A group of girls had gathered in front of the main office. It was the building right next to the dorms. Many of the girls carried banners and posters with Miley’s face on them. Below her face, the words Justice for Miley had been hand-lettered in big letters and red ink. I didn’t recognize some of the students’ faces. They might have been from different cohorts.
“I didn’t think the girls were bothered about it,” I said. I’d overheard them talking about Miley’s death, but since the council had kept the news censored, there hadn’t been much worry about it.
Or so I’d thought.
The protest below showed me otherwise.
“I don’t think it’s justice they want,” Hansel said. He wrapped an arm around me, surrounding me with his rigid form. When had we gotten so comfortable? He was so close that his peppermint scent brushed my nostrils. “It’s safety. They fear for their own lives. Miley died after being spirited away to this new place, and all of these girls, after being put in the same position, are afraid that they’re going to be next.”
The hallways were plastered with posters of Moping Miley. They hadn’t chosen the most flattering picture of her. In it, she had thick eyeshadow, just like I remembered her before she died.
“There’s so many posters,” I said, staring down the hallway.
A brightling showed up on the other side—this one looked like an old tortoise. It pulled its wand out of the holster on its belt. He cast his magic. The motion was so slow that I thought I might fall asleep watching it. Then, with a quick wave of the wand, the posters all disappeared.
Liam snorted. “And now there’s none of them.”
“They really don’t want people talking about Miley,” Theo said. His friendly charm had simmered down a bit. The commotion around her death was affecting him, too. “They wouldn’t be this secretive if they had nothing to hide.”
“Hm.” I folded my arms across my chest. Max used to tell me to mind my own business. I was the kind of person who liked to butt into things that I shouldn’t be involved in. I remembered standing up for some random chick in homeroom during seventh grade. I ended up getting my hair pulled by the class bitch.
This was going to be another one of those cases.
Theo wrapped an arm around my shoulder. He dwarfed me with his large size. Leaning over, he whispered in my ear, “Relax.”
“I’m relaxing,” I said, stiffening.
“For someone with so much spunk,” Theo continued with a chuckle, “you get nervous around us quite easily.”
It wasn’t my fault they looked like Greek gods.
“Do we?” Hansel asked. His features brightened.
“Damn it.” I tightened my jaw and leaned into Theo’s embrace, trying to make myself more comfortable with his touch. “Did I say that aloud?”
Hansel grinned. “I like that. You’re open and don’t keep too many secrets. Doesn’t keep us in suspense.”
Even Devon looked amused. Out of all the four men, he made me the most uneasy. His gaze was always too intense, and meeting it sent tingles through my fingertips.
Hansel ran his tongue across his lower lip, then bit it. The smoldering expression he gave me increased the temperature of my insides. “You don’t just have to look, you know?” His blue eyes darkened a shade.
I swallowed nervously, ignored Hansel, then spun back around to the hallway. The brightling had moved on. He walked at such a slow pace that I had to wonder how he ever managed to get anything done. “So…” I cleared my throat. “About Miley. Are we just going to forget her death?”
“What are you thinking?” Devon asked. I noticed a hint of defensiveness in his tone. “We shouldn’t look for trouble if it doesn’t involve us.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “But trouble found me first. Miley died next to me. I want to find out why.” Did it have something to do with my heritage? Aphrodite? Why was Agness singling me out? The depth of the mysteries surrounding the Sanctuary created so much intrigue that my curiosity begged to be sated. “Let’s start looking around.”
“No.” Devon unfolded a timetable from his pouch. “You’re late for the next class. Goddess etiquette. We need to make sure that you’re—”
“We should go back to my room,” I said. “The one I shared with Miley.”
Devon narrowed his eyes. “We need to get you to the class—”
“All right,” Hansel said.
Theo smirked. “Cara isn’t late. There’s twenty minutes before the class. More than enough time for us to do some snooping.”
Liam kneaded the bridge of his nose. “And the both of you were nagging at me for putting Cara in danger with the pill.”
“We’re here to make her happy,” Hansel said. “If Cara makes her decisions with full disclosure, then I fully intend to support them.”
Devon placed his hands into his pockets. “We also have to make sure that she stays alive.”
I nodded. “And that’s why we should solve this mystery. Keeps all of us girls safe, you know?”
He narrowed his eyes at me, clearly unconvinced.
We turned to head down the hallway, and Danna appeared from one of the stairwells with a bag of textbooks slung over her shoulder. She’d changed her hairstyle. My guess was that one of the vassals had primped her hair for her, because mine was in something equally elaborate, courtesy of Hansel. One of her vassals stood behind her. He was a dark-skinned hottie with curly hair and a friendly disposition. He waved at me, and I waved back before returning my attention to Danna.
I gestured to one of her braids with a flower attached to it. “A little elaborate for a class, isn’t it?”
She grinned. “Like it?”
It looked too big for her head, but I lied and called it pretty anyway. She stepped toward me and swung her fists about excitedly. “Have you heard the news about Miley?”
“Isn’t that who everyone is talking about? How can I have not?”
Danna placed her hands behind her back and bounced on the balls of her feet. She couldn’t keep still. “Many of the girls are going to skip classes until they have answers.”
