Betrayal hit the back of my throat. Yep, here comes the tea. I bolted from the chair and reached the sink just in time, emptying out the contents of my stomach. I leaned on my elbows, panting as I swallowed to wet my raw throat, and deliberated my next move. I could lose my shit, scream at her for never telling me, just like she’d kept the secret of the real reason my mom had left this world and how long Ms. Wilkerson had known about my destiny. If I did that, I’d probably lose the support of all the witches, which would cut our numbers in half. I could walk away and go about my business as if this never happened, keeping our numbers intact, and never confront the traitor in our midst. I knew from past experience ignoring something like that resulted in disaster every time, so that one was out.
“How could you do this?” I spoke into the sink, not wanting to look her in the eye until I had control over this turmoil swarming inside me like angry murder hornets. My hand throbbed beneath the ward. It didn’t glow. It didn’t radiate in the shape of the original cut. It just fucking hurt. Everything inside me hurt. My head. My heart. My soul.
“Do what?” She set the supplies on the floor and walked into the treehouse, but not over to me. She crossed to the table and picked up my teacup, studying the leaves. When her shoulders fell and she lowered her head as she slowly replaced the cup on the saucer, I knew. The leaves had foretold the truth. I was destined to die, and she’d been prepping me to do exactly that. “I see.”
“You see?” I straightened and angrily wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “What do you see, Stace? What exactly do you see when you look at me? The sacrificial lamb? The stupid girl who trusted you with my life, never knowing you were grooming me to die? How could you?” I inhaled sharply to stop my voice from cracking, the emotions tightening my throat.
She kept her head down and said nothing.
“Stace?” Renee prodded and rested her hand on Stace’s shoulder. “Say something. I interpreted the tea leaves wrong. I had to have read them wrong. There’s no way you’d do something like this. Please, tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re not wrong,” she said softly, sadly, her voice thick. “I’ve tried so many times to find another truth in the prophecy. Another interpretation. Something, anything but this.” She finally lifted her reddened gaze, her eyes swollen, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Anything but this.”
I blinked, sending tears melting down my own cheeks. “I’ll never trust you again.”
I teleported out.
JUST ONCE, I’d love to stick the landing.
I should have known better than to teleport as upset as I was. At least I landed somewhere familiar, right next to the statue of Cressida Clearwater, and scrambled to throw on the necklace before anyone saw me. I was elemental enemy number one and probably had a price on my head for my capture. I wouldn’t put it past Vanessa or one of her twin Barbie bitches to turn me in if given the chance.
It was cold, dreary, and the wind had a bite to it. I kept forgetting to bring a coat. Then again, I didn’t expect to teleport outside the veil. In fact, I didn’t think that was possible and made a mental note to talk to Stace—no, I’d never talk to that treacherous witch again—I’d talk to Renee. Or Serenity. Or any of the other high priestesses. But Stacey Layden and I were done.
Now that I was back at the academy and completely hidden from view, I’d take advantage of it and poke around. Clay and the others were back at the grove, and as much as I tried, they’d refused to leave me, so I no longer had eyes and ears at the academy.
Time to go sleuthing.
I followed two water elementals as they walked out of Aquae, sneaking up close to listen in on their conversation. I recognized them both as MEs—magically enhanced—from the tribunals at the beginning of the year. In fact, I was pretty sure I’d had to save one of them after a Council member’s brutal attack left them barely breathing.
“I don’t know who she thinks she is,” the female of the duo snapped, her high sandy-brown ponytail swinging as she moved in jerky, rigid movements. “She made me clean her room. Why does she get an entire dorm room to herself and we have to stay in the basement? It’s cold and dark down there.”
“I’m pretty sure there are rats,” the male added. “My pure made me do his homework and his laundry. I even had to fold it and put it away.”
Hold the phone. His pure? What the hell?
“What’s so great about being a pure anyway? That just means they’re all inbred.”
“Keep your voice down, Anna. If the Council hears you talk like that, you’ll go back to Carcerem. You know the rules. This is the only way we get to stay at the academy.”
“By being Vanessa Graves’s servant,” she spit out, her tone sharp, angry. No shit. I’d be pissed too if the Council forced me to wait on the likes of that ice-queen bitch. “I miss Clearwater the way it was when we first got here. Don’t you, Jacob? I miss Katy Reed.”
“Shh,” Jacob hissed through his teeth and glanced around. “You know it’s illegal to say her name. Come on. We don’t want to be late for Primary.”
They walked away as I thought about what I’d just learned. The Council outlawed my name? Real mature, assholes. Who feared a name? And what the hell? They forced the MEs into servitude? They weren’t any less elemental than the pures, and I hated that the Council treated them as if
