Eternal

5 ~ Frenemies

Speak of the devil,” Jack said, glaring at Tyler.

“Y’all were talking about me? Wow. I’m flattered.” Still leaning casually against the doorframe, Tyler didn’t seem to notice the hostility directed his way. In fact, he looked perfectly comfortable in his low-slung jeans and faded flannel shirt.

“Yeah, don’t be,” I launched back. “Trust me. It wasn’t at all flattering.”

“Man, that’s harsh.” His eyes danced with their usual mischief. “Anyway, I was looking for Aidan. I think it’s time we have a little chat. You know, get some things straight. Mano a mano, as we say in Texas.”

The now-familiar pain sliced through my heart at the mention of Aidan’s name. I swallowed hard, struggling to rein in my emotions, to compose my features into something that resembled normal. “Yeah, well, you’re too late for that,” I said at last. “Right, Jack?”

Jack ignored that, instead busying himself with sweeping up the broken glass on the floor.

I just glared at him, waiting to see if he was going to own up to what he’d done in front of Tyler. But he didn’t—of course not. He just kept on cleaning up the mess as if we weren’t standing there watching him.

“Okay, what’s going on here?” Tyler asked, breaking the uneasy silence.

As soon as Jack dumped the broken bits of glass in the trash and returned the surviving test tubes to their racks, he grabbed his backpack off the counter and made for the door. “Sorry to break up the party, guys, but I’ve got to go to football practice.”

“Coward,” I said under my breath.

“Let him go.” Tyler reached for my arm. “Seriously, Violet, what’s going on?”

Taking a moment to gather my courage, I dropped my gaze to my scuffed sneakers, noticing a rip in one seam. “Prepare your ‘I told you so’s,” I said, resisting the urge to bend down and pull on the loose threads. “You’re going to love this.”

I looked up to find him studying my face carefully, his mouth drawn into a tight line. “Actually, I don’t think I am,” he said.

Best to just blurt it out, I decided. “You were right. Aidan was the Stalker. Thanks to our good friend Jack, that is, who was tampering with his serum.”

“What the hell? You’re saying that Aidan really was attacking those women?”

I nodded, chewing on my lower lip.

“When did you find out?”

“The last day of school. That night, in Manhattan,” I clarified.

“And you’re just now telling me because . . . ?”

“Because it was a lot to deal with, that’s why. Besides, what was I supposed to do? Call you in the middle of Christmas dinner with the happy news?”

“Trust me. It’s not like my Christmas could have gotten any worse than it already was,” he said with a shrug. “So what the hell happened? I mean, if he’s the World’s Kindest Vampire like you say he is, why’d he do it?”

“Long story short, he had no idea what he was doing—he’d test the serum on himself and then basically black out while the Stalker took over. Like Jekyll and Hyde or something. As soon as he figured it out, he turned himself in to the Tribunal. That very night.”

“The Tribunal?”

I nodded. “Yeah, it’s like the vampire high court. The ruling body—something like that. Anyway, they’re in charge of all vampire punishment, and after what he did . . .” I trailed off, unable to finish the thought. “Aidan’s gone, and he’s not coming back.”

He reached for my hand, giving it a squeeze. “God, Violet, I’m so sorry. But Jack”—he shook his head—“I mean, are you sure? How do you know he was involved?”

“Because I saw him, that’s how,” I said. “In a vision last fall. Only, I just figured out what it meant. Anyway, he confessed. Kate managed to get it out of him—that’s why he was so pissed off.”

He dropped my hand. In an instant, he was at the door.

“Where are you going?” I hurried to catch up with him, reaching for his sleeve to stop him.

“To find Jack and kick his ass, that’s where.”

I shook my head. “Don’t bother. He had his reasons, okay? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but . . . well, it’s not like he had a choice. Not really.” God, I hated that I was excusing Jack. I wanted to blame him. To hate him. But Mrs. Girard had threatened his little brother. What was he supposed to do? What would any of us have done in his place?

“You’re actually defending that asshole?”

“Well, there’s more to it,” I said, wondering just how much I should tell him. “But can we talk about it later? Right now I need to find Kate and make sure she’s okay.”

I could have sworn I saw a flicker of a smile at the corners of his mouth. “Why don’t you let me deal with Kate?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. I think she’s pretty confused right now.” Yeah, that was putting it mildly. I’d seen the way she was looking at Jack just before she ran out—she was so not over him; I was sure of it. And now that she knew why he’d broken up with her, well . . .

“What about you?” he asked, interrupting my train of thought. His brow furrowed as he peered down at me. “Are you okay?”

Tears burned behind my eyelids, but I managed to blink them back. I was not going to cry. “What do you think, Tyler? No. No, I’m not okay.”

He pulled me into his arms. “No, course you’re not. I really am sorry, Violet. Seriously, you just tell me what you need me to do.”

