Jade
Callie’s makeup is smudged around the eyes. Her hair, usually perfect, looks like she’s been running her hands through it, and she’s clutching her drink like a crutch.
“Callie,” Logan says, sounding perfectly neutral.
“What do you want?” I keep my voice even, prepared for anything.
Her tired eyes turn to me. “Before Oliver disappeared, did you notice anything off about him?”
The mention of Oliver makes me stiffen, and electricity crackles beneath my skin before I force it back down.
“Off how?” I ask, trying to sound blasé about it.
“Distracted. Jumpy.” She waves her drink, the liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim. “Avery noticed it too, but he wouldn’t talk to either of us about it.”
I think back to the greenhouse, the pumpkin carving session, and Oliver’s knife slipping across his palm.
Oliver’s been training with weapons for years. He wouldn’t just slip. I chalked it up to nerves because he was preparing to ask me to the Halloween Ball, but Oliver was one of the most confident guys in the school. He wouldn’t get anxious about asking a girl on a date.
“He seemed distracted during pumpkin carving,” I say slowly. “But you know that. You saw us in the infirmary that day.”
Callie nods and takes a long sip of her drink. “Did he ever tell you anything else? Anything that seemed important?”
The question hangs in the air between us.
Oh, just that Thad was recruiting people for something dangerous. That I should be careful who I trusted. And that Logan killed Miles.
“No.” The lie slides out smooth and easy. “He never told me anything.”
Before she can respond, a small ball of fire forms in Logan’s hand, edged in black.
“Jade and I were heading to get drinks.” His tone is conversational, with those melodic, rich layers of compulsion beneath it. “You don’t need another one, so you don’t want to join us.”
Callie’s pupils dilate, then focus again.
“It was so fun chatting with you.” She lifts her drink in a mocking toast. “You used to be fun, Logan. Remember that? Fun?”
Orange from Logan’s fire flickers in his eyes. “Go.”
She huffs and disappears into the crowd, and the flames at Logan’s fingertips fade to nothing.
“That was...” I search for the right word. “Intense.”
“She was fishing.” His hand finds my lower back again, guiding me to the bar. “I don’t like when people interrogate you about things that could expose us both.”
“That’s definitely not fun,” I quip, bumping my shoulder against his arm.
“Fun gets people killed.”
I don’t argue with him, because that pretty much covers what happened at the Halloween Ball.
Logan makes his way through the crowd, people parting around him without seeming to realize they’re doing it.
It must be nice to be terrifying.
“Props only,” Logan murmurs as he hands me a cup of amber-colored liquid. “We need to stay sharp.”
“Wasn’t planning on getting drunk at the spy party.”
“Good.” His lips brush my temple, so brief I might have imagined it. “Stay alert.”
I’m about to respond when recording orbs drift past near the ceiling, golden flames flickering through the cavern.
Seriously? I destroyed them this afternoon. They exploded in a cascade of sparks and shattered magic.
Now they’re here again, drifting around like nothing happened?
“Logan.”
Helen approaches from behind us. Her tailored coat is as pristine as always, even in the humid caves, and her brown eyes are fixed on Logan, her smile looking almost genuine.
“Helen.” Logan inclines his head. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“My colleagues and I are stationed at the academy to observe—not to enforce rules.” She stops beside us, her posture relaxed in a way it definitely wasn’t at the Fury Loop earlier today.
“My job is to record. Most students at the school are here tonight, therefore, I’m here recording.
” Her gaze flicks to me, brief and dismissive, before returning to Logan.
“It’s good to see you out. You’ve been keeping to yourself lately. ”
“I’ve been busy.”
“So I’ve heard.” Her eyes hold his for a beat too long. “Your father would be proud of how you’ve handled the ill-fated incidents this semester. You’ve done an exemplary job of keeping students calm and maintaining order during such a difficult time.”
My chest tightens at the casual mention of Logan’s father, the easy intimacy between him and Helen, and how she talks to him like he’s family.
“How are the memory sessions progressing?” Logan asks.
“Most students have been cooperative.” Helen’s smile doesn’t waver. “There are a few gaps here and there, but nothing unexpected, given that trauma affects memory recall.”
If that’s true, I’m surprised I can remember anything at all.
Needing to occupy my hands, I take a sip of my drink. The liquid burns going down, and I try not to make a face.
Great job not drinking, Jade. Really nailed that one.
Logan shoots me a glare, then returns his focus to Helen. “Have the search parties had any progress with locating Thad and Oliver?”
“We’re following several promising leads.” She absently adjusts her pearl earrings. “The surrounding waters are treacherous, but we have reason to believe they may have found shelter on one of the smaller islands.”
They talk about Council protocols, investigation timelines, people and places I don’t know, and politics I don’t understand.
The entire time I just... stand here, holding my drink and trying to not drink it again.
Logan will give me a hard time if I do, and given that there are people here who would hunt me down to experiment on me if I got drunk enough to slip and reveal what I really am, I don’t blame him for that in the slightest.
“—wouldn’t you say, Jade?”
I blink, because Helen’s looking at me like she expects a response to something I definitely didn’t hear.
“Sorry, what?”
“I was remarking on how fortunate it was that no one was injured during the storm today.” Her smile sharpens. “The timing was quite extraordinary. All seven orbs destroyed, and not a single student harmed.”
Every nerve in my body locks up.
She knows. She has to know.
“Yeah,” I say, the word coming out too high. “Super lucky. The weather here is insanely unpredictable.”
“Indeed.” Her gaze lingers on me for a beat too long. Then she turns back to Logan, and I’m furniture again. “I should continue making my rounds. The Council appreciates thorough reports.” She touches Logan’s arm, brief and familiar. “Take care of yourself, Logan.”
Then she’s gone, disappearing into the crowd with her orbs trailing behind her.
“She definitely knows more than she’s letting on,” I mutter. “The way she looked at me when she mentioned the lightning was totally the look of someone who knows.”
“She suspects. She doesn’t know.” Logan’s fingers close around my elbow, steering me deeper into the crowd. “There’s a difference.”
“Is there? Because it felt a lot like—”
I stop.
Because the air just got warmer. It’s not gradual, and it’s not the natural heat of bodies packed into an enclosed space. This is sudden and sharp, like someone cracked open a door to Hell.
Logan tenses, his head turning to the smaller tunnels branching off from the main chamber.
Around us, conversations falter. People fan themselves and exchange confused looks. Francis laughs nervously and remarks about the caves being too crowded.
Then, the screaming starts.
It comes from deep in the tunnels—raw and primal, the kind of sound that makes every instinct in your body scream run.
More screams join the first, from multiple tunnels. People stumble away from the entrances, drinks shattering, faces draining of color.
The floating flames flicker wildly along the ceiling.
And then I see dozens of red eyes glowing in the tunnels, like embers from a fire that should have burned out centuries ago.