Bee shrugged, pulling up one leg so that she could wrap an arm around her knee. “Doesn’t bug me. I’m just... curious. And an invested party, what with being your best friend and all.”

That made me glance over at her. “Ryan, David, and I are all superheroes—as are you, I might add—and it’s our romantic entanglements you wanna talk about?”

She laughed a little, more a huff of breath than a real chuckle. “I’m starting small.”

“Are you sure things are—”

“They’re fine, Harper,” she said, and then shrugged, pulling her knee in tighter. “As fine as they’re going to be, I guess.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so instead of saying anything, I turned up the radio.

We were rounding the main square when Bee suddenly sat up in her seat, pointing to the statue of Adolphus Bridgeforth, one of Pine Grove’s founders, that looked out over downtown. “Oh, man, someone vandalized poor Mr. Bridgeforth!”

I glanced over quickly, then did a double take, slamming on the brakes. Someone hadn’t vandalized the statue. Someone had gouged marks into the stone around the base.

Wards. Right next to the other ones, the ones Saylor had put up to keep David safe.

My heart pounding, I turned the car so that we were heading toward Magnolia House.

“Harper?” Bee asked, twisting in her seat. “We’re going the wrong way.”

“Tiny detour,” I promised.

Magnolia House, the huge mansion where Cotillion had been held, stood on a shady, oak-lined lane, but as we passed, I was able to see more marks on the wooden columns of the front porch. Another place where Saylor had her wards. They were still there, but now there were new ones next to them.

It had to be Alexander, or whoever he had working for him. But what did those wards do?

•••

An hour or so later, I was the owner of two new pairs of shoes, a dress for Spring Fling, some new jeans, and a gorgeous Lilly Pulitzer skirt. Too bad none of that made me feel much better.

“You’re making that face again,” Bee said, nodding at me over a rack of cute rugby-striped shirts.

I shook my head, like that would somehow change my expression. I’d explained to Bee about the wards, but they were still on my mind. When Saylor had talked about the Ephors, I’d always pictured them in this more... administrative role, I guess. Guys in suits, pulling the strings, not guys with actual powers of their own. But Alexander had somehow managed to blow through the wards we’d put up, and now he was apparently setting up the Peirasmos all on his own. Were the new wards to help him, then? Or could wards, like, cancel one another out?