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“What kind of charm?”
“I don’t know. A best friend one but for a couple. One half says,I’m with you wherever you go—Kenna. And the other half says the same thing, but with the name Jeremy.”
“Say that again.”
“One half says—”
“No. The name of the boy. Did you say Jeremy?”
“Yeah. Do you know him?”
“Where did you find them, Scarlett?” Her voice is frantic, which has my wide eyes looking at Jagger.
“In a cabin outside of BCA property.”
“At your father’s cabin? What were you thinking leaving The Academy grounds?”
“What?” I look at Jagger, brows raised. “Dad has a cabin here?”
“It’s abandoned and we haven’t set foot in it since you were born. But yes, he owns the cabin and the surrounding property. Scarlett,” she says my name in warning, “you haven’t been roaming around in those tunnels, have you?”
I look at Jagger, wondering if I should tell her the truth. When he shakes his head no, I lie, “No. Only as far as The Gathering room, why?”
“Keep it that way. It’s easy to get lost in those tunnels. Now, about these charms. You need to throw them away and forget you ever found them. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Mom. I hear you, but why?” I chuckle. “They’re just charms.”
“Just do as I say.”
Jagger and I share a look, and while we might not have gotten any answers, the fear in my mom’s tone says that these charms might be more of a clue than we thought.
“Before I hang up, can you tell me what happened to Kenna?”
There’s a beat of silence before I hear her gulp. “Kenna passed away seventeen years ago, only days after she gave birth to her son, Jude.”
“Jude,” I say the name out loud, hoping it rings a bell to Jagger, but he shrugs his shoulders in response. “I’m sorry to hear that, Mom. I imagine if you were roommates, you were pretty close at one time.”
“Time is the bard of truth, Scarlett, and I hope you never have to understand exactly how true that statement is.”
“Hold on, Mom.” I cover the speaker with my hand and move it to my side, so she can’t hear me. “What else should I ask her that can help us?”
Jagger whispers back to me, “Ask her where this Jude kid is now? And how did Kenna die?”
I nod before putting the phone back to my ear. “Sorry, Mom. Students were passing by and I had to hide my phone. “Mom,” I say with a softness in my tone, “how did your friend Kenna die?”
“Are you alone now?” The desperation in her tone is unsettling.
“Yeah,” I wince, “it’s just you and me.”
“Kenna was murdered in her home, but no one will ever admit that. They’ll all say she took her own life, but I know the truth. He did it.”
“He, who?”
“Jeremy Beckett.”
Chills skate down my spine at the sound of that last name hitting my ears. “Did you say Beckett?”
“The sworn enemy of our kind, Scarlett. You need to promise me you will never go near one of them. They will pretend to be your friend. They will mask themselves, and they will lure you in. Once they’ve got you, they will do everything in their power to destroy you. Just like they did with Kenna.”
