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I forced myself not to pale. I wondered how many of these Draug she’d killed. I gave her a brief nod.
“Nicely done, Drew. ” Proctor Amanda didn’t risk a smile, but her features did warm momentarily. That was something. I couldn’t bear being hated by everyone.
I thought of Ronan. He must be furious. Would he hate me for sneaking my iPod? Worse, would he be blamed for it? I hoped my kill would at least make him proud.
“Very well, then,” Trinity said briskly. “Go wash. You smell foul. But come back here. You’ll not sleep tonight. You stand vigil with us. Waiting to see which girls come back. ”
Which girls. That meant they didn’t expect everyone to return. Dread unfurled in my belly. I tried not to think how it was all my fault that everyone was in this situation in the first place. Tried not to think how any death tonight would be on my head.
Lilac’s group returned not long after we’d finished dressing. Her eyes found me the instant she entered the common area and they lingered there, as cold and sharp as the edge of a knife.
She spoke for the girls as their leader, which was no surprise. What was a surprise was how they could’ve possibly made it back, and in such good time.
“Tell,” Masha ordered.
“I burned them. ” Lilac pulled off her gloves. Black char marks smudged her fingers and the backs of her hands. Fire. Fire was how she’d kept everyone alive. Fire was Lilac’s gift.
Them. She’d taken down more than one. I shivered. My unpredictable pyro roommate unnerved me more than any monster I might face in the dark.
IT’D DAWNED CLEAR, AND BRIGHT bolts of sunlight sent a million shards of crystal glittering atop last night’s snow. The place looked like a winter wonderland. All the more obscene an atmosphere in which to hear the news.
The final group had returned. All two of them. The others had been slaughtered. By a single Draug.
The French girl with the pixie-cropped hair—I’d learned that her name was Stefinne—vomited repeatedly in a trash can in the corner. Her friend with the short bangs had been among the victims.
I’d been responsible for her friend’s death. Me and my iPod and my mother’s picture, too. Though I knew in that moment I’d have risked it all to keep alive any connection to my mom. But that connection was lost now, forever. I wondered if they’d destroyed the photo.
I wished I could get sick. To vomit and scream and weep. But I refused to let my face show any of it. Staring at Stefinne’s stupid hair—dyed black, the roots growing in a mousy brown—I forced the thoughts from my head.
Her companion, a generically pretty Idaho girl, repeated the story. Meanwhile, the Initiates sank into the chairs and couches of the common area like they were settling in for movie night.
“It came. It took us one by one. We threw stuff at it. ” She was traumatized, covered in blood and scratches, speaking in a lifeless monotone. A tic in her cheek was all that told me there was a person in there somewhere. “Rocks. Tried to hit it. But it just kept grabbing girls. Like it wanted to hug them. Smell them. It pushed them down. Climbed on. Biting . . . ”
With a sharp inhale, life slid back into her eyes, lighting her face with horror. “Oh, my God!” she shrieked. She began to shake and scream, as though still fighting the monster. “Oh, God! Make it stop!”
“Congratulations. ” At the sound of Lilac’s voice, my head shot up. I saw her reflection in the window, hovering at my back like an assassin. She’d showered and somehow managed to look perfect in her gray uniform, despite the lack of sleep. “You must be so proud. ”
Amanda sprang from the couch, putting her arm around the Idaho girl’s shoulder. “It’s all right, dolly. You’re back safe. How about we get you and your mate washed up?”
“Five down. ” Guidon Trinity looked at her nails. She might’ve been discussing a football score, for all the emotion that was in her voice.
Emma and I shared a quick look, then glanced away. Instinct told me to show no emotion, no allegiances.
Five girls. Dead. It was my fault.
Finally, we all dispersed. Numb, I staggered up to the room.
Crawling into bed was such a blessed relief—I didn’t remember the last time I’d slept. I almost didn’t care who my roommate was. Von Slutling could torch me in my sleep, for all I cared.
Her voice chimed into my consciousness, just as I began to drift off. “Watch your back, Charity. So many girls want to take you down, they’re going to have to start giving out numbers. ”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
The gym lights flickered to life with a loud click-click. Yasuo stood in the doorway, looking skeptically at the heavyduty fluorescent domes. “Are you sure we’re allowed to be in here?”
“Ronan says we’re encouraged to use the gym after hours. As long as it’s before curfew and all. ” I slung my bag on the floor against the wall and pulled off my coat. I shot him a challenging glare. “Don’t tell me you’re backing out now. ”
“Trainee Yasuo Ito doesn’t know the words back out. ” He joined me, shucking off his black wool peacoat. “I just don’t get why you need me. Aren’t you learning how to fight in combat class?”
