Arthur wandered off to dust some spellbooks, and I headed for Aisle 42. But as I passed Aisle 45, I heard it.
The sound of a muffled sob.
I slowed down. I knew I should keep walking. I had a mission. I had a deadline. But...
I peeked around the corner of the bookshelf.
Sitting on the floor, surrounded by a fortress of discarded books, was Amelia Vance.
She looked... wrecked.
Amelia was the Queen Bee of Northcrest. The Alpha female of the Moonstone pack. She was always perfect—designer clothes, perfect hair, a sneer that could wither a freshman at twenty paces. She had made my life hell during my first week.
Now, she was sitting on the dusty floor in a rumpled silk blouse, her mascara running in streaks down her cheeks. Her signature heels were kicked off, lying on their sides like dead birds.
She looked small.
My wolf, usually aggressive toward rivals, made a soft, sympathetic noise.
Leave her alone,I told myself.She hates you.
I took a step back, intending to retreat. My sneaker squeaked on the marble.
Amelia’s head snapped up. Her eyes—usually icy blue—were red-rimmed and fierce.
"Get out," she snarled, wiping her face aggressively. "If you tell anyone you saw this, Arden, I will flay you alive."
"Nice to see you too, Amelia," I said, stepping into the aisle. "I like what you've done with the place. Very... avant-garde book fort."
"Go away," she choked out, turning her face away. "Come to gloat? Did you hear the news?"
"What news?"
Amelia let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, you don't know? Dean Marrow revoked my scholarship."
I froze. "What? Why?"
"Because of my parents," she spat. "The 'Directory of Influence' Scholarship is for families of 'Good Standing'. Apparently, having your father arrested for funding the Brotherhood of the Crown puts you in 'Bad Standing'."
I leaned against the shelf. I knew her parents had been involved with Graves—we had exposed them. But I hadn't realized the fallout would hit Amelia this hard.
"I didn't know," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I swear, Lina. I didn't know what they were doing. I just thought... I thought we were powerful. I didn't know we wereterrorists."
She looked at me then, naked vulnerability in her eyes. "They froze my accounts. They took my car. And now Marrow is taking my tuition. I have... nothing. I'm going to have to drop out."
The Queen of Northcrest, dethroned.
I looked at her, and I didn't see a rival. I just saw a girl whose world had imploded.
"You don't have to drop out," a soft voice said.
We both jumped. Arthur was standing at the end of the aisle. He was holding a box of tissues and a chocolate bar.
"I told you to go away!" Amelia shouted, scrambling to cover her face. "Stop staring at me, you... you..."
"Human?" Arthur supplied helpfully. He walked forward, completely unfazed by her outburst. He set the tissues and chocolate on the floor within her reach. "I spoke to the Head Archivist. We have an opening for a student assistant. It pays tuition credits."
Amelia stared at the chocolate bar like it was a bomb. "A job? You want me to get ajob? Dusting books?"
