The bathroom door opens, bringing me back to the present alongside a thin, waifish girl as she enters. She sees me and freezes.
I stare back. She’s visibly shaking.
“S-sorry,” she mumbles, taking trembling steps toward the nearest stall. “I just—I have to—”
“I’m not going to fucking bite you,” I say flatly.
She jumps. “No, I mean, I don’t …”
I make a very obvious show of turning away from her. Maybe that was a bit harsh, but this nonsense is getting old, fast. I only have a few minutes before the start of the next trial, but I fill the time by systematically deleting each and every one of the voicemails. I don’t need to listen to them. I already know what they say.
Behind me, the girl gulps and bolts into a stall. She probably won’t last through the trials with an attitude like that. There’s no point in waiting around anymore, so I throw my bag over my shoulder and duck out—preparing myself to make a quick getaway back to the trials when I freeze instead.
Piers, Owen, and Bennett stand on the path between me and the next tests. There’s a certain air of danger about them. I know it right away, instinctively. These are boys not afraid of anything, people like me who know the truth of what lies just beyond the veil. They turn to face me, all scowling, until Piers steps forward. He runs his hand through his dark hair.
“So you think you’re all that, huh?”
I don’t answer.
He takes another step forward. “That little stunt you pulled back there? You didn’t fool us. We know what you’re up to.”
Behind him, Bennett folds his huge arms, muscles bulging. Again, I say nothing. I have no clue what they’re talking about but telling them that isn’t likely to stop them thinking it.
“Not everyone can rely on their parents to get in here,” Owen says, stepping up. “Some of us have to earn it.”
Now, it’s just too much. I plant my feet to the earth and my hand to my hip.
“My parents have nothing to do with the fact that you took nearly a minute longer than me to complete that course,” I say. “If you’re worried I’m going to get in and you’re not, well then … maybe you should focus less on me, and more on not sucking.”
Piers puts a hand on Owen’s shoulder, as if to hold him back. “Don’t worry about us, Avery Black. Just know, if you get in … and that’s still a big if … I think you’ll find yourself less comfortable than you might like.” Piers glances over his shoulder at Bennett and Owen, who both nod.
“Is that a threat?” I ask calmly.
“What if it is?” Owen says.
Piers steps toward me again. He smells of sweat and the forest. His blue eyes stab straight into me.
“You’re not the only one with powerful parents. My dad’s on the board of trustees, so even if something happens—even if someone makes something happen—you won’t be able to do anything about it.”
Definitely a threat, then. I grit my teeth.
“Hold on a second. So you’re accusing me of using my parents—my dead parents, mind you—to get me in, when your father is on the board of trustees? Doesn’t that seem a tad bit … hypocritical?”
“That’s none of your business,” he snaps. “But trust me, I get no advantage where that’s concerned.”
I take a second to look at all three boys again.
I don’t have time for this. They don’t scare me with their empty threats.
“You know what?” I look Piers straight in his beautiful face. “Go fuck yourself.”
His expression darkens. He opens his mouth and clenches his fists, but Sawyer appears from behind and strolls over, a big grin plastered across his face.
“Avery!”
Piers steps back quickly, his hands unclenching.
Sawyer falters and glances from me to the group of boys. “Oh. Uh, am I interrupting something?”