Page 107 of Divine Oaths

She turned off the monitor, and this time when she looked at me, there was a deep intensity to her gaze. It left me squirming in my seat, speechless.

“Theta,” she said. “You rushed for them some time ago. They provided a list of new members and your name was included.”

I hadn’t known that.

“As you know, all Greek life is on probation due to… a tragic accident that occurred. What you may not know, though, is that as a part of healing campus, we are having Greek life, including Theta and Sigma, organize a vigil. It will be attended by the entire university. Families and loved ones of those who passed away during the accident will be joining us on campus. And so too will the Westfield Board of Trustees. As a prospective member of Theta, you are required to help host this event. And Professor Enlex, their academic adviser, has requested that a few students perform a tribute to the peers they lost, as part of the vigil’s program. You have been selected as one of the performers.”

Up until now, I’d been able to take any and all of what she threw at me. But this? This was too much.

Provost Henning leaned forward, inspecting me with a deep frown. “Are you well?” she asked. “You’re trembling.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, sinking into the seat.

“I’m fine.”

“Very well.” She continued. “Professor Enlex and Ms. Garnier will inform you of what song you’ll be performing on the piano, and at what point of the program you will go on.”

When she finished, she nodded for me to leave.

At the door, I turned to her, ignoring the security guard waiting to escort me back to Poppy House.

“What if I decline?”

At first, Provost Henning acted like she hadn’t heard me. But then she lifted her glasses from the bridge of her nose, wiping the lenses with a silver-and-gold cloth. Silver and gold. The colors of Sigma and Theta.

“Now that,” she said, “would be quite unfortunate. Don’t you think?”

The security guard walked me out of the office. I told him I needed a moment to go to the restroom, but as we approached the corridor with the women’s bathroom, I slipped into one of the obscure hallways that were sprinkled around Westfield. I’d gotten lost in them enough times to know where I could make a quick hiding spot.

The guard turned the corner to follow me, but as far as he knew, the hallway was empty. By the time he returned with reinforcements, I was already gone, making my way to the swamp for the summoning.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Nature must obey necessity

ANGELICA AND VIVIAN WERE WAITING at the dock when I arrived. Kasem and Honey were with them too. Kasem had dressed in jeans and a hoodie with colorful patterns splattered across it, while Honey was in all black again, from her moth mourning veil to the red-bottom ankle boots she wore over leather pants and a long-sleeved turtleneck.

I glanced at the shovel Kasem carried. The thought of us coming across a body or having to dig through Westfield’s swampy grounds to find remains made my stomach reel.

“Why is Sianna here?” Kasem asked, not looking at me. “I thought we agreed she’s too inexperienced for this.”

I hated that he was being like this. After the night in the shed, when he’d held me in his arms and we’d kissed over and over again, this coldness felt like having my heart shoved through a meat grinder. If we’d gone any further that night, I don’t think I’d be able to put the pieces back together like I was forcing myself to do now.

“At least she has an affinity that’s awakened,” Honey said. “You’re practically useless.”

“Sianna is our trainee,” Angelica added. “This will be a lesson for her.”

“A dangerous one,” Kasem said.

Angelica laughed, a bitter tinge in her voice. “Aren’t they all?”

Kasem looked annoyed, but he didn’t argue further. I caught him watching me from the corner of his eye. He looked drained since the night in the shed, from his dull gaze to the way his hands trembled slightly, like he was the one recovering from a cold and not me.

Seeing the signs that his body was breaking down because of his wraith form was like witnessing a moth lose its wings.

“What?” Kasem said. “You’re staring at me.”

“I’m not,” I lied.