“Oh?” That was new. “How’s it working out? Are the teachers actually caving to that?”
“No,” Danna said.
“Great.” I had a feeling that the protest would lead to nothing. “So, what are you so excited about? Are you skipping classes with them?”
Danna waved her hand in front of her face. “Of course not; that’s silly. If ninety percent of them decide to bounce, that leaves me in the ten, right? I’ll graduate this school easily.”
“Smart.” I was going to stay in the ten, too.
“But I’m not the kind who sits out when it comes to things like this,” Danna said. “I get attracted to drama.”
“Not surprising, considering you started a fistfight with a rabbit man.” In fact, Danna was drama. “Should I be sticking around with you?” I preferred to avoid it.
Danna wrapped an arm around my shoulder and laughed. “Life gets boring without me around. Anyway, I was talking to one of our seniors who happened to be close to Miley.”
“Miley had people close to her?” I asked, jaw slackening. “I find that difficult to believe.”
“They were reading buddies or something.” Danna fiddled with the flower on her braid. “She wanted to check out the morgue but didn’t have the guts to. Said that it’d be big trouble if she’s caught. The place is heavily guarded, so she doesn’t want to die visiting it. So guess who’s gonna do it instead?”
I lifted my brows. “A morgue? The Sanctuary has a morgue? Why would they need one? You make it sound as if the girls around here are dying left and right.”
“Maybe they are,” Danna said, wiggling her fingers, then staring at me while letting an ominous pause fall between us. “We were spirited away, after all. Maybe we’re all going to die.”
“You’re exaggerating.” I only half believed myself. I glanced back at the vassals, wondering if they knew anything a
bout this. They returned blank expressions. That did little to lessen my anxiety.
“So,” Danna said, “are you with me?”
I had mentioned that I wanted to get to the bottom of this…
“Do you even know where it is?” I asked. “Or are you going by hearsay?”
“I’m going by my gut.”
“That’s even worse.” I only trusted my gut for telling me when I was hungry, and even then, I didn’t trust it fully.
Danna clapped her hands together and grinned. Her pearly whites shone from beneath her full lips. “Come on. It’s going to be fun.”
“You live life dangerously, don’t you?”
“I’m a cheerleader for a reason. Do you have any idea how many cheerleaders end up with fatal injuries?”
“No?”
“Me neither. But all that jumping around and cartwheels have to mean something.” Danna grabbed my hand and shook it. I assumed that was her version of making a pact. She leaned into my ear and whispered, as if we were making plans to dominate the Sanctuary, “Meet me at the east courtyard after your lessons end today. We’re going to be detectives.”
“I haven’t even agreed.”
Danna backed away and chuckled. “I’m designating you as my best friend.”
“I barely know you.” We’d met only yesterday.
“Yeah, but you fought a rabbit man with me. Few best friends can say as much, and since you have that title, you have no choice but to get into trouble with me.”
Danna’s vassal grabbed her around the waist and tugged her toward him. He smiled at my guys, then winked. “Isn’t she full of life and spunk? Isn’t she just…” He glanced up at the ceiling, trying to find words, because he seemed to have a limited vocabulary.
“She’s crazy,” Devon said in a flat tone. “Good luck taking care of her.” He sighed and shook his head.
I turned toward him and squinted an eye. “Should I call you Disappointed Devon now?” He gave me the same vibes as Moping Miley sometimes, just more intense.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because you don’t seem to want to be around here. You’re shaking your head at everything and going through the motions.”
Devon lifted his hands from his pocket. “Apt observation.”
Danna blew a kiss my way as she walked off with her vassal. “I have to head to my next class, and so should you. We’re going to be the legendary goddesses who solved the mystery that even the teachers failed to.”
“I still haven’t agreed.” Although I already had in my heart.
“See you at the courtyard!” As she sashayed down the hallway, she did a little finger wave.
“Should I?” I asked, facing Theo.
Theo hummed. “You’re going to whether we try to stop you or not, right?”
“She is my best friend. Can’t let her risk her life alone.”
Devon shrugged apathetically.
Eleven
“Magical history is boring,” I said as we moved to the next class. I checked the large clock on the tower next to me. I had one more lesson before heading down to the morgue with Danna.
Did the morgue even exist? Maybe it was just a rumor.
Devon snorted. “Isn’t that obvious?” He was to bring me to the next lesson—creature cordiality. Apparently, the rest of the vassals had gathered in the next classroom. Creature cordiality was the only lesson I could attend with my vassals. The lesson required physical abilities, since we had to face large mythical beings. At least, that was what Devon told me.
“Don’t get squashed like a fly,” Devon said.
He kept a space of two feet from me as he strode past the courtyard. I still couldn’t get over the golden vines that wrapped around pillars. “Are they edible?” I asked.
“What?”
“The golden vines.” I pointed at a pillar that had an unusual amount of it.
“Why would you want to eat them?”
“Because they’re pretty.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
“That’s how it works, right? When something looks pretty, you want to lick it.”
“Lick it,” he repeated. “You mean like how I and the rest of the guys want to lick you?”
