Page 49 of Our Covenant

23

FOX

Elsbeth’s laptop is protected with encryptions but it’s no match for me, a few lines of code, and two cups of coffee. Her entire school life is now splayed out before me. To kill time until she finds me in the study, I’ve been sifting through the months’ worth of research she’s done for the many classes she’s taking.

Her calendar to keep tabs on us pops up first. Several reminders and alarms for the last day invade the screen the second I get through.

Gym 3:30

Poli-Sci 4:45

Ethical Governmental Study Hall 6:15

Dinner at Isabell’s 7:45

That last reminder included all of us, likely one of the only events that she would have seen me out of the house. It’s part of our post-transfer tradition to carb load with pasta and rich desserts—especially after seeing Asher’s father.

It doesn’t take long for me to find which of our scheduling she’s hacked to gain access to all this information. She must have taken an opportunity at the gym to install a hidden app on Thorne’s phone. He keeps meticulous notes on his own schedule, nutrition, and health. He’s also the one that the coven expects to take responsibility for the rest of us and our whereabouts.

Her computer is only about a year old, and she hasn’t changed the background or many of the settings. I’m assuming whoever gave it to her wants it back at the end of the mission they’ve set her on. Perhaps she doesn’t expect to survive it so there would be no point in customizing it for later use.

I open up her music app and look through the playlists she’s created:

Cram session hits

Workout mix

Daily meditation and motivation

Coffee shop

Baddie radio

I open up the last one and look through the catalog of music she’s found worthwhile. It’s an assortment of songs from Cardi B, Chappel Roan, Vana, and a few other artists I recognize. Her workout playlist looks a lot like my usual mix; it’s mostly bedroom metal and punk rock. Nothing like sad emo boys screaming in your ear to get your blood pumping.

Right as I close out of the app, the door to the study creeks open and our little spy steps inside. “Fuck.” She sighs when she realizes she’s not alone.

“Nice to see you, too, venom.” I smile up at her from the desk as she crosses the room to stand in front of me. “Did you enjoy the self-guided tour?”

Elsbeth remains stoic as she drags her finger across the edge of the large desk. I fight the smile pulling at my cheek when she inspects it for dust.

“I didn’t get far,” she says nonchalantly and levels me with a salacious look. “I ran into Asher in the pool and got a bit . . . distracted.”

That was over an hour ago. Once I realized she wasn’t going to try to leave, I came to patiently wait until she found me. It doesn’t take an Ivy League diploma to know that to her, books are the flame to her fluttering curiosity.

“The sight of him in his tight swim trunks gets the best of us.” My statement doesn’t receive as much as a snicker, but she shifts on her feet and that’s enough.

Her eyes fall to her laptop sitting in front of me, then shoot back up to my face. I expect her to reach out and try to take it from me, but she only stares at me with a challenge. This time, I show how her defiance amuses me. I smile and tap the top of her screen. “Take a look around, I’m almost finished here.”

She steps back and gives me another surveying glare. A moment passes before she turns her head toward the wall of books.

“You’re not going to find anything,” she says, wandering over to the closest shelf.

The legacy library contains a collection of hundreds of years of diaries, reference volumes, family histories, and grimoires. It’s an impressive sight that I often pause to appreciate. But what catches me off guard in this moment is that, against the wall of floor-to-ceiling tomes, Elsbeth seems so small and innocent.

It’s also a stark reminder that not only are the four legacies temporary, but the perceived threat of this beautiful outsider will only be a smudge of ink in the coven’s history.

I reel myself back to present duties and tap out another search code then relay the results to my computer on the edge of the desk. “You’re a bit optimistic considering your position.”