“Thank you,” Jaya managed to say warmly as she picked up her backpack and went to sit by him. There was something secretive about Grey Emerson. But it wasn’t just about what he’d done to the Raos recently. The way he held his body, just slightly angled away. His strangely intense reaction to her pendant. The way his eyes studied her from behind a wall of wariness and, dare she say, fear… There was something very odd happening here. Jaya had to force her shoulders to relax once she was seated. Her arms had goose bumps, as if her body knew she was sitting next to a scorpion. Smiling, she turned to face him. “It was really nice of you to stand up for that other boy yesterday. In the library, I mean.”

Grey waved a big hand—paw might be a more suitable term—and looked away. “I don’t condone bullying,” he said shortly, as though he didn’t want to talk about it.

That’s ironic, considering what you did to my sister, Jaya wanted to bite back. Instead of speaking her mind, though, she leaned toward him and spoke quietly, like she was telling him a secret. “I still think it was really brave.”

Grey glanced at her, a little surprised, as if he wasn’t used to people noticing his nicer qualities. Probably because he didn’t have too many. After a pause, he asked, “Don’t you have a little sister?”

Jaya stared at him for a moment. He was toying with her, of this she was sure. Her nails suddenly wanted to be embedded in his skin. “Yes, I do,” she said carefully. “Isha. She’s in the sophomore dining hall with her friends.”

He grunted in response. It would be hard drawing him out, Jaya could already see. “Why do you ask?” she managed to say in a light, offhanded way.

“Leo mentioned it.”

Right. Leo had “mentioned it.” As if Grey Emerson wasn’t keenly aware of everything the Raos were doing. He was good, she had to admit. But she was better.

Jaya said in a lilting voice, “Oh, Leo, of course! Your friends were so kind when Isha and I met them earlier. I’ve been warned that there’d be all kinds of cliques and people waiting to stab you in the back with their heirloom swords at St. Rosetta’s.” She trilled a laugh. “That’s why I’m so glad I have someone like you—and your friends—to show me the ropes. I hope we have some electives together.”

Grey narrowed his eyes, as if he were trying to see through her facade. Jaya held steady. He couldn’t know she knew. She needed to play things just right. For good measure, she put her chin in her hands and batted her eyes at him a little.