Page 83 of Anomalies

“I don’t need anyone to carry me!” Gemma snaps, yanking herself up from the ground in a movement that I would almost consider graceful, especially given how much we’d had to drink. She grabs her towel and empty glass, barely hiding the stumble in her step as she storms past him.

I smile sweetly at Pax, hurrying towards the hand Gemma holds out for me, and he groans as he pulls himself off the dock.

By the time we’ve both showered and dressed for dinner, the last of the sun rays are drenching Pirn in a beautiful, honeyed glow that drunk me appreciates a lot more than sober me ever has.

As we walk to the Tavern, I go over my options for getting in contact with Ivy and Jude.

Ask Pax, and when he says no, threaten him within an inch of his life.

Figure out how to access the Banyan and go through it myself.

See if Pa can do some weird Diviner séance and communicate with⁠—

No. That’s crazy. I think Pax is my best option. I glance over to where he walks beside us, his green eyes alert and his head of auburn hair on a swivel as he monitors everyone that passes as if they are all suspects of last nights attempt on my life. And I suppose they are…

Remembering the reality of my current situation sobers me instantly.

I scan the Tavern when we walk in, my gaze lingering on the Ajax table long enough to see that Callan isn’t there. Maybe that’s for the best.

Pax gets my food directly from the Kitchens, and when Gemma and I slam our trays down in front of Selene and Kimber, their brows rise.

“The two of you reek.” Selene scrunches her nose, and Kimber sniffs the air.

“Well, that’s not fair,” I frown, exchanging a confused glance with Gemma, who’s sniffing her shirt. “We both showered.”

“Of alcohol,” Selene clarifies. “You smell like a bowl of tropical fruit that’s been drowned in whiskey.”

“Thank you,” Gemma and I say in unison, and Kimber smiles, her eyes widening when Pax sets his tray down and slides onto the bench beside me.

My eyes dart between the two of them as I cut off a piece of pot roast and pop it in my mouth. I don’t think Kimber has seen him since poker night, and she definitely doesn’t know about his drunken confession to me. Kimmy smells like roses.

Thank the gods I never told her; I needed something to threaten him with should he give me any shit over what he walked into last night. Blackmail isn’t something I want to get used to, but the second I saw the knowing smirk on Pax’s face when he showed up to Gemma’s cabin today, it was either that or murder.

Selene smacks my hand away from the bottle of wine she’d gotten for the table.

“Eat first,” she snaps, then points a crooked finger in my direction. “And strengthen your shields before I share your thoughts with the class.”

Pax snickers, the sound ending in a cough when the heel of my boot slams into his under the table.

I reinforce my fraying shields and keep them locked in place for the remainder of dinner, pouring myself a generous glass of wine the second I finish my food.

“What about those twins in your coven?” Gemma says to Selene. “Didn’t they set some trees on fire a few years back?”

“Whoever tried to kill me isn’t necessarily a pyromaniac,” I chime in. “They just wanted me dead, and fire is the weapon they chose. It’s efficient, it burns all evidence, and it’s accessible to anyone. I doubt there is any meaning behind it.”

“I disagree,” Kimber shrugs, and we all look to her for an explanation. “To burn a witch? To kill them with the very thing that fuels them? That kind of death is the calling card of⁠—"

“A Rogue,” Pax mutters, watching Kimber with wide eyes.

“But that’s not possible,” Selene says to Kimber, “we’d know if one of them was here…right?” Gemma remains silent, her face completely blank and unreadable.

“Of course,” Kimber says casually, waving her hand as if she’s waving off the genuine concern lacing all our features. “A dark witch with ill intentions wouldn’t make it through the Banyan; they wouldn’t pass the judgment. But it can’t be a coincidence that someone tried to kill Lucina in the same way a Rogue would.” She shrugs casually, “Just something to think about.”

It's silent for a few moments and I feel Pax’s stare seer into the side of my stunned face. I hear the beat of my heart in my ears, and my hand involuntarily tightens on the stem of my glass.

In my peripheral vision, Pax throws his napkin down onto his tray. “Lucina, have you ever had a Sugarbloom?”

It snaps me out of my stare. “A what?”