Page 56 of Divine Oaths

I turned to Honey, confused.

“We’re doing a summoning,” she said.

“A summoning?” I repeated.

She nodded, a wicked grin on her lips. “It’s tradition. For the first party of each year, we alternate the host, the one who communes with the great beyond. Last year, a Sigma brother did a summoning of one of their alumni. This year, it’s Theta’s turn. Cecilia’s leading the proceedings, of course, as Theta’s president.”

“So this is a séance?”

“Don’t tell me you’re scared,” Honey said, laughing along with some of the other girls who’d overheard. But the fan boat girl, the Hearst girl Alaster had warned me about, looked nervous. Kasem didn’t seem happy about the circumstances either.

“I think you should go,” Kasem whispered. “Some of the traditions Theta and Sigma have are—unusual.”

“What about the curse?” I whispered back. “Honey told me your ancestors were founding members.”

“I know,” he said. “Why do you think I joined Sigma?”

“And have you found anything from that?”

“Not anything that’s made a difference, which is why I didn’t mention it. I didn’t want you to feel pressured to rush on my behalf.”

Honey cleared her throat.

“Perhaps we should talk about the curse another time,” she whispered.

I spun to face Kasem. “She knows?”

“I said everyone connected to my family knows about the curse. Honey’s family is part of the board of trustees.”

My surprise morphed into anger, and I glared at Kasem for withholding this small yet vital piece of information. “How am I supposed to trust you if you keep just ‘forgetting’ to tell me things like this?”

“He couldn’t be explicit because we technically don’t have anything to do with the curse,” Honey said. “Theta and Sigma have our own traditions to try and protect Westfield students from it.”

A voice across the room interrupted us.

“I think Sianna should be the host,” Cecilia said. “She’s the birthday girl, after all.”

The room erupted in cheers. Hands started pushing me toward the middle of the circle, and in my drunken state, it was hard to see who was reaching and pulling and tugging and yanking me forward. But then someone circled my waist in a protective grip, keeping me anchored where I was; Kasem, guarding me even as the others kept trying to thrust me in the circle.

“I’ll be the host for the spirit,” he relented. “Sianna will choose the object.”

Shouts of annoyance filled the room, but Kasem ignored them, walking to the center of the circle and sitting crisscross, his eyes pressed shut, his hands splayed out.

Honey stilled at her seat. She watched Kasem and shot me a wary smile.

“He can be sweetly protective sometimes,” she said, her voice strained, aching. I remembered her words from earlier.

If you’re asking if I’m choosing to be with Alaster, I am. But do I want to be? Well, why wouldn’t I? He’s a Saint James, after all. My parents and the Board want to strengthen our ties to their family. So, I guess Alaster will do.

She’d been engaged to Jojo and had exchanged him for Alaster when he’d lost his inheritance. But really, it had been Kasem that she’d longed for, even before he’d been deemed Westfield’s new heir.

“Sianna,” Cecilia said, “join Sigma brother Kasem in the circle and choose the object we will be channeling for the summoning.”

Honey elbowed me to hurry, and I stumbled forward, taking a seat directly in front of Kasem. His eyes were still shut, but our knees touched this close in the circle.

“The object,” Cecilia demanded.

I grabbed one before I could change my mind: the leather notebook the Hearst girl had brought with her. The moment the burnt tips of my fingers touched the leather, the world around me dissolved into fractals of color and time.