Page 59 of The Order of the Bitter Hunt

“What makes you so certain?”

“The badge the professors were wearing… it’s my father’s sigil.”

My head jerks in his direction. “You know about the logo?”

“Strode’s symbol is a logo—this is asigil. There’s a big difference.”

“How so?”

I already know the answer from my conversation with Caldwell, but perhaps Jun can tell me more.

“Sigils hold magical power. With the right magic, they can summon energy—or a demon, in this case. I know my father’s symbol by heart. I could feel his presence. It’s all around campus these days, but it was powerful in there. Overwhelming.”

We stop outside my dormitory, and I search his face. Jun—strong and intimidating—stands stiff now, wetting his lips, his chest rising and falling with urgency. Even now, with my father potentially being a part of it all, I can’t fathom being this terrified of my own parent.

“I… already know about the sigil,” I whisper. “I found one like it on the last victim, when we went back to look for clues.”

Jun has been so honest with me. He deserves the same from me, too.

He glares. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? What the hell, Margaux?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think of it until today. Honest.”

“What the fuck ever.” He rolls his eyes and scoffs. “Not the first time someone I’m supposed to trust kept something from me.”

Amelia. He must mean Amelia. He and I aren’t as close as they supposedly were, but he’s right. I need to be more trustworthy. And I will be.

“This must be hard for you,” I murmur. “Chasing down the Order, it must remind you of her.”

“Who gives a fuck? It’s harder for the dead people.”

“But it can still be difficult for you.”

“Sure. Fine. It’s been a shitty school year,” he says. “First Amelia, now this…”

“I’m sorry about her. I know how hard it is to lose a friend.”

Because his friend Amelia killed mine, but I can empathize with Jun nevertheless.

“Don’t.” His voice is tight. “She was the killer. It needed to happen.”

“Sure, but it can still hurt.”

“And it does.”

“I can imagine.”

“She and I were, uh”—he looks away from me, his jaw tightening—“together, I guess. More than friends. If you didn’t know. Most people didn’t.”

My eyes widen. “What? Really?”

My stomach is sour, twisting, shrinking. Poor Jun. He didn’t lose a friend. It was more. People not knowing about their relationship makes it harder, and his confession adds an extra layer to the mystery.

Caldwell’s visions made it seem like there was something between Poppy and Amelia, too. There’s no way Amelia was planning on killing Jun next… right?

I shudder. As much as I despise him, I can’t imagine not having him around. Never doing another play with him. Never bickering with him. And now, I can’t imagine not having his help with the Order.

“That’s how I know about all of this,” he says. “About the Order and your father’s involvement. About my father’s involvement. She told me everything.”