Sorority Subterfuge by S.T. Bende

Author:S.T. Bende [Bende, S.T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: S.T. Bende

Chapter 14

THE NEXT DAY PASSED in an exhaustion-filled blur. After the battle, we’d limped back to The Row, crawled into our beds, and slept for not nearly enough hours before the sun poked through the window. Janna, Brigga, and I had slogged our way through classes, keeping our heads low as we skirted the seemingly infinite number students gossiping about the destruction.

Overnight, the university had released a statement claiming a series of dry lightning strikes were responsible for upending the cobblestones around the museum and decimating the corners of two buildings. The same lightning was faulted for the burning of the Spartan Tree—the oldest tree on campus and a gift from the university’s first president. The tree marked a major loss to the community, and students spent the better part of the afternoon laying cards and flowers at the edge of the yellow caution tape.

I felt awful. The lightning had been real, but it hadn’t taken down the tree. That had had been Sverrir’s doing. And if we hadn’t attacked the dark mage, he wouldn’t have fired those beams at a campus treasure. But even with guilt churning inside my gut, I was grateful that the school had blamed the storm for the damage we’d caused.

And I was grateful that we hadn’t been caught.

Between my lack of sleep and the day’s tension, I was thoroughly exhausted by the time classes ended. My feet dragged and my eyelids drooped on the walk back to the sorority. I fully intended to sleep straight through ’til morning, but Lexi had other plans.

“Good. You’re back.” Lexi crossed her arms as Janna, Brigga, and I trudged into the Kappa Mu foyer. She was framed by the massive vase of flowers on the entry table—the beautiful, fragrant halo surrounding her far-from-angelic head. She arched one thin brow and stared us down like a dragon who’d just pinned its prey.

Is she waiting for us?

I closed the front door behind me with a tired, “Hi, Lexi.”

“The three of you might want to check your mailboxes. You’ll find there’s something of great importance inside.”

“Us?” I couldn’t hide my surprise. We’d never received written communications here. Most of the girls got a few letters each week, but our boxes had remained empty.

Until now.

“Uh . . . thanks.” I hung a left at the round table, ignoring the smirk stretching across Lexi’s face. Then I called to Janna and Brigga, “I’ll grab yours too. Head upstairs and catch some rest.”

“Already going,” Brigga called back. “Thanks.”

I quickly pulled three envelopes from our respective slots in the massive mail cubby and glanced at the fancy scrawl etched along the top. “From The Office of The Standards Chair. Lexi, what’s this about?”

Her smirk deepened. “Open it and see.”

Whatever was in this envelope, it was giving her way too much satisfaction. This cannot be good.

“Later.” I headed for the stairs. “I’m too tired to deal with . . . whatever this is right now.”

Lexi’s eyes shot their familiar hate-daggers. “Well, be sure you’re on time for Monday night dinner.

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