Half truth

“What about his partner last year?”

Nora glanced at Logan and back at me. I could tell she was hesitant about saying anything without his permission, which was crazy since she’d dished out the blood thing with so much enthusiasm.

“His partner last year was only his partner for like a second,” Nolan said. “She was recruited by the Swords before she was initiated here.”

“Swords?” My eyes widened. “There’s a third society?”

“There are probably about five different ones in this university,” Marcus said. “But they’re not very secretive. Only ours and The Swords are.”

“The Swords are the red cloaks,” Logan said beside me. I looked over at him. He was already on his fourth donut.

“Swords,” I repeated, thinking about their red cloaks and the graves they dug. “It makes sense for a medical secret society.”

“Swords and snakes. Definitely apt for them,” Nora said distastefully.

“So they can do that? Recruit from here? Isn’t that against the rules?”

“In The Eight’s Creed, yes. Not in theirs.”

“So she just left? And you just let her?” I asked.

“Well, we kind of had to. It was either that or she’d expose us. She was a little upset because Logan didn’t want to settle down,” Nora said.

“No, she was upset because Logan treated her like shit,” Marcus added.

“She felt like he’d fucked her and discarded her,” Nolan said.

I couldn’t help my flinch.

“Can we stop discussing my sex life?” Logan asked. “None of you know what really happened. Sava

“Not unlike some people I know.” My gaze snapped to his. The room filled with gasps and oo’s and aa’s I didn’t care that I was calling him out in front of his friends. In that moment, I felt betrayed. If her night with him had been anything like ours . . . I felt sick at the mere thought of that.

“It’s different.” Logan kept his eyes on me, donuts forgotten. He looked as pissed as I felt. “You’re different. We’re different. And I’m not going to explain myself in front of a guy who can’t even say the word relationship without wanting to throw up, one who breaks up with every girl he finds because she’s not perfect enough, and a girl who can’t make her mind up as to what team she bats for long enough to entertain the idea of settling down.”

“Fuck you.” Nora stood up quickly. “I bat for both teams and you’re right, none of us owe each other an explanation, but if you fuck things up with Mae, I’ll gladly take over.”

Logan’s jaw was working as he glared after her. He looked at the other two at our table. “Anyone else want to try to stake claims on my girlfriend? Maybe I’ll call up Adam and ask him if I can borrow a couple of their gravesites.”

Girlfriend? My hands shook as I grabbed my plate and cup and stood from the table, excusing myself quietly. I tossed the stuff in the trash and walked out of the dining hall. I found Nora a couple of feet away, typing furiously on her phone. When she heard me approach, she put it away and looked up at me. Her brown eyes were shining.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

“If you start apologizing for him now, you’ll be doing it the rest of your life,” she said. “He’s an asshole. I love him to death, but he’s an asshole.”

“He is.”

“He’s never been mean to me before. He always defends me to everyone.” She smiled a little. “He must really be crazy about you.”

I shrugged. I knew how I felt about him and it scared the hell out of me. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions on his end. Not this quickly. I looked at the painting across from us and took a step back. It was my father, wearing a tuxedo, standing behind a woman sitting in a chair. I walked over. It was Ella Valentine. Clear as day.

“I hadn’t seen this before,” I whispered. “Is this . . . are they part of the board? Is that why they’re in the painting together?”

“How much do you know about your father?”

“Not nearly enough apparently.” I turned to face Nora, heart pounding. “How much do you know about him?”

She hesitated. “Come, I’ll show you around.”

“Logan already did. I’m pretty sure I’ve walked this entire thing twice now.” I looked back at the painting.

“Yet this is your first time seeing this painting,” she said.

“Yeah.” I looked at her again.

“Let me give you a tour of the paintings then. I don’t blame Logan for not wanting you to focus on those just yet, but it’s your family. You should know these things. Trust me, I learned about all of it the hard way,” she said. “My mother’s part of The Eight. Well, The Lab Initiative now. You’ll see her on these walls as well.”

“Hey, are you ready to go?” The voice was Logan’s as he walked out of the hall. He walked over to us, his gaze on mine first, and then on Nora’s. “I was an asshole in there.”

“That’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to an apology from you, so I’ll take it.” She smiled. “I want to show Mae the paintings.”

“No.” There was a finality in his voice.

“I want to see them.” I frowned at him. “What does it matter if I see them today or five weeks from now?”

“You’re already fragile, Amelia.” He stepped forward, bringing a hand to my face. “Come home with me. I have to be at the rink in an hour.”

“I want to stay.”

“I don’t want you to see them without me being here.”

“I can handle it,” I assured him. “Nora will be with me.”

“But I won’t be.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I won’t be.”

The concern in his eyes as he looked at me made me smile. I brought my hand to his face, scratching his beard, which he’d let fill out but kept meticulously manicured nonetheless. Suddenly the girlfriend comment felt right. When we were together like this, I couldn’t really imagine being anything except for his. It didn’t mean there wasn’t a long conversation to be had about all of it though.

“I’ll call you when I’m on my way home.”

“I’ll take her,” Nora said behind me. “She’ll be in good hands, and don’t worry, I don’t mean it in a sexual way.”

Logan chuckled. He leaned in and kissed me once, twice, three times, before he finally pulled away and let go. He idled for another minute looking at me with everything he wanted to say but couldn’t and I knew because I felt the same, my chest heavy with an emotion I’d never felt this potently.

“By the way, we’re camping here tonight,” Nora said as Logan finally started to walk away.

He turned. “Where?”

“Edge of the woods.”

“Isn’t it hunting season?”

“They won’t come near our tents,” Logan said, shooting me one last look that spoke of longing before walking out.

“Hunting season?” I asked.

“It’s what we call recruitment. The Swords are still recruiting.”

“How do you know so much about them?” I asked as we started walking.

“Hm. I’ll have to draw it up for you. It’s the only way I was able to understand it.” She looked at me. “It’s like a huge brotherhood, split up into a lot of parts. We didn’t used to know much about the other ones before they went public. The Swords share our land though because in an interesting turn of events, when The Eight acquired this house back in the day, the woman’s husband bought the lot next to it,” she looked at me. “The octopus scientist married while she was in college and her husband was a Sword. Instead of hiding it from each other, they were up front about it and he bought the lot beside ours, which used to be a rundown church. He acquired it from some monks. Monks still live there, by the way. They don’t dress in red cloaks though.” She flashed me a smile. “Also, my twin brother, Will, is a Sword. That’s probably the explanation I should’ve given from the begi