Page 83 of Truthfinder’s Promise

“You went on to explain in great detail how you read in a magazine that the bacteria on your face can affect your mood, and clearly everyone was cranky back in 683 because they didn’t have facials to balance their microfauna out. You were very earnest about it, and when Mr. Struthers accused you of making a joke out of the final, you burst into tears and said that no one appreciated you.”

“Because no one did appreciate me. Do you have any idea how smart you have to be to act that dumb? I even said microfauna instead of microflora.” She crossed her arms. “Do you remember how I got Jace to date me? Mr. You Have to Hit Him With a Sledgehammer to Make Him Realize a Woman is Coming on to Him?”

“Umm…” Clearly, Valkyrie did not remember.

“You were failing math?” Random offered. “He tutored you.”

“Exactly,” Meredith said, “I was failing math.” Jensen shot her an are-you-kidding-me look that she ignored as she turned to Jace. “Ask me a math question you can do in your head.”

“Fifty-three times twelve?”

“Six-hundred and thirty six. Ask me something that’s actually difficult.”

He thought for a second. “Square root of 16,384?”

“One-hundred and twenty-eight.”

Jace looked like a decades’ old conundrum had finally been solved. “That explains why none of your mistakes working through a problem made any sense.”

“If everyone is finished oohing and ahing over the fact that Meredith can do math, can we get back to the problem?” Serenity asked. “Like how we’re getting in there if we aren’t taking this disorientation thing down?”

Meredith shared a look with Valkyrie. “Unless Analisa has modified her version, it has the same vulnerability our wards do.”

By the lack of expression on Valkyrie’s face, Meredith could tell Valkyrie had already considered it. As the head of security, Meredith figured it was up to Val to decide if they wanted to reveal this particular gap in their defenses to the people capable of exploiting it.

“What vulnerability?” Dom asked.

Valkyrie came to a decision. “You. None of you should have been able to get through Meredith’s wards. Did you feel anything when you crossed the property line?”

The three of them shared a confused look. “No?” Hel said.

“Because the wards are set to allow animals entry and exit, and the magic thought that’s what you all were.”

“You think we can just waltz right through?” Dom asked.

Hel sprang up. “One way to find out.” She looked at Val. “Send me in, coach.”

“Absolutely not,” Jensen and Rebekah said in unison.

“I can do it,” Hel protested. “I’m the only one who can. Wolves, jackals, and jaguars are not native to this area. You’ll all just raise suspicions.”

“You have no impulse control,” Jensen said.

“You have no attention span,” Rebekah added. “What happens when a pretty butterfly crosses your path and you decide you want to chase it?”

“Or when you forget why you’re there?” Dom added.

The crestfallen look on Hel’s face was pissing Meredith off. She knew what it was like to stand there and have everyone tell you that you weren’t good enough for something. “Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?” she gritted out.

“Do you know why we call her Hel?” Rebekah said. “It isn’t her birth name. Hel is short for Helter Skelter, a nickname she got at four when she set the enclave hall on fire because she liked watching the matches burn.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have left a four-year-old with matches.”

“Oh, we didn’t. Her fascination with trouble was already well-noted at that point in her life, so I had all flammable items safely tucked away where a bobcat cub couldn’t reach them. So she turned into a raven and flew up to find them.”

Jace frowned. “The same Shifter can take multiple forms?”

“The rest of us?” Jensen said. “No.”