I took a deep, steadying breath. “I just . . . I need you to be my friend, that’s all.”

Cupping my face with his hands, he tipped my head up till our gazes met. He nodded once, then pressed his lips against my forehead. His kiss was quick, entirely chaste.

“You got it,” he said.

And this time, I believed him.

“And really, Tyler—mano a mano?” I was smiling now, hoping to break the heavy tension in the air. “Does anyone actually say that in Texas?”

He laughed, the familiar playful gleam back in his eyes. “Heck if I know. It sounded good, though, right?”

“What’s for lunch?” I asked, tossing my bag to the empty chair beside Sophie.

“Chili,” Marissa said, pointing to the steaming bowl on the tray in front of her. “And it’s pretty good.” Beside her, Max gave a thumbs-up with one hand while he shoveled a spoonful into his mouth with the other.

The spicy smell made my stomach roil. “Maybe I’ll just get a sandwich.”

“Yeah, me too.” Sophie rose and fell into step beside me.

“Hey, wait up!” Cece hurried to catch up with us.

We were halfway across the dining hall when Joshua waylaid us, stepping into our path with a frown. “Hey, I just heard what happened to Aidan. You guys okay?”

As always, bad news traveled fast at Winterhaven. We hadn’t even been back at school a full twenty-four hours yet. “Who told you?” I asked, curious.

“Tyler. We’ve got third period Spanish together.” He glanced over one shoulder, toward the table where Jack sat surrounded by his football buddies. Shaking his head, Joshua turned back toward us. “He told me about Jack, too. Unbelievable.”

“I know, right?” Cece shot Jack a deadly glare.

“Dirtbag,” Sophie added.

“So,” Joshua said, “what’s the plan?”

I shifted on my feet, feeling vulnerable. I could have sworn that every pair of eyes in the dining hall was focused on us, watching us. “The plan?”

“Yeah, you must have some sort of plan. Right? Oh, and Bronwyn and I kinda broke up over break. It’s a little awkward right now—do you mind if I sit with you guys?”

“What? No, of course not. We’re just getting sandwiches.” I shook my head, confused. I was getting mental whiplash from trying to follow the train of conversation.

“Thanks.” His mouth widened into a smile, and I couldn’t help but notice that his gaze shifted to Cece and lingered there a little longer than it should have. “Okay, I’ll see you back at your table and we can talk about the plan.”

I nodded mutely. He was going to be disappointed to learn that I had nothing. No plan.

When we finally made our way back to our table with our sandwiches and drinks, Kate, Tyler, and Joshua had joined Max and Marissa. Even without Aidan, it was going to be a tight squeeze.

“Where’s the rest of the band?” I directed at Max. He always sat with them at meals—at least, he always had before now.

Max just grunted, motioning toward the table behind us. Beside him, Marissa smiled sweetly. A battle hard fought, I supposed.

Sophie leaned toward me. “Marissa told him everything,” she whispered into my ear. “Well, almost everything. Just so you know.”

I didn’t have time to ask her what she meant by “almost everything” before Joshua launched right into investigative mode. “Okay, so you think this Tribunal is somewhere in France?”

“Paris,” I said. “At least, that’s what I heard.”

“And Cece tried to project to Mrs. G.?”

Cece nodded. “A bunch of times. No luck, though. I think the place is protected, wherever she is. I can’t project to her or to Aidan.”

“So presumably they’re in the same place,” Tyler reasoned.

Joshua drummed his fingers on the table. “And you talked to Ackerman?”

“Yep. No luck there, either,” I answered. “Ackerman had some story about a family emergency. Which we all know is a bunch of crap.”

“The woman’s got to have a cell phone, right?” Tyler said. “There must be a faculty directory or something.”

I shook my head. “Matthew says he’s never seen her with a cell. He showed me the directory, and it only lists her Winterhaven office number.”

“Matthew?” Max asked, his brows drawn.

“Dr. Byrne,” I corrected, my cheeks flushing hotly. “Sorry.”

Max still looked confused. “What has Dr. Byrne got to do with this?”

Marissa kicked me under the table. I didn’t tell him everything, she mouthed. It occurred to me then that Tyler didn’t know about the Megvéd stuff either—which meant neither did Joshua.

I swallowed hard. “He’s . . . my psychic coach, that’s all. I asked him if he could help me contact her.”

Somehow, I was glad the guys didn’t know. It just felt . . . I don’t know, too personal to share with them. Of course, it also meant they were missing a big piece of the story.

I glanced over at Josh, who was now busy debating the wisdom of asking other teachers if they knew how to contact Mrs. G. His expression was earnest, his concern evident. I remembered the sight of him standing beside Jack on the edge of that blood-soaked field last spring, remembered how he’d created—or somehow became—the distracting fog that helped save us all. He’d risked so much by joining us in the fight and all because Aidan and I had stood up for him and his shifter friends.

