Scarlett quietly slipped out of bed. Mei stirred, and Scarlett put the stuffed animal back into her closet. She padded down to the kitchen. The house was silent. She wondered how many girls had spelled themselves to sleep and how many had spelled themselves awake to be sure they were ready for whatever came in the night. For once, Scarlett didn’t want to use her magic at all; she was saving it up for what was to come. She and her sisters needed to be at full strength to get Tiffany back.
In the kitchen she grabbed a mug and started the espresso maker. As it hissed and sputtered, she stared out the window. The campus was just beginning to rouse. Students rode past on bicycles or walked leisurely with earbuds in, their backpacks slung over their shoulders. It was almost surreal that the world was just proceeding as normal while Tiffany was being held somewhere, in pain, waiting for Scarlett and her sisters to save her.
“Hey,” a voice said, cutting through her thoughts. Vivi stood in the doorway, her hair sticking up slightly, her eyes puffy and red. “How are you doing?”
“How do you think?” Scarlett said, pouring the coffee into the mug. A little splashed over the sides, scalding her thumb, but she welcomed the pain. She deserved it and so much more.
Vivi blinked. “I’m sorry. That was a dumb question. I can leave if you want to be alone . . .”
Scarlett shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I’m just really on edge.”
“Of course you are.” Vivi hesitated, then completely surprised Scarlett by wrapping her in a hug. “I’m so sorry this happened. I know how much Tiffany meant to you. Means to you,” she quickly amended as Scarlett’s heart gave a painful squeeze. “And I’m sure this pales in comparison to what you’re going through with Tiffany, but I was also sorry to hear about you and Mason.”
Oh God, Mason. Scarlett hadn’t thought about him since she’d found Tiffany’s bloodied room. She sat down at the table clutching her mug, staring into its depths as if she could scry for answers there. In one night, Scarlett had lost the two people she cared about most in the world.
“He was right to break up with me,” Scarlett admitted. She didn’t deserve to be happy, to move on with her life with an incredible guy at her side. Harper would never have that chance. And now Tiffany might not either. “He’ll find someone better than me.”
Vivi looked surprised. “Scarlett, he’ll never do better than you. You’re . . . perfect,” she said finally.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Do what?”
“Flatter me. You’re a Raven now,” Scarlett said.
“Trust me, it’s not flattery.”
Scarlett huffed out a faint laugh. “Well, Mason can do better. And he will. And I have to accept that.” Scarlett curled both hands around her mug. “I’m not a good person, Vivi. I was awful to you, perhaps a little more than was required.”
Vivi sat down at the table and shook her head. “You helped me. You trained me even though you don’t like me. And you want to find your friend, whatever it takes. Even if it means putting yourself in danger.”
“Of course I have to find her,” Scarlett said. She’d never even considered the alternative. “It’s my fault this happened to her.”
“Scarlett, there’s no way this is your fault.” Vivi leaned forward and reached for her again, but Scarlett pulled away.
“It is,” Scarlett insisted, growing angry. Not at Vivi, but at herself. “It is my fault.”
“How in the world is it your fault?” Vivi argued. “You didn’t—”
“We killed someone, Vivi,” Scarlett burst out.
Vivi sat back in her chair, her face ashen. “What?”
Scarlett buried her face in her hands, pressing her palms into her eyes, finally letting herself admit the truth after so long. Finally letting herself remember that night in full relief.
It was March of freshman year and the weather was starting to turn warm. They’d all been at a Psi Delta Lambda mixer and the party was wilder than usual. Everyone was drunk and the crowd had spilled into the backyard, where the brothers had set up the kegs. Dahlia, who was already membership chair as a sophomore, was dancing with Sadie Lane, their president, and some of the other upperclassmen girls while a cluster of Psi Delt guys cheered someone doing a keg stand. Gwen was on a second-floor balcony looking down at them with a vaguely disgusted expression on her face.
“Look at her. That witch thinks she’s above us all,” Tiffany said to Scarlett. “She’s literally standing above the fray. I say we bring her down a little.”
“I don’t know, Tiff,” Scarlett said. Gwen and Tiffany had just had yet another fight—Scarlett didn’t even know what about—and Tiffany was still seething.
“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Tiffany said, her eyes shining as she grabbed Scarlett’s hand.
Scarlett hesitated. She didn’t like Gwen either, now that she’d seen with her own eyes how cruel she could be to Tiffany, but doing anything out in the open like this, with all the sisters and Psi Delt guys there, was risky.
“Do I need to remind you that just last week she called us frivolous bitches who couldn’t even control their magic enough to do a summoning spell?” Tiffany asked. Scarlett felt a flash of anger; no one insulted her spell technique.
“Ugh. She really is the worst. Our spells are flawless,” Scarlett said. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the way Gwen was sneering at them just then, but against her better judgment, Scarlett finally agreed. Tiffany’s grin was infectious, and Scarlett had to admit she was sick of Gwen’s sanctimonious shit. “So what are you thinking?”
Tiffany just kept smiling and made a crawling motion with her fingers. Scarlett laughed. Of course. The only chink in Gwen’s armor was her paralyzing fear of spiders. They’d discovered this during their Hell Week graveyard task when they’d had to collect spider webs for spellwork. Gwen had screamed and cried like a three-year-old.
“You wicked little witch,” Scarlett said, but she couldn’t help laughing as they joined hands and whispered the incantation.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then Gwen let out a bloodcurdling scream and started hopping around the balcony, swatting at the air. No one else could see anything, but to Gwen, spiders were everywhere, climbing all over her, skittering across every surface. The entire party turned to watch her. “Get them off me!” she shouted.
“What the hell?” Dahlia said as some of the boys burst out into laughter. One pulled out his phone and began filming as Gwen writhed and twisted.
Tiffany laughed long and loudly, cutting through the crowd. Gwen’s gaze locked on her and Scarlett. Her eyes narrowed in understanding and she started moving her lips rapidly, fists clenched, beginning a spell of her own. But Scarlett and Tiffany were ready for her. As soon as they felt Gwen’s magic rebound on them, Scarlett shoved back, hard, almost knocking Gwen off her feet.
Gwen fixed Scarlett with a look that stopped Scarlett in her tracks, a glare of pure loathing, then she clenched her fists harder, tapping into her power once more. Tiffany and Scarlett joined hands and sent another wave of power at Gwen to counteract her next spell. That was when Harper stepped out onto the balcony and touched Gwen’s shoulder, no doubt to calm her. Harper cared about Gwen, and above all, she cared about her sisters’ public image.