by S. T. Bende
All we had to do was make sure Sverrir didn’t destroy everything we’d all worked so hard to build.
Fifteen minutes later, Janna, Brigga, and I lined up downstairs with the rest of our sisters. When it was our turn, we stepped forward so Lexi and Becky could check us into the chapter meeting.
“I see you wore your pins this week.” Lexi marked her clipboard.
“As we have every week since Meri loaned them to us.” I fingered the tiny, gold triangle on my chest. Sorority pins were a pre-requisite to attending chapter—a fact my friends and I had not known when we’d decided to pose as exchange students to protect our cover. Thanks to Meri’s loan, we’d been spared the ire of the vindictive ethics chair. But the glare in Lexi’s eyes made it clear that she was on the hunt for another victim. And, as always, I was Candidate Number En.
“Inga,” Lexi said in her nasal voice.
“Ingrid,” I corrected. Again.
“It’s a shame you and your friends won’t be joining us for the winter formal.”
I crossed my arms. “What are you talking about?”
Lexi lifted a paper on her clipboard. “I never got your release forms,” she said innocently. “They were due yesterday, so I can only presume that the three of you decided to sit this one out.”
“We did not,” Brigga objected. “I put them in your box last week!”
“It’s a shame, really.” Lexi twirled her pen. “I know Axel was really looking forward to going. Oh, well—maybe I’ll let him escort me. That way he won’t have to miss out.”
A slow burn built in my chest. Lexi was the most insufferable, insipid, calculating shrew since . . . since . . .
“Don’t worry.” Brigga put her hand on my tensed bicep. “I’ve got this.”
A thin smile tugged at my lips. Once upon a time, Brigga had been Valkyris’ resident mean girl. I was only too happy to let her beat Lexi at what had until recently been her game.
“Lexi.” Brigga pouted her glossy, pink lips. “Hard as this is to believe, I actually know what it’s like when Axel isn’t into you. It’s awkward. And embarrassing. And it makes you want to wring the neck of the girl he actually is into.”
Where exactly was she going with this?
“But the fact of the matter is, Axel really isn’t into you. Not even a little bit. Not like he wasn’t into me—because he was into me, for a little while at least.”
Seriously. What was she doing?
“But that was before he met Ingrid,” Brigga said, “who he is completely and totally into. So much so that he would never look twice at you. Not even if he was absolutely desperate, which of course, he’d never be. I mean, just think about him. Those muscles. That hair. That gorgeous face . . .”
“Brigga,” I hissed.
“What? It’s true.” She shot me a wink before sidling up next to Lexi. “Now, think about how you will never, ever, ever have him. Ever. Because you are totally not his type. You’re weak—I mean”—she pinched Lexi’s frail-looking arm—“do you even bother to work out?”
“Excuse me?” Lexi’s mouth fell open.
“You’re not smart enough for him, either.” Brigga shook her head. “Axel likes a girl who can challenge him. That’s definitely not you.”
“I’ll have you know—”
“And you’re ugly,” Brigga finished.
I nearly choked on my laughter.
“What?!!” Lexi’s nostrils flared.
“You’re ugly,” Brigga said matter-of-factly. “Not out here.” She waved her hand around Lexi’s face. “But in here.” She tapped Lexi’s chest.
The ethics chair swatted her away. “Don’t touch me.”
“I don’t want to,” Brigga said coldly. “And neither does Axel. Or Raynor, for that matter. That’s right. I’ve seen you make eyes at him, Becky.” She glared at Lexi’s second-in-command. “So, back. Off.”
She pushed past Lexi and marched into the chapter room. I followed after her, bumping Lexi’s bony shoulder with my arm as I moved.
“Excuse me, Meri!” Brigga waved down the social chair. “Lexi says there’s no room for us at the winter formal, but we turned our forms in well before the deadline, and we have every intention of attending.”
“Lexi?” Meri waved the still-steaming girl closer. “Is this true?”
“We’re short on rooms.” Lexi forced the glare from her face. “Protocol dictates the newest members give up theirs. So I guess they could come . . . but they’d have nowhere to sleep.”
