“Yeah, yeah. You’re surprised to see me. You can’t believe I’m real. I’m your every dream come true, your knight in shining armor.” She takes a breath. “Now drink that black sludge so we can get down to business. Logan very nicely laced the sedative on the dart with poison, which is that splitting headache you’re feeling. We got you the antidote in time…obviously. Or rather I did. But clearly there are side effects.”

I can only stare at her, frozen in place. She’s dressed in simple black clothes, not unlike our school uniforms, with a black utility belt around her waist that’s fitted with knives and vials of god knows what. Her hair is tucked behind her ears and she’s wearing black eyeliner that I’ve never seen on her before. She reminds me of the cover art for an assassin movie—totally badass.

When I finally open my mouth, all I can manage is: “Aarya…but…I don’t understand. You’re here?”

She rolls her eyes. “I forgot how slow you are sometimes. Drink. The. Black. Effing. Sludge.”

I sit down on the couch, grateful for the support of the cushions, and take the glass off the coffee table. She wasn’t kidding about the sludge part. It tastes like it was made of mud, snail slime, and swamp water. I decide faster is better and gulp it down. The moment I finish it, I clamp my hand over my mouth, fearful that it might come right back up.

Aarya plops into one of the plush chairs across from me and swings her legs up over the arm, like this is all perfectly ordinary.

“Where’s—” I start. The drink, while hideous gak, is already starting to clear some of the pain and therefore clear my thoughts.

“Ash?” Aarya says, finishing my sentence. “He’ll be back soon.”

“But what about—”

Aarya holds up her hand to stop me. “Take a breath, don’t puke on my rug, and I’ll tell you all about my heroics.” She smiles and wags her eyebrows at me. On any other day I would find her delivery annoying, but in this particular moment, I couldn’t be happier to see her.

Aarya picks something out of her teeth and takes a deep breath. “Let’s see…where should I start?” She taps her fingers on the seat cushion. “Ah yes, let’s start with me. Now then, after you and Ash left the Academy, everything just got so boring. It was like it was before you came—cliques, subtle manipulations, Family politics playing out in obvious ways. No murder, no blow-ups, and no mystery. Layla was practically singing down the halls she was so happy.”

I shake my head. My nightmare was her amusement. “You have to be the only person in the world who thinks chaos is an ideal state of being,” I say.