as company members began rushing onstage, one of them carrying a stretcher.
She barely registered my words. “I’m sorry, Emma,” Odette whimpered, and a tear ran down her cheek. “I... tried.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ethan
The ballet had been more or less ruined after Odette’s incident onstage. She was rushed to the hospital. Theo had been so distraught he hadn’t been able to continue. Backups had been called, but they weren’t as good as Theo and Odette, and it’d basically destroyed the show. Most people who’d bought tickets asked for their money back.
Odette hadn’t left the hospital since. She came in weighing a measly ninety-five pounds.
We hadn’t gotten much word about her, and hadn’t been allowed to see her. Theo was the only one who’d been let in and out of her hospital room. He told us Odette was undergoing treatment for her eating disorder, and wouldn’t be out of rehabilitation for at least a few weeks.
She’d also been kicked out of the ballet company, which pissed me off. Those bastards had been the ones pushing her not to eat, and she’d done as they’d asked. Any embarrassment that came from her fall onstage was their fault, not hers.
It had to be a devastating blow to Odette. Emma was worried about her terribly.
On the morning of March twenty-eighth, I left my dorm to meet up with Emma. It was a Saturday. We’d planned to get breakfast in town together before busting out some homework in the Rec Room.
I was hoping we’d get some free time to mess around again. I’d nearly died when Emma had worked her magic on me back in the carriage, the night of the ballet. Her movements were enough to make a man beg for mercy.
My heart fell, though, when I noticed her rosy cheeks and red nose. She coughed into her arm, and I heard mucus rattling in her throat. She was ill.
Still, she smiled when she saw me, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “About time you showed up.”
“Are you all right?” I asked. She sounded congested.
“I’m sick again.” Emma blew into a tissue. “Nothing unusual. Just a head cold.”
“Oh, Emma.” This was the fourth time she’d been sick this semester, and we were barely halfway through. “Are you sure you’re well enough to go out?”
Emma shrugged. “If I stayed in my dorm every time I felt like shit, I’d never leave. It’s okay. The doctor already said I’m not contagious.”
That might be the case, but I didn’t want her getting sicker. I at least wished to alleviate some of her symptoms. “We should stop by the alchemy lab,” I suggested. “Kiara might have something for that cold.” She was usually there around this hour on Saturdays.
“That’s a good idea. Let’s go say hi.” Emma and I walked together to the alchemy lab. It was a beautiful room with a glass ceiling, multiple plants and herbs growing on shelves along the walls, cupboards full of potion ingredients. It looked more like a greenhouse than a lab. When we got there, it was deserted, save for Kiara stirring a cauldron on top of her desk.
And... Gabby. She was rummaging through the alchemy cupboards and taking whatever she could find, shoving it into a velvet bag. When she saw us come in, she sneered, and slammed the cupboards shut with a snap. She shoved past us with a smirk, and didn’t bother to close the door behind her.
Kiara rolled her eyes. “I’m so glad she left. She’s been annoying me all morning.”
“Did she talk to you?” Emma asked in surprise.
“No, but she made a lot of noise while I’m trying to concentrate.” Kiara turned a page in her textbook before adding some herbs to the cauldron’s brew.
“What was she here for?” Emma’s tone was suspicious.
Kiara shrugged. “Not sure, but she took about a thousand things from the pantry and didn’t log any of them. Professor Solaine is going to have a fit when she sees her stores have been raided. Not that Gabby cares, I’m sure.”
“She’s been so gloaty since she passed her trials,” Emma said in disgust. “I honestly can’t stand her.”
“Forget about her,” I said. Talking about Gabby was a sure way to ruin anyone’s morning. “Kiara, do you have anything to help with congestion? Emma’s a bit stuffed up.”
Kiara rummaged through the alchemy cupboards. “Hm. I have something. Here.”
Kiara pressed a bag into Emma’s hand. “This is elderberry and bitter orange tea, along with some eucalyptus oil. Drink the tea and rub the oil onto your skin, and