Yep, I trusted Joshua. Completely.

My gaze slid over to Tyler. He was a friend, no doubt about it. And yet it had been so easy to imagine that he’d been the one tampering with Aidan’s work. I didn’t trust him, not fully. And it wasn’t just that he’d hooked up with Kate when he was supposed to be at a dance with Cece. No, there was more to it than that. I couldn’t quite figure him out, wasn’t entirely sure what motivated him.

What had drawn him into our little group? Was it just our connection on the fencing team? Or was there something more? I shook my head, realizing there was a lot about Tyler that I didn’t know.

Still, there was no doubt that he was a part of us now. Max too. And if they were going to help me find Mrs. Girard and get Aidan out of wherever they were keeping him, then they probably needed to know the whole story, skeevy bits and all.

They deserved to know. Which meant I needed to talk to Matthew and get his permission first. Because this was his secret as much as mine, and—

“Violet?” Cece nudged me in the ribs. “What do you think?”

“About what?” I shook my head, trying to clear it.

“You haven’t been listening to a word Josh said, have you?” she asked.

I felt my cheeks flame. “Sorry.”

“We were talking about this whole ‘war’ thing,” Kate offered. She turned toward me. “Remember what Jack said yesterday, about how Mrs. G. might be trying to protect Aidan? It makes sense, really, when you think about it. If he’s her ‘greatest creation’ and all that. I mean, maybe this is just part of some big plan.”

Joshua nodded. “Yeah, maybe she needed him to get into trouble so that she had an excuse to lock him up somewhere safe.”

Tyler looked unconvinced. “Well, why wouldn’t he be safe here?”

“Julius and those two female vamps were able to track him here,” Marissa said, suddenly looking pale. She combed a hand through her long dark hair, her fingers visibly trembling. “Wherever they’ve got him, it’s with a bunch of powerful vampires, right? Probably the best place for him, if something big is going down. If they want to keep him safe, that is.”

“Yeah, but safe from what?” Sophie asked.

“The war,” Joshua answered with a shrug.

I sighed in frustration. “Which brings us right back where we started. And no closer to getting Aidan out than we were before.”

“But think about it, Violet,” Kate said. “If we’re right and she’s got him somewhere to keep him safe or whatever, she’s not going to just let him go. There’s no more ‘clearing’ him—she set him up, remember?”

Kate was right, of course. Telling Mrs. G. that Aidan was set up was pointless if she was the one who had ordered the sabotage. It wouldn’t matter, not one bit. Unless Jack was lying. “If I could just talk to him somehow. You know, make sure he’s okay.”

“We really should eat,” Cece said, and I glanced down at my untouched sandwich. “Lunch is almost over, and I’ve got to get over to the gym for tennis.”

Marissa pushed aside her bowl with a frown. “I thought you were quitting the tennis team.”

Cece looked glum. “Apparently not.”

“Parental pressure?” Max asked, reaching for his spoon and scraping out the remaining bits of chili from Marissa’s bowl.

“Yeah, even though college apps are already in. What difference does it make now?” Cece took a bite of her sandwich.

I shrugged, reaching for my own sandwich. I’d just taken a bite when everyone’s heads swiveled toward a spot just over my shoulder. I turned to find Matthew standing there.

“Sorry to interrupt, guys. Violet, can I see you after sixth period today in my office?”

“Sure,” I mumbled around a mouthful of tuna salad.

With a dazzling smile, Matthew raked a hand through his dark hair, mussing it. The girls surrounding me seemed to be holding their breath, mesmerized as they watched. “Okay, great. I won’t keep you long.” He clapped a hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “And I’ll see you fourth period, right?”

“Right, you will,” Tyler answered. “Biochemistry and Molecular Studies, here I come.”

“Hey, me too,” Sophie said, smiling broadly.

“Good to hear. I’ll make it fun. I promise. Okay, later, guys.” He gave a little salute before heading back through the crowded dining hall.

“A science elective?” I asked Sophie, whose fair, freckled cheeks were now scarlet. “You mean, in addition to your regular science class?”

“I like science,” Sophie mumbled.

“And Dr. Hottie,” Marissa added, poking her playfully in the ribs.

Max rolled his liner-smudged eyes as he piled empty dishes on his tray. “What is it with everyone and Dr. Byrne? Seriously, he’s such a stiff.”

“I am so not going to touch that one. Not with a ten-foot pole,” Cece said with a laugh.

Marissa grinned mischievously, making me groan aloud—I knew what was coming. “No, we’ll leave that to Violet, won’t we? After sixth period.”

The table erupted in laughter. Luckily, I was saved by the bell that indicated the end of lunch period. Three more periods to get through—two of which I normally shared with Aidan.

It was going to be a long day.