AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I can look after myself. And the others have barely been seen around you. There’s no reason for anyone to think you’ve been making arrangements with them.”
“Still, I—”
A chill races through my veins.
My gaze jerks to Stavros. “Have you seen Esmae since my attack?”
His brow furrows. “The dormmate of Julita’s you’ve been friendly with? I can’t say so, but I might not have noticed.”
My heart starts thudding faster. “She didn’t come by to check if I was okay?” I assume word about my trip to the infirmary must have gotten around the college by now.
“Not while I was with you. Why?”
I release a hiss of frustration. “I’ve been seen talking withherseveral times. If someone’s looking for potential allies of mine, she’s the first person they’d think of.”
Stavros frowns. “I’m sure if anything had happened to her—”
“You don’tknow.” I grasp my skirt at the sight of the college gate ahead of us, preparing to hustle forward. “I’ll play assistant after I’ve checked on her. If my would-be murderer hasn’t gotten to her too.”
Thirty-Five
As I lope across the courtyard to the Domi, the ground gives a little lurch beneath my feet. The walls of the Quadring creak.
One of the passing students points at the ground with a yelp. A narrow crack has split open in the soil, veering out from the base of the building.
Shit. A squad of guards tramp over, the captain hollering at everyone around to “Stay calm!” but I bolt through the doorway.
I don’t know what’s going to happen to this place. I don’t know if the college can even be saved.
But I’m not letting the one real friend I’ve made get taken down in the wreckage.
I clamber up the steps, taking some two at a time, to the second floor. As I burst out into the hall, the building gives another shudder, unnerving enough to make my pulse wobble.
A few of the other students are huddled in the hallway, murmuring to each other in anxious tones. Hustling past them, I catch a couple of truncated phrases: “unhappy daimon” and “challenging the king.”
Obviously the rumor about divine dissatisfaction is still going around. I can get back to work at proving the real source of the spirit-creatures’ distress once I’ve confirmed that my friend hasn’t been murdered.
I’m sure she’s all right,Julita says as I round the corner on the way to her old dorm room.No one could thinkEsmaewas some sort of vigilante champion for justice.
“I don’t think we can assume the person who stabbed me and came back to shove the knife in farther is incredibly logical in all things,” I mutter back.
I’ve almost reached the dorm room door when a woman I vaguely recognize from the hunt emerges. Another of Julita’s former dormmates, I guess.
“Hi!” I say with forced brightness, drawing to a stop as I reach her. “Is Esmae in there?”
If not, maybe she has some idea what class Esmae would have right now. She wouldn’t normally get dinner this early.
“As far as I know,” the woman says, knitting her brow. “Zofia checked on her around lunchtime when she missed a class they have together, and Esmae said she wasn’t feeling well and was skipping the day. I assume she’s still in there.”
My spirits plummet before they’ve had much chance to rise. “You haven’t seen her?”
She shakes her head. “Not since yesterday morning. It’s not as if we’re close, though.” She reaches back toward the door. “Maybe it’d be good for her to talk with someone. I can let you in.”
Julita lets out a soft huff as I slip into the common room.I could have gotten us in. I know that door—there are ways if you’ve lost your bracelet. Not as secure as the front gate.
I refrain from pointing out to her that it doesn’t matter anyway. We’re inside.
As my gaze slides around the common room, I realize I don’t know which bedroom belongs to Esmae. I never saw her come out when I was in here before.
