The Ravens (The Ravens #1) - Kass Morgan Page 0,90
kind she was only just beginning to understand, with Tiffany missing.
“I have been watching your house for an entire year,” Jackson said. “There’s something different about you Kappas. Something strange. And I saw your expression tonight. It wasn’t surprised. It was worried.” He paused, his brow furrowing. “Gwen used to be one of you. My sister was her best friend. And I found things after she died—that pentagram on the floor? She drew that symbol in a lot of her notebooks. So . . . just tell me what she was involved in.”
The desperation in his voice was almost enough to undo her. Jackson had suffered as much as any of them. More, in some ways, because he’d had no one to confide in. No one with whom he could share the disturbing thoughts forming from the fragments of his grief. But she couldn’t tell him the truth without endangering the Ravens. “We’re just a sorority,” she said hoarsely.
“Please. Was she a . . . witch? Was it like that?” He sounded horrified. “I mean, did she kill things, eat babies, what the hell—”
“No! Of course not. Harper was nothing like that. That’s wicked magic. We’re not like that.” The words were out of Scarlett’s mouth before she could stop them.
Jackson let go of her and sat back heavily in his seat. “Holy shit. So she was a witch. You’re all witches.”
Scarlett stared at him, frozen with shock at what she’d just done. This went against every rule in the book, everything that her mother and Minnie had taught her, and everything she’d vowed when she was inducted into Kappa. They were forbidden to tell anyone without magical ability the truth about Kappa. About what they really were.
She’d protected her secret fiercely for years, even hiding the truth from Mason. And if there was ever anyone she was going to tell outside of Kappa, it was him. But here she was telling Jackson, a boy she couldn’t stand a few weeks ago—hell, even a few hours ago. Maybe this was the Upside Down. Nothing was as it was supposed to be.
She wrapped her hands around the steering wheel and leaned her forehead against it. “You can’t tell a soul, Jackson. It won’t end well for either of us if this gets out.”
He’d gone still and silent but she knew his brain was racing to process the information she’d just inadvertently revealed. Finally, he swallowed hard and asked, “Did Gwen . . . did Gwen kill Harper?”
A series of memories flashed through her mind: Gwen’s expression of loathing as she turned to look at Tiffany and Scarlett from the balcony. The acrid smell of wicked magic singeing the air. The flash of terror on Harper’s face as the building began to crumble beneath her. The blood on her pale skin. Scarlett shook her head slowly. “Not on purpose. But I’m convinced that Gwen kidnapped Tiffany. For all I know, she’s killed her by now. She hated Tiffany. We’re the ones who got her kicked out of Kappa . . .” She trailed off as a ragged sob tore its way out of her chest. “I don’t know what I’ll do if she hurts her, Jackson. I seriously don’t. I wish she’d taken me instead.”
When she leaned back in her seat again, she felt the soft brush of Jackson’s fingers over her cheekbones.
“I won’t let her hurt you.” He laced his fingers through hers and held tight, and for a moment, the warm pressure was enough to keep the panic at bay. But what would Jackson say when he found out that Tiffany and Scarlett had been taunting Gwen—that they were the ones who’d caused her to lose control on the balcony?
She smiled through her tears. “No offense, but you’re the last person who’d be able to stop her.”
“What, are you doubting my normal-guy powers?” He gave a small smirk.
“I’m sure they will come in really handy when Gwen’s using a mind-control spell on you.”
Jackson’s eyes widened. “Hold up. You all have mind-control spells?”
There was a sharp knock at the window of the car, so close and loud that Scarlett gasped and startled. The fear didn’t fade when she spun in her seat to find Dahlia outside the car, arms crossed. “Shit,” Scarlett swore under her breath. Does she know that I told? She quickly wiped away her tears and rolled down her window. “Hey,” she said, forcing her voice to sound normal.
Dahlia stared pointedly at Scarlett’s right hand. Still wrapped around