Page 63 of Divine Oaths

“I told you,” Jojo said, vindicated.

Ignoring his brother, Kasem scraped the jam off the bread, licking it off the knife and from the crust of the toast. Warmth flooded through me as he handed it back, this time after spreading butter on its surface.

“I’m fine,” I said. But I took the toast and nibbled on it, tentative, because of the remnants of jam against my lips. Not because of the traces of him.

“She knows about the curse,” Kasem said. “Also, it’s her birthday. Did you wish her happy birthday, brother?”

“Don’t be condescending,” Jojo warned. “And I’m aware she knows.” But he turned to me, and wished me happy birthday, nonetheless. Anger surged through me, but my heart skipped that happy beat.

“Thank you,” I whispered back, reluctant. But if Kasem hadn’t forced him, would he have said it at all?

“What else have you told her?” Jojo said, continuing the conversation.

Kasem didn’t meet his brother’s gaze, though. He picked at his breakfast, taking bites and looking displeased. “Too much salt,” he grumbled.

“You always oversalt your food.”

“Then you should have done it,” Kasem snapped.

Annoyed, Jojo swapped their plates, then took a napkin to water and started patting the salt off his eggs.

The two spoke without words, grumbling to themselves, passing orange juice and pepper and cutting bacon off each other’s plates in retribution when one dared to steal the other’s food. I fought back laughter watching them, how in sync they were, how, even despite themselves, they seemed to be attuned to each other’s needs.

Seeing them like this made the night in the alleyway feel like a nightmare. Kasem thought Jojo was behind it, and to be honest, I didn’t blame him. But we were nowhere closer to finding out how to break the curse and fix my powers. Jojo knew that. He probably knew more than either of us about what we might be facing, having already been the curse’s target before. I needed to make him realize that whatever grudge the two might have against each other, it would benefit all of us for them to work together.

“What is it going to take for you to stop being so stubborn and help us, Jojo?” I said. “In case you haven’t heard, a girl nearly died at Theta House last night, and a former Westfield student is haunting the school.”

“Danny was never marked by the curse,” Kasem corrected. “I mean, I knew who he was. He was in Rose House but was one of the few from it who ran in Poppy House circles. He got a lot of grief from Roses and Ivies for it. But we were never cool like that. I don’t think we’d ever even had a conversation. His lifeline wouldn’t be tied to mine.”

“So then was Sigma behind it?” I said. “Honey claimed that Sigma and Theta are supposed to be protecting the school. So, what’s the truth?”

Jojo crossed his arms.

“Cecilia mentioned something called a ‘wraith,’” Kasem said. “I’ve never heard the term before.” Tentative, he shot a glance at Jojo. “Do you know of it, brother?”

“It sounds familiar,” Jojo admitted. He’d brought his bags with him, and he pulled out a handful of leather-bound journals—the same ones I’d seen in the Research Department. “These are writings from former historians at Theta and Sigma. Most of them catalog new members and keep track of old ones. They reference ghostly hauntings at Westfield, some that date back to the 1800s. They chronicle how both societies have been trying to free the spirits on campus and stop a force here that was causing the accidental deaths.”

“The curse,” I said.

Jojo nodded and offered the journals for me and Kasem to take.

The leather was worn and fragile. I flipped through the pages, scanning the handwriting that changed as the historian role passed between members. The deaths of Sigma and Theta members were listed throughout, and there was clear frustration about the societies not even being able to protect their own.

“This is Mother’s handwriting,” Kasem said, stopping at a page in the notebook Jojo had given him. “She was a Theta? I never knew that. I mean, I knew about Dad being Sigma, but Mother never mentioned it.”

“That’s because she was never really a Theta,” Jojo said. “I mean, she joined, and it was on record, but it was only because her sisterhood, the Ԑnhye, wanted someone on the inside at Theta to be a bridge between the two societies. It’s been well-known for years now that Theta and Sigma are basically puppets of the Board.”

“So the Board has been watering down Sigma and Theta from their original abolitionist mission. But for how long? Do you think the switch-up could be connected to the curse?”

“I don’t know,” Jojo said. “It could be. Then again, most institutions in the country changed when Reconstruction ended.”

“Does your mother say anything about it in the records?” I said, turning to Kasem.

“It’s mostly keeping track of members.” He flipped through the pages. “She mentions the sisterhood of the Ԑnhye, though.”

There was that name again. When Vivian had been encouraging me to join her sisterhood, it had come up.

“Has Vivian told you anything?” I pressed. “That’s her sisterhood, right? Maybe she would know more about the curse?”