“What is it?” I put one hand on my hip. “Did we not turn in our forms, or are there no rooms? Because your story keeps changing.”
Meri’s lips turned down in a frown. “I thought we talked about this. Lexi, I want you to stay behind when we finish our officers’ meeting tonight. Sounds like we need to revisit whether you’re truly fit to hold your chair.”
Lexi’s face turned the shade of a fresh apple. If steam could have shot from her ears, no doubt she’d have gone full kettle. She waited until Meri turned around and walked to the front of the room before jabbing her finger into my chest. “You’d better watch yourself,” she warned.
“On the contrary.” I flicked her finger away. “Sounds like you’re the one who got put on notice. Come on, Brigga. Janna.”
I made my way down a row of seats and took a spot near the center of the room. As my housemates settled in around me, I shot a glance over my shoulder. Lexi’s nose wrinkled in distaste, and she let out a frustrated growl.
“Well done, Brigga.” I turned to the blonde. “You really got under her skin.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not hard.” Brigga shrugged. “Girls like her need to feel like they have power—especially over men. Take that away, and what are they?”
“Really mean?” Janna offered.
“Exactly.” Brigga crossed her long legs. She smoothed the hem of her dress where it stopped just above her knees. “Oh, and Ingrid—I meant what I said. You and Axel really are perfect for each other.”
My cheeks heated. “Uh, thanks.”
“He’d have gotten so bored with me.” Brigga picked a piece of lint from her shoulder strap. “I can’t kick his butt in the training room.”
“Some days I can’t either,” I muttered. “But I try.”
“Well, keep at it,” Janna said. “Somebody has to keep his ego in check.”
Truth.
“Hey, girls.” Kenzi slipped into the chair beside me. “Did I miss anything?”
“Only Brigga crushing Lexi’s hyper-inflated sense of self,” I said.
“Shoot.” Kenzi shook her head. “I’d have loved to see that.”
Janna leaned forward. “We’ll fill you in after the meeting.”
“Okay, ladies!” Kayla clapped her hands. She stood behind the long table at the front of the room, and rang the president’s bell. “This meeting of the Delta Tau chapter of Kappa Mu will now come to order. The first point of business is housekeeping. Cara? What do we have this week?”
Our softly spoken house manager picked up her parchment. “Winter break is a few weeks away, which means we’ll have lots of girls moving out—for three weeks, at least—and just a few of us staying behind. I’ve posted a timeline for exit and re-entry in the mailroom, so make sure you check on those dates. And if you are planning to stay through break and you haven’t told me yet, please do so asap. We want to make sure our chef knows how many freezer meals to prep, since we gave her Christmas week off to be with her family.”
“Thank you, Cara.” Kayla looked at her agenda. “Anything else?”
“That’s it for me.” Cara sat back down.
“Good. On to philanthropy. Blair?” Kayla held out her hand.
“Well.” Blair stood up. “It’s almost time for our Dodge Climate Change fundraiser. Thank you to Morgan and Bree for signing up to organize the dodgeball tournament brackets. And big thanks to Chelsea for volunteering to stage the set. It’s really cool of your dad to lend us his snow machine.”
>
“We’re spending Christmas in Switzerland, so he doesn’t need it this year.” A tall blonde spoke up from the front row.
“Nice.” Blair turned to Kayla. “And my mom’s going to bring us some props from the studio lot—her show’s on hiatus, so we should be good to borrow them for a few days. We just have to be really careful not to break anything.”
“Wonderful. Thank you, Blair.” Kayla made a note on her parchment. “Okay, Kenzi? Secret Santa?”
What the Helheim was a Secret Santa?
Our yogi friend stood up. “It’s that time of year! Which means that each of you will find the name of your Secret Santa recipient in a sealed envelope in your mailbox. Rules are the same as always—gifts are not to exceed ten dollars, and they must be deposited beneath the tree in the foyer no later than the Sunday before winter break. We’ll open gifts at our final chapter meeting of the semester.”
