Page 28 of Crush
Signed,
Your Princess
My presence is requested. Yay. But … where?
The gauze bandages taped to my chest tighten and itch with my rigid posture, reminding me to exhale and relax. The nurse thought that these were superficial burns—the coffee having a chance to cool between the long walk from the cafeteria to history class. Had Aurora possessed the wherewithal to put it in a thermos, I’d be in a hospital right now instead of returning to Weatherby Manor at lunchtime to rest and recover.
This princess, this asshole, wanted me scarred, I have no doubt of that. And now she’s demanding I show up to their next maniacal challenge and complete that, too.
Zeke was right. They’re all whack jobs. Who hold your future in their hands.
“Dammit,” I mutter, slamming the locker and shoving the padlock through.
“Ember! Holy crap, I heard.” Aiko scampers up to my side, her saucer eyes taking in my state.
“I’m okay,” I preempt and even pull off a smile, too. “Aurora tried and failed.”
“Such a bitch.” Aiko pushes out her lower lip in thought. “Are you going home, or are we scraping the skin off her face?”
“To Malcolm’s place,” I correct, but gently. “I need a break from this school, anyway.”
“Let me walk you out.” As we merge into the hallway, Aiko draws close to my side, staring down anyone who dares to look in our direction. But as the silence stretches, her face grows pensive. “Um, this may be poor timing, but…”
“What is it? Tell me.”
“I got the orchestra seat.”
My lips peel into a grin. “No way! That’s amazing!”
Her expression brightens. “It really is. I was convinced I didn’t have a chance in hell, but the results were posted this morning, and—”
“You deserve it.” My smile can’t seem to hold the conviction in my voice, and it falters. “They have no right to take it away from you, and I’m glad they didn’t.”
Aiko studies me for a few seconds, licking her lips as if readying for a question, but instead, all she says is, “I’m so sorry, Ember. I wish I could do more to help.”
“I asked for this. Wanted it. It’s the only way I can get close to them.”
“To Thorne especially.” Aiko nods. “And destroy them.”
My eyes sweep across the mingling students for any targeted interest, but no one seems to be looking in our direction other than to point, whisper, and smirk. “Yes.”
“Have you found anything on them yet?” Aiko’s question redirects my attention.
I shake my head, pulling my lips in.
“So, what’s next, then? I feel terrible you’re hurt, but…”
“But Savannah’s worse off, wherever she is.” If she’s alive, but I don’t voice that last thought to Aiko. “Don’t worry. I’m not going home to rest.”
Aiko turns sharply toward me. “You should. Definitely. An exhausted, pained Ember isn’t on my list of helpful assassins at Winthorpe.”
“I’ll be sitting in front of my computer.” I elbow her lightly. “Technically, I’ll be resting. I want to read the case files, find out who was in charge of Savannah’s case, and start making our own mur—I mean, Missing Book. I’ll encrypt it and send it to you with a password, so no one but us can read it.”
“I love it.” Aiko skips the last few steps out of Winthorpe’s main doors. “I’m actually feeling like I’m doing something important. This is amazing. I’ll add in any personal notes, too, like who Savannah was, her personality, her friends. Would that be helpful?”
“So much.” I side-squeeze her into a hug. “It’s not over yet, Aiko. We have the one thing the police didn’t—the Societies.”
Aiko’s head bobs against my shoulder before we step apart. She adds, squeezing my fingers, “Your sacrifice hasn’t gone unnoticed. Thank you for doing this and believing in me.”