AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Benedikt plucks up a tart and sprawls into one of the chairs. “Well, let’s hear the urgent news. I interrupted an excellent dinner for this.”
The former general shoots him a disgruntled look. We weren’t supposed to meet again until tomorrow, but I signaled the others with their lockets.
“Ivy received an invitation,” he says before I can speak. “Presumably from the scourge sorcerers.”
Alek’s shoulders stiffen as he stares at me. “What? Already? Who delivered it?”
I glance down at my hand. “I don’t know. Conjured writing appeared on my palm and then vanished again. They obviously don’t want me having any proof of the summons.”
“What did they tell you to do?” Casimir asks quietly.
“I’m supposed to go into the campus woods—at least, I assume that’s the woods they meant—at the first bell after midnight tonight, alone. That’s all I know so far.”
Benedikt has paused halfway through his tart. He licks a stray drop of berry filling from his thumb. “The woods. That seems rather ominous.”
I shrug as if I’m not all tangled up with apprehension inside. “We know they’ve conducted rituals out there. Julita pointed out evidence of it before. And it’d be away from prying eyes.”
Alek frowns. “Which means they could do anything to you and no one would see to help.”
I tap my thigh where one of my knives lies beneath the skirt of my gown. “I am reasonably good at defending myself.”
“But you don’t know how many of them will be waiting for you. Or what magic they might be ready to wield.”
All of that is true, which is the reason for my tangled apprehension.
I force a smile. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. If they simply wanted to kill me, I’d imagine there are easier ways to arrange that.”
Stavros pulls one of the scrolls off the shelves and spreads it on the table. It’s a map of the college and its grounds. “I may be able to obtain something that’ll help conceal my presence. The king is supporting us, and he has plenty of resources. If I enter the woods from a different angle—”
I tug at the edge of the map to interrupt him. “No. The message emphasized thealonepart—and Alek’s right. We don’t know what magic they can bring to bear. They managed to murder Wendos while he was under palace guard! You can be sure that whatever they’re doing, confirming that no one’s going to spy on their activities will be at the top of the list.”
Stavros’s cocky voice takes on the edge of a growl. “You can’t go waltzing off into the woods in the middle of the night to meet a group of murderous psychopaths totally on your own.”
I set my hands on my hips. “That’s been the plan all along, hasn’t it? What did you think would happen if I caught Ster. Torstem’s notice—he’d invite me to tea to discuss the possibilities for overthrowing the royal family? Anyway, I won’t really be on my own. Julita will be there with me, and she knows what these people are like better than any of you.”
You’d think I’d get a little credit from this bunch, Julita says with light-hearted offense, but she can’t totally hide the tension in her tone.I’ll get you through it as well as I can. I don’t know exactly what you’ll be facing. I never saw Borys and Wendos initiate anyone into their practices.
I can’t imagine she’s looking forward to potentially reliving aspects of her childhood trauma. But she hasn’t said a word against me continuing with this plan, no matter how much danger it puts her continued survival in too.
Of course, it isn’t the dangerI’min that Stavros is worried about so much as the danger I might pose everyone else.
The former general narrows his eyes at me. “It’ll be an unnerving situation, and theycouldmean to harm you. It’d be easy for you to get careless in how exactly you defend yourself.”
I might slip and unleash my magic, he means.
Benedikt raises an eyebrow. “Does it really matter how ‘careless’ she gets with blades when it’ll be these pricks getting cut by them? I say Ivy can stick it to them any way she likes.”
I fix Stavros with a firm look that hopefully he catches at least a glimpse of with his faulty vision. I warned him just an hour ago that the fourth member of our group was catching on that we were hiding something from him. “I’m sure I won’t be flinging my knives so far that they hit anyone who doesn’t deserve it. Although if you decide to lurk in the woods and jeopardize whatever trust I’ve gained with them, I’d count you among the deserving.”
Benedikt stifles a snort of laughter.
Stavros glowers back at me, but he seems to relax his stance with concentrated effort. “I’ll keep my distance, then, but I’ll be on watch.”
“Fine.”
Alek sets his hands on the table, the bronze-brown skin of his knuckles paling. “You may have their trust now, but what if they’re looking for something from you that you can’t give them or don’t realize? Once you’ve interacted with them at all… they’re not likely to give you the chance to report anything back to the authorities.”
I’ve already thought about that too. “I’m good at thinking on my feet. This is our best shot. What other options do we have now that they’ve killed Wendos?” I glance at Stavros again. “The surveillance of the brothels and the orphanage still hasn’t turned up any leads, has it?”
