Page 37 of Flickerstate

I bite down a cussword.

Vik waves back and turns to me. “See you.”

“Wait,” I say. “What are you going to tell Griffin?”

“About what?”

“About why we were creeping around the woods at the ass end of the morning.”

“If he asks, I’ll tell him I’ve been tutoring you.”

Not much I can say to that. I wish Vik would lie outright, but I’m not low enough to beg him to. “Right. Have a nice day.”

I glare at his back as he walks off. Then I trudge toward the dining hall. Might as well face the music.

Once I’ve collected coffee, I join Candace and Griffin, setting my mug down like a challenge. “Good morning.”

“Not especially,” Candace says. Burst capillaries star her eyes, evidence of sleeplessness.

“I think it’s a beautiful morning.” Griffin sweeps a hand towardthe window and barely misses upsetting my coffee. “A beautiful morning to sneak through the woods with unexpected people. By the way, Supergirl.”

I pull my mug toward me. “Yeah?”

“I spied with my little eye—you. Skulking around. With my teammate. Care to explain?”

“No,” I say. “Ask Vik.”

“He’s too honest. I prefer extravagant lies.”

“Supergirl doesn’t lie.” I sip my coffee. Strong as gasoline. Mm.

“Then I’ll have to come up with extravagant lies for you.”

I spin a finger in the air: Go on.

“Early mornings are the only time you can find to plan the wedding. Vik’s been so lonely since his hometown girl dumped him. I’m ecstatic for him. For you both.”

Hometown girl? I want to ask whether Griffin made her up, but he’ll needle me mercilessly if I admit I’m curious. “New topic: What’s the channeling trial going to be like?”

“Why would I share my guesses with my main competition?”

Candace raises red-stained eyes to her stepbrother. “In seriousness, who do you think the main competitionis?”

“In seriousness, you. You’ll make it to the last trial if you have to bite your way there.”

Candace bares her teeth. “Thanks, dear.”

“Who other than Candace and her fangs?” I ask.

Griffin slouches back on his barstool. “Well, you’ve seen the rankings after the siphoning duels.”

I try not to clench my jaw. Candace and I were in the bottomhalf of the individual rankings, and Bree was dead last: As she explained to us later, she didn’t want to hurt anyone, so rather than try to siphon, she stalemated twice and lost once. I admire her commitment to nonviolence, but that’s not the energy our team needs to win.

“Vik and Antoine are tied for first,” Griffin continues. “Then Mirabel and me. Of the other four-year kids, the best are Paloma, Elena, and maybe Sam… But that’s enough chitchat. I’ve got to do today’s homework before first period. Excuse me, ladies.” Griffin hops off his barstool and strides jauntily toward the exit, leaving his dishes for me and Candace to bus.

Candace rubs her eyes. “We need to talk about Bree.”

“She wasn’t back before midnight?” I ask without much hope.