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A BLT with add-on mushrooms, chips on the side with garlic dip, and blue lemonade, extra large.
That's what I'm having for dinner, which I happen to be sharing with not one, not two or three, but four divine beings, and not just any gods at that, but the four, full-blooded primordial (read: ancient as hell) gods that make up the mysterious Erotes.
Red-haired Erma is easily the most approachable, and he turns out to be the one responsible for leaving the order's mark on its members. Anteros with the jet-black crew cut reminds me of a stoic soldier with an occasionally acerbic tongue while third-born Himeros is almost ethereal with his long, honey-blond locks and quietly soothing voice.
The three brothers look nothing alike, and the only reason I don't question their claim of kinship is their identical eyes of gold and blue, which my god in his bestial form also possesses.
My god, whose name Eros I am finally in possession of.
The reminder makes me feel all foolishly tingly inside, and it's all I can do not to fidget in my seat.
Eros, Eros, Eros.
I know I'm acting like the stereotypical infatuated schoolgirl here, but I truly adore his name, and I can't get enough of it.
Eros, Eros—-
Anteros coughs, and when I look at him in concern, he says dryly, "Our big brother has not told you, has he?"
"Tell me what?"
"With all of us in the same room and belonging to the same order," Erma says with a smile I can only describe as devilish, "it's impossible for us not to hear your mental dialogue."
Shit.
Himeros' silver eyes twinkle. "We heard that, too."
SHIIIIIIIIIIT!
"And that as well, I'm afraid," Anteros drawls.
Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!
I've made a mental note in the past to pick up a library book on divine telepathy, but I just never got around to doing it, and now I'm paying the price.
Dessert is courtesy of Erma, and it's while Eros pours champagne into my wine glass that he addresses me again.
Now that you have met my brothers, I thought you should know one last thing.
I can't help making a face at this. Why do I have a feeling that I'll run out of years to live before you ever run out of secrets to confess?
Women's intuition, probably?
So you do have more secrets you're hiding!
We all have secrets, moraki mou.
Is he seriously using that as an excuse? I'm about to tell his divine face to 'fuck off' when I notice too late the way his brothers' interested gazes are flicking back and forth between my god and me at the exchange. It makes me feel awkwardly self-conscious, but since they're already listening in—-
"He told me that his face is the kind that makes people cry," I blurt out.
His brothers start choking, and I'm now more confused than skeptical.
Is it not true, brothers?
"As painful as it is to admit," Anteros says with a grimace, "our oldest brother speaks the truth."
"And his voice?" I arch a brow at them. "Does it also brings tears to his eyes, and that's why I'm not allowed to hear it?"
"Well..." Himeros' tone is pensive. "Our big brother can sound more than annoying every time he talks about—-" He suddenly stops speaking, and I see the three visible gods suddenly sporting the same hardened expression.
"What is it?" I ask worriedly.
An emergency meeting of the order's sovereign council has been called.
I'm tempted to pretend I'm getting what he's saying, but in the end I just decide it's better to be stupid and honest.
Is that bad?
"Only the Grand Master can call for such a meeting." Erma is the one who answers my question, and his unusually sober voice makes the hairs at the back of my neck start standing again. "And since neither of us four did it..."
Invisible fingers cup my chin, and I can feel the god's tension as his words unroll in my mind.
We have to leave Rosethorne, moraki mou.
Can I have your word that you will stay put while we are away?
****
EROS USES HIS DIVINE powers to transport me outside Rosethorne's library, and I shoo him away right after because a) I know how urgent his business is with the order and b) I don't want him to see...this.
I'm bent over the water closet, puking my guts out, and although my stomach finally settles down after a minute, it takes another five before the world around me ceases to spin.
I'm hoping I'm wrong about this, but maybe I need to schedule a discreet check-up with Keia. Is it possible there's such a thing as being allergic to, well, magic?
Then again, since I'm already at the library...
Ginny beams at me as soon as I enter. "Welcome back."
I shake my head in wonder. "You are so friendly."
"And you make friendliness sound like a sin—-"
"It is," I assure her.
"We shall agree to disagree."
"See? Friendly."
"Again: not a sin." The librarian takes her tortoiseshell glasses from the counter and puts it on. "Let's get down to book business, shall we? Are you looking for another guide this time?"
"Well—-"
"May I suggest The Idiot's Guide to Socialization? Or perhaps No Man's An Island? There has also been several rave reviews about Friendliness Doesn't Kill—-"
"Very. Very. Funny." I shoot her a dirty look. "Not."
