I crossed my arms. Part of me wanted to keep denying it, but it was clear that she already knew the truth. “Then you must know that the Lord of Shadows isn’t a joke, and when he comes, the kids making fun of me will see that for themselves.” After going into the Dark and squaring up against him twice, I still didn’t get any respect at school. Not fair.

“Oh, you’re admitting that it’s all real, good.” Gail slipped on a devious smile. “You’re all right, Abeola. Another kid might have kept on lying about it.”

“If the celestials find out you know their secret, they’re going to erase your memories,” I told her. “They’re afraid that people will panic if the human world discovers the truth.”

“I’m immune to magic.” Gail waved her hand dismissively. “My cousin is a demigod and tried to turn my brother and me into toads when I was ten. It worked on my brother, but I was unaffected.”

“Oh.” I had so many questions. She had a demigod cousin, as in he was part god too? How was she immune to magic? Papa had told me there were celestials all over the world, representing every people and culture. “So your brother is a toad now?”

“My uncle turned him back into a pimple-faced brat, which is his usual state of being.” Gail laughed and headed for the door as the second-to-last warning bell rang for first period.

“You can’t tell anybody, especially the part about Zeran,” I said, feeling uneasy. “It’s . . . complicated, you know? I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“A word of advice, Maya.” Gail stopped and turned on her heels. “Demigods, or in your case godlings, can have very limited perspectives, especially if they have the sight like Tisha Thomas.” Gail cupped her hands around the sides of her face. “Sometimes they only see what’s right in front of them and not the whole picture.”

I thought about what Gail meant. Tisha Thomas saw Zeran betray me in a warehouse sometime in the future. But she didn’t know why or what happened to lead to Zeran offering me up to the darkbringers. Not that anything I would ever do should result in that level of betrayal, thank you very much.

At that, Gail and I slipped out of the science lab. She jetted down the hall and stepped into her class right before the final bell rang. I wasn’t as lucky.

“Miss Abeola, you’re tardy,” Ms. Taylor said as I entered first period. She opened a notebook on her desk and scribbled down my name. JMS had a strict code. For every three tardies, you got a day of detention—either regular detention or the yoga room, where you had to reflect on being a better student.