No.
“Is he part of my destiny?” I ask, waiting with bated breath.
You are asking the wrong questions.
The words disappear, and the book firmly shuts on its own accord.
I exhale and lean back, tossing it to the end of the bed.
A vessel. A weaver. I’m a soldier, not a seamstress. Besides being a moody bitch, the book at my feet hasn’t done anything but leave me more confused each time I converse with it.
I throw off the covers, dress quickly, and head out. I need answers, not rest.
The study hall is empty when I poke my head inside. All except for a headful of curls bent over a book in the back. I figured he’d be here. I shut the door firmly, and his head whips up, hazel eyes wide. The moment they rest on me, they relax, and a lopsided grin appears.
“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in,” Finnley says, his eyes twinkling with mirth in the glow of the hanging lanterns.
I roll my eyes and walk over to him. “Taking this studying thing a bit seriously, huh?” I ask, turning his book toward me. Paragraphs about the intricate layers of alchemy cover each page.
“Well, these looks only go so far,” he says with a wink, closing the book and leaning back in his chair.
I plop down in the chair next to him and kick my feet up on the table. “Huh, I didn’t know you were taking alchemy. Care to study for us both? I’m only drowning in defeat in most of my classes.”
“I don’t take half of your classes, Nori. Not sure I’m going to be much help in that department.”
“Lucky you,” I say on a sigh.
“Where have ya been? I feel like we never see each other anymore with classes and”—he gulps dramatically—“responsibilities.”
The chair creaks beneath me as I shake my head. “You’re ridiculous. And as far as where I’ve been—I’ve been around. Just busy, you know.”
He pins me with an understanding look. “Yeah, I get it. Double the class load, double the work. Doesn’t leave much time to get out,” he acknowledges.
“It doesn’t,” I agree. “Hey, speaking of getting out, I was in the Witchwood the other day.” I won’t mention I was hiding in the sticks and eavesdropping on someone. “I stumbled across a couple of people who were discussing something about an attack on Casacia. You haven’t heard anything, have you? I don’t know why, but I feel like maybe it’s all linked to what’s going on here, with the missing object and professor.”
“I haven’t heard anything,” he says without missing a beat. “But I’m sure if something like that happened, the academy would alert us. That’d be a pretty big breach of the walls.”
I tap my fingers along the table. I could have asked Kingston directly, but I have zero expectations that he would confide in me. “You’re probably right.” I blow out a breath, changing the subject. “How’s the manifestation coming along? You haven’t filled me in yet. Did you get something really cool? Ice wielder or maybe a shape shifter—”
“I’m still working out the kinks. We’ll revisit this later.” He laughs under his breath. The laughter doesn’t meet his eyes.
“Oh. Okay, yeah, sure.” I’m not going to press him, but I’m starting to get worried. He’s holding something back, and from the dark circles under his eyes, it’s taking a toll on him.
He scans the room before he leans in. “Nori, there was something I wanted to talk to you about, though. I didn’t wantto say anything earlier, but it seemed odd to me, and I think you should know.”
I lean forward. “Yeah?” I ask, focusing all my attention on him.
“It’s probably nothing,” he counters in an even tone.
“Tell me anyway.”
“It’s just the other night I was walking back to my room, and the door to Professor Tainey’s room was slightly cracked. I didn’t think much of it and was going to just walk past, but I heard a familiar voice that sounded angry.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I stopped to listen, and someone was demanding to know why the test he was smuggled was useless and nothing like the test used for the Asylamation assessment—”
I gulp.Ambrose.
“Which I thought was an odd thing to say, but not my problem, you know? Anyway, I was going to leave, but stopped when I heard your name. It was Ambrose speaking.” He pauses before continuing. “He was telling the professor that because of his mistake, you didn’t place Veil and ended up as a Liminal. That you were going to find out the truth because of Tainey’s carelessness. I pressed my ear to the door, and the professor was apologizing and saying he did his best,” he says. “Something was thrown across the room, and Ambrose practically growled that if you find out about your father, he’ll come back and personally cut Tainey’s throat.”
Time ceases to move.
