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The arboretum was nestled in dark and quiet. Nate waited at the entrance, hands shoved into his pockets, black baseball cap in place.
“I thought college parties were supposed to be loud and obnoxious,” I said.
He glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, they are. We have to hurry, though. Syd is already getting nervous.”
“Sheesh. Does she think this was a blind date?”
My humor was completely lost on him. He frowned and then took off his hat and offered it. “This will help.”
“Help what?”
“The fact that you’ll stand out like a fucking flare.” Seeing my outrage, he explained, “It’s not that big of a school. Everyone generally comes to recognize each other. Either you’ll be recognized, or you’ll stand out because you’re an unknown person. We just have to make sure you’re not obvious.”
“You’re dramatic,” I observed, right before I tripped and face planted into a hedge. My arms went straight through the leafy wall, scraping themselves on branches.
I extricated myself, feeling completely betrayed.
Nate had an uncomfortable sort of look. Like maybe he drank sour milk. Or found his mother’s dating profile. “This isn’t going to go well, is it?”
“You aren’t helping,” I grunted.
“There’s a leaf in your bun.”
“It’s decorative. Get over it.”
I followed him down the path. The packed dirt scraped against my soles, still the only sound in the quiet garden. So where were all the people—
Nate stepped forward, shimmered, and disappeared completely. I halted, my eyes wide and trying to decide whether I’d imagined that. But nope. The dude was totally gone.
Tentatively, I followed. Magic skimmed over me like feathers carrying frostbite, sending goosebumps down my body. I kept walking, and in the next second, it was over.
Music, laughter, and chatter practically assaulted my eardrums, and the scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke followed. A pond lay nestled into the center of the large space, and around it, people filled the gardens. Lanterns lit the night in a warm glow.
“Well, that’s smart,” I said.
“Students technically have a curfew, but the school policies mostly talk about lights and noise. So, this has been an unspoken tradition for a long time. Close your mouth. You look like a tourist.”
I glared. “When did you get so mean?”
“I’m not mean. I’m nervous. And scared. I told you that already. Now, walk quickly.”
Putting on my most casual expression and posture, I sauntered after Nate, picking up only a few strange glances. Eventually, we made it to a desert garden. Were they called gardens, actually? What was the proper terminology for arboretum things?
In any case, beneath a ridiculous aloe vera plant that somehow rose over six feet high, a girl sat on a bench alone. The cherry of her cigarette glowed dangerously close to her knuckles. The hoodie she wore shadowed her face, but the frown was apparent.
“Syd,” Nate said softly. “She’s here.”
“Yeah, I can see that. What do you want, Isra Valence?”
I snorted. “To leave. To go to bed. Probably to eat some muffins.”
Her head lifted. “Muffins?”
“Muffins.”
She brought the cigarette to her lips and then crushed it beneath her boot. “Well, then I won’t waste your time if you don’t waste mine. Now, what do you want?”
This was her screening process. She wanted to talk to me, but I also needed to convince her it was a good idea. There was just one problem. “I really don’t care about impressing you or acting like a tough bitch,” I stated. “You asked me to come here. You’re going to tell me what you need to say, or I’ll just leave. You were probably buying shit from Benjamin, and it’s been heavy on your precious little archangel heart. I don’t care about that either. I’m here to help the students. And if I can offer you a safe place for some deep, dark confession, I’m all ears. If what you say can help me stop anyone else from getting hurt, even better. But I’m not here to exploit secrets.”
