“We need a place to meet,” Pazuzu said. He looked at me like it was the end of the world, and I was the last sip of clean water left. “Texting is not enough, and Professor Colin won’t be able to pull this off every Friday.”
“You guys are texting?” Francis asked.
“We have a group thing,” GC grinned, looking at me just as thirstily as Paz.
Francis bit the inside of his cheek. The sexual tension floating around the table wasn’t lost on him. Corri had flown off long ago, the whole discussion making her feel uncomfortable. She was perched up on the white board. I was plotting against my father, who’d bought her for me, and I was also actively breaking his rules. Since I’d made the decision to keep her with me at all times and not send her to the Blank, she’d gotten used to her freedom. The last time Morningstar had sent her to the Blank, she’d thought she was going to be okay with it. Instead, it had hit her hard. On the one hand, I was happy she’d finally come to her senses. On the other hand, I now needed her more than ever, and even though she had almost limitless powers, her fear of the Blank stopped her from doing anything illegal. Well, illegal by Morningstar’s standards. I had to respect her boundaries. I knew that if I ordered her to do what I wanted, she would. That was what pixies were for.
“I want in,” Francis breathed out. “I want in your group.”
“What?” GC snapped out of the sex fantasies playing in his head. “Dude, no. It’s not that kind of group. It’s just for us,” he motioned between him, me, and Paz, “because we’re together. I mean, because we’re with her.”
“We’ll make a new one,” I said, blushing. The truth was that I didn’t want Francis to see what the guys and I had texted back and forth since we started dating. There might have been some naughty pictures in there, too.
“Cool, whatever,” Paz shrugged. “As long as we keep ours secret.”
I stole a glance at the Unseelie guard, and when I was sure he wasn’t looking, I took out my phone. “Doing it right now. I’ll add Sariel, too. Have you guys talked to him?” Francis was the only one who nodded. “Well? How is he? I’ve been meaning to catch up with him at lunch or dinner, but he always sits so far from the VDC. I’m 60 worth points down already, I can’t afford to lose more.”
“He’s fine.” There was a strain in Francis’s voice. “Maybe don’t add him, though.” He motioned toward my phone.
“He doesn’t want to take Morningstar down? He outed him in front of the whole Council, and then in front of the entire Academy. He got him in big trouble with his parents. All’s well when it ends well, but my father humiliated him.”
“What makes you think it all ended well?”
I cocked an eyebrow. “He’s here. He’s in the MDC, which means he wasn’t expelled.”
Francis sighed.
“What? What aren’t you telling me?”
He shook his head. “A lot, but I can’t. It’s better if you hear it from Sariel. If he wants to tell you, that is.”
I ran a hand through my long, blue hair. “And how am I supposed to talk to him?” I saw the Unseelie guard move from the corner of my eye. “Give me his phone number. I’ll text him.” Francis complied, but I wondered whether Sariel would even bother to reply. We weren’t friends, so why would he? Whatever had happened to him after the Council, why would he want to tell me anything?
“I still think we need a place to meet,” Paz insisted.
I nodded, my eyes still in my phone. “You know what? I’m adding Klaus and Patricia to our new group
. But yes, I agree. We can’t come up with a way to retire Morningstar via texts.” Actually, we probably could, but I didn’t think I could stay away from GC and Pazuzu until we did. “Ideas? The Unseelie are everywhere.”
We were all silent for a minute. I looked at GC and Pazuzu hopefully. I didn’t know the Academy well enough to come up with suggestions, but they did.
“I know a place,” Francis said in such a low whisper that I barely heard it. “But you won’t like it.”
“No. No, no, no. We’re not going down there.”
“It’s safe.”
“It’s not safe, and you know it,” I hissed.
“What are you two talking about?” Paz asked.
I’d never told my guys about the cavern under the Academy. They knew there were tunnels and caves underneath, because we’d partied on the beach in front of the opening to one, but they’d never explored them. Francis had told me there was something there that kept the students away, something in the air. I knew what it was. The rotten smell of the creature sleeping inside the well. Only Sariel knew about the Great Old One, and he’d never told anyone, either. It was Francis’s secret, and as much as I hated it, I was going to respect it, just like Sariel did.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Because it’s not a good place. We’ll think of something. I’ll ask Patty and Klaus. Between the six of us, we have to come up with something.”
Francis didn’t say another word, and I was grateful. When the class was dismissed, neither of us had done Professor Colin’s exercise. However, I knew we’d done exactly what he’d actually wanted us to do: plot against Morningstar.
CHAPTER FOUR