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He shoots me a sideways glance. “Did she accuse us of killing puppies and kittens? Probably true. Did she accuse us of hurting people? True. Did she—”
“Stop it.”
“I thought you wanted to know.”
Do I?Suddenly I’m not so sure. “Why would you kill puppies and kittens?”
“Practice. Training.” He shrugs. “For when we’d be asked to hunt bigger animals, bigger prey. To hunt and hurt those close to us.”
“Are you serious?” I breathe.
“Some things are beyond our control, Dark Eyes. We control what we can and hope for the best. Remember that.”
5
MIA
It’s midnight—the time when the demonblood spell locking up the Academy is at its weakest.
We’re standing under an oak in a small grove near the stadium. The moon has set and the Academy is mostly dark, the only lights showing on the paths and in the square where the main offices are. Even the birds are quiet, fluttering from time to time on the branches.
Sindri is sitting at the root of the tree, hands resting on his knees, still looking tired. Ashton has his back to the tree trunk, arms folded over his chest, eyes half-closed. I wonder if the booze makes him sleepy. It obviously doesn’t affect him the same way it does humans.
None of us are asking out loud whether we think the others will come. What if Ophelia tightens her spells, doesn’t let them wake up or leave her presence?
What if she comes with them?
Not sure which would be worse.
I pace in the shadow of the tree, stopping at every turn to glance toward the dormitories, but nobody has appeared so far. The stars sparkle overhead, the leaves rustle, clouds travel to other places.
Still waiting.
“We can’t stall any longer,” Ashton says. “It’s getting late.”
“They’re not coming,” Sindri says, not looking up.
“Ophelia’s spells,” I whisper.
“Those two fools should be able to break that enchantment if they wanted to.” Sindri climbs to his feet slowly.
“What do you mean?” I ask. “They’d want to be with her, even without the spell?”
“Think about it, Mia. Emrys is angry with you. And Jason was in love with her. But ultimately, it doesn’t matter if she reinforced those feelings. It’s about how they feel aboutyou.”
I huff. “You said that before, and that’s what I want to talk to them about—”
“Talking isn’t enough. You need to show them.”
Sometimes he’s so cryptic I lose patience. “Show themwhat?”
“Why you did what you did. Who Ophelia is. What she’s trying to do.”
“I have no clue what she’s trying to do!”
Sindri nods. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I’m done waiting,” Ashton says and sets off, Sindri and I following more slowly.