“Say what?” I whipped my head to him. A hint of heat showed behind his placid expression.
“Never mind.”
“All right…” I pretended I was deaf, even though I wanted to find out more. Had Devon just admitted that he found me pretty? The girly part of me awakened, eager to admit to Devon that I felt the same way. That he looked pretty. More than pretty—he was sizzling hot, but in a bored, lukewarm temperature kind of way, which didn’t quite make sense.
Still, I wondered how he looked like with his shirt off. Was he just as tan? Or maybe he was one of those odd cases with tan arms but pasty skin underneath. That would be a disappointment.
Devon led me to the entrance of a large amphitheater. I gaped at the giant structure. It was magnificent, made of glass that split sunrays into a multitude of rainbow colors. Embedded in the glass were blue gemstones. Devon strode through the arch at the entrance, hands still in his pockets. Did he always have to walk this casually? I wanted to smack the apathy out from him. “I pity you,” he said.
Pity? “I need none of that.”
“Yeah. How do you live with such short legs?” he asked, not glancing in my direction. “I would have gotten here in half the time if I didn’t have to wait for you.”
“How have you survived this long with such a disposition? People like you offend so many others that it’s a surprise that you haven’t been murdered yet.”
“Feisty,” he said, without any amusement in his voice. “Hurry up. We’re almost late.”
The bell chimed right after Devon’s warning, signaling that I was indeed late.
I sighed.
I’d get a couple marks off today’s grading for my tardiness. Maybe I should have walked faster.
I strode through the arch, following Devon, to meet the other girls. Inside, the amphitheater was lit by glowing flowers that shone white and bright. The floors were made of glass. I blinked at the rainbow-colored patterns on the ground. Why would someone put so much effort into decorating something that would be stepped on? Or maybe the goddesses didn’t need to put in any effort at all. They could have magicked the whole flooring into existence.
Classes had begun without me. The teachers in the Sanctuary didn’t waste any time. I was curious about who might teach us today. I found the answer standing at the center of amphitheater. It was Agness.
“Your teacher, Jonas Hawthery, is absent today. Unfortunately, his goddess underwent a mishap with the chiasma, and he must be there to assist her. I will be taking this class in her place. She’ll be with you by the next lesson. Don’t mind me.”
I minded her very much.
I tensed when I glanced at Agness. Why’d she have to show up? In the short time I’d been here, I’d learned to detest her. Call me childish, but she’d started it.
“I’m sure this is the first time holding a wand for many of you,” Agness said, taking out her wand. Only then did she notice my presence. She fixed her attention on me. “Ah, Caramel. I’m tempted to fail you for your tardiness. I don’t appreciate my students being late.”
“You’re tempted to fail me all the time,” I muttered. Every time I looked at Agness, I questioned why she held such a vendetta against me. It wasn’t like I’d eaten her cat or something. Why a cat? Because she looked like a cat lady.
“Hurry up, sloth,” Devon said. He placed his hand on my back and pushed me forward.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” I asked.
“I am.”
The vassals were standing across from the girls, all of them grouped neatly, too. I spotted Hansel, Theo, and Liam amongst them. Hansel and Theo waved at me, while Liam stared at the interesting ground.
Agness gestured to a box that lay next to the row of girls. “Pick up yo
ur wand, Caramel. You have delayed us enough.”
I hated pointing fingers, but I blamed Devon for my being late. After history class, he’d shown up five minutes after most of the girls had already left. I’d wanted to go to creature cordiality on my own, but I still wasn’t familiar enough with the Sanctuary’s layout, and I didn’t want my vassal to be searching and worrying about me.
I resisted the urge to flip the finger at Devon. Him and his stupid pocketed hands. His slack posture told me that he bore no sense of guilt whatsoever. Agness scowled. “Can you please have some sense of urgency, Caramel?”
Ugh. I rolled my eyes at the way Agness said my name. She uttered it slowly and with some posh accent that emphasized the syllables way too much.
Just because I wanted to piss her off, I walked over to the box extra slow, taking my time. Her features had turned super ugly. She should stop scowling so much. She had an eternity left to go, and if she kept this up, her wrinkles were going to make her look like a tree.
“Get in line,” Agness said, swishing her wand.
I dallied again. Hansel smirked at me, my rebellious streak amusing him.
Finally, after taking too long, I got into position.
Agness gave a weary sigh. “There are some students that shine amongst their peers, standing out and bringing life to every class.” She shot me a venomous glare. “And then there are those that hold everybody else back. Please try not to be the latter. Those often don’t make it.”
Agness spun around and clapped her hands together. I used that opportunity to stick my tongue out at her.
A screeching sound shook the amphitheater. I stumbled and grabbed the girl next to me for balance. She gave me a weird look, but held on to me as well.
The top of the amphitheater opened and a cool breeze swept in. I craned my neck to take a better look. A large, bestial silhouette circled through the sky. Many other creatures of the same shapes followed it. I gaped at the beast that then landed next to Agness. Every bit of it was muscle, and merely staring at it made my knees weak. The monsters were the size of small buildings and could swallow me whole, snapping my spine in half with their razor-sharp teeth.
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