Page 17 (1/2)

"Your dad is a really iuy I'm sure he made a match for you when you were thirteen"

I didn't even want to get into that The thought that there was so me his missus one day was too much to handle What if he was here at Hecate? What if I knew the guy?

Oh God, what if it was that kid with bad breath who sat right behind ical Evolution?

I made a mental note to ask my ain

"Okay," I said to Archer "Justgo on with your story"

"I don't think anyone realized howover the su led to another"

"And you can sparepainful twisted inthis secret fantasy that he was only pretending to like her so that he could publicly du way possible, preferably on national television

"Look," he said, "I'll get Elodie and her friends to lay off you, okay?

And seriously, try to give her another chance I swear she has hidden depths"

Without really thinking, I shot back, "I said spare ory details"

For a second I'm not sure I even realized what I'd just said And then it sank in and I dalanced over at Archer

He was staring at gling too, and before long ere both sitting on the dirt floor wiping tears frohed with someone, or made a dirty joke, for that ood it felt For a little bit I forgot that I was apparently host

It was nice

"I knew I liked you, Mercer," he said e'd finally stopped cackling, and I was glad I could blahter

"But wait," I said, leaning on one of the shelves, trying to catch ets betrothed at thirteen, isn't she already set to marry somebody else?"

He nodded "But I told you, it's a voluntary thing A betrothal can always be renegotiated Iof a catch"

"And so ht it with ease

Froave its death screauiltily, like we'd been e of ainst one of the shelves flooded my brain, and I felt the blush into, I glanced at his lips When I raisedat me with an expression that was totally inscrutable But just like the look he'd givenbreathless I was actually glad when the Vandy shouted, "Mercer! Cross!"

Her harsh grating voice was the auditory equivalent of a cold shower, and the tension of the one by the time ere out of the cellar

"Same time, same place, Wednesday," the Vandy said as we practically sprinted for thefor Archer in the second-floor lounge

She was sitting on the grubby blue couch A nearby lalow on her flawless skin, and picked up the ruby highlights in her hair

I turned to Archer, but he was staring at Elodie likewell, like I was staring at hied up the stairs to rossness, I was in definite need of a shower I grabbed a towel out of my trunk and a tank top and pajama bottoms out of irls didn't have to separate until nine, and it was just now seven, so I figured everybody was hanging out in the drawing rooeneral suckiness of having an unrequited crush on sooddess), I made my way to the bathroom and opened the door The room was shrouded in heavy steam, and I could barely see in front of me As I stepped forward, ater sloshed aroundbathwater

"Hello?" I called

There was no answer, so ht was that someone had left a faucet on as a joke Mrs Casnoff would not be areat for two-hundred-year-old floors

Then the steah the open door behindti At first I thought maybe Chaston was just asleep in the tub and that the water was tinted pink fro Then I realized her eyes weren't closed, but sort of half-mast, almost like she was drunk And the water was pink from her blood

CHAPTER 16

I noticed the tiny puncture wounds just below her jaw, and longer,slashes on both her wrists, which were dripping blood onto the floor

Without even thinking, I rushed to her side, ood one, I knew The et it to do was heal a skinned knee, but I thought it orth a try As I watched, the s back open I ic so shitty?

Chaston's eyes fluttered for ato say so