Let's Hunt Her (Book #2)

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Slowly the room comes into focus-the cream colored fabric of the couch underneath my cheek, a coffee table, a fireplace, a faded navy-blue rug on a wood floor, a couple of armchairs, and a heavy writing desk. The simple decor and the colors of the room remind me of the Academy, but the room is lighter and airier. I push myself up into a seated position and there's a sharp pain in my head, making yesterday's hangover seem like a mild ache.

I rub my forehead and all of a sudden I remember the dart. I stand up fast, looking for Kyungsoo, Sehun, and anything that will explain where I am. The pain in my head increases. "Damn. Aishhhh," I breathe through clenched teeth.

"Better sit back down and drink that god-awful concoction Sehun made for you."

For a split second I think I'm hallucinating. I thought I heard her voice last night, but the dart knocked me out so quickly I wasn't certain. "Rosé?"

"Yeah, yeah. You're surprised to see me. You can't believe I'm real. I'm your every dream come true, your knight in shining armor." She takes a breath. "Now drink that black smoothie so we can get down to business. Kyungsoo very nicely laced the sedative on the dart with poison, which is that splitting headache you're feeling. We got you the antidote in time . . . obviously. Or rather I did. But clearly there are side effects."

I can only stare at her,  frozen in place. She's dressed in simple black clothes, not unlike our school uniforms, with a black utility belt around her waist that's fitted with knives and vials of god knows what. Her hair is now dyed to a rose color and tucked behind her ears and she's wearing black eyeliner that I've never seen on her before. She reminds me of the cover art for an assassin movie-totally badass.

When I finally open my mouth, all I can manage is: "Rosé . . . but . . . I don't understand. You're here?"

She rolls her eyes. "I forgot how slow you are sometimes. Drink. The. Black. Fucking. Sludge."

I sit down on the couch, grateful for the support of the cushions, and take the glass off the coffee table. She wasn't kidding about the sludge part. It tastes like it was made of mud, snail slime, and swamp water. I decide faster is better and gulp it down. The moment I finish it, I clamp my hand over my mouth, fearful that it might come right back up.

Rosé sits down into one of the plush chairs across from me and swings her legs up over the arm, like this is perfectly ordinary.

"Where's -" I start. The drink, while hideous gak, is already starting to clear some of the pain and therefore clear my thoughts.

"Sehun?" Rosé says, finishing my sentence. "He'll be back soon."

"But what about -"

Rosé holds up her hand to stop me. "Take a breath, don't vomit on my rug, and I'll tell you all about my heroics." She smiles and wiggles her eyebrows at me. On any other day I would find her delivery annoying, but in this particular moment, I couldn't be happier to see her.

Rosé picks something out of her teeth and takes a deep breath. "Let's see . . . where should I start?" She taps her fingers on the seat cushion. "Ah yes, let's start with me. Now then, after you and Sehun left the Academy, everything just became boring. It was like it was before you came-cliques, subtle manipulations, Family politics playing out in obvious ways. No murder, no blow-ups, and no mystery. Sejeong was practically singing down the halls she was so happy."

I shake my head. My nightmare was her amusement. "You have to be the only person in the world who thinks chaos is an ideal state of being," I say.

"Well, thank you very much," she says, and makes a purring noise. "Now where was I . . . og right, boring. I was little peeved, you know, that you and Sehun would go to Incheon to take on Taecyeon in a fit of epic stupidity and not even think to invite me." She gives me a look. "So I invited myself. And I must say, you were disappointingly easy to find. You went to Kyungsoo's smithy only hours after I agreed to trade with him for information about you if you happened to stop by, which, predictable, you did. I could have found you two in my sleep. You're not even making it interesting."