solid, despite the improbability of him getting his cure, now seemed ephemeral, like a hazy mist that was looping and curling on the breeze, just out of reach.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with Aidan?” Cece asked, as if she could read my mind. “Because even I know this is out of character for him. He hates Jenna. I’m sure of it. And you two have been somehow off for the past few days. Even Josh noticed, and he’s pretty clueless about that kind of thing.”

My inner debate over whether or not to tell her the truth lasted all of five seconds. “Suzanne said something to me during fencing class the other day. About Kate. I don’t know why I got so upset, but I ran out and Tyler came after me. We started talking about her, about how much he liked her, how much we missed her. We were just . . . I don’t know . . . sitting there holding each other.”

Realization dawned in Cece’s eyes. “Oh, sweet Jesus. Aidan caught you, didn’t he?”

“Bingo.”

“Oh, man. I guess that explains Tyler’s busted face. But you told Aidan what was going on, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, but right now he’s not listening to what I’m saying. He’s too busy sulking.”

“Well, this sheds new light on what I saw out there tonight, doesn’t it? Maybe he was just trying to get back at you.”

“If he were trying to get back at me, wouldn’t it be better to do it right in front of me? He has no idea that I know about this, Cee. Remember?”

“Oh, yeah. Right.”

I glanced over at the window, the view unchanged beyond the panes of glass. “Do you think it’s ‘later’ yet?”

“Later? Oh . . . right.” She shifted uncomfortably on the bed. “You’re going to worry about this all night, aren’t you?”

“Yup,” I answered with a nod.

“Any chance you’re going to get any sleep?”

I shook my head. “Nope.”

She rose, reaching for her robe. “Okay, then. I’m going to the lounge to get us some coffee. Snacks too?”

“Definitely.” I reached for my purse and dug out a couple of crumpled dollar bills.

She waved away my offer of money as she pulled on her fuzzy bunny slippers. “No, this one’s on me.”

A bittersweet smile tugged at my mouth as I watched her thump off down the hall toward the lounge. It was going to be a long, sugar-and-caffeine-fueled night. But I knew without a doubt that if anyone could help me through it, Cece could.

25 ~ Enough Already

Since I had to skip senior ditch day on Friday, I decided to watch the sun rise from the loft in the chapel instead. As soon as Cece left, joining the horde of whispering seniors gathering in the East Hall lounge, I slipped on a pair of running shorts and a T-shirt and jogged across the dark, silent campus.

By the time I reached the last set of steps to the loft, I was breathless. I swiped at the thin sheen of sweat on my forehead with the back of one hand, then hustled up the ladder, pulling myself onto the wooden platform with a heaving sigh.

Only, I wasn’t alone.

“What are you doing here?” Aidan asked, turning to face me. “It’s senior ditch day. You’re supposed to be at the cemetery.”

“Seemed like a better idea to stay here,” I said with a shrug. “Otherwise, Matth—Dr. Byrne,” I corrected, “would have insisted on tagging along. I figured that wouldn’t make me very popular.”

“Won’t your little friend be terribly disappointed?”

“Won’t Jenna?” I shot back. My jealousy had grown and festered since that first sleepless night. Each day since, I’d become angrier and more confused, my feelings a tangled mess of insecurity and self-righteous fury.

Aidan turned back toward the wall, but I could see his jaw working, the muscles flexing as he stood rigidly with his hands fisted by his sides. Several seconds passed in silence.

“I suppose that means your little spy reported back to you,” he said at last.

My heart did a little leap against my ribs. “What do you mean?”

“I think you know exactly what I mean. I have preternatural senses, remember?”

“You mean . . . you knew?” I stammered.

He turned back toward me, his face an implacable mask. “I was fully aware of Cece’s presence there in the woods.”

“So you . . . what? Wanted to punish me?” My swelling rage was constricting my windpipe, making white spots dance before my eyes. “Is that it?”

His eyes narrowed a fraction. “Is that really what you think of me?”

“What else am I supposed to think?”

He waited a beat before replying. “That I was trying to make you jealous by acting like a complete and total ass.”

Hurt, shock, surprise, relief—it all battled inside me. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“It was a stupid, immature thing for me to do, Violet. I know that now. But I was seething with jealousy, and—”

“For nothing!” I shook my head. “We weren’t even doing anything.”

“And you know what’s really killing me, Violet? As much as I want to hate him, I can’t help but think you’d be better off with him. Especially now, with assassins crawling out of the woodwork. Did you know that the guards have intercepted three in the past two weeks alone? Right outside Winterhaven, coming for me. You’d be safer with him. With Tyler.”

“But I don’t want to be with Tyler. He’s just a friend—there is nothing going on between us.”

“There’s nothing going on between me and Jenna either.”

I turned away from him, tears flooding my eyes. “This isn’t even remotely the same. She was naked, in case you didn’t notice.”