Even as he hid Valmordion behind his back.
“Norwood?” he said incredulously.
Julian Norwood scowled, as if the sight of Domenic personally offended him, though Domenic was pretty sure the only words they’d ever exchanged was when Domenic had asked to bum a training wand off him before their third-year corporeal exam.
“Barrow,” Norwood grunted. “I should’ve known you’d show up.”
“Don’t,” Ellery told him warningly.
Hanna examined Norwood. “You know this guy, Dom?” Hanna remembered none of her former classmates. She claimed it was because no thirteen-year-old had made much of an impression, in the tone that never offered room for other suggestions.
Domenic didn’t know how to answer. He only knew Norwood as Ellery’s best friend. He’d sat next to her in every class, walked with her down the academy’s halls, was a fixture in every piece of gossip about whether Miss Perfect was so perfect behind closed doors.
“You know what, El?” Norwood growled. “Kester was right. They told me we shouldn’t have bothered with you, and I should’ve listened.”
“Yeah, you should’ve,” Ellery snapped.
With a final inexplicable glare at Domenic, Norwood stalked off.
The other newcomer, meanwhile—Kester—didn’t budge. They were pale and lanky, with a storm of brown curls and a stance as if they, a teenager, owned the whole establishment. Training wandsjutted out from every pocket of their jacket. Several even peeked out from their boots.
“Do you mind?” Domenic asked them. “We’re trying to have a conversation.”
They held their hands up in mock surrender. “Oh, don’t worry, Domenic. I won’t interrupt.”
Domenic frowned at the usage of his first name.
Hanna, however, smiled wide. “Oh good, a prime suspect. Let’s start with your full name, age, and whether or not you harbor ill will against the Republic of Alderland.”
Kester crossed their arms. “I’m Kester Wright. Eighteen. And the Republic? No. Although I don’t appreciate Order magicians crashing my party. Especially swinging around a wand likethat.” They nodded at Syarthis in Hanna’s fist.
Impatient, Domenic turned to Ellery. “What happened? Why are you here?”
Ellery vainly tried to smooth down her hair. “I’ll explain everything back at the hotel.”
“Oh, we’re not going anywhere without some answers,” Hanna said.
Kester shrugged. “I’m an open book.”
“Are you?” Hanna challenged.
Kester examined Syarthis again. “I’m not afraid of you.”
Hanna hesitated. Syarthis curled its tip around her pointer finger.
Domenic, too, hesitated. Hanna had to be as exhausted as he was. And light enchantments were one thing; peeling open a stranger’s mind was another.
Then she mumbled, “Go, Dom. We got this.”
“You don’t know what you’re agreeing to,” Ellery told Kester warily.
“Oh, I know what wand that is,” said Kester. “And while you all clearly think otherwise, I’ve got nothing to hide.”
After they left, Ellery tugged Domenic by his shirtsleeve against a far wall, and he settled for the privacy of a cloaking enchantment. Despite his many questions, it was a relief to have found her, to let the stage of the world fade out around them.
Until she said, direly, “I have something I need to tell you.”
Domenic listened to her confession of stealing the seeds and the harrowed events of that night. Yet even before she’d admitted to lying, he’d decided he didn’t care. None of her secrets compared to his own. For days, it’d tortured him. He couldn’t keep down food. He’d barely slept. And for all he reminded himself that every second had become precious, never had the details of his life felt so inconsequential. What did it matter if he was well? If his actions were rational? Apparently, every choice led to their demise.
