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“So maybe Zoey knows what really happened with Ophelia before she fell into the enchanted sleep.” Getting up, I grab my backpack. “I have to go.”
Melissa says something more but I don’t hear it as I abandon my food and hurry out of the refectory.
Where the hell is Zoey?
At the stadium where the Scale-ball training is taking place, of course. That’s where Zoey is. Because—wouldn’t you know—she’s head of the cheerleading squad. How did I miss this little detail last time?
Probably got too distracted by Emrys passing out on the field and the chaos that ensued.
A part inside of me is screaming that I should stop, that confronting Zoey on my own is dangerous without someone by my side to help me if things go sideways—but I’m a witch, right? Sindri keeps saying that. Maybe it’s time to put it to the test, see if I have any magic at all.
I climb on the bleachers, looking for her, then go back down the steps when I spot her. Her squad is training on the left side of the field, jumping and swishing their ponytails around while the boys are on the other side, doing squats and push-ups and all the muscly, weighty things boys do.
Well, there are people around, I think as I walk toward her. She won’t dare touch me.
The girls giggle as I approach, pointing at me. The jumping and swishing stop and the girl with the drum giving the rhythm puts her drumsticks down.
Zoey steps in front of the others. In her short skirt and tight blouse, her white-blond hair in a tall ponytail, she’s probably most boys’ wet dream and she knows it. “What do you want, trash slut?”
Wow, really eloquent, this girl. Such vocabulary.
I barely manage to refrain from rolling my eyes. “I came to ask you what happened to Ophelia—I’m sorry, I mean Aurora, before she disappeared. It seems you were the last one to see her.”
She twirls the end of her ponytail around a finger. “What does it matter? She’s back.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
“And why should I tell you?”
“Jesus, Zoey, maybe because you owe me,” I snap. “You sent your girls to beat me up regularly, and took the clothes you gave me back.”
“I never agreed to let you keep them forever. So… you know. Get lost.” She flicks her ponytail over her shoulder and starts turning away.
“Stop!” I close my eyes, open my senses to the elements. Imagine drawing them to myself. I feel the air swirl around me, the earth under my feet, the sun behind the clouds burning, the water in the lake nearby. Fire would be good. Impressive.
Ignite, I think,Ignite!
“What are you doing?” Zoey mutters, frowning at me.
I open my eyes and find a small flame dancing on my fingers. With a cry, I jump back, flick my fingers, and the flame turns into sparks and fizzles.
Zoey is silent for a long moment, staring at me.
Then she starts to laugh. “That’sit? That’s your amazing Apollinari magic? Oh… right, I forgot. Ophelia told me all about it. You wereadopted, right? Not a real Apollinari at all. Not a real witch. An impostor who lied to get the boys on her side.”
“Wait, Zoey.” I take a gamble. I have to. “You know you want to tell the story. Come on. How you were blamed for her disappearance when it wasn’t really your fault? Am I right?”
Her face goes still. “What do you know about that?”
“Duh. She’s, my cousin. Sort of. She was brought home in an enchanted sleep.” Another gamble, telling Zoey about this. Let’s hope it pays off and doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass. “But here everyone says that you sent your girls to beat her up and that was when she left, implying that you hurt her too badly.” I take a step closer. “She had no bruises on her when they brought her home. No marks of violence. So, what really happened?”
“Nothing happened.” Zoey flicks an annoyed look toward the training boys. “We didn’t touch her. She wasn’t in her room.”
“Where was she?”
“We looked. Found her under a tree, unconscious. It was so strange. The earth around her was scorched, but also wet, and it was as if a wind had carved shapes into it. Fresh shoots of grass were growing around her.”
I freeze. The four elements. “What was carved in the wet earth?”