Her lips crack a smile. "But seriously, what book—-"
"Secret societies."
Ginny laughs. "Yeah right."
"Uh, I mean it."
"Uh, no, you—-" Ginny stops speaking at the look on my face, and her brows shoot past the top of her glasses. "You hate being friendly," she sputters, "but you're interested in joining a secret society?"
"Who says I'm interested in joining one? I just know someone—-"
"Oh, now I get it."
Ginny's smile turns knowing, and I feel defensive all of a sudden without knowing why.
"That someone you know is someone you like."
And now of course the reason is absolutely clear.
"Can you just give me the damn book? Please?"
The librarian laughs, and it's this sound that continues to grate on my nerves even though I'm already at my own desk and poring over said damn books about secret societies. I can feel her totally judging me, and it's all I can do not to yell 'it's not true'. The only reason I asked for a book on secret societies is because I want to distract myself from thinking about killers on the loose, dead and missing former schoolmates, my parents' lives in danger—-
Ah, shit.
I stare down at the pages, but this time even my own eyesight refuses to cooperate, and all of it is just a blur. All I can see right now is the photo of Myrrha's corpse, which - as impossible as this was to imagine - is even more grossly mutilated than the ones found in the music room.
No one, not even a bullying bitch like Myrrha, deserved to die like that, and just like that night, all I can think of is...why?
Why is he doing these things?
Why, why, why?
The word echoes in my mind as I take my phone out and tap on the Files app. The professor gave me soft copies of every report he's obtained regarding the killer, but I've never had a chance to go over them.
Until now.
A private detective hired by the professor (on Eros' order?) had done a thorough background check on both Myrrha and Cen, and both reports reveal a couple of things I wish I had known earlier.
Myrrha, for instance, was only fifteen when her parents sold her to become a rich but married satyr's mistress. Cen, on the other hand, is one-third divine but whose failure to show any special abilities led to the removal of her name in her grandfather's will.
While I'm not so much of a softie that I think these things would justify any evil both girls have done, I just think something might've or could've changed. I'm not sure how or what, but...
My phone suddenly vibrates against the desk, and the low, buzzing sound startles me out of my thoughts. It's a text message from Rosethorne's official number, saying that I have a visitor waiting for me at the school gates.
I text back to ask who it is, a part of me already assuming there's been some mistake.
But there's not.
I can feel my blood turning cold as I type my reply, and I have to force myself to smile as I say goodbye to Ginny.
A cold blast of air slaps my face as soon as I step out of the library, but otherwise the night is silent. Too silent, actually, that I can't help looking around in search of some sign of life.
But there's none.
It's only half-past eight, a time when students and faculty are usually walking back home after having dinner at Lavender Hall. But today, the roads are empty no matter where I look, and even the trees that normally sway in the arms of evening breezes are completely still. I strain my ears for the sound of owls and wolves - for anything that goes bump in the night. But even they have been silenced, and it's starting to make me wonder if all of these have something to do with the emergency meeting that had four ancient gods seriously pissed.
This is probably me being half-paranoid and half-divine-challenged again, but can animals also be a part of secret societies, and that's why Rosethorne feels like a ghost town again?
The crunch of gravel under rubber tires draw my attention away, and a Tesla bearing the school's logo soon slows to a stop in front of me. The driver steps out to open my door, and I do my best to thank him without looking like I've been coerced into accepting his assistance.
Eros has apparently left word since the day I was attacked, and well...what can I say? Ridiculously protective, my god is, and damn, damn, damn...why am I talking like Yoda again?
The ride to the school's outermost gates only takes minutes, and when I'm out of the car I see a full dozen of school security standing guard. It's overkill at its worst, especially since their one target is a frail-looking girl who has her back to us. Her hair is completely disheveled, her clothes in tatters, and when she turns around at security's request, it's to reveal one swollen eye, a cut lip, and a body that's bruised all over.
She looks like she's escaped from Hell, and her eyes start to water the moment she sees me.
"H-Halyna?"
"Cen..."
She takes a step forward, and I can't help but draw my breath.
"P-Please."
She takes another step, and I can't help thinking that she's only one step away from crossing property lines...and then we'll find out if Rosethorne considers her a friend or an enemy.
"I don't know who else to turn to," Cen chokes out. "Can you help me?"
She moves forward as she speaks.
But nothing happens.
And I stop holding my breath. "Of course." I take her hand without hesitation. "We can keep you safe here, I promise."