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Nona looked up, surprised to see me. "Who are you talking to?" I demanded, rushing over. Before I could get to the bowl she swished her hand in it, and when I leaned over all I saw was rippling water. "What are you doing?"
Her beautiful lips broke into that same infuriating smile. "Nothing, child. "
"Liar!" I shouted. I heard the door behind me open again.
"What's the problem?" David asked.
"She is!" I pointed an angry finger at the tree spirit. "She's lying! She was talking to a bucket of water. Something is going on, but she won't tell me what. First she was meeting with Reth, now there are all the weird new paranormals in town, and they watch me! I know they're watching me!" I turned my glare back to her. "You're working with the faeries, aren't you?"
Nona's face went serious. "No, child. I am not. The fey are no friends of my kind. And I promise you what I have always promised-you are safe here. I will never let harm befall you while you are under my care. "
"But I'm not under your care!"
"Evie," David said, his voice even as he put a hand on my shoulder. Lend stood protectively on my other side. "I've known Nona for a long time now. And huldras can't lie. She isn't trying to hurt you. "
"Please excuse me," Nona said, picking up the bowl and carrying it out the back door.
I was left fuming. "How do you know they can't lie? Besides, what is she even doing here? Why would a tree spirit want to run a diner?"
David shrugged. "A lot of elementals and paranormals mix with humans every now and again. It's entertaining, I guess. " Was that how he viewed Cresseda's relationship with him? He entertained her for a bit? I didn't understand how he lived with that kind of pain and rejection.
I shook my head. "I don't buy it. " My head hurt. My neck hurt. My brain hurt. My whole life hurt today.
"If Nona wanted to harm you or turn you over to the faeries, wouldn't she have done it already?" Lend asked. "I mean, you've lived here for months now. I know weird things have been happening, but I really don't think Nona's behind them. "
I sighed. He was probably right. "But what about the staring? They're always staring at me!"
"You are rather nice to look at, you know. "
"Har, har. "
"Seriously, though, they're probably just curious. Most of them don't know what you are, but they know that you know what they are. It's not normal. Simple curiosity. "
"Fine," I mumbled. Maybe I was being paranoid.
Lend put his arms around me, resting his forehead against mine. "Believe it or not, I worry more about your safety than you do. And if you're really worried about it, let's get you out of here. You can move back in with my dad. Right?"
David nodded. "If it'll make you feel better, of course. "
I shook my head. I didn't want to live with David again without Lend there. I liked him, but, awkward. And I really didn't want to leave Arianna alone. They were right. I was probably overreacting about Nona. This was faerie mischief, not hers.
Still, I knew when I was being lied to. And I was never taking the trash out for that ratty little gnome again.
Chapter Thirty-One
Vamptastic
I was going to go crazy. Why couldn't early decision be, well, early? All this beginning-of-December nonsense was infuriating. How long did it take to look through a sheet of grades, a couple of test scores, and some pointless essays? Images of a stack of papers with my entire future inside just sitting on someone's desk tormented me while I listened to teachers drone on about something that couldn't possibly matter as much.
When the school deemed my head acceptably full of hypotenuses and chemical bonds and metaphors, I was set free. As per my new ritual, I begged Carlee to give me a ride home so I could get to the mailbox sooner. She shook her head as I bounced nervously in my seat.
"If they said the beginning of December, it's not going to be there yet. If anything, it'll probably be late. "
"I know. " She was right. I knew she was right. But I couldn't calm down until I was sure she was right. I watched the trees fly by, for once not terrified of Carlee's erratic, speedy driving. Faster, faster!
"Besides, you haven't been waiting that long. My cousin had to wait, like, four months for her acceptance to VU. "
I sighed heavily. "It's been forever. " I had been patient-really, really patient-for so long after I sent in my application. Being attacked by Uber-vamp and attempting to talk to a completely unresponsive Arianna after her little midnight chat were distractions (not necessarily pleasant ones), and I'd been trying to focus on other things. Still, I didn't think I could take much more of the waiting. How could I think about anything else? Say what you will about zombies and their hygiene issues, at least they kill you fast. College acceptance boards? They like to draw out the torture as long as possible.