Kenzi sat, then stood again. “Oh. And if you’re stuck on what to give your selected sister, come to me. I’ve got a pretty good list based on everyone’s pledge forms.”
“Thanks, sis.” Kayla glanced down at her agenda. “Looks like we’re on to socials! Meri, the winter formal is in less than two weeks. What do you have for us?”
“First of all, we need to go over the formalities for next Monday’s event. A certain pinning ceremony.” Meri waggled her eyebrows.
Kayla ducked behind a sheet of black hair. “Right.”
“So, I know this isn’t a surprise, like most of our pinnings are.” Meri shook her finger at Kayla. “But Mike had to go and pre-pre-propose for his pre-proposal.”
“He’s romantic,” Kayla objected.
“Don’t brag,” Ali teased.
“My point is, we’re still going to pass the candle. And all sisters with steady boyfriends or girlfriends will still wear red dresses while the rest of us wear black. But this time, we all know who the lucky lady will be.” Meri jotted down a note. “The Alphas will come at the end of Monday night dinner, so make sure you’re dressed appropriately before you come down to the dining room. Everybody clear?”
A chorus of cheerful yesses filled the chapter room.
“I know you packed light for L.A., so don’t worry if you didn’t bring red dresses,” Kenzi whispered. “There should be a few in the castoff closet. And Kayla and I have extras if those don’t fit you.”
“Thanks,” I whispered back.
“As for the winter formal, the bus will leave here at ten a.m. on the morning of the thirteenth,” Meri continued. “The event is in one of the ballrooms at the Hotel Del Coronado, which is also where we’ll all be staying. You should have plenty of time to explore the island before you prep for the event. We’ve got hair and makeup people booked to come to the hotel for those who want to sign up, and I have a list of nearby salons if you’d prefer to go off-site.”
Hotel Del Coronado. But wasn’t that . . .
Janna reached over to tap my knee. “December thirteenth. San Diego.” Her coffee-colored eyes were wide.
“Yes,” I whispered. Oh gods. This wasn’t good.
“The date and location of the planetary alignment,” Brigga said quietly. “The dark mage’s map said the energy would channel straight to San Diego.”
“Which is also where the balboa bark is located. Which means . . .” My brain fought against the sheer number of coincidences.
Janna’s fingers tightened around my knee. “Sverrir is going to be there on the thirteenth. In San Diego. At the alignment site.”
“That’s when he’s going to enact his spell,” Brigga whispered. “When he’ll make his move to control the realms and wipe this world—and ours—right out of existence.”
“That’s when everything will come to a head.” My eyes darted back and forth between my teammates. “We’re about to have a front-row seat to the end of the world.”
“No, we’re not.” Janna shook her head. “We’re going to stop him.”
Gods willing, my captain would be right.
Chapter 6
BY THE FOLLOWING MONDAY, my stomach was a massive ball of nerves. Not only had we failed to stop Sverrir, but we were no closer to doing so than we’d been the week before. Despite days of research, Brigga and Raynor had unearthed only a handful of balboa-related clues. They’d determined the plant was most likely a shrub, thanks to a series of oral histories in the rare books section of the philosophy library, of all places. The two-hundred-year-old text described our plant as “standing no taller than a young deer’s haunches.” It was something, at least . . . but we still had no pictures to go off. And despite his best magical efforts, Torstein hadn’t managed to locate the plant.
We only hoped Sverrir was having the same problem we were.
“You’re awfully quiet tonight, Ingrid.” Morgan nudged a platter of cobbler squares across the dinner table. “Aren’t you excited about Kayla’s pinning?”
“Hmm?” I looked up from the strap of my dress. Kenzi had loaned me the short, flared number, and its flaming-red fabric matched the ribbon around the Christmas wreath-candle holders in the dining room.
“You okay?” Morgan looked at me more closely. “I know sometimes pinnings bring up uh . . . feelings.”
“Feelings?” I asked.
“You know.” Morgan shrugged. “Seeing someone make a commitment can make a girl question the future of her own relationship, or re-evaluate whether her partner is someone she actually wants to be with for the long haul.”
