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Casimir chuckles. “He has given you his show of support before.” He touches my cheek with a graze of his fingertips. “Make it back safe, Ivy.”
My throat constricts. “That’s my plan.”
As Casimir gathers his supplies, Stavros steps toward the loop of cord the courtesan arrived here through. “After you’ve returned to your room, I’ll bring this back to its usual place. We’ll see you at tomorrow’s meeting.”
Casimir bobs his head in acknowledgment and farewell, aims one more gentle smile my way, and then vanishes through the cord’s magic.
While Stavros is sorting out the cords, I quickly don my chemise and pull up the front of my gown. I’m nearly done with the laces by the time the former general returns.
He eyes me with one of his inscrutable expressions and a brief twitch of his head, and an uneasier heat tickles over my skin. I have the sudden, misguided urge to ask him to come over and help me finish tying the laces.
As if he’d agree. As if I should even care whether he does.
I give them a few final tugs myself and smooth my hands down the skirt of my dress. Across the courtyards, the palace bell starts to ring out its longest series of peals.
Midnight. One hour to go.
I fold my arms over my chest and give Stavros a pointed look. “You know, you should probably at least make a show of going to bed. It’s not going to look like I snuck off on you if anyone notices the light’s still glowing in your window when I’m leaving.”
Stavros sighs, but he knows I’m right. He makes a vague motion toward me. “You have everything you need?”
A dry laugh hitches out of me. “As far as I know. It’s a bit difficult to be fully prepared for illicit meetings with mysterious figures.”
He balks for a moment longer, as if he thinks he can intimidate my power into staying under wraps with his frown, and then he stalks away into his bedroom. The door thumps shut behind him, but I don’t exactly feel alone.
I douse the lantern in the main room and sit down on the sofa. The darkness wraps around me, the quiet of the night feeling unusually ominous.
A tingle stirs in the back of my skull.Ivy?Julita whispers.
She’s returned from wherever exactly she goes when she withdraws from my awareness. I was starting to wonder if she’d end up missing our first foray among the scourge sorcerers.
She might not have minded if she did. I can’t imagine what horrific memories tonight will stir up for her.
I open my mouth and close it again, settling for simply tipping my head in response. I don’t think there’s much chance Stavros actuallyhasgone to sleep, and I feel strange talking to her where he could easily eavesdrop.
Maybe I should get a bit of a head start on the whole sneaking out thing.
I pull my hooded cloak over my dress and hair before slipping out into the hall. The lanterns there have all been snuffed out for the night.
From around the nearest corner, I can hear someone stumbling between drunken giggles and someone else doing their best to shush them. Otherwise the staff halls are empty.
I turn in the other direction, toward the narrow hallway at the very back of the school that’s too cramped and dreary for the nobles to venture into unless they’re feeling particularly secretive.
As I walk, I veer from one side of the hallway to the other, keeping my senses alert for any unexpected quivers of magic. I don’t know how many enchanted creatures the conspirators might have created, but if they could use one to spy on me now, it seems likely they would.
Nothing catches my notice. I duck into the stairwell and pad down the spiraling steps halfway to the third floor. Then I sit down against the cool stone wall.
“Are you okay?” I ask Julita in a murmur. “I’m sorry—I didn’t know Alek would react that way.”
How awful must she have felt to finally have a moment to speak to him again only for him to shove her away?
Julita lets out a soft laugh.How could you have known when I had no idea either? Obviously… obviously he’s become even more attached to you than I realized.
Is there a bittersweet note in her voice? My ghostly passenger has made a good show of not caring about the men she assembled beyond their usefulness in tackling the scourge sorcerers, but I’ve noticed cracks in her façade.
She might not have believed it’d be a good idea to pursue anything deeper with them, might even have convinced herself that none of them would truly care aboutherbeyond the unflappable, charming front she presented, but they mattered to her. She was abused by her brother and his friend as a child, had no one around she trusted enough to turn to for help—that’d mess up anyone’s mindset.
Probably the only reason she trustsmeis she doesn’t have much choice.
