Fallen University: Year One

“Okay,” Jayce said slowly. “But that’s all conjecture, right? I mean, I trust you, Piper, but if you don’t have any evidence, aren’t you just doing the same thing she is?”

I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head. “It’s not all conjecture. Her minions cornered me in Combat the day the sprites were released, but one of them was missing. That’s pretty coincidental timing.”

“And Sonja was fighting with you today,” Kingston added. “Maybe she was setting herself up for an alibi while her friends sabotaged the lights?”

“Makes sense to me,” I said.

Jayce frowned. “I don’t know. It’s not a lot to go on.”

“She does hate us,” Kai said slowly. “But does she hate us enough to ruin the whole school to get rid of us?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Some of the things she’s said make me think that she isn’t completely thrilled about how the Custodians are running things. She might just be setting things in motion for something bigger. She’s graduating this year, isn’t she? She’d be in line for a job with the Custodians. This could give her something to point at and say ‘see, this isn’t working, this is why we need to do things my way.’”

Even as I spoke, I hoped I was wrong, but it made so much sense I couldn’t just ignore it.

“And her way would be to send people straight to the underworld if they pissed her off,” Jayce said with a wince.

I nodded. We sat in silence for a while.

“Regardless,” Xero said quietly. “We should all be very, very careful from now on.”

His big brown eyes looked so sad it just about broke my heart.

Chapter Eighteen

Hannah was back in class the following period, which was a relief. Her hand was bandaged and she looked a little loopy, but at least she wasn’t in pain. She sketched a brief smile at me as I slid into the desk beside her, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. It wasn’t just her; everybody in the room was subdued. Whispers floated around between desks and the rustle of notes being passed filled the air.

Even the professor was distracted

. Jewel, the Human Relations professor, was a tiny woman with messy hair and big glasses. She sat on top of her desk at the front of the room, staring at a spot on the floor. I’d been a few minutes late to class, but it didn’t look like I had missed anything.

“Um… roll call,” she said distractedly. She held up the roll call sheet to read it, then put it down again. Instead, she just looked around at the faces in the room. Her eyes filled with tears. “Well, you’re all here. That’s good. No injuries? Oh, a couple of you. I’m so sorry, dears.”

She sniffled a bit and shuffled a stack of papers on her desk. She picked up the syllabus and put it down again, then picked up the primer. She put that away too and sighed.

“Okay. Why even bother? Nobody’s going to remember anything we learn today anyway.” She stuck her fingers under her glasses to rub her watery eyes. “But you’re stuck with me, so we’re going to talk. Let me tell you something, class. Up until the sprite attack, I would have sworn that this school was the safest place in the world for fallen. Now—between the sprite attack and the chaos downstairs, I just—I just don’t know anymore.”

“But it’s still this or the underworld, right?” The man’s voice sounded rough and forced, like he was afraid and trying very hard not to show it.

“I’m afraid so, dear. The Custodians won’t allow fallen to run loose all over the planet, that’s the whole point of their organization. Gods, but I wish there was something we could do.”

People began talking amongst themselves, and she didn’t stop them. She struck up a conversation with the question asker and the person sitting beside him. I took the opportunity to talk to Hannah.

“I think Sonja is trying to frame me and my guys,” I said quietly. “I think she did this, and I think she released the sprites. Or her minions did anyway.”

Hannah frowned the same way that Jayce had. “Piper, I know you’ve had issues with her, but—”

“I’ve had nothing but issues with her. She decided to hate me the day she picked us up, you remember? I think she’s still pissed off that she couldn’t pressure that guy to send us downstairs. I think she’s setting herself up for a leadership position with the Custodians, and I think she’s trying to make an example out of me.”

Hannah looked thoughtful for a moment. “I guess it’s possible. But how are you going to find out for sure? And what are you going to do if it’s true?”

I shook my head. I had no idea how to answer either of those questions, but I knew who might have an idea. When school was done for the day, I went to find Kingston. Maybe his dad had raised him to be an ethical businessman, but he was still a businessman. He knew how to think several steps ahead, which was exactly what I needed to do.

It took me a while to find him. He was tucked away on a tiny balcony in the library, curled up in a chair, reading a thick book. He was stroking the page with one finger as if he were scrolling on a tablet. Some habits die hard, I guess.

“Kingston,” I called out softly as I climbed the last few steps.

He jumped, startled, and nearly dropped his book in his hurry to close it. He tucked it behind him and scooted forward on the chair.