I blinked. I wanted to be with Axel for as long as the gods allowed it. No matter how much he irritated me, my heart was completely and totally his. It always would be. But our jobs were dangerous—there was no getting around that. We would always be fighting for Valkyris—for the virtues and beliefs our people held dear. But that meant that there would forever be a target on our backs. And we might not always be able to protect each other. I’d be there to cover Axel on the rare missions where we worked together. But when Axel was with the Airborne Assassins, or worse, when he was out in the field all by himself . . .
What if I lose him someday?
“Ingrid?” Morgan’s hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my head.
“I’m good,” I lied. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”
“If it’s school, I can help,” Morgan offered. “We can study together for the folklore exam, or I can send you notes. Whatever you need.”
“You’re a good friend.” I smiled. “We’re really lucky to know you, Morgan.”
“Thanks.” Morgan’s cherubic cheeks pinked. “Oh! Oh, listen! The Alphas are here!”
I pulled my attention off my dress and focused on the muted music coming from . . .
“Are they in the foyer?” Blair craned her neck.
“I think they’re outside.” Morgan clapped her hands together. “This is so exciting!”
Janna tilted her head. “I didn’t take you for a romantic, Morgan.”
“I’m not,” Morgan said quickly.
Janna raised her palms. “You’ll get no judgment from us. I know for a fact that Brigga has bought into this whole thing, one hundred percent.”
She wasn’t wrong. Brigga was literally on the edge of her seat, her cheeks flushed and her fingertips beating a frantic rhythm against her bare knees. Her glossy, blond curls bounced as she shimmied with excitement.
“Shh,” Brigga hissed. “I don’t want to miss a thing.”
“Sisters of Kappa Mu.” A hush swept over the dining room as Kenzi’s normally serene voice cracked. “Tonight, we celebrate my sister taking the next step on her life’s path. I’ve known Kayla literally my entire life. She’s been my rock through fights with our parents, first crushes, and that time my jerk of a homecoming date stood me up—thanks for egging his car, sis.”
Kayla’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “He totally had it coming.”
Kenzi smiled. “Kayla Takahashi has been a loyal member of Kappa Mu for every one of her years at So Cal State. She’s embodied the ep
itome of our values—charity, service, and love. And tonight, she pledges her heart to the man who shares her drive to make this world a better place by serving their future community—he as a fireman, Kayla as an elementary school teacher. Are you ready?”
Kayla took her sister’s hand and walked into the foyer. Nervous anticipation filled the air as the rest of us filed into the entryway and formed a big circle. One of the girls turned out the lights, leaving us all cloaked in darkness. Outside, the Alphas fell silent.
Swish!
The strike of a match brought a small flame to life. Kenzi clasped a glowing, white candle in her hands, then passed it to Ali. Ali shared it with Devyn, who gave it to Meri. The girls were silent as the candle slowly made its way around the circle. Morgan’s hands trembled when it got to her, and my studious friend passed it slowly to Brigga, who reluctantly released it to me. When the candle reached Kayla, her red gown wavered around her trembling knees—her nerves must have gotten the better of her. She handed the candle to Kenzi, whose eyes sparkled with moisture as she passed the flame back. Kayla raised the candle to her lips, drew a shaky breath, and blew it out.
The strum of a guitar echoed from outside.
The front door cracked open, inviting moonlight into the foyer. Our circle parted as Kenzi led Kayla out to the porch. The rest of the girls pushed forward in a crush. Brigga wiggled her way right to the front.
Of course.
We all piled outside, a patchwork of red and black dresses, to find the Alphas on the lawn, each holding a long-stemmed rose. My eyes sought out Axel—his beard stood out in the sea of jacket-and-tie-wearing fraternity boys. But it was the twinkle in his eyes that held my attention. He followed the Alphas as they stepped forward, one by one, to present Kayla their rose. When it was Axel’s turn, his nose twitched. As he stepped away, he swiped at it with the back of his hand. Was Axel Andersson crying?
“This is so beautiful.” Brigga sniffled beside me.