Page 84 of The Hunt
I didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t be a lie.
“Please don’t come back. Not yet. You won’t do any good here, but you can out there. The Council has their heads so far up their behinds they won’t be looking for any real answers. They mentioned Zayn last night, Megan.”
She was quiet for a moment.
“I’m trying not to take this personally, but it’s getting a little hard.”
I closed my eyes against the tingle of impending tears.
“I know. And I’m so sorry. I miss you every minute of every day. I hate this place without you. Fenris is the only one I can stand being around lately. He’s trying so hard to get me to look at things differently, like this place isn’t as awful as it is. But, do you know what Adira just told me? She’s bringing dinner home for me tonight.
“I hate this place. I hate it so much that some days I would welcome whatever disaster the banshees are warning us about. But none of that changes my answer. The people here need you to find the answers the Council will be too blind to see.”
“Well, that makes me feel a little better.” She sniffled, and I smiled, my heart truly aching with how much I missed her.
“Good. You might want to let Zayn know they’re throwing around his name, too, since Oanen isn’t the only enforcer the Council has on speed dial.”
“I will. Keep calling me, okay? I didn’t think the ‘every twenty-four hours’ rule was going to expire as soon as our job in New York was done.”
“Sorry. I’ve been distracted.”
“Fenris?” A sly note had crept into Megan’s voice.
I rolled my eyes. “Fenris, Piepen, Adira, my mom, my dad, the stupid mermaids, Eras—”
“Hold up. What are the mermaids doing?”
“Like I told you, trying to stir up trouble. They think they’re going to bait you back home early for some revenge by being a pain in my backside.”
“I hope the Oracle eats them all,” Megan grumbled.
“That reminds me. Apparently, you were even crazier to face the Oracle than I thought. The Council mentioned her last night as a means to figure out what exactly the banshees were singing about, but they all decided against it, saying the Oracle’s price for information was going to be too high. They agreed she’s last-resort-only material.”
“Hmm. I think they just don’t know how to work with her.”
“Don’t even think about it,” I warned. “Oanen would never let you go back there. Not after what almost happened the last time.”
She made a non-committal noise.
“I’ll see what I can come up with outside of Uttira. Seriously, though. Keep me posted. Especially about all this Fenris time. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you changed the subject.”
“You’re like a little dog with a big bone.” I sighed. “Time with Fenris is nice. He’s being a great friend, and I feel bad about all the pressure his pack is putting on him to find a mate. I guess there’s some big meetup in Uttira tonight for all the unmated in the nation.”
“That sounds like a lot of wolves in Uttira. Hopefully, this banshee thing threw a wrench in those plans.”
It was my turn to make a non-committal noise since last night’s warning sure hadn’t thrown a wrench in Adira’s plans for dinner.
“I better go. Piepen stopped in for another visit, and I still need to get ready for school. I’ll touch base with you tomorrow, okay?”
“You better.”
Twenty minutes later, I walked through the Academy doors and headed for the pool bathroom. I’d managed to arrive early enough that there weren’t many cars in the parking lot yet. There were still a few mermaids in the pool who hissed at me, though.
Ignoring them, I let myself into the bathroom and found the druids facing off with Miranda.
“You’re done using our bathroom. Get out now or I’ll let Adira know what you’ve been doing.”
Lauv laughed.
