Page 144 of Endless Anger
“It’s not scheming. I’m just trying to collect some information from some potentially shady characters.”
He straightens his spine, cracking his knuckles one by one. “All the more reason for me to come along. You’ll need muscle.”
“Have you ever won a fight against Asher?”
“Well, that’s not really a fair judgment. I’m not supposed to hit him back.” Reaching up, he strokes his chin, as if just realizing that the rules they made up when they were kids don’t particularly benefit him. “But that’s beside the point anyway. I can still hold my own without touching him?—”
“Lucy!” Willa bounces over to where we’re standing, a bottle of beer in her hand. “Some people have suggested taking the party elsewhere. Will you go with us?”
My eyebrows draw in, wondering why they’re wanting to move things. One of the multiple bonfires erupts into a sudden fireball, rolling across the rock path, igniting on loose twigs and leaves. It hasn’t rained in a few days, so everything is extremely dry, creating a definite hazard.
The ecology major in me wants to stay and monitor the situation, even as a few kids start tossing bottles of alcohol into the raging fire rather than trying to stomp it out.
Idiots.You’d think the incident at Lethe’s would have taught them how quickly a fire can spread and become potentially deadly, but no. Lessons from the living aren’t good enough for Avernia students.
Maybe this placeiscursed.
Groaning, I turn and see Beckett scurrying along the edge of the quarry, huddled between two tall figures with their hoods pulled low on their heads. They move in the direction of the mountains, and a trail of others follow.
I relent to Willa, and she hooks her arm in mine, pulling me along so we can catch up with Eli at the back of the follow party. At least Asher can’t say I have no sense of self-preservation now.
Foxe hovers close behind me, his hands shoved in his pockets. “New Hampshire is fucking freezing at night.”
Eli looks over his shoulder, then reaches into his own coat, pulling out mini bottles of tequila. Willa squeals, launching herself at one, and Eli passes the other two to us, lifting his in a cheers gesture. We all clink, drinking quickly as we quietly continue trailing behind the Curators.
After I’ve downed my shot, Eli hands me another, and I take it for liquid courage. The back of Beckett’s head is plainly visible from where I’m standing, so I tell Foxe and the other two that I’ll be right back.
Foxe stumbles a step, but Willa steadies him, beaming up at his tall frame. “Someone can’t hold their liquor. What would your fans think, rock star?”
He doesn’t say anything, but as I push myself ahead and start weaving through the crowd, I can feel his gaze on me. Watching, taking his role as guard dog very seriously.
My shoulder brushes Beckett’s as I reach him, and the small party starts to disperse in a clearing near one of the blocked-off cave openings. Tenarus, I think this one is called. Or Tartarus, maybe. They’re so sparsely visited that it’s hard to remember, especially when the Primordial Forest is so vast anyway.
Music blares from a large portable speaker set up at one end of the clearing, and things seem to pick back up here, albeit in a much calmer manner than with the main party.
If all Curator functions were as low-key as this, maybe they wouldn’t be so bad.
Unless Beckett was in attendance. His presence sours everything, which is proved when he turns to me with a suspicious glint in his eyes, baring his teeth so they’re highlighted in the moonlight.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demands, grabbing my elbow and yanking me off to the side. “I don’t believe you were invited.”
“The party was open to everyone,” I reply, trying to pull out of his hold. “Pythia posted about it.”
He scoffs, releasing me with a shove. “Pythia. That bitch is always spreading shit online. Does she not realize how easily she could get us shut down with her big fucking mouth?”
After my conversation with his brother earlier this semester, I’m not entirely convinced Pythia is a real person rather than some artificial intelligence tool collecting data on the students here and posting on an automated schedule. Her forums are generally filled with gossip that no one ever bothers to check, andno oneseems to know who the hell is behind the account.
This is what you get when you opt out of paper and into digital.
Chaos.
Shaking his head, Beckett lets his gaze drop down the length of me before he meets my eyes again. “Where’s your boyfriend, Wolfe?”
Swallowing, I inch forward a step, casting a quick look over my shoulder to make sure we’re not being watched. Foxe, perched on a short rock wall with his hands behind him, stares while Willa and Eli seem to be having some heated discussion right next to him, and even though I know it’ll piss him off, I reach and push Beckett deeper into the brush.
I don’t want an audience. It probably won’t take Foxe but a second to come after me when I don’t reappear immediately, so I’ll have to work quickly.
My hand falls sluggishly away from Beckett’s chest as his back hits a tree trunk. I watch it return to my side, the beer and tequila catching up with my brain already. I can still think and see straight, but I’m definitely tipsy, which gives me enough courage to do this at least.
