Chapter 3
Strange Allies
The sun sank behind the mountains as Cody and I walked to the student center surrounded by Tye, Cash, Malcolm, and Val. When the breeze picked up, I shivered, and Cody pulled me against his side.
The other two dragons Aurelia had introduced me to this afternoon were with Samantha and Dan in Althea. Arianna had protected them when I fought Draconian, and Russ was a father who I’d returned to his son. I felt my friends would be safest with them. I wanted to keep Cash as far from any other humans as I could, but I hated having him with me.
He looked down on me like I was an insignificant ant that he was contemplating stomping to death. His posture and scowl made it clear he wanted nothing to do with anyone.
The Nephilim trailed behind us, constantly watching me. They stayed back from my bodyguards. Whether they feared them or didn’t want a confrontation, I wasn’t sure.
Val held the door to Sedum Hall open. As I walked past him, he clasped my shoulder and smiled at me.
I stood in line looking at the food and wondering if I could stomach any of it. Since sending Mavros back to the Abyss, I hadn’t had much of an appetite, and it was starting to show. My cheeks were sunk in, and dark rings surrounded my eyes.
“Eat.” Cody nudged me forward. “Please.”
I scooped some garden pasta into a bowl and grabbed a slice of cheesy garlic bread. Cody frowned at my tray and piled extra food on his. We sat at a table against the wall so I could keep an eye on all of the people watching me.
Cash pulled out the chair beside me, but Malcolm grabbed his arm and pointed at the table next to ours. “Let them be.”
Cash’s pupils slitted, and his muscles tensed. Tye stood next to Malcolm, and Cash backed down but not before glowering at me.
The beautiful people sat at the tables surrounding us. There seemed to be more of them now than there were earlier. Eight people fit comfortably at each round table. The Nephilim filled four tables with more standing guard at the exits.
I pushed the noodles around in my bowl, feeling like I might throw up if I put them in my mouth. Shoving my tray forward, I laid my head on the table.
“Dacia.” Cody rubbed my back. “You’ve gotta eat.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.” I sat up and looked at him. “What do they want? Why’s it so bad that nobody can tell me?”
“Don’t know.” His hand stopped moving along my spine. “Grabbed this for you.” He lifted a chocolate chip cookie off his tray. “It’s your weakness, remember?”
I took it from him and to make him happy, nibbled on it. “They always have been.” That wasn’t the truth anymore, though. Draconian, his dragons, and Mavros had all proven to me that my true weaknesses were my friends. I’d do anything to keep them safe, including letting the world burn.
Cassandra and Bryce stopped at our table, pulling out chairs, and sitting. Alvin and Vanessa, two of their closest friends, kept walking. They looked over their shoulders at us and whispered to each other. In my first semester here, I’d dubbed the four of them the Potato Heads because they were always together and always giving me grief.
“What’s with all this?” Cassandra waved her fork at the dragons. “Are you trying to start a gang war?”
I tilted my head, shaking it at her. “Why are you sitting here?” The desperation in my voice was obvious even to me. I pointed at several empty tables and the one her friends had chosen.
“I’m sorry.” She set her fork down and leaned forward, looking first at me then at Cody. “For all of it.” Her voice lowered. “I don’t remember everything, but what I do …” She cleared her throat. “I was horrible … because of some dreams … because of a … a monster?” Her voice rose at the end, turning it into a question. She looked at me like she hoped I could answer it for her.
“Really don’t remember?” Cody asked.
She peeled the wrapper off her straw and shoved it into her glass. Then she picked up the wrapper. She folded the paper, smoothed it out, and folded it again. I couldn’t remember ever seeing her so insecure. “Bits and pieces.” She glanced at the other tables. “Enough to know this can’t be good.”
“For what it’s worth”—Bryce’s voice was quiet—“I’m sorry, too.”
Cody shook his head. “Unbelievable.” He leaned back in his chair, moving as far from them as he could without getting up. “Think you’re forgiven?”
“No.” Bryce shook his head and laughed somberly. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But, if it makes you feel any better, my hand is in constant pain. Especially when it rains.”
“Good.” Cody’s voice was harsh, his eyes cold. This was not the Cody I knew. This was anger and hurt and betrayal that had festered inside of him for far too long.
I remembered the pain in Bryce’s scream when I’d crushed his hand. It had stopped him from punching Cody again, but I hadn’t known what I was doing, and I’d never forgiven myself for it. “Let me see it.”
Bryce slid his hand over the table. I set mine on top of it, and his muscles tightened in response. Thinking about life, I sent my power into him. His body relaxed, and he sighed. He wiggled his fingers, stretching them, then clenching them into a fist. He held his hand in front of him, massaging it. “Thanks, but why would you do that?”
“I told you—” I looked
