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Alexei was there too, watching and following me all day He didn’t talk much, but every once in a while he would nod his head at me He seemed to have thawed a little bit toward me

But my friends couldn’t be with me in my classes, and all the other students pulled their desks away froye of the ht Today, I ondering if it would be even ht that soht decide to come after me with their weapons, but to my surprise a few folks stood up for all announced in a loud voice before Coach Ajax could randon us partners like he sometimes did The Valkyrie twirled a staff around and around in her hands, green sparks of ertips

"Me too," Talia Pizarro chi her sword through the air

The girls were issuing a clear warning to the others, and I gave thean winked at me, her hazel eyes warether, right?"

I knew that Morgan meant the word slut as a sort of in-joke between us, and my smile widened a little "You’d better believe it"

Carson also stuck up for ht in front ofhis nose in a stack of sheetthat way until Metis started class Carson was obviously stressing about the winter concert tos ontrial, for one

With the other students taunting me and the Reaper attack, I hadn’t had a chance to think too much about the trial, but Linus had said that it would start after classes today All day long, I’d kept gazing at the clocks on the walls, watching the hours and minutes tick away until I was all out of time

The last bell of the day rang, signaling the end of myth-history I sat in my seat and waited until all the other students had filed out before getting to ain, I kept my face calm, but my movements were slow and stiff, and I felt like there were a pair of hands deep inside hter knots Alexei stood in the corner, watching

Metis tucked her papers in her briefcase and turned to face me "It’s time," she said "Please follow me"

I nodded, not sure what else to do, not sure what else I could do without opening ain that the Protectorate had it all wrong, that I wasn’t a Reaper

I slung ht, empty almost, without Vic in it I’d taken the sword back to y thing athi left behind-

"Gwen?" Metis asked "Are you okay?"

"Sure," I said "Just terrific Let’s go get this over with"

I followed Metis out of the classroom, to the end of the hallway, and then outside Alexei trailed along behindat the botto, I supposed to keep

The twothe way and Alexei bringing up the rear We crossed the quad in silence, although stares and whispers sprang up in our wake

Daphne, Carson, Logan, and Oliver were out on the quad too, right outside theMy friends stared at ht with concern They weren’t allowed at ivewas going to be okay, but I didn’t stop to talk to theet through this

I trudged up the steps to theand went inside with the others Then, down, down, doent, with Metis punching in codes on keypads and chanting a bit of h, ere on the bottom level in front of the door that led into the academy prison I eyed the sphinxes carved into the stone, but once again the creatures stared at their feet instead of me

Metis used her skeleton key to open the door, and I felt Sergei’s hand onto the other side

The prison looked the salass cells stacked on top of each other, the hand-and-scales carving on the do But there were t additions A stone interrogation table stood in the sah it ice as big as the one where Preston had always sat But what really caught my attention was a second table that had been erected on the far side Together, the two tables created a loose T shape, with the second table for the top part of the letter The second table had also been set on a stone dais, raising it up several feet off the ground, and seven chairs were arranged behind it That’s wheredown on and judging me from above

A hand touchedsounded I turned, and Grandma Frost was there She wore a black pantsuit with her usual black shoes, and she’d tied a violet scarf around her throat and another one in her hair The silver coins on the ends gliht

She smoothed down ht here with you We’ll set these yahoos straight"

"And so ao of Grand behind her "I don’t understand"

The librarian straightened up to his full height "I’hts are not violated"

"You would do that for ht?"

He grimaced a little, but his eyes reh"

"If the pleasantries are over with," Linus Quinn said, striding into the prison, along with Agrona, Ajax, and Raven, "let us begin"