Page 61 of Dark Embers

Ashlyn nodded, her brows furrowing. “Okay, let’s go to Ms. Heather’s office.”

It was surprising to see the common room so empty after hearing the other mer students trickle in throughout the day yesterday. No wonder Ashlyn had been able to enter without a problem.

When we got to Ms. Heather’s office outside of the Avian wing, I saw why. Dozens of mer students were gathered outside the door. Some of them conversed in concerned whispers, and some of them openly wept. But, as so often happened when I entered a mer-populated area, all voices fell silent and all eyes narrowed on me.

I ignored them and tried to push my way to the door.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” Cora’s voice cut through the silence like a knife as she inserted herself between me and the office door.

Foolishly, I hadn’t expected a confrontation here, now. “I—I just wanted to check on her.”

“Why? So you could finish the job?” Cora shouted, her voice shrill with grief.

I frowned at her strange insinuation. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Ashlyn stepped to my side, her hands balled into fists, but I put my hand out in front of her to prevent a brawl.

“I knew there was something suspicious about you the minute you got here,” Cora seethed. It was only as Cora leaned closer that I could see the tears trailing between her waterproof-mascaraed lashes. “First, you take her boyfriend, then you snake your way into studying with her, then you try to kill her. Well, let me tell you, you may look like a downgraded version of her, but you willneverreplace her. You’ll never be half the mermaid she is!”

Kendall exited the office just as Cora was finishing her little slur, and he pushed himself between us. “That’s enough, Cora. Come on, Arya.”

He gestured with a nod for me to follow him away from the office door.

“But I wanted to see Letti,” I said.

Kendall wrapped his hand around my upper arm and tugged me through the glaring crowd. “Now isn’t a good time.”

“How can you still defend her when Letti is dying just behind that door?” Cora shrieked at the back of Kendall’s head. He only walked more quickly, ushering me ahead of him.

“Wait, am I missing something?” Ashlyn asked as we were rushed down the stairs and out of view of the hateful eyes of the gathered mer students. “Why does Cora think Arya had anything to do with what happened to Letti? Doesn’t she know her friend was attacked by avampire, not a shifter?”

I watched Kendall’s face as I waited for his response. His expression was stony, but his eyes were a storm of puzzlement and fear.

He knew something.

We walked out of the door of the Grand Hall and came out onto the sidewalk. The exterior walkways were a ghost town. We were completely alone.

“Kendall, what’s going on?” I pressed when he didn’t answer.

He pursed his lips before speaking, as if trying to find the best words. “Yes, Letti was definitely attacked by a vampire, there’s no question of that. But…” He slowly lifted his gaze to meet mine. “She keeps saying your name.”

My eyes widened, unsure how to process that. Now more than ever, I suspected that the vampire attack on my mother wasn’t just about taking out random shifters. There was somethingbigger going on here, I just couldn’t see it. Something that had me right in the middle.

“Did she say anything else?” I asked. “Did she say why they attacked her?”

He shook his head. “She’s in a kind of coma. She hasn’t said much of anything. Except your name, over and over.”

All I could do was shake my head from side to side. Why would Letti do that? Unless maybe she was dreaming about our tutoring sessions. But that seemed like a stretch.

“So because of that, Cora thinks I was somehow involved? If it’s clear that vampires got her, how could I be?”

Kendall averted his gaze. “There have been instances in the past when shifter individuals have allied themselves with vampires.”

Ashlyn and I both stared at him in shock.

“So they think that Arya’s a spy for the vampires?” Ashlyn folded her arms over her chest and jutted an outraged hip.

Again, I looked at Kendall’s face for any signs of his opinion. Unfortunately, I only found questions there.

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