chittering laughter in its wake as she did the trick I’d first seen after Christophe drove Ash off in the

snow, what seemed like a million years ago and miles away.

I swallowed. My throat was burning, a cartload of dry ice. I was cold, even though I was sweating

and the fire was putting out a roaring wall of dry heat. The bloodhunger folded back down, leaving

just a rasping at the very back of my palate. “What. The hell.”

“You shouldn’t have done that, Hiro.” Kir, shaking his head. His aspect was gone now, and he

looked oddly sad.

“Little red lapdog.” The Japanese djamphir’s words could have carried more contempt, I suppose, if

they’d rented out a U-Haul. Maybe.

“She is the head of the Order,” Kir retorted stiffly.

“Gentlemen.” Bruce raised his hands. “Let’s be civilized. We all know Milady Anna is . . . difficult,

and—”

“She drove Elizabeth out, just as—” Hiro began, but Bruce shushed him. Actually shushed and

looked at me.

I didn’t even care. I picked up my bag with shaking hands. When I looked up, all three of them were

staring at me.

“I know she doesn’t like me.” I tried to sound steady. “I can’t even figure out why.”

I was trying to express something about antimatter girls, but I gave it up as hopeless. No matter how

adult they were, they were boys. They just wouldn’t get it. Why would I explain anyway?

If Anna had a thing for Christophe, and he was hanging around me . . . yeah, I could see where that

could make some problems.

Hiro looked about to say something, but I’d had enough. I took two sliding steps to the side. Bruce

didn’t twitch, but I got the idea he wanted to.

“I’m going to class,” I said in a small voice and fled. I ran back up to my room, locked the door, and

didn’t open it until Leon, Benjamin, and Graves all showed up to pound on it. And I didn’t say a

word when they asked me what the hell had happened.

I know the rules. You don’t squeal, not ever. You take care of things on your own.

And besides, I figured it out while I was hunching in the bathroom, hyperventilating and rocking

back and forth. I didn’t even want to think about Anna and Christophe, or whatever. He didn’t like

her, she hated him, and maybe they had once dated and she didn’t like him hanging around other

girls. Who cared? There were bigger problems.

Anna was the head of the Order, and at least one person on the council—Kir—was on her side completely.

Which brought me to the scariest question of all.

Which one—or possibly more—of the djamphir guarding me was one of Anna’s creatures?

Jealousy

CHAPTER FOURTEEN