Page 125 of Flickerstate

Recognition jolts me. But I keep quiet as Candace slides her phone into her pocket. She knows the ugly outlines of whather stepfather did. She doesn’t need to hear I spotted him in Dr. Langmore’s office the same day Jake escaped the Cruciform.

I slide my gaze sideways toward her—inviting eye contact but not forcing it. “You okay?”

She snorts. “A nightmare about fish woke me up at three a.m. this morning. I’ve had sixty-four ounces of coffee since then. My brain’s jiggling out of my skull.”

“Fish?”

“Hate them. Bulge-eyed monsters.”

“I was asking about—”

“I know.” She slumps.

“We don’t have to talk. I’m just checking in.”

“Ishould be checking in withyou.”

“We went on one date. He’s been your brother since pre-K.”

She inhales, puffing her cheeks, and exhales like a deflating balloon. “Yeah. So I should have known.”

“He loves you. He was family.”

“I don’t know what saving my life did to Jake. I didn’taskfor that.”

“That’s why Griffin never told you the truth.”

“But what would I have done if they hadn’t saved me?”

“What I did.”

“Assembled a crack team? Not my brand.”

“I didn’t assemble a team. I tried to game the system; I quested around for a loophole. You and Vik and Bree—I lucked into you guys.”

“Selling yourself short.”

“Giving credit where credit’s due.”

Candace sighs and pushes her forehead into my shoulder. I rest my chin on her head. We stand, bracing each other, while we wait for our ride.

***

Campus bustles, swarming with rental cars and irate parents come to rescue their endangered darlings. The last two weeks of the semester have been canceled. I wonder whether we’ll take our final exams remotely. Will we even come back next semester, or will the revelations about Dr. Langmore force the Academy to close?

At the moment, I’m too tired to guess. Or care.

The five of us trudge through Lucasson up to our block. In the common room, we cluster on the hummingbird carpet. Over Mirabel’s shoulder, through our window, the Great Tree lies felled, gnarled roots like helpless tentacles in the open air. Where it used to stand, a dark hole punches into the snowy earth. Nav Department officials swarm around it.

I shudder and look away.

“We should try it now,” Vik says, like we should all know what he’s talking about.

I suspect I do know, but I won’t jump to conclusions. “What?”

“A cure.”

My eyes leap to Mirabel.