Apollo hesitated, glancing at his sister before stepping inside to join her.
Before they could answer, Riley spoke. “Sierra,” he said, his eyes wide, “you’re the master of the Warner Estate now! The wards must have recognized them as friends and family.”
“Of course,” Heath whispered, sounding relieved, and the others nodded cautiously.
I didn’t care how they got in, only that they were alive and in front of me. I grabbed a hand from each of them and pulled them into one of the newly decorated receiving rooms.
“I can’t believe you’re both here!” I moved to hug them again, but their expressions were still cautious, and their posture stiff. I wanted to think they were bit more at ease than when they had arrived, but the lingering bitterness in Artemis’s eyes said there was still much to heal between us.
She pulled her hand out of mine, as did her brother, and I stifled a sigh.
“We heard about your role as a Reaper,” she said quietly. “And how Torin, Heath, Enzo, and Riley are supposedly no longer possessed by evil.” She gave them a side eye that said she either wasn’t convinced, or she hadn’t forgiven them.
“Artemis, I—”
“Save it,” she cut me off, her voice laced with pain. “I need time. Healing won’t happen overnight, especially after losing Leslie.”
“Of course,” I said softly, aching for the friends we had lost, even though it wasn’t really our fault.
We stood together in silence for several moments, the air heavy with unspoken thoughts and feelings.
I finally asked, “How did you escape from the Accursed Academy?”
Apollo cleared his throat. The hard expression in his eyes ratcheted up my anxiety. “We didn’t.”
I glanced between them in confusion. “Then, where were you all this time?”
“We weren’t really captives. At least, not long after we got there.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “All you need to know is that they actually saved us.”
Artemis nodded. “And there’s something I thought you’d want to know. Apollo and I won’t be returning to Ravenswood, even if Riley’s mom is in charge now.”
“What are you talking about? Where will you go?”
“Accursed Academy,” Apollo replied flatly.
“Accursed Academy?” I exclaimed, shocked. “But they were in league with Maroni! You can’t possibly—”
“Sierra!” Artemis snapped, anger flaring in her eyes. “We didn’t come here for your judgment. We thought you might be better than this, less prejudiced.”
“Wait,” Enzo chimed in, trying to defuse the situation. “Some of the students at the Accursed Academy were working with Carlo. It’s not an unfounded concern.”
“Carlo had allies in Ravenswood too,” Artemis shot back, her gaze never leaving mine.
I took a deep breath, realizing how my words must have sounded to them. “I’m sorry. “You’re right. It’s not fair for me to judge everyone at that school based on the actions of a few.” I shot warning glances at Enzo, Heath, Torin, and Riley, then turned back to my two friends. “I want you both to be happy and do what’s best for you.”
“We will,” Artemis’s voice was stern, but her face softened a little.
“You two are always welcome here,” I said, and smiled as something occurred to me. “Ethan will be coming to live at the estate, too. I know he’d love to see you.”
Her eyes warmed at the mention of my little brother. “I might like to visit the little dude sometime,” she agreed.
“Come whenever you want.” I painfully hoped our friendship would survive despite the distance.
I hugged them both tightly as they prepared to leave, not wanting to let go of the connection. When I finally pulled back, I punched Apollo in the arm as hard as I could.
“That’s for the alligators.”
He grinned. “I did warn you.”
Enzo snarled. “But you didn’t fucking warn anybody else.”
Apollo stiffened. “I wasn’t supposed to. They were there to try to keep out intruders. It was Maroni and his insiders who turned them against everyone else.”
My heart sank as I realized Daniel must have had a hand in that spell. Likely DNA based to keep anyone not on their side in danger. The depth of his treachery had to be punished. And soon.
I watched Apollo and Artemis leave, and sighed heavily as I finally closed the door once they were out of sight.
Heath gently put an arm around my shoulders. “I know it’s hard to say goodbye, but you can still see them.”
“Besides,” Riley added with a small smile, “we might have to challenge the Accursed Academy to another joust since the last one got interrupted.”
Torin and Enzo both punched Riley’s arms, and I groaned.
“What?” he cried innocently. “Too soon?”
